Another Asus RT-N16 Router MOD

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jellybean
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 20 May 2010
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Thu May 20, 2010 6:36    Post subject: Another Asus RT-N16 Router MOD Reply with quote
To start, I have to give credit to this post:
http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=69261

I recently upgraded to the ASUS RT-N16 router to replace my aging WRT54GL. I did a lot of research to find a fairly powerful yet inexpensive 802.11n capable router and decided on the RT-N16. The router does get a little warm, so I installed some additional cooling.

Image I found of what a stock RT-N16 looks like:


Image of the inside after the mod:


Close-up of the board:


Image of the outside after the mod (without antennas):


Parts used:
Green heatsinks (from original mod):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835887017

For the copper heatsinks (did not use fan):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835425007

Arctic Silver Thermal adhesive (to attach copper):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100005

40x40x10mm case fan:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835119049

Additional parts:
wood screws (#6 x 5/8") to mount the fan.
100-Ohm resistor to slow/quiet the fan a little.
A little bit of solder to connect the power leads of the fan to the 12V input.
Sponsor
Main_K
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 11 Jun 2010
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 0:45    Post subject: Antenna Connector? Reply with quote
So which antenna connectors are on the N16 RP-SMA, RP-TNC, or N-Male?
Thanks for the post and links!
DaveK
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 02 Feb 2009
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 1:58    Post subject: 12 volt contacts and resistor. Reply with quote
Jellybean. Could you explain how you mounted the fan - where you connected the leads and what wattage was the resistor. I would like to add a fan to my N16, am reasonably good with soldering, but not so good on figuring out electrical contact and resistor sizes. I tried to enlarge your picture, but still couldn't see it clearly. I have a 12 volt fan from a cpu cooler, but it is very loud. I'd like to cut down the RPM in half. Thanks.
TheEyez81
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 11 Jun 2010
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 2:27    Post subject: Reply with quote
I saw this mod and did the same thing. It is really simple. Just mount the fan on the the top of the case or on the inside of the top case (need to be sure the fan is not so thick). There a couple of things to hold it in place: screw or nut/bolt or glue. Make sure your fan blade can turn if you mount flush against the case (this would depend on the direction of the airflow).
Resistor: just put inline with the power line for the fan.
Power: just solder it to the incoming power for the router - negative on the outside and positive on the inside (middle that look like a single dot)

Suggestion: you can use the 9volt battery to test your airflow direction

This is an example of the power:
___
/ * \ <-- negative
^
|
positive
HardReset
DD-WRT User


Joined: 07 May 2009
Posts: 382

PostPosted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 16:38    Post subject: Re: Antenna Connector? Reply with quote
Main_K wrote:
So which antenna connectors are on the N16 RP-SMA, RP-TNC, or N-Male?
Thanks for the post and links!


rp-sma

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Orbiting234
DD-WRT User


Joined: 22 Feb 2010
Posts: 77

PostPosted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 23:36    Post subject: Reply with quote
Wow, the default heatsink on this thing really is insufficient. So I have removed it and now have a very small chipset heatsink on the gigabit ethernet chip, two small ram heatsinks on the memory, and then put a decently large heatsink (repurposed from an old dead i865 motherboard chipset) onto the router's main SoC. Just barely fits in there too with no space to spare. Drilled a couple more holes through the Asus logo on the top of the case for good measure.

Now, I'm not afraid of adding active cooling to this router, but can I get by without it? Silence is golden after all. Would probably try to get a small 40x40x20mm fan I have laying around running on it if I had to.
Main_K
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 11 Jun 2010
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 21:38    Post subject: Re: 12 volt contacts and resistor. Reply with quote
DaveK wrote:
Jellybean. Could you explain how you mounted the fan - where you connected the leads and what wattage was the resistor. I would like to add a fan to my N16, am reasonably good with soldering, but not so good on figuring out electrical contact and resistor sizes. I tried to enlarge your picture, but still couldn't see it clearly. I have a 12 volt fan from a cpu cooler, but it is very loud. I'd like to cut down the RPM in half. Thanks.

This is on the bottom of the post. I'm not sure which connector is which yet, but TheEyez81's post may help.
jellybean wrote:

Additional parts:
wood screws (#6 x 5/8") to mount the fan.
100-Ohm resistor to slow/quiet the fan a little.
A little bit of solder to connect the power leads of the fan to the 12V input.

