Siglent SDS1104X HD Fan Noise - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: ollihd
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2025, 02:12:30 pm
content: Just got my Siglent SDS1104X HD. Loving it so far, but the fan noise seems a little bit weird to me. It's like a constant "clicking" noise from the fan motor I guess? Is this normal, can anyone else with a SDS1000X HD series scope confirm this?Close to the fan (10 sec video):https://photos.app.goo.gl/isuwfSSznw7Jd1RNAPhone touching the chassis (10 sec video):https://photos.app.goo.gl/2aVTeMJ6xEPyxhov5Appreciate any insight.Happy Easter!

author: TomKatt
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2025, 08:38:56 pm
content: Either your phone isn't capturing what you're describing or age has taken it's toll on my hearing... But I don't hear anything unusual in either of your videos - just air, which sounded like mine did.I had an SDS1104X-E and while you could hear the fan running, I never found it obtrusive or distracting. Certainly nothing that would motivate me to replace the fan or otherwise implement some kind of mod in an attempt to make it quieter... All things considered, I thought it was perfectly satisfactory.

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2025, 08:53:09 pm
content: Hi,You can get a glimpse of it in the first clip, but in the second clip, everything is drowned out.However:The fan in the SDS1000X HD is the same as in the SDS2000Xplus.I replaced this fan in my SDS2104Xplus with a silent version at the time, so I should still have the original fan.If I find it tomorrow, I can also tell you whether the noise is normal or not, because my fan was not defective.

author: ollihd
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2025, 09:36:51 pm
content: Quote from: Martin72 on April 17, 2025, 08:53:09 pmLet me know if you find it and thank you for the effort!

author: ollihd
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2025, 09:45:23 pm
content: Quote from: TomKatt on April 17, 2025, 08:38:56 pmI made an additional recording, can you here it in this one?https://photos.app.goo.gl/yvnBDDGjDKZpTdW36Taken from the top, I can her the "clicking" very clearly myself or I might just be going crazy

author: ollihd
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2025, 09:47:08 pm
content: To me, it sounds almost exactly like the sound of a PC case fan when the bearings were failing back in the day.

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2025, 09:51:52 pm
content: I know that sound....I just can't remember whether I heard it on the 2000X plus back then, in which case it would be “normal.”Or on my 2000X HD back then, in which case it wouldn't be normal.Either way, I'll look for the original fan later and then make a sound recording.You can do that without having the fan in a case, because the high ‘clicking’ sound is independent of that.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2025, 09:53:06 pm
content: Quote from: ollihd on April 17, 2025, 09:47:08 pmHave heard similar and they never give an issue.Remember, you have a 3yr warranty of which I have only once claimed on a fan in the many DSO's we have supplied.That was a 50mm fan and squealed much noisier than yours.Siglent sent us a new one ASAP to replace it.You now have record of this tick, check it again in a few months.....

author: TomKatt
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2025, 10:13:19 pm
content: Quote from: ollihd on April 17, 2025, 09:45:23 pmOK - I hear what I'd suspect is bearing noise in that recording. Though I'm going to concede that my ears must be getting old because I hear more of a higher pitch vibration than a tick. Either way, I've had fans that make bearing noise and never caused issues and I've had fans that started to make a similar sound and got progressively worse - certainly, I'd be keeping an eye on it. I'm not sure thatIwould go through an RMA process for that (especially as you've got at least a year to make a claim), but I can also appreciate spending money on a new piece of kit and wondering if it's an issue.

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2025, 01:02:52 am
content: It doesn't sound like it's problematic (yet?), but it does sound annoying, and worse than the fan I replaced when I had an SDS2000X Plus. I put a Noctua (NF-A9 FLX) fan in and it was much better.

author: 5U4GB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2025, 05:45:36 am
content: There'sanother thread that goes into fan replacements, as with the previous poster I'd drop in a 60mm Noctua which also includes vibration-isolation bushings and dropper resistors to reduce the speed and noise further, but as per the linked thread I'd avoid warranty-voiding mods unless they're really necessary.

