cabinet_fan_controller
I've seen this thing recommended in the MAD discord. I've included it in my "Fails" section as it's a bit finicky. Check out this YouTube video to get an idea of what I mean. Most importantly, this thing has a minimum LOW temperature of 35c (that is 95 flippin' Freedom units, y'all!!). Even shoving the thermistor up under a heat sink I couldn't get it to amp up my fans from their lowest setting.
I really don't see a point in having a temperature-controlled fan set up with a floor that high and with your curve being that limited. I might have been able to get better readings by somehow trying to cement it between the heatsink and the chip... but then I'm basing ALL of my fan controls on ONE device ... with a mucked up heat sink. No bueno. I'd much rather base fan speeds on ambient temp.
So, I found this thing. There are some major downsides -- especially if you're not comfortable with basic wiring and electronics tinkering -- but overall I find it to be a much more versatile controller. It can handle higher amperage than the other controller, the LCD screen (albeit bare bones) makes set up easier and more intuitive, and most importantly the temperature range allows for a far superior curve over the other controller: -25c to 85c . . . that's -13 to 185 Freedom units!
Another major downside especially if you're not comfortable tinkering and wiring: This thing does not have a standard PC fan 4-pin PWM header. I have not taken the time to identify what type of header this is. You could easily just remove and solder your own leads to the board.
I took a different route since I needed to make a Y-splitter anyhow. My other hobby is custom PC builds. I found an 8-pin PCIe connector fit perfectly on the fan header, and I have everything on hand to crimp my own PCIe and fan cables.
This monstrosity was the final outcome. The 12v +/- are clearly labeled on the back of the fan controller. 'S' is your tachometer and 'Po' is your PWM signal.
It fits nice and snug and and everything hums happily.
