Keeping 8 bits cool

[vic user]

Hi;

I was wondering about how much of an issue it is in trying to keep
8 bit Commodore machines cool?

I program often on my vic, and although I have a fully functioning
backup, (just in case my favorite vic dies), I do worry about keeping
the vic motherboard cool. I also worry about my floppy drives as well,
since they seem even harder to come by.

I luckily found a cooling fan add-on that was made by a company called Kensington, which named the product "Mac system saver".
The fan was specifically made for standalone 68k Macs, like the Mac plus and the SE, and is shaped like an elongated "L" which hooks up to the top of the Mac. It is designed to push warm air away from the computer, and it also has two 3 prong sockets that one can use, say for the actual computer and a printer.

I decided to use it not on my Macs, but have placed it sideways on top of the back end of my 1541 drive. Because of it's elongated "L" shape and the length of it, it fits quite nicely on the drive.

I intend to take temperature readings with a digital probe of the air temperature above the 1541 drive...

without the fan and the drive off
without the fan and the drive on
with the fan and the drive off
with the fan and the drive on

I also intend on taking readings at specific time intervals as well. I just want to see if the fan will be effective in displacing heat from the floppy drive.

This then brings me back to wanting to keep the vic itself cool, and to
get a good air flow going.

I was thinking of trying to set up that HDD64 I keep hearing about, and since I would need a PC for that, I was thinking of getting an additional PC computer fan, and running the power from the PC mainboard, and then just placing the cooling fan near one of the openings on the vic. Or if I decide not to use the HDD64, then perhaps getting a 12volt adapter to power the cooling fan separately.

But if anyone has any suggestions about getting a nice air flow to the vic and floppy drives, I would love to hear about it.

Thanks in advance
Chris, vic user in Ottawa

[vic user]

Kind of weird replying to my own message, but I thought I would at least give an update to my cooling solutions.

For one of my vics, I am using a plastic stackable shelf as a table. The shelf is about 60 cm high so the table top is not very tall, which means I also have to use a small chair ') The shelf top is actually a hard plastic grill, so there are numerous air passages.

I then found an old fan that someone was throwing out. The fan is about 30cm by 30cm and about 10cm high. I took the screens off the fan, exposing the blades, and on top of the fan I fitted a furnace filter. I then placed the fan on top of a plastic milk container (the ones you use for records, or at least you could until they changed the size), and then placed the whole contraption under the shelf table.

I now have a gentle cool (and hopefully clean), breeze blowing from under and all around my vic.

I am sure this has got to help keep the chips cool. At the very least it seems to have a psychological effect on me ')

Chris,
Ottawa vic user