i have a pc fan i need to wire up to a controller of some sort. The power supply i have for it is 12v DC, and is 1amp (the full power of the fan). What sort of rotary or dial regulator can I use to control the voltage/amperage down to augment the speed of the fan, for cheap? I was thinking of wiring it up to a fan control like a dimmer switch for a wall outlet, and i'm thinking all i'd have to do was stick the control in the middle of the wiring and it would regulate the output, but theres no ground wire for the fan. what part do i need? thanks
For DC you can raise or lower voltage to effect speed. This might shorten the life of the motor but I havnt had any problems with it. The other option is pulse width modulation which changes the rate of DC pulses to change speed of motor. You could buy somthing like this for a pc fan controller on new egg. I use a 6A 12v motor from a boat bilge which is just way to damn loud at 12V so i use 5V from a pc power supply to slow down the motor and no problems yet. Good luck hope this helps.