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2025, 02:53:44 pm
content: Hi,Your fan is ok....Here is a short clip. In the last few seconds, when I bring the (presumed) microphone side of the phone to the fan, you can hear this click-click-click sound.This is normal.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QpFerDUav9G4Fl4TE74_9fgTMcqRc7bM/view?usp=sharingMartin

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2025, 03:29:12 pm
content: Quote from: Martin72 on April 18, 2025, 02:53:44 pmIt is, but that doesn't make it less annoying. 😉FWIW, he should check his local warranty laws. In the US, Siglent would have to honor the device warranty even if the fan was replaced by the user. Might be the same there, I dunno. If I had known that at the time, I would have replaced the fan before the warranty ran out.The other option is to turn on something else with a louder fan to drown it out. 😉😉

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2025, 03:51:56 pm
content: QuoteThe first thing to do was to check whether the fan was damaged, which I did.

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2025, 04:05:14 pm
content: Quote from: Martin72 on April 18, 2025, 03:51:56 pmIndeed! I'm not blaming you that they use an annoying fan. 😉😉

author: ollihd
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2025, 04:08:34 pm
content: Quote from: Martin72 on April 18, 2025, 02:53:44 pmThank you so much for testing! Indeed this is the exact same sound that I'm hearing 1:1. Noctua time it is then....

author: ollihd
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2025, 04:10:57 pm
content: Quote from: Martin72 on April 18, 2025, 03:51:56 pmThanks, I will check this. I'm pretty sure I can get a new fan (Noctua) in with it's own connector so in any case I can swap the original fan back in if needed. Warranty sticker is not tamper protected...

author: ollihd
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2025, 09:00:13 pm
content: Quote from: 5U4GB on April 18, 2025, 05:45:36 amThanks for the link. For this model I'm pretty sure the fan size is 92 x 92 x 25. The Noctua NF-A9 FLX seems to be the go to fan for this. It seems like there is a PWM model of the same fan available also, but I'm good with "full speed", that doesn't bother me at all -> it was the ticking/clicking sound that was messing with my brain.

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2025, 09:08:39 pm
content: QuoteI took the fan apart earlier, and it seems like the noise is coming from some kind of reed switch. It's the only component on the circuit board besides the connections for the windings.This is where I started replacing the fan. I chose a Noctua A9:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/siglent-sds2000x-plus-coming/msg3782813/#msg3782813The extra fan control is not necessary; the included resistors are sufficient.

author: ollihd
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2025, 11:24:19 pm
content: Quote from: Martin72 on April 18, 2025, 09:08:39 pmDo you happen to remember what was the RPM of the original fan? / what RPM did you settle for at the end of the day?

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2025, 11:46:44 pm
content: Hi,Second picture of the linked post shows a table....1600 RPM.I didn't measure the RPM on the Noctua.I just made sure that it didn't get too warm.If you reduce the speed (RPM)of a fan of the same size, thereby also reducing the air flow, it will not cool as intended due to the way it works.I would let the Noctua A9 run at full speed and check whether that is already sufficient to reduce the noise level.I did this conversion at the time because I didn't care about losing the warranty.That's because it's void if you open the device and make modifications to it.

author: ollihd
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2025, 01:47:13 pm
content: Quote from: Martin72 on April 18, 2025, 11:46:44 pmOk, thank you for the information.I'm looking at the CFM, and it seems the original fan has a CFM rating of 28 at 1600 RPM. The Noctua NF-A9 FLX can deliver 30 CFM at 1250 RPM (with the Low-Noise Adapter). So even with the Low-Noise Adapter, the Noctua will outperform the stock fan, and without it, the performance is significantly better.

author: ollihd
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2025, 02:43:41 pm
content: Installed the Noctua, and I have to say I’m super pleased with the sound now. The Noctua at full speed is about 2.5 dB louder than the stock fan, but the ticking and clicking are gone — and that’s the main thing.

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2025, 02:53:11 pm
content: Quote from: ollihd on April 26, 2025, 02:43:41 pmNice! I felt exactly the same way when I swapped it out on my 2kX+. The consistent soft noise was much preferred to the weird noises the fan made.IIRC, you're running at a slightly higher CFM than stock, so you could drop the noise slightly if it bothers you.

author: ollihd
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2025, 03:05:52 pm
content: Quote from: KungFuJosh on April 26, 2025, 02:53:11 pmThis I know, but I'm very happy with the sound now

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2025, 07:11:58 pm
content: What I suspect that these clicks are commutation noises. They do not impact the work of the fan (and hard commutation has smaller loses), but can be heard sometimes.Noctua uses soft commutation, so those are gone.