Ahanix dBox: Standardizing LCD Case Controls

Control Panel

The features of this case so far have been only average.  A few sharp edges have really hurt this case, so a lot rides on the highly anticipated LCD display.  Fortunately, the small unit does deliver.  The panel is driven by 5 buttons and the single LCD screen.

The front panel has five buttons; Temp control, Power switch, Reset switch, Slow down fan, Speed up fan.  Considering the rest of the case, we were surprised by how well the control unit worked.  The LCD on the front displays only the temperature, but smaller LCD lights along the side display information as well.  Looking at the unit from the front, the number of diodes lit on the top denote the intensity at which the fans are running.  The LED’s on the bottom represent which thermometer placement is being recorded. 

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The buttons on the unit were very sturdy and provided enough feedback resistance to let us know when we depressed the button all the way.  Furthermore, a small beep let us know when we had pushed the button all the way.  Fortunately, this beep is not very obtrusive, and is not something that will get annoying very quickly. 

Since all the buttons have a similar look, another good feature the control panel provided was a three second reset delay.  We could not accidentally hit the reset button while fumbling for the fan control.  Ahanix really did a nice job incorporating a lot of functions together in this display.