Installation

Installation requires some basic tools. A drill, 3/8" and 1/4" bits, a small (1/8") flathead screwdriver, a wire stripper, a 7/16" wrench or socket and the included small allen wrench are needed. You'll also need a drive bay cover from your case. ;) Oh yeah... and safety glasses wouldn't be a bad idea either!

The drilling template makes things easy.

Ready to be stuck onto a PC-61 faceplate.

For Lian-Li owners, make sure the template is oriented correctly. (Arrow tells which way is up.)

The included drilling template is pretty self-explanatory. There are two pieces of double-sided tape on it, and all you need to do is peel off the cover and stick the template on your faceplate, making sure of course that it is aligned properly. The rheostats' holes require a 3/8" bit while the LED holes need a 1/4" bit. You may want to make a small mark in the center of the template holes so that you start drilling dead center and not off to the side a little. I chose to install this unit in the LL-61 Warrior (based on the PC-61) because the Lian-Li faceplates seem to work well with these kits, and because the faceplate is attached to the chassis of the case, not the removable bezel.

Ready for drilling!

Drilling done...

... and ready for installation.

The Rheobus looks for its new home...

... and finds it in a PC61 faceplate.

The knob skirts conceal the unsightly nuts and washers.

With the use of the template and a proper drill, the process shouldn't take too long; it was only about a 10-15min ordeal for me, and should be less if you're drilling a plastic faceplate. Once you're done drilling, you can put the 4 LED clips into their holes in the faceplate. (They are 1-piece clips.) Then slide the Rheobus v2.0 in from the back, making sure everything's aligned correctly. The LEDs are already bent, so you don't need to worry about breaking the terminals. Just snap the LEDs into place in their clips. Slide the washers into place, and then screw down the nuts to hold the Rheobus in place using a 7/16" socket. You can screw them down finger-tight, but I really don't like that. Just make sure you don't over-tighten anything if you're using a socket wrench. The knobs can then be installed onto the rheostat poles by putting them into place and then tightening them with the included allen wrench. Before you do this, you'll probably want to turn all the rheostats down to the position where the voltage is the lowest. To do this, simply turn all the knobs all the way counter-clockwise. (Turning the knobs all the way clockwise set the voltage to its highest value.) Now, if you install all the knobs with the same orientation you'll have an idea where each is set to in the future by looking at it. Again, a dial or mark on the front of the knobs would help with this. Also, one side of the rheostat pole is flattened, so this is where you'll want the knob's screw to tighten down on. One thing that is nice about these knobs is that they are skirted, so they cover up the washer and nut, giving the unit a better appearance from the front when installed.

Testing

For testing this unit, I hooked up the following fans:

• Terminal 1: 1 x 80mm Panaflo H1A 3w
• Terminal 2: 1 x 80mm Panaflo H1A 3w
• Terminal 3: 1 x 120mm Sunon 6.8w
• Terminal 4: 2 x 80mm Sunon 2w

Here is where you'll have to use the flathead screwdriver to secure the fan's wires to the spring-loaded terminals. Before you do that, you'll have to use a wire stripper to remove a little bit of insulation from the fans wires, and you may want to use a soldering gun to tin the ends of the wires especially if they're stranded. The screw-down terminals secure the wires quite well, and I have had no worries about loose connections.

Terminals hold wires securely.

Full power to the fans!

Finally in place.

I found that with the Rheobus v2.0, the voltage at the minimum setting without any fans connected was about +5v, and this minimum voltage dropped depending on how heavy a load was placed on the circuit. This was tested with a PSU that had +12v line reading of +10.5v, so keep that in mind. I had no problems with excessive heat, but it is normal for the heatsinks to get a little warm when you've set the rheostats to their minimum with a fan that has a large wattage connected to the circuit. One other thing to note is that different fans have different start up voltages. Once the fan has started to turn however, a voltage that is less than the start up voltage may only be needed to maintain revolution. So you may have to turn up the rheostat quite a bit to get the fan started, but you can then turn it down more and still have the fan maintain motion for a quieter environment. It's probably best to test this out with your fans just to get an idea. One other nice thing I noted was that the rheostat poles have a "spring" to them so that you can tell when they are exactly at the halfway mark. I found this half-way mark to be excellent for the 80mm Panaflo "H1A" (one on a terminal), as I think it made them about as effective (and as quiet) as 80mm Panaflo "L1A"'s.

Conclusion

I personally loved the Rheobus v2.0. Having gone through the effort to make several of my own baybus and fanbus devices, it was nice to see a professionally put-together kit that was easily installed and that worked well. If you have a lot of fans in your case and can't seem to bare the noise any more, I suggest you take a look at this kit, as variable-speed fan control is often desirable over switched-fan control. Minimal installation work is required, so even if you haven't done any case modding, this should be a cinch. Although I didn't go into detail about the manual, it's very easy to understand, so there's little to worry about in that department. About the only thing I didn't like about this kit was the fact that you'll have to remove it every time you want to hook up new fans or change fans, as the terminals are located right at the back of the PCB. A minor complaint, but one that could be an annoyance. The price may seem steep, at $89.99 CDN as of 2002-08-27, but from the amount of money and time I've spent on my own rheostats project, it may be well worth it. And, keep in mind that this baby can handle 17w per channel!

Pros

• Can handle 17w per channel!
• Easy to install; detailed manual
• Terminals securely hold fan wires
• Decently priced for what you get
• Allen wrench needed for knob installation is included
• Socketed LEDs give user a choice in colour
• Looks sweet :)

Cons

• Price may be steep for some
• Fan hookup requires unit removal

Lastly, I'd like to thank Lux Design, a Canadian retailer, for providing the review unit so quickly. Be sure to check out their online store if you're interesting in this, or other case modding parts, as they have a wide selection of items. Thanks!

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