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)
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.
In my setup, the temperature rose to 80°C just by running the FM receiver.
But unfortunately I don’t have the space to install a fan, is it okay to continue to run the LimeSDR XTRX without one due to its design?
I was thinking about a thermal pad or paste between components of the XTRX and copper pour. Is this thermal pad included with the FEA adapter board or do we seek our own? Off hand, do you have the bolt size for the inserts on the adaptor board? I imagine that a pad would be most effective with the bolts in place.
Thank you! I see no sign of a pad or hardware beyond the PCB in my shipment. Crowd Supply specification includes “PCIe bracket w/o cutouts” but from my understanding of this, was not. I will contact Crowd Supply.
Perhaps I don’t understand what is meant by the PCIe bracket but regardless, the only item in the box with the XTRX was the PCB itself and likewise for the oversized plastic box containing the adaptor board; no pieces beyond the PCB.
