I was looking to make my Pis silent and more reliable so I updated three of them with fanless cases. Two of my rigs are running maxed out with AirspyADSB and temp is running around 52C. My Piaware 3b is actually running cooler than the fanned case at around 37C. I found the case on Amazon, it’s called “Geekworm Raspberry Pi Aluminum Case”. I’ve tried it with the 3b and 4. The RPI 4 case contacts three chips on the board, the RPI 3b case contacts two chips. The cases come with thermal pads. Having some CPU paste is helpful if you decide to use the copper heatsink included with the RPI 4 case. BTW, this case is better than the FLIRC case as the FLIRC only contacts one chip.
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I am happy with my two PI4 covered by the Armor case.
I do have it with two fans, but they are mainly operational with both fans disabled. Only during high summer season i am activating the fans.
This is the passive one, works perfect
Armor Case BLOCK Kühler-Case für Raspberry Pi4B - Raspberry Pi SoC Bo, 12,50 € (rasppishop.de)
Try a Pi Zero W (Not the latest Zero 2 as that has a quad core), I’ve been running one for over 4 years now with no problems.
Current temperature 43c with ambient 17c - just an indoor antenna sitting on a tin can by a NW facing window around 14 miles from Heathrow. During busy times up to 30 aircraft shown on the map.
Actually have 3 zeros, one runs 24/7. Another is a portable unit set for wifi roaming and mobile tethering and the third is just used for experimenting with images and ADS-B accessories.
Seem to be in short supply at the moment but a third the cost of a Pi 3B or 2GB Pi 4
Geoff
The Zero 2 W should be pretty low power as well.
The OP is talking about airspy_adsb … which uses quite a bit of CPU.
Zero 2 W should work i suppose.
The original Zero will not work and really i wouldn’t recommend it for anything ADS-B related.
(especially now that the 2 W is available)
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I’m working on making my own case that has a fan and a PCB that is a power supply. The power supply has a temperature sensor on it that can turn on the fan. Input voltage is 6 to 18V DC, I want to be able to run it off of either a 12V wall wort or in a vehicle.
Tnx for info on the “cases that are really heatsinks”, good to know if I have a situation where a fan is not desirable.
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Ah, my mistake, when he said two rigs were running air spy I thought that was a stand alone device rather than something that plugs in to a Pi.
For what I use the Zero W is fine, I just feed FA, FR24 and adsbX plus run your tar1090. Zero copes fine with that.
Geoff
I like the pi zero idea. I will give it a try. I’m tracking 270 airplanes at peak but it would be interesting to see how it does.
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You have horrible reception. (https://flightaware.com/adsb/stats/user/send2gl#stats-84037)
For anyone who optimizes the reception even a little bit … the zero is gonna be insufficient.
It’s fine if you’re not gonna optimize your setup, but please don’t tell people the Zero W is fine.
It’s just not.
And now with the Zero 2W … there is no reason to get the old Zero model.
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I did say for what I use the zero for it is fine, I did not say that it is fine for everything ads-b related.
Many people are happy with a simple set up, as am I, my own interest is as much the Raspberry Pi as ADS-B tracking. From what I understand the Zero can handle ADS-B quite comfortably, if mlat message rate was high then there may be issues.
For me the Zero W is fine.
Geoff
FWIW, here’s the 1st print. Now to make the hole for the power supply board, which will will need a little re-work for the power input and “turn on” connections.
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Mechatronics Art machined aluminum enclosures continue to be my first choice for Raspberry Pi business & personal projects.
Their fanless case design acts as a massive heat sink for the CPU & memory chips. Units include an innovated internal anodized protection cap to ‘secure’ / discourage removal of the microSD card (use is optional). Silent solution with a timeless professional appearance.
Manufacture website:
https://mechatronicsart.com
(based in Montreal, Canada)
Raspberry PI 3 or 4 case: $49.99 USB
Stand-off Wall Mount for Raspberry PI 3 or 4: $4.95 USD
(great for mounting at radio repeater sites or telecom rooms)
I have been extremely pleased with customer service and timely processing of orders / requests.
Two thumbs up!
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I use two of these on my roof in the desert of Cali where temps are 122f some days for two years without issue. No Fans. Ill probably swap them just for measure next year.
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