TheEyez81 wrote:
I saw this mod and did the same thing. It is really simple. Just mount the fan on the the top of the case or on the inside of the top case (need to be sure the fan is not so thick). There a couple of things to hold it in place: screw or nut/bolt or glue. Make sure your fan blade can turn if you mount flush against the case (this would depend on the direction of the airflow).
Resistor: just put inline with the power line for the fan.
Power: just solder it to the incoming power for the router - negative on the outside and positive on the inside (middle that look like a single dot)

Suggestion: you can use the 9volt battery to test your airflow direction

This is an example of the power:
___
/ * \ <-- negative
^
|
positive

I just ordered my N16, fan, bridge sinks, etc.. but I'm getting these copper sinks to match the copper bridge sinks instead of the green sinks.
PS Thanks HardReset for the antenna info.
jellybean
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 20 May 2010
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 6:29    Post subject: Reply with quote
To cut the RPM of the fan in half, you'll probably need a 180-Ohm resistor. 100 takes it to about 2/3 of the stock speed which to me is barely audible in a quiet room at 5 feet.
Main_K
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 11 Jun 2010
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 3:45    Post subject: Reply with quote
Here are my pics so far.


Here is the power polarization.

This is how I soldered my fan wires on.

All wired up & running!

I still need to add a 100-Ohm resistor to quiet down the fan a bit.
Wolf Kodi
DD-WRT User


Joined: 13 Jun 2010
Posts: 126

PostPosted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 21:04    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice mod, how much did you pay for your ASUS RT-N16? What's the current price in USD?
KnightUSN
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 26 Oct 2010
Posts: 2
Location: New Orleans

PostPosted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 21:37    Post subject: Reply with quote
I'm new to DD-WRT(Not new to Networking) and I've decided to take this on as my first DIY Router Project. I've had to change a few things due to product availability.

Small HeatSinks - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835708012
Large HeatSinks - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835425008
3x 9dbi Antenna - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833999015

My only concern is that the small heatsinks are 4mm taller than the other ones used by Main-K.

I will let You guys know if it fits and provide more pictures. Any more information and tips also product longevity after doing these mods would be greatly appreciated.
KnightUSN
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 26 Oct 2010
Posts: 2
Location: New Orleans

PostPosted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 15:18    Post subject: Reply with quote
Well I've got pictures and a broken rt-n16...

Removing the stock heat sink also removed some the processor pins causing the wireless to not work and shotty dd-wrt navigation that eventually lead to a brick and then no power or lights at all however the fan worked. Everything else fits just fine.

Got another one from Newegg for 65$ open box and it works just fine on 15508 big. Before I attempt this mod again I need more info on how to remove the stock heatsink safely.

Also I noticed the fan did not necessarily need the 100ohm resistor and was pretty quiet with out it.

With the 2 9 DBI antennas I have solid coverage both inside and outside the 2200sq-ft house. The router is wall mounted next to the Attic and the antennas are strung through the ceiling and placed on opposite ends of the attic as far as they could stretch. I may need to get a cable extension for the antennas.

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aztec
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 03 Jun 2007
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:50    Post subject: Reply with quote
Just curious...but what are temps like without the fan, and just the additonal heatsinks?

This is a simple enough mod, but I don't think I want to install a fan, and as I have some pretty good northbridge heatsinks I can use.

Thanks!
NiHaoMike
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 29 Dec 2010
Posts: 17
Location: Texas

PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:54    Post subject: Reply with quote
I did a very similar mod on a Belkin F5D7230-4. On my new Asus RT-N12, I just added a thermal pad and aluminum shim to bridge the gap between the stock "heatsink" and the CPU. Unlike the Belkin, the Asus is ventilated quite well. I'm trying to avoid adding heatsinks that stick high off the board so I can have more room for other mods like an internal battery pack or a 433MHz low speed transceiver.
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I want my router to perform well and look attractive. My best friend Tiffany Yep is a model and a digital communications engineer. Inspiration from nature?
richardtaur
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 27 Feb 2011
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 21:17    Post subject: This my RT-N16 with two fans Reply with quote
I have added two fans to my RT-N16. One on the left is to suck the air in, and one on the right is to suck the air out.

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