Jetson Nano Fan

Autonomous Machines Jetson & Embedded Systems Jetson Nano
1

I usually use my nano on max power mode just so things run smoothly, don’t care about saving power at the moment, so I got the Noctura fan that Nvidia says will work with it and would like to turn it on full speed but looking at other threads the commands used for the tegra txt/tx2 dont work for the nano, says directory not found :( Anyone know how to toggle fan speed on the nano?

1 Like
2

hello!

I try to turn on cooling fan too… , and I found it!

https://docs.nvidia.com/jetson/l4t/index.html#page/Tegra%20Linux%20Driver%20Package%20Development%20Guide/power_management_nano.html#wwpID0E6HA

Maximizing Tegra Performance

command execution

sudo /usr/bin/jetson_clocks

I don’t know detail, but cooling fan turned on lol

2 Likes
3

I read this script.

ON :
sudo sh -c ‘echo 255 > /sys/devices/pwm-fan/target_pwm’

OFF :
sudo sh -c ‘echo 0 > /sys/devices/pwm-fan/target_pwm’
(slowly turned off)

8 Likes
4

@mahsand thank you! Now how to create a .txt file on the desktop so I can save that command aha seems like you are unable to do so by right clicking…

5

wow just ran into exactly the same problem.
thought I had some hardware problem but luckily I found this thread.
thank you guys :)

now I’m just wondering whether there is any kind of temp control settings.

6

Can the jetson nano run 12V 4 pin fan or does it require 5v only?

7

It supplies 5V, so it requires 5V fan.

Recommended is the Noctua NF-A4x20 5V PWM.

8

I am using the 10mm Noctua 5v fan (NF-A4x10-5v-PWM). It has a nicer profile. For attachment, the Everbilt M3-0.5x16MM screws worked well. You could go 13mm since the screws press against a fin slightly when fully tightened, but doesn’t cause issues. You can get it at Home Depot (887480031980)

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-M3-0-5-x-16-mm-Zinc-Metric-Socket-Cap-Screw-3-Piece-803198/204373303

1 Like
9

I’m using a Noctua NF-A4x20 5V PWM

40x20mm Premium Fan.

Once I found this thread it works great thanks :-)

10

So I created a script following these instructions:

1. Create a text file using gedit and name the file fancontrol

      #!/bin/bash

      /usr/bin/jetson_clocks

   
2. Using chmod u+x scriptname make the script executable. (where scriptname is the name of your script)
   
3. Place the script under /usr/local/bin folder.
   
4. Run the script using just the name of the script.

My Question?

How do I get the script to run during system startup?

11

It will run 12v fans, just slowly. in fact in a lot of pc build, you would supply 9v/7v/5v to slow down a static speed fan to make it less noisy as long as airflow still works. but yah i checked several 12v fan, most of them works with enough airflow.

12

@andie - yes, you can.

13

Thanks Koosdupreez,

I’ll give it a shot.

Andy

14

Andy,
Although /etc/rc.local (a during boot script) no longer exists in Ubuntu 18.04+ If you do create the rc.local file, it will honor it and run as the last script during boot.

$ cat /etc/rc.local

#!/bin/bash
sleep 10
sudo /usr/bin/jetson_clocks
sudo sh -c 'echo 255 > /sys/devices/pwm-fan/target_pwm'

Those are the two easy ways to run a script at boot.

D

15

rc.local

Thanks defied, that’s what I was looking for…

Andy

16

Thank you for this thread, has helped me a lot.

I am running the Noctua NF-A4x20 5V PWM as recommended, and have been able to successfully run the commands to start and stop as per above.

My issue is that the fans appear to ‘twitch’ upon start up, and only kick into full spin with the help of a gentle push with a pen.

Is this closer to a hardware problem or possible not enough power?

I have a samsung 500gb ext hd, keyboard, mouse, raspberry pi 2 camera attached.

17

Can you verify on the physical fan it lists 5 volts and not 12?

I’ve got a 12 volt that does this. Just got my 5vdc on today, so I’ll see if it happens.

You do have a lot of accessories. Is the hard drive powered by the Nano?

D

18

you are 100% right, it is 12v. d’oh! IDK how I bought a 2nd 12v fan from Amazon, had already bought one of the 4x10 and thought i had bought the 4x20 5v… i feel like a muppet… thank you and apologies!

to your question, yes the hd is powered by the nano, but i haven’t set it up yet, just plugged in… noob here.

19

I just take old 12V/0.1A/40mm fan with 2 wires and connect it to to 3.3V and GND on GPIO (pin 1 & 6) - it’s rotating very slow and quiet, but decrease CPU temperature on full load from +68C to something like +54C (air temperature around +23-+25C).

Also make a test with 5.0V(pin 2) with same fan - get less than +45C, but can slight hear some noise.

Maybe not a good long-term solution, but as temporary is good enough.

PS: temperature values from jtop during compilation

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Shouldn’t cause any damage to the system, but you won’t get the fan speeds you want when you put the Nano to work. I just got back to my nano and am swapping the fan out.