# USBBlox running hot **URL:** \ **Category:** BotBlox Hardware\ **Tags:** usbblox\ **Created:** [October 7, 2024, 7:15pm UTC](https://forum.botblox.org/t/usbblox-running-hot/325 "2024-10-07T19:15:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![peci1](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.botblox.org/peci1/32/32_2.png) [@peci1](https://forum.botblox.org/u/peci1)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2024, 7:15pm UTC](https://forum.botblox.org/t/usbblox-running-hot/325/1 "2024-10-07T19:15:50Z")
We got our USBBlox units and I’ve started testing them. I’ve noticed it is running relatively hot for a gigabit USB Ethernet even at room temperature (it is too hot to hold my finger on it after a while). Is some additional cooling recommended? NB: the forum requires a tag for this post, but there is no usbblox tag. ---
**Author:** ![josh\_elijah](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.botblox.org/josh_elijah/32/568_2.png) [@josh\_elijah](https://forum.botblox.org/u/josh_elijah)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2024, 7:24pm UTC](https://forum.botblox.org/t/usbblox-running-hot/325/2 "2024-10-07T19:24:26Z")
Hmm, we didn’t notice excess heat in our tests (at least, not enough to hurt a finger). Do they all act like this? And which part is hot? ---
**Author:** ![peci1](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.botblox.org/peci1/32/32_2.png) [@peci1](https://forum.botblox.org/u/peci1)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2024, 8:17am UTC](https://forum.botblox.org/t/usbblox-running-hot/325/3 "2024-10-08T08:17:23Z")
Both units we got behave the same. It seems to me the heat source is on the bottom side, somewhere in the middle. Here are some photos (check timestamps; the heating up is quite fast): [https://photos.app.goo.gl/YuNd59zSRhXnmxCd9](https://photos.app.goo.gl/YuNd59zSRhXnmxCd9) . This seems to be a steady state (75 °C): ![FLIR_20241008_100625_104](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/uploads/botblox1/original/1X/75959786f516054da877fb78d4697f1daf92f4d8.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![josh\_elijah](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.botblox.org/josh_elijah/32/568_2.png) [@josh\_elijah](https://forum.botblox.org/u/josh_elijah)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://forum.botblox.org/t/usbblox-running-hot/325/4 "2024-10-08T17:59:49Z")
Hm, yeah that’s a bit hotter than what I recall seeing. Unfortunately I’m out of the lab for a few weeks, so I’ll have to park replicating this in the mean time. I would expect that we may either improve the heatsink on the top, or possible have it extend to the bottom. The chip is rated to 85C, so 75C is pretty high. In any case, I think we’ll need to circle back to this in around 1 month. ---
**Author:** ![peci1](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.botblox.org/peci1/32/32_2.png) [@peci1](https://forum.botblox.org/u/peci1)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 8:18am UTC](https://forum.botblox.org/t/usbblox-running-hot/325/5 "2024-10-09T08:18:17Z")
It’s okay to wait for us, we don’t need to integrate it anytime soon. As I said, it seemed to me the hottest place is on the bottom part (the one without connectors), where I guess is the power stage. ---
**Author:** ![peci1](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.botblox.org/peci1/32/32_2.png) [@peci1](https://forum.botblox.org/u/peci1)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 12:10pm UTC](https://forum.botblox.org/t/usbblox-running-hot/325/6 "2024-11-20T12:10:18Z")
@josh_elijah Will you be able to verify this issue? ---
**Author:** ![josh\_elijah](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.botblox.org/josh_elijah/32/568_2.png) [@josh\_elijah](https://forum.botblox.org/u/josh_elijah)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 6:17pm UTC](https://forum.botblox.org/t/usbblox-running-hot/325/7 "2024-11-20T18:17:41Z")
Apologies for the delay on this one. I’ll arrange a test on this this week so I can get a baseline measurement. ---
**Author:** ![josh\_elijah](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.botblox.org/josh_elijah/32/568_2.png) [@josh\_elijah](https://forum.botblox.org/u/josh_elijah)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 4:04pm UTC](https://forum.botblox.org/t/usbblox-running-hot/325/8 "2024-11-27T16:04:47Z")
Haven’t forgotten about this. It’ll need to wait until 10 December when I’m back in my lab with my thermal imager ---
**Author:** ![josh\_elijah](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.botblox.org/josh_elijah/32/568_2.png) [@josh\_elijah](https://forum.botblox.org/u/josh_elijah)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://forum.botblox.org/t/usbblox-running-hot/325/9 "2024-12-22T18:53:59Z")
Finally got a chance to verify this. Looks like it matches what you see. I think this is probably unavoidable with the small size of the unit. We’ve tested the device up to 85C ambient without issues. ![00105E](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/uploads/botblox1/original/1X/7973cc1ba4a31cadb326b50d1881b69638640f51.jpeg) ![00106E](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/uploads/botblox1/original/1X/7291040f2418d9dd89d93d88adb8f41ffb1d06cb.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![peci1](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.botblox.org/peci1/32/32_2.png) [@peci1](https://forum.botblox.org/u/peci1)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2024, 9:08pm UTC](https://forum.botblox.org/t/usbblox-running-hot/325/10 "2024-12-23T21:08:42Z")
Ok, thanks for testing! At least I know our units aren’t broken. I think we’ll still rather add a small heatsink, but it’s good to know high temps are not a problem. ---
**Author:** ![josh\_elijah](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/forum.botblox.org/josh_elijah/32/568_2.png) [@josh\_elijah](https://forum.botblox.org/u/josh_elijah)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 12:19pm UTC](https://forum.botblox.org/t/usbblox-running-hot/325/11 "2024-12-24T12:19:42Z")
I think we’ll add this to the datasheet along with a suggested heatsink. There’s that big metal shield on it that will serve well as a mounting point for the heatsink.