Speaker Magnets & Computers

Kenneth Kotsay · Post by **Kenneth Kotsay** » 20 Aug 2000 7:36 am

What effect will magnets have, especially those in guitar amps & pedal steel guitar when in close proximity to a computer. (Like 3 to 5 feet).

I have a small room that I use for both my computer and steel, I have the following musical equipment: Session 500, Nashville 400, Peavey 112's speaker (2) enclosure, two power amps, a Profex II and Transtubefex. Also inside the room is my stereo equipment.
With all this electronic equipment close to each other could this effect my computer in anyway. Also, could I be creating some type of magnetic field in my room?? By the way, I'm no electronic wiz.

Bill Llewellyn · Post by **Bill Llewellyn** » 20 Aug 2000 8:19 am

Ken,

The only real effect speakers placed nearby your computer might have would be on a CRT-type monitor (the big, heavy, glass-front monitors). Stray magnetic fields from speakers (or other sources such as transformers with poorly-constrained fields) can cause purity problems (color variations across the surface of the screen) and mild distortions such as image rotation. I have my monitor between some large, hifi type speakers (2-3 feet away on either side) and I get slight purity problems and a minor rotation (I can correct the latter with the monitor's adjustment panel). LCD type monitors have no such succeptabilities. And there's nothing else in your computer which a speaker magnet should effect.

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<font size=-1>Bill (steel player impersonator) * MSA Classic U12 * email * my online music</font>

David Pennybaker · Post by **David Pennybaker** » 20 Aug 2000 1:53 pm

Keep magnets away from your monitor. And your hard disk drives. And any floppies, or other magnetic media.

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Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 20 Aug 2000 2:58 pm

Unless you get a floppy real close to a magnet it won't hurt. You'd have to be real close to the monitor with a speaker with a big magnet to affect it. The hard drive is normally inside a metal shielded case so it shouldn't be affected by a magnetic device such as a speaker.

I don't recall a help desk call, where I worked, that was traced to someone scrambling a floppy or tape with a magnet.

Bill Rowlett · Post by **Bill Rowlett** » 21 Aug 2000 5:30 am

I laid a floppy on the back of a Black Widow magnet one day for grins and it didn't change the data. Even a small magnet can cause a monitor real problems if placed close to the screen. You may have to demagnatize the screen with a tape demagnatizer to clear the image.

Bill

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 21 Aug 2000 9:49 am

The George L E-66 makes some cool colors when I put it a couple of inches in front of the monitor, but for this application I prefer the Lawrence pickup. Colors! Patterns! Groovy! Far out! I'm back at the Grande Ballroom!

Rich Paton · Post by **Rich Paton** » 26 Aug 2000 9:01 am

HOW'D THEY DO THAT???
Bill, that is amazing! I've always been very careful to avoid having magnetic materials around floppies, etc. I decided to try your experiment, and put a 3 1/2" floppy disk on top of the exposed pole piece on a 15" JBL woofer which has the cone removed for repair.
As in your case, the floppy and the data on it are apparently fully intact. Geeze!
I once put a six pound alnico horseshoe magnet from a radar transmitter magnetron tube up against the screen of an arcade video game. In that instance, the CRT was nowhere near intact, but looked more like paisley toast.
It was quite colorful & pretty, though.

Bill Crook · Post by **Bill Crook** » 27 Aug 2000 6:46 am

Did that CRT ever work correctly again ??
That should haved pulled the shadow-mask right up aganist the glass.

Bob Carlson · Post by **Bob Carlson** » 26 Sep 2000 8:07 pm

I'm not as concerened about magnetic fields as I am about your ears in that small room. I'm 68 going on 24 and it's catching up with me.

Bob Carlson

Uff Da