Beelink SER5 miniPC setup

For less than $300, I have found the Beelink SER 5 miniPC to be a good choice for WD RX888 sites.

However the best models and their prices vary somewhat from day to day. For example, several weeks ago I purchased a 16 GB/ 6 core SER 5 5560U for $219, while today that model is offered for $259. So today (9/17/24) for $270 (after coupon) I would purchase the 16GB / 8 core 5800H offered at: https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-SER5-Computer-Graphics-Support/dp/B0D6G965BC . Be careful when searching for Beelink computers on Amazon as some of them like the 5800U are offered by the Amazon Beelink store at several different prices with no discernible differences among them. I have 6 of the 5560Us running at KPH and KFS, some for up to 1 year, and have experienced no hardware failures.

The Beelinks come with Windows installed and of course WD runs under Linux, so I install Ubuntu 24.04LTS server from a USB thumb drive. Avoid installing the desktop version of Ubuntu since it runs the 'snap' software auto-upgrade service which has correputed several WD installations on. Not all thumb drives are recognized by the Beelink's BIOS, so try a different drive if yours doesn't appear in the BIOS' Boot Menu list you get to by pressing F7 during power.

For maximum CPU performance during the 30-90 seconds of the 120 second WSPR cycle when WD is running at 100% CPU usage, in the BIOS change the fan speed setting from the default fan speed mode. That low speed causes the CPU to heat up to 70+C at which temperature the CPU starts slowing itself down to keep from overheating. Find that setting in the BIOS->Advanced menu where I configure it to 'on at 40C, max at 60C, PWM curve of 8'. I verify that the fan is set that way is to watch the CPU temperature in the 'btop' utility for a whole 2 minute WSPR cycle.

While in the BIOS you would probably want to change the AC power on setting to 'always on'. That setting is buried in a sub menu, I think it is under Advanced-ACH....

The Beelink + RX888 will consume about 25 watts in "idle", i.e. when it is demodulating and recording wav files, but usage jumps to about 40+ watts while 8+ bands of WSPR decoding are running for the first 30+ seconds of a WSPR cycle. I have had no problems with Beelink power supplies, but I have been told that some of the factory supplied power supplies were underpowered and in addition had terrible Power Factor performance. If the power supply is underpowered or partially fails, the supply voltage may drop below 19V and the current draw will increase above the capacity of the DC barrel connector. There have been several reports (not in the WD group) of the barrel connector becoming so warm that it and the Beelink plastic case melted. If I ever encounter such a problem have some beefy Dell power supplies from junked laptops which could the factory Beelink supplies at KFS and KPH. But I have checked the Beelink barrel connectors at KPH and KFS and never felt them to be warm.

Note : PE3ES - Beelink ERQ5 - Always on setting : AMD CBS / FCH / Power https://buildin.ai/lizong/share/f3c56dc1-d6f0-4914-97bc-7a9275d67af8