[vox-tech] power supply question

[Charles Polisher]

Peter Salzman wrote:
> i built this system myself, so there is no warrantee, i'm afraid.
> 
> as for voiding the non-existant warrantee, i've already voided it.  the
> power supply is laying open on my table.  :)
> 
> i'm going to fry's tomorrow to pick up a new fan *and* power supply.  if
> swapping fans works, i'll return the supply.
> 
> this system is only about a year old.  this sucks!

There's a big difference between ball-bearing fans
and fans with sleeve-type (?) bearings. The
sleeves are oiled 'for life', using a porous
sintered bronze for the sleeve so it holds the oil
like a sponge.  Trouble is, the oil gums up after
X revolutions of the axle (X = $BIGNUM), I think
the phenom is due to sulphites? Anyway, it gets
stubborn.

Ball bearing fans are more expensive, less common,
and more durable if made with high-quality balls.
The failure mode for the bearings is having a ball
crack or chip and I think it's not too common, IOW
the fan might run essentially forever without the
bearings going south on you.

You can often rescue sleeve ('journal'?) bearings
with a teeny bit of Tri-Flow aerosol lubricant
which has Teflon maybe and/or silicon lubricants.
You must remove the fan for this operation, or
risk having to replace the nearby electronics.

Fryes must have the highest quality fans in town,
since you'll pay about 2x what they cost anyplace
else. Do yourself a favor if you've got time and
visit Halted (HSC) Electronics,

	http://www.halted.com/contact/index.htm 

it's a fantastic place to browse (the store, not
the website).

HTH,
Chuck

-- 
The Feynman problem solving algorithm: 1. Write down 
the problem  2. Think real hard  3. Write down the answer