Ampeg BA112 V2 Fan Noise Reduction

[agedhorse]

I'm pretty sure finding a fan is a little easier than this sounds, though

Sure, finding a fan is the easy part. Knowing which fans are good choices is a bit more of a challenge though.

 

[Haxel]

The connectors are JST XH 2.5. You can buy connector kits on ebay for a few $.


Im running my fan through a digital temp controller...see above. 6 months, no probs so far.

 

[agedhorse]

The connectors are JST XH 2.5. You can buy connector kits on ebay for a few $.


Im running my fan through a digital temp controller...see above. 6 months, no probs so far.

That's fine, I was referring to Jimmy's comment and the guy (Jon) we were trying to help.

Not all fan connectors use this format, I often use MTA-.100 and occasionally will use a different JST pitch when necessary. Polarity is pretty much random (except for the computer industry).

It's fine to experiment IF you know what you are doing, but Jon indicated that he didn't (good to acknowledge this in advance).

 

[JimmyM]

That's fine, I was referring to Jimmy's comment and the guy (Jon) we were trying to help.

Not all fan connectors use this format, I often use MTA-.100 and occasionally will use a different JST pitch when necessary. Polarity is pretty much random (except for the computer industry).

It's fine to experiment IF you know what you are doing, but Jon indicated that he didn't (good to acknowledge this in advance).

Well then you find someone who knows what fan to use in it and you go with it

 

[Haxel]

Here's a picture of the fan, leads and connector. 24v fan, btw.
The fan is mounted to the back of the tray holding the electronics.

 

[JimmyM]

View attachment 3134377
Here's a picture of the fan, leads and connector. 24v fan, btw.
The fan is mounted to the back of the tray holding the electronics.

Is that the stocker or a replacement fan?

 

[Haxel]

That's the stocker. I left it in place but hooked it up to a digital temp controller set to turn the fan on at 80 degrees. The set points are adjustable but it usually takes about an hour to warm up enough to turn on.

The OP, jpBassin, swapped his fan with a quieter one.

Funny thing is, lately I've mostly been playing through headphones so the fan noise doesn't matter anymore!

 

[agedhorse]

Not going to find that Gannon the computer section, and it's going to have some fairly hefty air flow with it's rating.

 

[JimmyM]

That's the stocker. I left it in place but hooked it up to a digital temp controller set to turn the fan on at 80 degrees. The set points are adjustable but it usually takes about an hour to warm up enough to turn on.

The OP, jpBassin, swapped his fan with a quieter one.

Funny thing is, lately I've mostly been playing through headphones so the fan noise doesn't matter anymore!

LOL! You know, once Jon asked about replacing his fan, I completely zoned out on the previous discussion in this thread from 2 years ago where a replacement was already listed in the OP, as well as the discussion in it from earlier this year! DOH!

Well the OP sure does seem to confirm a lot about what Andy was saying about the minutiae of installing one of them correctly, doesn't he? I thought for sure there'd be some drop-in replacement no muss no fuss or at least something closer than that. Probably will be fine in the dude's amp, though. Your solution sounds pretty cool, too. Never will get the fuss over them but I respect your decisions to find quieter solutions.

 

[Lepage thierry]

Bonjour, j écris mon texte en français que vous pourrez traduire avec Google translater. J ai remplacé le ventilateur 50mm qui fait 33 db par un ventilateur de 16,9 db 60mm.
La référence est MF60252V3-A99-Fan DC AXIAL 24Vdc 27,04m3/h. Vapo SUNON.
J ai monte une entretoise en silicone FG-60 chez kessler électronic sur eBay. Prix 1€34.
Il suffit de tracer les trous avec un entre axe de 50mm, percer et reconnecter le nouveau ventilateur.
L’ampli ne fait presque plus de bruit.
Voir photos

 

[JimmyM]

Translation of the above post:

Hello, I am writing my text in French which you can translate with Google translater. I replaced the 50mm fan which is 33 db with a 16.9 db 60mm fan.
The reference is MF60252V3-A99-Fan DC AXIAL 24Vdc 27.04m3 / h. SUNON vaporizer.
I mounted a FG-60 silicone spacer at kessler electronics on eBay. Price 1 € 34.
Just trace the holes with a 50mm axis, drill and reconnect the new fan.
The amplifier hardly makes any noise.
See photos

 

[Aaron Houts]

Would I need to have certain tools to replace the fan like a saudering iron or anything like that? I’m not too crafty with things like that haha.

I heard the BA115 has a better fan and makes hardly any noise but it’s $100 more so wondering if that would be better than trying to replace the fan myself or pay someone to do that.

I like my BA115.
It’s only 3 pounds heavier than the BA112 and you get the 15”
and more wattage.
I haven’t really noticed any excessive fan noise.

