Banana Pi R3 Mini Issues

[SuperKali]

Hello everyone,

I’m opening this topic to report the current issues to @sinovoip .

Please list the problems here so they can verify and improve the product.

Here are some examples I have noticed:

1. The case should be redesigned to reduce the temperatures of both the Banana Pi R3 Mini and a potential 5G module.
2. The M.2 Key B slot has some issues—for example, certain modules stop being detected (such as the Fibocom FM160).
3. After normal use of the board, some components stop working due to excessive heat generated between the board and the 5G module.

Please add any other issues you’ve encountered and provide detailed descriptions.

Thanks, SuperKali

[Sam_RM502Q-AE]

Hello, I’ve been testing for some time the BPI-R3 mini, and I found some relevant issues regarding the thermal management of the board itself alongside the M.2 module.

1. There is not enough space to put any kind of good heatsink (2mm aluminum ones painted in fake copper don’t count)

2. The tiny fan is very loud: when using the BPI in a simple upload session to synchronize some files with my personal drive (with temps reaching 80C while the fan is screaming loudly at 100% speed)

3. The bottom rubber pads are causing more harm than good, because by removing them and letting the bottom surface in contact with any kind of material other than just air you can greatly improve thermal dissipation (-20 C delta on average) by letting the case in contact with other surfaces (e.g. wooden table, travertine wall shelf, or even better: metal surface)

Since I use this board at my dorm room, I had to solve the fan noise issue first. I tried last month to remove the fan and install a bigger heatsink for the modem, in order for it to dissipate passively. Here are some pictures of what I did, the heatsink is 11mm high, 33x52 to cover the whole modem.

I had to bend a couple of fins in order for it to fit with the case above.

At first, temperatures seemed to be quite above average, with medium signal conditions:

So I continued to use it for a week, always monitoring temperatures closely:

ambient temperature was about 21 ˚C.

There were some 70˚C spikes when using it to download something (e.g. a lecture for university) but in idle the temperatures were not that bad.

Later on that week, I encountered the first problems, the modem was randomly crashing:

I thought maybe the modem was throttling or having issues with excessive heat, but it crashed way earlier than it could reach critical temperatures, leading me to think it was some kind of lack of power issue.

I’ve tried to swap the modem with another FM350-GL 5G, and the issue persisted. The board somehow stopped handling the modem correctly, as it was doing before.

Having tested all of this, case redesign is a must. Thicker metal surfaces, thermal pads for the modem to dissipate and slightly higher case will be helpful to mitigate these issues. Making it a little bit larger can help to have a lower RPM fan, prolonging its MTBF.

[Sam_RM502Q-AE]

I had to purchase a second BananaPi-R3 mini, because the first board could not handle any modem anymore in a normal position. Maybe the plastic has deformed from the heat.

However, the same issue still applies, putting back the fan, with peaks to 81C

[Yap]

Heat seems to be a real problem with a radio module in the m2 slot, if the R3mini is placed into the original case. You could have a try with putting putty between module and pcb. And maybe try to find a heatsink with longer finns.

I do not like the case designs from Sinovoip in gegeral. Non of them seems to be very good. Because of that I did order the naked pcb and made my own silent case. But this is only possible because I do not use this router on travelling.

It has got a Noiseblocker XS-1 50mm fan (@5V from the fan header) at the bottom. Okay, there is no radio module, but I’m quiet shure temps would be much better.

[mcmas (MC)]

Hi, same situation here!

I just can’t understand why in the designs they had to make the case so small even by limiting it to 6 holes… Are they designing it for 4G ? If you use a module 5G ? I think that you are also limited to using certain antennas instead of more powerful ones… Since it is an indoor product and it is inconvenient to use the larger ones to remove or put the LAN cables.

Let’s get to the point…

Before trying to make a 3D case with more appropriate measurements and make it truly fanless, I bought case to better understand what I really have to design to use it at 110%.

First of all, for 5G module I created two more holes, I distribute the antennas better. I chose to use 12dbm antenne and the cables that go to the module are better ordered.

I had a heatsink from old projects and I completely discarded 32x40x5. I use a noctua 40x10 directly but with USB power supply without closed the case.

something today … Speedtest di Ookla - Il test globale per la velocità della tua banda larga