I first noticed the radio getting warm after being in the SVA (turned on and working) the other day.
On some occasions the radio body was almost too hot to touch. The battery was barely warm.
Other than this heat issue everything works fine: transmit and receive are excellent.
Is this normal? Do I need to provide more airflow around the SVA (it's currently laying under the driver's seat)?
I know the Saber is one tough radio but sitting in a high-temp environment all the time can't be good for it!
Thanks!
Saber in SVA getting warm
Moderator: Queue Moderator
You need to supply a clean flow of air to the top and bottom of the SVA, the regulation transistors are clipped to the heatsink under the cover and require both sides to have free air movement, or install a tiny 12V fan inside the case to provide the air movement.
Those transistors are the charge regulators and develop a lot of heat while the radio is in the unit, not to mention the main bord on the lower half of the case as well, which controls the radio's functions under the SVA's 'control' which is the display mic, charger, receive audio and switching of radio functions.
The control processor is located on the main board, and like all electronic devices, if you fail to keep air circulating, you'll soon let the smoke out.
If you add long feet to the SVA case, and there is enough space above and below, you should be okay then. I would suggest a minimum of 2" of space below the case just to be safe, the same or more above the unit.
Since the SVA is convection cooled, you must keep some free space above and below....sorry for the redundancy, I can't stress proper cooling enough..
Those transistors are the charge regulators and develop a lot of heat while the radio is in the unit, not to mention the main bord on the lower half of the case as well, which controls the radio's functions under the SVA's 'control' which is the display mic, charger, receive audio and switching of radio functions.
The control processor is located on the main board, and like all electronic devices, if you fail to keep air circulating, you'll soon let the smoke out.
If you add long feet to the SVA case, and there is enough space above and below, you should be okay then. I would suggest a minimum of 2" of space below the case just to be safe, the same or more above the unit.
Since the SVA is convection cooled, you must keep some free space above and below....sorry for the redundancy, I can't stress proper cooling enough..
Thanks for the info!
I've moved the SVA to a new, more open location (than under the seat) and am using the real SVA mounting bracket. Installing a little 12v muffin fan is a actually a really good idea and will be the next thing I do.
Speaking of which, does the mounting bracket offer much heatsinking? Some of the hammy mobiles I own use the extra metal to help cool things down.
I've moved the SVA to a new, more open location (than under the seat) and am using the real SVA mounting bracket. Installing a little 12v muffin fan is a actually a really good idea and will be the next thing I do.
Speaking of which, does the mounting bracket offer much heatsinking? Some of the hammy mobiles I own use the extra metal to help cool things down.
Sorry, no...they are of no use at removing heat from the unit.
But I do give thumbs up for the heatsink design of the SVA, it's rather large and provides a fairly large surface to draw heat away.
Time to raid the old computer power supplies for the fans!
Best best is to mount those fans through rubber grommets to keep that buzzing sound from giving you a headache.
But I do give thumbs up for the heatsink design of the SVA, it's rather large and provides a fairly large surface to draw heat away.
Time to raid the old computer power supplies for the fans!
Best best is to mount those fans through rubber grommets to keep that buzzing sound from giving you a headache.
The car is loud enough as it so I may not even hear a buzzing fan! 
Tried it again this past weekend (3 hour road trip) and while the SVA box itself was barely warm the Saber was downright hot to the touch, particularly along the antenna side of the body and the bottom battery mounting plate.
I barely transmitted with it. The battery itself wasn't warm at all.
Interestingly, standing alone on a table the Saber runs as cool as a cucumber.
I have to wonder if the enclosed area around the radio stops all airflow and whatever heat is generated by the radio and the SVA simply magnifies over time since it has nowhere to go?
Maybe I'll put the fan on the front on top of the Saber.
Tried it again this past weekend (3 hour road trip) and while the SVA box itself was barely warm the Saber was downright hot to the touch, particularly along the antenna side of the body and the bottom battery mounting plate.
I barely transmitted with it. The battery itself wasn't warm at all.
Interestingly, standing alone on a table the Saber runs as cool as a cucumber.
I have to wonder if the enclosed area around the radio stops all airflow and whatever heat is generated by the radio and the SVA simply magnifies over time since it has nowhere to go?
Maybe I'll put the fan on the front on top of the Saber.