 

[Lepage thierry]

Bonjour, j écris mon texte en français que vous pourrez traduire avec Google translater. J ai remplacé le ventilateur 50mm qui fait 33 db par un ventilateur de 16,9 db 60mm.
La référence est MF60252V3-A99-Fan DC AXIAL 24Vdc 27,04m3/h. Vapo SUNON.
J ai monte une entretoise en silicone FG-60 chez kessler électronic sur eBay. Prix 1€34.
Il suffit de tracer les trous avec un entre axe de 50mm, percer et reconnecter le nouveau ventilateur.
L’ampli ne fait presque plus de bruit.
Voir photos
View attachment 3687655 View attachment 3687658 View attachment 3687659 View attachment 3687660 View attachment 3687664 View attachment 3687665

Cette fois j ai réussi à réduire encore plus le bruit du ventilateur en montant un potentiomètre qui règle la vitesse du ventilateur. achat sur Amazon ( Gebildet 3 pièces mini moteur contrôleur de vitesse) Je peux aussi couper totalement le ventilateur. Je pense que l’ampli peux supporter sans ventilateur si on joue sur une puissance faible. Car je ne sens aucune chaleur qui se dégage de l’ampli.
Le câblage est très simple l’alimentation va sur 2 pôles du potentiomètre et 2 fils repartent vers le ventilateur (bien respecter les polarité + et -). J ai monte du fil 0,5mm2 4 brins.
J hésites à faire un évent côté alimentation pour apporter plus d air frais extérieur.
A vitesse réduire on entend quasiment plus de bruit même s’il reste perceptible dans une pièce sans bruit mais dès que l’on joue on entend plus rien.
Voici le montage .
J espère que cela pourra aider quelqu’un qui comme moi ne supporte pas ce bruit alors que l’ampli a un superbe son...

 

[Tommyc]

That’s why I got the Ba 110 v2. No fan and at a cost of 40 watts vs. 75 for the Ba 112 I didn’t see a significant difference the 12 “ driver and the 35 extra watts would give.

 

[Bass V]

just got a nice one for $80 and after sealing off noise routes so the fan is 90% a non issue I conclude the real culprit is indeed the cyclic hum and not the fan to the same degree of annoyance.
is there an easy fix to stopping the fan, something technical ...like poking a stick in the blades?

 

[agedhorse]

Stopping the fan is likely to stop all of the noise the amp makes (including the audio) after a bit of time.

 

[SJan3]

Hello bass talkers,

I picked up a new Ampeg BA112 V2 a few weeks ago to serve as my practice amp and so far I've really enjoyed the amp. The best features of the amp in my opinion are it's tone and the convenient kickback/front-control setup. The worst feature of the new BA112 in my opinion is the fan noise.

It's a small fan and likely not a problem in many venues but it's really annoying for how I've been using the amp which is low-volume playing in a small hardwood floored room. Beyond the relatively loud volume of the fan noise to quiet playing the fan also has some high-pitched overtones that cut and are noticeable even when the bass gets loud enough to drown out the normal fan noises.

I considered sending the amp back but it's so good outside of the fan noise that I instead ordered and installed one of the only compatible fans that I could find in hopes of improving the noise problem. That new fan has cut the fan noise down to a level that I can live with and most importantly it eliminated the higher pitch sounds that had grown particularly annoying. Since talkbass.com has been so helpful I wanted to share a few details on the fan swap in case they help someone else with a BA112 v2 looking for ways to cut down on the fan noise. I'd love to hear about ways to cut the noise even further if any are known.

Here is the replacement fan that I installed:

"Delta AUB0524VHD 5020 50mm 5CM DC 24V 0.15A"
Delta AUB0524VHD 5020 50mm 5CM DC 24V 0.15A Server inverter PC Case Cooling fan computer case cooler - Newegg.com

Here are the specs on the original fan:

"DA05020B24M dc 24V 0.10 A shenzhen huaxia hengtai electronic co ltd"
Link Removed


The new fan has the same blade shape/etc. and the only noticeable difference is that it spins at a slower rpm. I shortened the power lead on the new fan so that it matches the length of the original and also had to reverse the wires in the plug since the polarity was reversed. I also installed the new fan using rubber mounts instead of the original screws but I don't think using the rubber feet made any noticeable difference or improvement. The new fan pushes less air but you can still feel air coming out of the side-vent on the amp and I don't think the difference is enough to cause problems in any but the most extreme heat situations, if then. At low volumes in climate-controlled spaces a fan may not even be needed but I'm not sure on that and didn't want to test it.

I've attached a few photos showing the old/new fans and also the technique that I used for pulling the rubber feet into the new fan in case anyone wants to use them and has trouble.

As a bonus you can see how the BA112 looks with white piping since I also changed that out now that I'm modding the amp and probably voiding warranty.

View attachment 875953
View attachment 875954
View attachment 875955

If it's a practice amp only, you could return and get the BA110v2. No fan and sounds great! Plenty for practice and then some.

 

[Bass V]

Stopping the fan is likely to stop all of the noise the amp makes (including the audio) after a bit of time.

I'm willing to risk that since it's all low stress & volume usage, the hum is a bum that's gotta go

 

[agedhorse]

I'm willing to risk that since it's all low stress & volume usage, the hum is a bum that's gotta go

Go for it, it's only 2020. What could happen?

 

[Bass V]

Go for it, it's only 2020. What could happen?

I'm heavily invested in 2021 so I better check the smoke alarm battery lol
but what a shame, it really does ruin any apartment fun, I'm shocked there's no cyber-fix for this cos otherwise the amp has potential. conversely, can the scrambler be tweaked to be nastier?