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Vantec Nexus Fan Controller
Date: Wednesday, January 8, 2003
Author: Iroc
Provided By: None
Page: 2 of 2
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Now let's get into some gaming. If you're like me you go fill up on your favorite beverage, drain your fluids ;-) come back and power up those fans to full! But wait, there's no roar from your computer? Each of the four knobs are on full but only one or two fans are running. What happened??? Well while you were walking around the house you picked up a bit of static electricity. And just happened to discharge it through your fingers to the aluminum knobs, threw the metal shaft and into your Nexus Fan Controller. Now what you can't see is that the little chip in front of the onboard Molex connector has become really burn your finger hot. It's not dead but you have to unplug and reconnect the Molex power connector to get it functioning again. What!? I am ready to game but I have to pull off the front panel, both side panels, unscrew it and pull it out to do that!
After much testing I found it helps to pull the knobs out a good bit to lessen the chance of the static electricity finding a path. But testing once more at this position I was still able to disable the unit with another static shock. I emailed Vantec Support on 12/17/02 with my problem and what was causing it. No reply. I forwarded the first email to them again on 1/1/03 10:30 a.m. Received a reply from Siblings Investment Support (Support@vantecusa.com) 1/1/03 8:32 pm:
"I am sorry to miss your first email.
Can try to return it back to where purchased from and get a replacement? "
With my testing I was sure that a replacement wouldn't have solved anything. To me it seems like a design flaw. Plastic knobs would remedy this situation completely. The knobs are half plastic anyway. It's an aluminum shell with a glued in plastic insert which slides over the metal shaft. So I replied to them again asking for further help. No reply as of 1/8/03.
Gary at www.sidewindercomputers.com let us know that of the 12 units shipped to Singapore, 3 or 4 were defective on one channel. That's 25% of the shipment.
Contents
The Fan Controller with mounting screws
One 4 wire Molex extension power cable
Two 3 wire extension cables
Two 4 wire pass thru to 3 wire connector cables
Specifications
Available in Black or Silver
4 Channel Fan Controllers
Adjustable Fan Speed Knob
Aluminum "U" Type Housing
Five Blue LED Lights
Each Channel Supports 15 to 18 Watts
Output Voltage: 7 V +/- 20% ~ 12 V +/- 5%
Output Current: Up to 1.5 A
I purchased this product for its function and ease of use. But I end up with a product that adds noise at low levels and can become easily disabled. I'm not sure how my NXP-201 has faired threw its static electricity encounters. Life span shortened? Am I doomed to ground myself each time before touching the unit? Or do I chance it with the possibility of dismantling my computer to reset it. Thankfully my rig is below my desk where the buzzing is farther away and muffled by the wood desktop. Weighing in its problems and unsatisfactory support I can't praise it.
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