looking for a cheap device that will turn a fan on with a harmony one

[mloew1]

I am looking for a cheap remote controlled device that will turn my equipment cooling fan on with my harmony one remote control. I would like to add this command when ever my amp or sat box is on. I would think it would have to be remote controlled for the harmony to be able to learn the code. I would just plug it into an aux powered AC outlet on my equipment but they do not have any. Right now I have a pretty good sized fan running 24/7, it exhausts into my garage and I am sure I am losing lots of heat and air conditioning when I am not using any of my equipment. Any ideas?

 

[Adam]

Hi. There was a thread with a similar question here. In that thread, I recommended using an autoswitching power strip such as this one (which is adjustable so that you can tweak it based on the standby power draw of your receiver).

That's not something that is activated by your remote control, but it might have the same end effect that you want.

 

[mloew1]

Thanks for the help, but I don't think that would work for me, because the two hottest items in my rack require to be in a standby mode, If I cut the power say to my Sat receiver it takes 10-20 minutes to reacquire all the info it needs, my amp also runs in standby.

 

[sholling]

There are RF controlled power strips but the Harmony can't do anything with them. What I did for an enclosed cabinet was use 120mm computer case fans and controlled them with a temperature sensitive fan controller. It's not what you asked for but maybe it'll do the job. I like the low voltage solution because there are no worries about a fan bearing failure causing a 120v fan to seize up and catch fire. The ones that I chose were super quiet for a bedroom system but Newegg has a great selection of case fans from quiet to high volume. The controllers come in fixed (on at 87° and off at 80°) or programmable.

Coolerguys' Kits

Fan Controllers and Power Supplies

 

[tattoo_Dan]

I am looking for a cheap remote controlled device that will turn my equipment cooling fan on with my harmony one remote control. I would like to add this command when ever my amp or sat box is on. I would think it would have to be remote controlled for the harmony to be able to learn the code. I would just plug it into an aux powered AC outlet on my equipment but they do not have any. Right now I have a pretty good sized fan running 24/7, it exhausts into my garage and I am sure I am losing lots of heat and air conditioning when I am not using any of my equipment. Any ideas?

I use this for a couple fans inside the house,and I use one outside for my pond pump,they work really great

Indoor/Outdoor Remote Plug-RC-009A-1 at The Home Depot

 

[Damn Noise!]

I second the "Coolerguys.com" set-up, I just installed it in the back of my cabinet and works great.
Super quiet and turn on when getting warm and off when cooled down.
Good luck!

 

[mloew1]

I use this for a couple fans inside the house,and I use one outside for my pond pump,they work really great

Indoor/Outdoor Remote Plug-RC-009A-1 at The Home Depot

Thanks guys, Dan that is exactly what I was looking for, now I only need to find out if the Harmony one can learn the code from that device. I had basically the same type device that was made for my garage door opener, it would allow you to turn extra lights on with your garage door remote, LOL I tried to get my harmony one to learn the code but it was a no-go. And yes sholling I use a 12v DC brush less fan from Radio- Shack with a ac-dc converter. Also after I just fixed my Onkyo amp I made some extension legs to raise it about 5'' from the other equipment. It seems to have helped the heat issues. When my equipment is in standby it produces little to no heat. But when I am using it, it gets warm, I shot the exhaust yesterday with my digital infrared heat gun, it was about 100 degrees.

 

[GlocksRock]

I just bought this to use to control a rope ligiht via my harmony one. It works great, and was very inexpensive. If the device above use RF then the harmony one won't work with it, and the device I linked to can be programmed with any IR command that you want, so just program the harmony one with a button from any remote and you are good to go.

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

 

[mloew1]

Perfect, I will try that. Thanks again everyone for your help. Mike