Alphacool Heatmaster 2 Controller Review
Alphacool Heatmaster 2 Controller Review
by Dark Mantis
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AlphaCool has asked me to review this their second version of the very popular Heatmaster controller. This board has been in development for about three years now not counting the time that the first version was in production. It wouldn't be fair to call it a fan controller as I was going to because it does so much more than just control your fans. This is the HeatMaster 2 controller and there is not much that this little black box (it is not black nor a box in reality) can't do! It will display readouts from a series of sensors that can be placed anywhere around the case or even outside of it, it can contol multiple fans and pumps,it can sense the output from flowmeters and there is even the option to use in conjuction with relays to start or stop this computer or just about any other appliance. All of this can be done completely autonomously so you don't even need to be on site. This panel comes as a simple looking printed circuit board with very many headers on the board. There are multiple three pin fan headers like we are used to seeing on motherboards etc and the majority of the rest that are of interest to us are of the two pin type more usually associated with jumpers.
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The extent of delivery of my Heatmaster 2 Controller was:
1x Alphacool Heatmaster 2
4x Temperature sensors with approx. 50 cm cable
1x Internal 4-Pin USB connection cable
1x Jumper
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The technical specifications are as follows:
Dimensions: 144 x 108 x 20mm
Weight:approx. 202g
Current draw: max. 5A
Power connector: 4 Pin Molex
Fan channel power output: 10W max. per channel.
Total power output: max. 60W total
Relay channel power output: max. 5W per relay
Fan channels: 6
Fan connectors: 3 Pin
Pump/ flow rate sensor channels: 3
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The minimum system requirements are fairly low and are set as:
CPU: 500Mhz (recommended 1000 Mhz)
Memory: 512 MB min
HDD space: 50 - 100 MB
Connection: USB1.1
OS: Windows XP SP3 (or better)
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The software and user manual is not included on a disk in the box and will require downloading from AlphCool's website. Whilst I don't really agree with this way of doing things it does at least make sure that everthing is always up to date. Unlike the first incarnation of the Heatmaster where there would be an oscilliscope type display on the monitor this is more a standard sort of output that you would expect. The software is a lot easier to understand and far more user friendly. The only problem I had to start with was that I couldn't get it to install in English. The program kept saying that there was no language pack, but in German which didn't help a lot. A quick Google later and at least I understood the problem. I ended up installing the English language file manually and then I could go into the program and persuade it to use English rather than German. Once done I found it fairly intuitive. I did find however that a little work still needs to be done on the software because there are many items that are still only in German and don't translate into English even though that option is chosen.
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The Heatmaster 2 is not hot pluggable so the power and system needs to be turned off before connections are made or removed otherwise damage could be done to the circuit board or the system. The board draws the power it requires through a four pin Molex plug and socket connection and the systems PSU. It needs a 12v and 5v supply. I think we will look at the layout of components and connectors on the circuit board first. With the board in front of us the farthest away is an onboard holder for a CR2032 battery that is empty at the moment because it is for another function of the device that will be appearing in the near future. There are many other functions under development at the moment that will be released to the public once they are completed and tested thoroughly. Next to that there is a row of seven SIL (Single In Line) connection points but these are not for our use, likewise the red DIL block below it. On the right hand side is a 20 pin header block that is for attaching a data cable to a display. More on this later. Coming down the right hand side of the board there is the familiar white socket for a Molex four pin power plug to supply the power requirements to the board. There is a fuse next to this rated at 6.3A and 250V. If this blows it must be replaced only with a fuse of the same rating. To the left of the fuse in the centre of the board is another SIL block that again doesn't interest us. Coming down to the front there is a whole gang of nine three pin headers. The three on the right hand side allow connection to pumps and flow meters. The other six are for fans, although more than one fan can be connected to each header as long as no more than 10W is drawn from each. I would like to note here that only three pin fan connectors can be used because otherwise the fourth connection as on PWM fans will short out the next header!
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To the left of these are another array of 50 pins. These enable everything else to attach to the board. From the left the pins are positioned in a dual level off the board. The bottom ones are numbered 1 - 49 and the top 2 - 50. Using this numbering I will label all the uses of these connections. The first four bottom pins 1 - 7 take a plug for a USB connection so that the board can converse with the system in general via a bundled USB lead to a USB header on the motherboard. Above that pins numbered 2 - 8 are for the HM Bus. The next pair of pins 9 & 10 are for the emergency switch and the two next to them 11 & 12 take the shut down connector. Moving along in pairs now, that is 13 & 14, 15 & 16, etc up to 23 & 24 are six pairs of poins to accept the plugs from analogue sensors. These sensors must be in the range of 5K- 10K ohm.
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A pair of pins 25 & 26 are used for a water level sensor if fitted. The next three sets of pins 27 & 28, 29 & 30, 31 & 32 will power the alarm LEDs with the odd numbered pins being the ground connection. LEDs must have a maximum switching current of 2 mA. The following three pairs of pins 33 & 34, 35 & 36, 37 & 38 will let the board control external components with the use of relays. The next three sets of pins are for button connections and the buttons must be of the close to make variety with the following pair of pins 45 & 46 are covered by a jumper already. This is to reset the board back to defaults if required. Is should be noted however that ALL settings will be lost if this is used it also switches off all outputs. To reset the Heatmaster 2 the jumper requires removal for a few seconds and then replacement. Pins 47 & 48 are for use if you need a +5v standby connector with the odd numbered pin being the ground again. For the 5v standby to work properly the PSU must be able to supply 1 amp of current minimum off the 5 volt supply line. Pin 49 is at +5v potential with the last pin 50 being at +12v potential. This completes the connector block pinouts.
