Magnetic fields?????

Help, I have always had problems with my computers and equipment and I am wondering if I or my house has some mangntic field that causes them to not run properly. It is all different things that happen but I can't figure out why it seems my equipment never seems to run worry free. I now believe it is either me or my home that causes this, is that possible and what can I do about it???????????

[shadowpr]

What sort of problems are you having?

[EzyStvy]

Carry the computer to somewhere else (friends/family members house/work) and see if the problem goes away Odds oare it won't matter...

Do you other eletrical equiptment work ok in your house?

[David M]

Magnetic fields get blamed or attributed to all sorts of crazy things. For some people, magnetic fields do magical things that they do not understand...like the cranks who say magnetic fields can improve your gas mileage. The Earth of course has a a magnetic field but it does not cycle nor is it very strong compared to a field from a magnet or transformer in close proximity.

The Earths magnetic field is not going to affect your computer in any way. The field from a transformer is not going to affect recording media which uses magnetic fields to record the data unless the transformer is right next to the media or its a large powerful magnetic field. The same concept applies to a magnet.

Keep in mind, your computers cooling fans, inductors soldered to any printed circuit board and the PSU's stepdown transformers create their own magnetic fields and they do not affect a computer.

Stray magnetic fields that cycle can induct ac current into a conductor but it has to be a significant amount of magnetic flux for this to be noticeable or you have a very sensitive current meter.

You could always buy or borrow a gaussmeter or a magnetometer instead of guessing, but the chances are you are probably worrying about nothing, unless your computer is parked right next to a huge transformer or for some reason you are sticking speaker magnets to your hard drives.

Compared to the magnetic flux your computer is already creating, external sources of flux are insignificant unless its something enormous like I described.

http://www.trifield.com/MM.htm

[glc]

Dave, there's actually something to this. I had a customer that had this exact issue, and it WAS being caused by some kind of EM disturbance in his home. He did live about a mile from a 50kw AM radio tower......

[David M]

That's interesting, so a radio signal at that frequency at that power (probably fractions of a milliwatt) induced enough current to screw something up.

Any idea what in the computer got screwed up?

Since radio waves are in a plane and inductors must work on the correct plane for maximum efficiency, I wonder if physically turning the computer component 90 degrees to the plane would have eliminated the problem?

Perhaps the solution might be a gigantic RAM mount bolted to the floor? Just keep turning the computer until it goes away. It may look odd to not have ones computer not sitting flat on the floor but floating there at an odd angle like some sort of modern art just might work?

[glc]

It was zapping his motherboards - very much like ESD. He had one of only 2 Asus motherboards I've ever sold go bad. I built the machine at my place, ran it for a couple days, took it to his place, it ran for 3 days and bluescreened. I took it back to my place and it bluescreened there too. SAME THING happened to the Intel board I replaced the Asus with. Put another Asus in it, moved the computer to the other side of the room and it survived.

I brought a friend of mine over to his place who is into paranormal stuff and claims to be able to feel vibes, and she got creeped out. She's the one who pointed out the corner of the room that "felt" safest to her, and that's where we relocated the computer. She also helped me do essentially the same thing at another customer's - who lived about a mile away from the other one - same bad vibes. Go figure.

[MaxRat]

I have heard of this with Radon Gas too....PC in the basement and does weird things....

[EzyStvy]

Didn't someone invent the Tin Foil Hat to help with this tyype stuff. It blocks all the calls from home.

[HAL9000]

Originally Posted by MaxRat I have heard of this with Radon Gas too....PC in the basement and does weird things....

I had a customer with the radon gas issue, and a business client with a magnetic field issue... that one was funny, because moving the computer from the floor to the desk cured the problem.

I agree though, take the computer to another location, try it out... if it still has problems, it's not environmental.

The equipment is in my garage and they are facing all different directions. The weird thing is that it is not just the computers, it is also my embroidery equimpment and I can't tell you how many times I have heard, "I have never seen this before". It is never the same thing is just gets messed up so that's why I feel it must be something with me or maybe the garage???? If it is magnetic wouldn't my neighbors have problems? I don't even know how to get something like this tested!! If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them.
Thanks!

