Ultra 20 PSU replaceable with PC PSU?

[velociraptor]

Anyone know if I can use a bog standard 24-pin PC PSU in an Ultra 20
M2?  I've got one at work that's making a teeth grating fan noise, and
I don't think I'll be able to convince the bosses to pony up a couple
of hundred for the Sun PSU.

I saw one report in the Sun.com forums, but was hoping for a more
reliable report from folks a little more known to me. :-)

Thanks--
=Nadine=
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue

[Carl R. Friend]

    On Thu, 24 Sep 2009, velociraptor wrote:

> Anyone know if I can use a bog standard 24-pin PC PSU in
> an Ultra 20 M2?  I've got one at work that's making a teeth
> grating fan noise, and I don't think I'll be able to convince
> the bosses to pony up a couple of hundred for the Sun PSU.

    Dissect the power supply, get the part number off the fan
that's obnoxious, and figure out a modern replacement.  The
cost will likely be less than 20 bucks (US) minus salary time
spent on the diagnosis, identification, and repair.  It won't
be historically accurate, but you're looking for a runner not a
museum piece....

+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| Carl Richard Friend (UNIX Sysadmin)            | West Boylston       |
| Minicomputer Collector / Enthusiast            | Massachusetts, USA  |
| mailto:crfriend@...                        +---------------------+
| http://users.rcn.com/crfriend/museum           | ICBM: 42:22N 71:47W |
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue

[gsm-2]

On Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 08:37:48PM -0400, Carl R. Friend wrote:
>    Dissect the power supply, get the part number off the fan
> that's obnoxious, and figure out a modern replacement.  The
> cost will likely be less than 20 bucks (US) minus salary time
> spent on the diagnosis, identification, and repair.  It won't
> be historically accurate, but you're looking for a runner not a
> museum piece....

While you are there, you may be able to "fix" it. I have done this with many
PC power supply fans, sometimes getting months of use out of them, sometimes
only minutes.

Take it out, clean it thoughly. I use a q-tip wet with window cleaner.
Then see if you can access the bearings. Usually under the label is
a cap covering them, but some have no cover at all. Save the cover, on
some fans it's part of the mechanism. :-(

Oil it with SEWING MACHINE OIL, spin the blade by hand until it moves
freely and close it up. I have also had good luck by mixing the oil and
grease I got from a friend that fixes washing machines, etc. It's from a
local company, so I can't tell you anything meaningful to you about it.

There is a lubricant made from a thin oil and little teflon balls, sold
in bycicle shops, which I have always wanted to try. It may also be
available in gun shops, which I have learned by watching CSI, Vegas is
loaded with them. :-)

Geoff.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel gsm@...  N3OWJ/4X1GM
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue

[Lionel Peterson-2]

Honestly, they are standard PCs AFAIK, Tyan MBs in the case of the  
original U20 (which I am now using as by main workstation this  
week)... I would *expect* (but can not confirm) the PS is STD...

If the MB is a standard part from a third-party MFG, I would go for  
it...

Lionel

On Sep 24, 2009, at 7:54 PM, velociraptor <velociraptor@...>  
wrote:

> Anyone know if I can use a bog standard 24-pin PC PSU in an Ultra 20
> M2?  I've got one at work that's making a teeth grating fan noise, and
> I don't think I'll be able to convince the bosses to pony up a couple
> of hundred for the Sun PSU.
>
> I saw one report in the Sun.com forums, but was hoping for a more
> reliable report from folks a little more known to me. :-)
>
> Thanks--
> =Nadine=
> _______________________________________________
> rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue

_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue

[Scott Newell]

At 12:07 PM 9/25/2009 , Lionel Peterson wrote:
>Honestly, they are standard PCs AFAIK, Tyan MBs in the case of the  
>original U20 (which I am now using as by main workstation this  
>week)... I would *expect* (but can not confirm) the PS is STD...

I almost bought a U20, but something about the mobo seemed different.  I
think the standard Tyan had parallel and PS2 ports, but maybe the U20
doesn't?  (It is possible that I looked up the wrong Tyan part number.)

--
newell
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue

[Lionel Peterson-2]

They are STD parts, but there was some functionality pulled (like PS/
2, IIRC). That functions were pulled wouldn't cause me to suspect they  
changed up the PS connector... They just didn't populate some holes on  
the MB.

There is an 'unofficial' U20 FAQ that lists the Tyan part.

I have installed x64 Vista Business on mine, but had to hunt down an  
AC'97 driver for sound. And it seems x64 iTunes can't handle the new  
Nano (w/camera), it doesn't recognize it...

But still a fun box, ESP w/upgraded video...

Lionel

On Sep 25, 2009, at 1:23 PM, Scott Newell <newell@...> wrote:

> At 12:07 PM 9/25/2009 , Lionel Peterson wrote:
>> Honestly, they are standard PCs AFAIK, Tyan MBs in the case of the
>> original U20 (which I am now using as by main workstation this
>> week)... I would *expect* (but can not confirm) the PS is STD...
>
> I almost bought a U20, but something about the mobo seemed  
> different.  I
> think the standard Tyan had parallel and PS2 ports, but maybe the U20
> doesn't?  (It is possible that I looked up the wrong Tyan part  
> number.)
>
> --
> newell
> _______________________________________________
> rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue

_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue

[velociraptor]

On Fri, Sep 25, 2009 at 10:50 AM, Lionel Peterson <lionel4287@...>
wrote:

> They are STD parts, but there was some functionality pulled (like PS/2,
> IIRC). That functions were pulled wouldn't cause me to suspect they changed
> up the PS connector... They just didn't populate some holes on the MB.
>
> There is an 'unofficial' U20 FAQ that lists the Tyan part.
>
> I have installed x64 Vista Business on mine, but had to hunt down an AC'97
> driver for sound. And it seems x64 iTunes can't handle the new Nano
> (w/camera), it doesn't recognize it...
>
> But still a fun box, ESP w/upgraded video...
>
> Lionel
>
> On Sep 25, 2009, at 1:23 PM, Scott Newell <newell@...> wrote:
>
>> At 12:07 PM 9/25/2009 , Lionel Peterson wrote:
>>>
>>> Honestly, they are standard PCs AFAIK, Tyan MBs in the case of the
>>> original U20 (which I am now using as by main workstation this
>>> week)... I would *expect* (but can not confirm) the PS is STD...
>>
>> I almost bought a U20, but something about the mobo seemed different.  I
>> think the standard Tyan had parallel and PS2 ports, but maybe the U20
>> doesn't?  (It is possible that I looked up the wrong Tyan part number.)

Based on the handbook @ Sunsolve, it's a Mitac PSU.  For the moment,
I'm swapping in the part-compatible one from the U20 that's here (it's
got ATI graphics vs the M2's nVidia, and we all know nVidia>ATI on any
*NIX, even Solaris :-).  I'll do some more googling.  I don't have
rootly priv's yet, nor access to the data center, so my tasks are
somewhat limited for the moment.

I guess I can take the noisy one home and break out the multi-meter to
see if it follows PC PSU power supply pinout.

One interesting thing I note about the inside of the machine--the
bottom is filled with dust bunnies, and there's plenty of dust on the
cables and drive cage, etc.  But there is almost nothing on the CPU
heat sink and fan.  I can only assume it has to do with the "tunnel"
that's on top of the heat sink fan that almost touches the side door
of the case.  I guess the intake is "up there" out of the fluff being
drawn in through the front grill.  Pretty interesting, might have to
think of a way to leverage this info in my NAS @ home.

=Nadine=
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue