R-2000
Heatsink Mod
Submitted by Terry
I have been concerned about
the temperature of the heatsink (and associated IC voltage regulators)
that are behind the internal speaker, on the upper (PLL) board. I
tried to use a very small +12V laptop cooling fan, but abandoned that
idea
when I found out how much RFI the little fan produced. I decided
to add some additional heatsinking by adding four heatsinks designed to
be used on TO-220 devices.
I used the original mounting
bolt and nut to hold an additional two heatskinks per IC—one between
the
IC and the stock heaksink, and another one on the other side of the
heatsink.
I used heatsink compound to improve the thermal coupling between the
various
surfaces. This resulted in a dramatic decrease in the heatsink
and
IC operating temperature.
I have worked in electronics
for the last 30 years, 23 years of which was as a TV Engineer, and I
have
found that excess heat is the main cause of component failure.
Given
the rough life my R2000 has experienced, I want to reduce the risks as
far as practical. The heatsinks cost me nothing as I salvaged
them
from several defunct PC power supplies. It took about 20 minutes
from start to finish to complete this modification.
The standard disclaimer applies:
only attempt to do modifications that are within your skill
level.
It would be a shame to ruin a working device.
Suggestions,
comments,
corrections or additions may be emailed here.
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