Frequently Asked Questions
Q:
What makes this
YampaNet TempraCool system superior to others on the market?
A:
You'll find three common
problems with other systems: They either have no speed control and
are always on, or they have a manual control and you have to adjust
speed with a knob, or they provide crude temperature control
mechanisms - similar to a home thermostat.
'Always-on' systems consume too much power and emit too much noise.
Other cooling systems with control knobs will adjust fan speed with
crude electronics such as a potentiometer, but without getting into
fan technology, you'll have little actual control over the fan. You
may end up with a low and high setting, and that's it, not to
mention the problem that you have to remember to turn the knob!
Forget any cooling system with a thermostat you'd find in a house -
you'll get very little control over cooling.
With the YampaNet TempraCool system, fan speed is controlled by a
microprocessor. The fans will idle at about 50% power when your AV
temperature is below 73 degrees F. At this speed you can barely hear
them. This provides necessary cooling with minimal noise and power
consumption. If your Audio Video components heat up, starting at 73
degrees, the fan speed will increase gradually on a linear basis,
and run at 100% if the system would detect a temperature of 95
degrees F. This provides a high level of control over cooling,
giving only what's needed which economizes energy and greatly
reduces noise.
This is NOT something similar to a thermostat. There is a big and
important difference. A thermostat is inferior because the fans are
either off, or on 100%. This binary switch causes extreme swings in
component temperature, which is the primary reason for failure due
to heat problems. The TempraCool system smoothes out heat spikes,
prolonging your component life.
Q:
Why would you
want to control the cooling system? Why not have it on all the time?
A:
The answer lies in
economy and noise reduction. First, cooling fans consume power, so
you ought not waste energy when you don't need to. Second, cooling
fans generate noise. When your system is off, it's the coolest and
also the most quiet - so that's when you want minimal fan activity.
The ideal cooling system will automatically adjust power based on
the temperature emitted from your components.
When your AV components are off, you'll only need a small amount of
cooling. You should recognize you'll always want some cooling because
components are never 'fully' off, especially with DVRs which may be
recording at any time. Other components still consume power when off
because they may be in a standby mode. And when they consume power,
they generate heat. You only need a small amount of cooling at this
time. But when things heat up, that's when you'll need more cooling
power. So in summary, you need a cooling system that automatically
adjusts base on temperature.
Q:
Is there an
on-off switch?
A:
No. By doing it the
TempraCool way, your stereo components can expect extended life. It
gets a little complex, but here's how. Remember - the TempraCool
system runs fans at idle speed when the system is cooler. This is
because we want the components to have steady temperatures, and
reduce extreme changes, This is because in electronics
applications, fluctuations of semiconductor junction temperatures
are a major cause of component failure. By designing a closed loop
cooling system around temperature and adding the proper temperature
slope (sensor temperature at full speed - sensor temperature at idle
speed), semiconductor junction temperatures can be held to near
constant. As the air velocity over a typical semiconductor device
changes by two-to-one, as it does when fan speed changes from full
speed to half, the difference between the air temperature and
junction temperature changes by a few degrees. Changing the air
temperature by an equal number of degrees cancels this effect to
hold absolute junction temperature near constant, improving product
reliability.
cooling system that automatically adjusts base on temperature.
Q:
Isn't this just
like a thermostat?
A:
This is NOT similar to a
thermostat. There is a big and important difference. A thermostat
is inferior because the fans are either off, or on 100%. This
binary switch causes extreme swings in component temperature, which
is the primary reason for heat-related component failure. The
TempraCool system smoothes out heat spikes, prolonging your
component life.
Q:
How many fans
can I use?
A:
The controller can power
up to four fans.
Q:
What are the fan
specifications?
SilenX Model:
Air Flow: 24 CFM
Color: Silver
Fan Dimensions: 80 x 80 x 25 mm
Certified Noise Level: 11 dBA
| Power cord | 74 inches |
| Fan wire from controller | 22 inches |
| Fan wire between fans | 14 inches |
Q:
Do I need
extension wires?
A. As shown above, the first fan will be about four feet
from the controller, and the next fan will be about two feet from
the first fan. The third fan would be two feet from the second
fan, and so on. If you have a tall cabinet, and want to
configure it with two intake and two exhaust fans, you may need to
separate the intake and exhaust fans with a 3 foot or a 6 foot
extension. If you need to have two pairs of fans in two
separate locations, you can also use a Y connector.
Q:
If I use my own fans, and they have LEDs, will
the LEDs work?
The LEDs will only light up when the fans run at full speed.
Q:
What are the AC
adapter specifications?
A:
Primary voltage: 120VAC
60Hz 15W
Secondary voltage: 12VDC/500mA
Dimensions: 43.94mm deep by 49.00mm wide by 65.02 mm high
Q:
Is it better to
have the fans blow air on components or pull air from the cabinet?
A:
Both. And it depends on
your environment. If you are able to mount the 80mm fans onto the
cabinet (with 3 inch holes), creating a cabinet cooling solution,
then you can draw air in to the lower part of the cabinet and
exhaust air from the upper part of the cabinet. See the system
setup tab.
However, if it is not possible to mount the fans, you should place
them in a position to blow air onto components.
Q:
How do you ship
you product?
A:
We carefully pack the
system, and ship with USPS priority mail. That way you get your
cooling system in 2-3 days.
Q:
Why don't you
use retail packaging or sell through retailers?
A. Fancy packaging adds costs, and we don't want to have
to pass that down to you, especially when that packaging just ends
up in the trash. Likewise, we don't use retailers because that
would also increase your cost.
Q:
Do you work with
stereo cabinet manufacturers?
A:
Yes. If you are
interested, just give us a call for cabinet manufacturer OEM terms.
Q:
Is your product
'green'?
A:
We try to employ
recycling and energy conservation techniques as possible. For
example, we reuse the packing material we receive from our
suppliers. In addition, the entire design of the controller is to
use only the energy required.
Q:
What kind of
quality processes are used?
A:
The controller is ISO
9001 certified.
Q:
Why do you use
PayPal?
A:
We use PayPal because
your security and flexibility is important to us. With PayPal, you
provide financial details to them only - not us. This helps protect
your finacial information and identity. PayPal is also flexible
because you don't have to sign up for a full account - you can use
choose to use your credit cards as you normally do.
Q:
How can I
contact you?
A:
303-884-5439
mailto:mblumhardt@yampanet.com
Q:
What is the
background of your company?
A:
We, like you, were in
search of cooling systems for our home theaters in 2005. When we
couldn't find anything out there, we built a few simple prototypes
and used them at home. Because many other people also wanted them,
we built a few systems as a favor. Because these systems worked, we
thought we'd form a small company of business, electrical engineer
and operations personnel to test the consumer market by selling on
eBay. We named ourselves YampaNet because of the cool waters on
the Yampa river in Colorado. Our initial systems proved successful,
and we were getting good comments from our new customers. One of
the most important suggestions was building a system that adjusted
the fan speed based on temperature. So in early 2006 we launched
out TempraCool product, became a Limited Liability Corporation, and
the rest is history.
