Cooling a TV card

[NiHaoMike]

http://www.john-am.com/2011/01/modding-a-hauppauge-wintv-hvr-950q-with-heatsinks/
I'm actually doing just that on my HVR-850 (which is actually a HVR-950Q without the analog adapter cable) since I'm going to be using it in a MythTV system where it would run 24/7. I used JB Weld to mount a heatsink over the demodulator and USB chips. I also insulated the RF front end (except for the top of the tuner chip) and put a piece of copper tape over it, soldered the tape to ground (shielding enhancement since I'm planning on putting it inside a PC case), and attached a heatsink over that with JB Weld.

 

[txus.palacios]

 

[wagex]

so did the thing perform any better or something? lol

 

[txus.palacios]

I guess it was not for performance but rather to increase its life. Even though I guess this chips are designed to handle those temperatures, a heatsink could improve its life and, maybe, signal quality. No idea about that, though, I am no electrical engineer.

 

[EarthDog]

Great... to what end though?

 

[wagex]

Great... to what end though?

such an end as to be worthy of remembrance.

 

[EarthDog]

Something. I respect the work and effort, just not sure what it will yield. If the thing dies within its warranty period now, he's screwed.

 

[wagex]

idk it was a random lotr quote from me no idea on the life span on those, though i dont think they cost very much.

edit holy crap those are expensive!!! 70 bucks for a usb tuner :O

 

[txus.palacios]

idk it was a random lotr quote from me i think those are like 10 bucks

The HVR-85 is about 60 bucks.

 

[NiHaoMike]

It does seem to report a slightly better signal level, but that might just be the weather.

If the thing dies within its warranty period now, he's screwed.

I actually bought it a few years ago (for use with a laptop) so the warranty is long gone. I got it for $20 or so on a Thanksgiving sale. (About the same price as those DTV converter boxes *after subsidies*, but it is both much smaller and works much better. Talk about a waste of tax dollars...)

 

[txus.palacios]

Hey. It looks nice. Great DIY there.

 

[wagex]

ah is jbweld a good conductor?

 

[EarthDog]

ah is jbweld a good conductor?

VERY good question here.. I was thinking that when I saw it, and LOL'd because in my head, its not a good conductor... but who knows.

 

[txus.palacios]

It seems it's not.

 

[EarthDog]

It seems it's not.

 

[wagex]

idk, in that link the heatsink was getting almost not enough to burn hum so the heat was going to it, just didnt have any air flow to dissipate it, it seems anyhow. i could be wrong though

 

[NiHaoMike]

JB Weld is better than common thermal compound, although it probably couldn't compete against the really good stuff. But in this application, it's more than good enough.
http://www.overclockers.com/better-than-thermal-grease/
I've been using JB Weld to attach heatsinks to some lower powered chips (particularly those that had only a small heatsink or no stock heatsink) and it always worked well.

 

[EarthDog]

That doesnt mention anything about temperatures...just some anecdotal evidence that he overclocked a CPU farther. Hard to call something better with no baseline of temps and after...

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=643509