Also I am saying magnetic field but I don't know what else to call it, I just feel there is something else that is causing the problems and not just user error, (well I guess that could be possible but don't think so) Any suggestions on what else is could be would be so appreciated. I even thought about going to an accupunture guy to see is he could get rid of what ever it is....

[glc]

Are you anywhere near high tension electrical lines or high power radio/TV/microwave/cell tower transmitters?

There are instruments that can detect stray RF - field strength meters. You could have something in the garage that's interacting with the RF and creating a strong localized field.

I am not near anything that I know of and my neighbors don't have problems, so I am not sure what direction to go to get something like this tested. Who would I contact?

[EzyStvy]

Give us one very specific example of an issue with your computer.

[edfair]

Could you be having a problem with the electrical supply? Something like an open neutral that causes fluctuating voltages across both legs? That drives computers crazy when the supply tied to the power-up reset fluctuates.

[shadowpr]

Do you have the same problems if you move the computer inside the house?

[brizey]

Originally Posted by stafoya Also I am saying magnetic field but I don't know what else to call it

Thanks. Drives me nuts when people speak of magnetic fields as if they were real physical things. A field is a mathematical construct. Magnetic (along with electric) fields are constructs that allow you to predict how electrically charged particles interact with each other. That's it. There are no magical "force waves", etc.

If you have problems with electrical items in your home, then I would check your electrical service and infrastructure as one of the posts above says.

[Petef56]

Originally Posted by stafoya I am not near anything that I know of and my neighbors don't have problems, so I am not sure what direction to go to get something like this tested. Who would I contact?

You might try contacting a ham radio club in your area. These folks are generally familiar with the operation and use of a spectrum analyzer that can be used to check for RF energy that may be radiating into your home. If you get lucky, someone in your area may actually have one and you could offer to pay them to check out your house.

Spectrum Analyzer...

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...26tbs%3Disch:1

Before you contact anyone for help, you need to list the equipment that you have and detail the symptoms and circumstances that make you feel like you have some kind of problem.

---pete---

[Petef56]

Originally Posted by stafoya The equipment is in my garage and they are facing all different directions. The weird thing is that it is not just the computers, it is also my embroidery equimpment and I can't tell you how many times I have heard, "I have never seen this before". It is never the same thing is just gets messed up so that's why I feel it must be something with me or maybe the garage???? If it is magnetic wouldn't my neighbors have problems? I don't even know how to get something like this tested!! If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them. Thanks!

Your descriptions above are not detailed enough for anyone to make a determination, but the first thing that comes to mind is faulty AC power wiring, specifically improper grounding. The first thing to do is easy and cheap. Test all your AC outlets.


Ac Outlet/Receptacle Tester
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...26tbs%3Disch:1

[jessho]

An electromagnetic field strong enough to cause electronic problems should be detectable. A quick way to determine this is to use an AM radio. Tune between the local broadcast frequencies and see if you get a loud hum, or a clear signal from a local station, but not at the correct frequency.

[rwest]

Wouldn't a compass just spin freely in an EM environment? Never find North? Or a false direction for north? Pretty easy determination I think.

[David M]

Originally Posted by rwest Wouldn't a compass just spin freely in an EM environment? Never find North? Or a false direction for north? Pretty easy determination I think.

The only time a magnetic compass will spin freely is if it is near or at actual magnetic north or magnetic south or other magnet(s) are being used to locally neutralize the Earths magnetic field. This is one of two methods for creating a deviation table for a compass, the Magneuto method. http://magneuto.com/Cunningham%20Com...ng%20Tool.html


If its a steady field that does not cycle which quite often is caused by DC current or magnets then it could cause local deviation in the Earth's magnetic field. If its a field that cycles which is usually caused by AC current, then there is no local effect on the Earths magnetic field.


Try putting a magnetic compass right next to a big transformer that has a good amount of current flowing through it and see what happens. Hold a big speaker magnet right next to a big transformer and see what it does. What do you feel?

[HAL9000]

Originally Posted by jessho An electromagnetic field strong enough to cause electronic problems should be detectable. A quick way to determine this is to use an AM radio. Tune between the local broadcast frequencies and see if you get a loud hum, or a clear signal from a local station, but not at the correct frequency.

That was the sign for me with one of my business clients after I found out the neighboring business had the same issue. You drive right in front and get a pretty good glitch of static with the AM radio on right in front of their store fronts.