Introduction

The microbus is a fanbus-type device, except it is a much smaller iteration of such a device. The fanbus was invented by Mr. Cliff Anderson over at Fanbus.com, and if you have not heard of such a device... well, you'll be hearing about it now :) A fanbus is basically a device that will allow you to centralize your wiring of your fans, cleaning up the mess of wires in your case. Also, you'll be able to power all of your fans from just one molex connector, rather than having to use all the pass-thru connectors of fans. The microbus provides 4 separate circuits, each rated for 15 amps. You'd have to put a lot of fans on one circuit to exceed that rating!

The Microbus and Y-splitter.

It's *very* small!

Installation

For $28.99 CDN, you get the microbus, a Y-splitter so you don't lose any drive power connectors, and the velcro backing strip for attachment to almost any place in your case. Installation is simple. As you can see in the second pic, the terminals are clearly labelled 12V+ and GND for ground. All one has to do is insert the bare wire leads from one's fans into the terminals, and then secure them by tightening the screws on the terminals. While I prefer the spring-type speaker terminals, some may prefer the screw-down method because it possibly secures the wires better. Note that if your fans have connectors on them, you'll have to cut off these connectors and remove (strip back) a little insulation from the wires if you want to use them with the microbus. You can then mount the microbus by sticking the velcro backing strip at a place you wish to have the microbus at, and then sticking the microbus to that. If you don't wish to use the velcro, 4 mounting holes for screws are in the microbus, but you'll have to provide your own standoffs so the surface the microbus is attached to won't have the potential to short out circuits on the microbus.

Wires hooked up and ready to go.

One thing I did note was that it was somewhat more difficult to remove the molex connector from the microbus than from other devices. This wasn't much of a problem when used with the Y-splitter because then you can detach the Y-splitter from the PSU connectors and take the whole microbus out without removing any connectors from the microbus itself. However, if you hooked it up directly to a connector from your PSU, you'd be good to give yourself some room or slack to get a good grip to properly remove the connector should you have to in the future. That is my only caveat about the microbus, albeit a minor one.

You can barely see it here... (due in part to my crappy camera :( )

But here's a more direct view.

This is where I mounted the microbus, directly under the last external 5.25" drive bay in my case. With its small size, the microbus can go almost anywhere in your case, out-of-sight, as long as the wires from your fans can reach it! The small size can potentially reduce clutter in your case, and won't get in the way as much as a regular-sized fanbus would.

Conclusion

Pros

• Small-size

• Relatively Easy installation

• Can potentially reduce clutter and increase airflow

Cons

• Connector a little tight

Having said that, overall I liked the microbus. A good implementation of a good idea. However, if you already have a fanbus-type device, I wouldn't throw it out to buy a microbus, as I don't think that would be justified. For people without a fanbus though, or those looking for a unique product the microbus is a great investment. Get yours over at Tweakbox!