Hi everyone,
I am wondering how hot the LimeSDR XTRX is expected to be running. While doing some tests with the limeOEM --tests I’ve noticed the board is getting rather hot, and device->GetTemperature(0) reports temperature up to 60°C. It doesn’t take long to go to this point, maybe 5min after a cold boot.
The board is simply open-air plugged to CM4 IO via an adapter, and the ambient temperature is about 25°C.
Is this something within expected operation? Or is it an indication that something is not right with the board?
I didn’t use active cooling before, because I was doing RX only development before (following the basicRX.cpp), and the temperature was more in the range of 35-40°C, which was close to what LimeSDR Mini v2 operates in the same environment.
Hey, when running with sample rates around the max possible mine definitely gets uncomfortably warm (>85C, which is what the original fairwaves XTRX pro was rated for)
I ended up adding a small 40mm fan to actively cool it (after which it hovers ~50-55C on the onboard temp sensor)
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Oh, wow. Thanks for confirming that it is not something out of ordinary!
It is a small board and at higher sample rates it may be advisable to have some form of cooling. The full size PCIe adapter has a thermal pad between the XTRX and a large copper pour. But more generally you should check the temperature with a given use case — sample rate, enclosure and ambient temperature etc. —and then decide whether you need a heatsink and/or fan etc.
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The GetTemperature(0) returns the LMS7002M chip’s temperature. XTRX has another on board temperature sensor.
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