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Description
When Raspberry Pi 4's system on chip (SoC) achieves a certain temperature, it lowers its operating speed to protect itself from harm. As a result, you don't get maximum performance from the single board computer.
Fan SHIM is an affordable accessory that effectively eliminates thermal throttling and boosts the performance of RPi 4.
It's quite easy to attach the fan SHIM to Raspberry pi: fan SHIM uses a friction-fit header, so it just slips onto your Pi's pins and it's ready to go, no soldering required!
The fan can be controlled in software, so you can adjust it to your needs, for example, toggle it on when the CPU reaches a certain temperature etc.
You can also program the LED as a visual indicator of the fan status.
The tactile switch can also be programmed, so you can use it to toggle the fan on or off, or to switch between temperature-triggered or manual mode.
Features
- 30 mm 5 V DC fan
- 4,200 RPM
- 0.05 m³/min air flow
- 18.6 dB acoustic noise (whisper-quiet)
- Friction-fit header
- No soldering required
- RGB LED (APA102)
- Tactile switch
- Basic assembly required
- Compatible with Raspberry Pi 4 (and 3B+, 3A+)
- Python library and daemon
- Pinout
Scope of delivery
- Fan SHIM PCB
- 30 mm 5 V DC fan with JST connector
- M2.5 nuts and bolts
Assembly
The assembly is really simple and almost takes no time
- With the component side of the PCB facing upwards, push the two M2.5 bolts through the holes from below, then screw on the first pair of nuts to secure them and act as spacers.
- Push the fan's mounting holes down onto the bolts, with the cable side of the fan downwards (as pictured) and the text on the fan upwards. Attach with another two nuts.
- Push the fan's JST connector into the socket on Fan SHIM.
Software
With the help of Python library you can control the fan (on/off), RGB LED, and switch. You'll also find a number of examples that demonstrate each feature, as well as a script to install a daemon (a computer program that runs as a background process) that runs the fan in automatic mode, triggering it on or off when the CPU reaches a threshold temperature, with a manual override via the tactile switch.
