After a long 2.5 hour mission in DCS with my squad and 8KX, I found my glasses and lenses on the verge of fogging and my face was very warm. I know there are fan mods out there that blow air around your forehead but they do not provide airflow inside. I have been flying FPV RC for many years now and my Fatshark FPV goggles have a nice little fan the gently flows air inside the goggles for those warm, outside flights. They work very well and are very quiet.
So I started looking for a way to provide the same type of airflow to my 8KX and found the comfort kit faceplate has a little vent that was taped up (for light leaks I guess). I tried to get the same fans that the Fatshark goggles had but could not find replacements but found something close on Amazon. Little 20mm fans that use up to 5 volts (5 volt max!) so I ordered them along with a side type fan. I ended up throwing together a 3D printed design that would fit in my DAS and flow air through the little vent. I cut out the vent opening and used a single cell lipo (3.7 volts) to test it out. It seems to work very well so far with a very gentle airflow over the lenses and out the foam cut outs for the glasses. You can barely hear it and it is all very light. My next step is I ordered the FatShark replacement On/Off switch and I will pull power (5 volts) from the USB C connector on the bottom. I will let you know how it goes on the next long mission which will be the true test;
Hey, that is nice. I was thinking something like this would help more than the fans I stuck on top of the headset, didn’t realize there was a vent there!
Let me know how well it works. Some 40mm fans might be quieter and much higher airflow if needed.
You need the comfort mod with this snorkel fan as it has the space and the vent slot to cut out
You need the DAS top adaptor that is expended with peg. You need this to get the strap out of the way and provide room for the snorkel to fit and make it to the slot.
You can power the fan with a modified USB C connector if you like. I have been an RC-FPV guy for many years and I spot weld my own eBike batteries so I am currently powering the fan with 18650 lipo cell(s). A single cell gives about 3.7 volts and it run fine on that but I have also used a BEC to down step to 5 volts and of course, the fan provides a bit more rpm at 5 volts. I installed a push button switch to turn it on and off. I also use counter weights on the back and replaced one of them with a two cell 18650 pack fitted with the BEC. These fans run at about .2 watts (40mh) so it will run for many hours depends on your cell size.
*You need to cut a slot in the comfort mod vent to fit the base of the snorkel into. That is about 12mmx8mm.
So far this is just enough for those long missions. Outside airflow is still nice on warm days but the inside airflow makes the difference and I have not seen any fogging so far. I tried a 5 volt side type fan that provided much for airflow but it was noisier. This fan I can barely hear at all. Of course you can try other fans out and let me know.
I am sure there are others here that can do a better job so I included the Fusion360 file in the Thingiverse file set here;
I did try this fan, it puts out much more air and it fits nicely with this little printed piece but it is a bit noisy at full voltage. One could put a voltage regulator on it.
Just FYI, after measuring the current used by the fan, it is usually possible to estimate a simple resistor to use to achieve the desired voltage drop. Tiny multi-way switches are available from Amazon as well.
Agreed - I had this tiny BEC from some old RC stuff that works nicely and I have lots of 18650s and charging stations for my FPV gear. The BEC will keep the voltage constant but you want to put that after the switch so there is no undesired draw.
So I am not at home but the end of the snorkel has about 2mm long end that pushes through the hole. If you cut it correctly it will be a tight fit. I then just used a little thin foam tape on the bottom of the snorkel to attach it to the top of the modified strap pin. I should do a little vid I think . . .
I have a small 20mm 5v 0.15w fan now and the snorkel should be delivered tomorrow.
I also have a USB to 3 pin fan adapter but have no idea how to attach the micro two pin interface on the 20mm fin to the larger 3 pin fan connector yet.
Edit: solved the fan to USB dilemma by frankensteining a Chilldex controller. Next challenge will be attaching the snorkel to the CK (any widening/cutting of the inhale hole required?) and giving the assembly a shot.
The middle wire on the fan is for monitoring sensor, not required. Only needs DC power. I fixed mine up with a single cell Lipo - it ran for 24 hours on a 550 mh battery LOL.
I had to cut a hole 8mmx12mm starting at the slots and to the edge of the vertical front. Look at the pic of the hole at the top. I just used an exacto knife.
