Release: Fan Mod 4.2
 

Another new design...this one runs completely off of the fan line (no power supply splicing). Still don't have specific specs for the diode (pulled from an old power supply; not labeled). Tested working with the PS3 Slim. I've got some parts on order from digikey; once I test with those diodes, I will post a full list of digikey part numbers. The 12V and ground both come from the lines going to the fan; we splice into these lines but they stay connected between the mainboard and the fan. The fan signal wire goes strait to the fan; the fan signal wire coming from the mainboard is not connected to anything. I used a ceramic cap for space savings and ease of use, but any 0.1uF cap will work.

As for tuning, lowering the resistance of R2 will allow for higher maximum fan speed on fatline units (80K MINIMUM FOR SLIMLINES; THOSE FANS ARE SLIGHTLY LOWER VOLTAGE). Don't lower it too much; the maximum output should be no more than 3.2V.

There are two black lines crossing the chip in the image. These are setup as such:
The circuit board only has copper rings on one side, we will call this the bottom side. We place the board bottom-side down. Run a few strands of wire to connect the holes that pins 2 and 6 will go into. Next, place a small piece of electrical tape over the middle part of the wire. Now run a few strands from 4 to 8, making sure that the wire overlap has tape between. Now, place the socket into place and solder it...the two wires will be soldered in place at the same time. The diode and R3 are both mounted on the copper-ring or "back" side of the PCB...these are the last two parts to be soldered on.

http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/v...dVersion42.jpg

http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/v...dVersion42.jpg

[edit]
Just realized...R3 is redundant and unneeded. I tested without it and the unit worked the same. If anything, this resistor makes the circuit worse.

[edit2]
I just made a second one for my slimline...it is basically the same as the first, but made for a "10K" pot that is smaller than most 100K pots. I use the "" marks because I measured it to be an 8.77K pot.

Potentiometer Used: P3C3103-ND; this is a "10K" pot...but I measured it and found it to be an 8.77K pot. I ordered several of these pots...and they were all of different values, but this value seemed to be near the average.
Diode Used: 641-1410-1-nd
Voltage Regulator Used: MC7805CT-BPMS-ND
R1 = 2.7K
R2 = 7.7K
555 IC = 296-1411-5-ND
Socket Used: 3M5473-ND

It is important to note that potentiometers can be very far from their spec. Because of this, you should always check the output voltage before connecting it to the fan. The circuit as shown in the diagram as well as the circuit based on the 10K pot are both designed to create the maximum voltage for a slim PS3 when at max speed (3.1V; no more!). The "fat" consoles have a slightly higher maximum of 3.3V, but it should not matter much as even at 3.1v and with a 15-blade fan, the system sounds like a jet taking off. The "low speed" should be somewhere around .75V; but this can vary a bit; you just don't want it below 0.6V; as any lower speed could cause heat issues, even at minor tasks like web browsing or PSN downloads.