“I have a Pi 4b based MMDVM WPSD hotspot that is enclosed in a very nice C4-Labs case, designed specifically for MMDVM and complete with a color Nextion display. It's a nice piece of kit but unfortunately, these cases are not well ventilated...one might say they are even well insulated! It was running about 20° hotter than an electronically identical one in the same room, but in a 3D printed case that is very well ventilated. C4-Labs specifically recommends the Pimoroni Fan SHIM as a cooling solution that fits in their MMDVM cases, but sadly I couldn't find any vendors in the USA carrying it. So, I bit the bullet and ordered some from the UK, biting the bullet on the shipping. I installed the kit and marveled at the clever design. I then installed the control script, which seemed to work well. Then I noticed that the MMDVM radio was disabled...turns out the script interferes with it, so temperature based speed control is not possible. Oh well, I guess I need to leave the fan spinning 24/7. Unfortunately, it BARELY reduces the temperature and the Pi 4 still gets screaming hot and throttles it's performance. I plan to take the fan back out and replace it with a larger heatsink, hopefully that will help.
I'm going to contact C4-Labs and advise them of this, their suggested cooling solution is no solution at all, at least in poorly ventilated enclosures and MMDVM installations where you'd like to have fan speeed control.”
“I quickly received the Fan Shim for my RPi4. The package was in good conditions.
I unpacked and installed the hardware and software following the instructions (https://learn.pimoroni.com/article/getting-started-with-fan-shim).
Unfortunately I can't get the fan to start. The LED are working: the colors change depending on the temperature, but the fan does not start.The prompt and competent help of the after-sales service was not enough to solve the problem.
Originally I was looking to replace the one on my Argon ONE case, but if I'd managed to use this one I'd have kept it. I should have read the product description more carefully.
Pimoroni kindly offered to send me a replacement set or a refund.
Thanks a lot, guys! Your attitude is really very correct.”
“Had a bad one the first time. Pimoroni sent out a replacement and that works perfectly. Company stands behind its product with great customer service. Highly recommended!!”
“Can’t get it to work. Don’t waste your money. Must be a bad unit. I guess 1 in 100! We’ll see if the company does the right thing. I’m keep all posted.”
Ahoy Ricky
Sorry to hear that - if you drop us an email at support@pimoroni.com with as much info as you can about what you've tried and what's not working we'll do our best to help.
“Easy to fit, used a jumper on ONE of the pins to keep in place (please don't put a jumper across two pins, it lets out the magic smoke!). In operation at full speed it's quiet enough for me, I haven't felt a need to control it based on cpu temp. A nice practical addon for my Pi4.”