The software screen is divided into two section. The left half shows all the data from the sensors, fans, flowmeters, etc and the right hand side the is split into many seperate tabs. The following are as they are arranged on the display. Please see the manual for detailed descriptions of the options and functions.
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Tab: General
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Here is the first page of the tabs. It allows you to name the controller which would be very usefull if more than one was in use at once for instance controlling several PCs on a network. There is also the choice of Temperature unit, either degrees Celcius or Kelvin. Below that is the choice of language the program will display. There is a choice of German, English, French, Italian and Spanish. You can decide on how often the program should sample the data from the various components too. The higher the sampling rate the higher the overhead on the computer. To finish off this page there is a slider that can be configured between 4 and 20 seconds so that if you have it setso that you can shut down the PC this is the delay that it would impose whilst operating.
Tab: Display
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This page is only of interest if you have a display connected to the header on the board. It allows you to have control of the illumination of the display during different modes. ie, Operating, Sleep and also the period of inactivity before Standby mode initiates.
Tab: Fans
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This next tab is called Fans and so gives you a fair idea of what to expect here. There are a total of ten drop down dialogue boxes ranging from the Number of the fan (1 to 6), Name (which can be anything you like), Status, Speed of Rotation (active, inactive or not available). Next to these is a radio button that if ticked selects "fan shut down if fan signal fails". This is obviouisly a failsafe setting and doesn't require any more description I don't think. Below this is a box where the quantative statement can be picked for this failsafe alarm and is called "Action if fan signal fails". Underneath this is a box marked "Determine Min/Max speed of rotation". There is a button alongside this which if pressed starts a diagnostic speed test of the fan in question. It will test for minimum and maximum speeds that the fan can operate at. Next is a "Speedometer Coeficient" box which goes from 1 through 10 it represents how many pulses per revolution are measured by the unit per fan. The standard is two but it can be adjusted for other fans. You have a choice of which sensors in the next two boxes. The final space is reserved for a choice of either Manual or Automatic regulation. Right at the bottom of this page is a slider control to enable the fan speed or voltage to be governed.This is obviously within the confines of the speeds/voltages predetermined by the diagnostic speed test run earlier.
Tab: Temperature Sensors
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Once again it is easy to see what this page is for. This follows the same sort of design as the Fans tab. It starts at the top of the page with the fan selected number and then whatever name it has been given to help remember it easilly it's status and it's emergency status. There is a section here to allow adjustment of the sensors and two tables are provided that give good rough measurements and allow the values to be accurately adjusted. You can also add your own for saving. Underneath these controls is a sub area that is concerned about the settings of the selected sensor. Following this is another area that deals with the Warning and Alarm Temperture settings. These can be altered via two slider controls.
Tab: Pump/Fluid Level Control
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This page is for pumps and flow rate sensors and has a choice of three in total. Many of the flow sensors on the market are compatible but it is advisable to check first before purchase likewise with pumps. As previously it starts off with the number of the device, followed by it's name and status. Next are two radio buttons that are selected depending on whether it is a pump or a flow rate sensor and a box to select the Factor from 1 to 10. Again this has a default of two and is the number of impulses that are counted from a revolution of the flow sensor. If the conversion factor is known a rate of litres per hour or gallons per hour can be shown. Below this is an area that is labelled pump or flow sensor depending on what is installed. This part allows configuration in case of emergency and what should happen in that circumstance.
Tab: Fluid Level Control
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This Fluid Level Control tab is just for one sensor that can be renamed. It has the usual status setting and you can select whether it is an analogue or digital sensor that is being read. There is a dialogue box to determine the action to take if the fluid level drops below a predetermined level. This alarm mark can be decided with a slider.
Tab: Temperature - Comparison
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Here is a more complex series of three seperate settings. Again they really decide what should happen in the event of sensor A changing in relationship to sensor B. Each can be given a name as prevoiusly. Each has to be activated seperately.
Tab: Offline Pushbutton/Relays
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This tab deals with the push buttons and relays that are in an offline state and allows complex settings to be enabled whilst the computer is switched off. A active stand by power supply is required for this as well as other accessories available soon. In each case it really determines what actions happen after a push button or relay is made. It can even be timed so that a sequence can be put into action after a time delay of up to ten minutes after the inital input.
Tab: Online Pushbutton/Relays
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This tab does the same as the previous one but for buttons and relays that are in an online state at the time. It allows adjustments to be made even when the system is running. One or more relays need to be connected to enable the use of this feature. These will be available as acessories shortly from Alphcool. Again there is the ability to delay the output.
Apparently there are very many other features and associated projects that are in development and will be marketed as soon as they are fully completed and tested. A lot of these expansions are to do with remote use and connection of the Heatmaster 2 directly to a LAN or the internet so control from anywhere in the world wouild be possible.
This is a very powerfull device and allows control of almost all the computers's cooling related hardware. It only fails to perform in two regions one is the actual fitting and mounting of the board and the other is the software. It still requires some work to sort it out to be user friendly and readable! Once these are addressed it wil be hard to find fault with it. I award it 8/10 as it stands.
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Supplier: AlphaCool Website: http://www.alphacool.com Price: €69.95
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