home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Amiga Collections: MegaDisc
/
MegaDisc 24 (1991-10)(MegaDisc Digital Publishing)(AU)(Disk 2 of 2).zip
/
MegaDisc 24 (1991-10)(MegaDisc Digital Publishing)(AU)(Disk 2 of 2).adf
/
HARDWARE
/
Magnetic_Fields
/
Magnetic_Fields
Wrap
Text File
|
1991-09-26
|
3KB
|
67 lines
BEWARE THE MAGNETIC FIELD
by
Stuart Bazley
## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ##
As promised,a few notes and tips on the dangers of magnetic field
exposure to computer disks. Obviously this is also valid for audio and
video cassettes. If you think viruses are dangerous, stray magnetic
fields can be even more so. A bit extreme you may think....think again.
A virus only affects non write protected disks inserted in your disk
drive. And your hard disk, if your lucky enough to have one. But,
those invisible no taste, no smell, friends of Faraday can wreak havoc
on your cherished digital data. Not just one disk at a time, but whole
boxes full, in one fell swoop.
What actually puts that data on to your disk in the first place, can
just as easily erase all that hard work in the twinkling of an on/off
switch. Electronic gizmos of all kinds use transformers to drop
240volts to a lower voltage (including your Amiga power supply) and in
doing so can thump out a large magnetic field, especially at switch on
or switch off. This field can corrupt or erase data on any disk stored
too close. I don't mean to scare you into storing your disks in the
bathroom cupboard (unless the bathroom is where you use your Amiga -
come to think of it mildew can cause disk problems too, but that's
another story). Keep them at least a couple of feet away from anything
dubious, such as on top of or up against your T.V. or monitor (at
switch on, all colour T.V.s or monitors automatically degauss or
demagnetise their screens), near power supplies, speakers, or amplifiers
to name a few.
With friends like this...
As an example of what can happen, I lent a good friend my disk box of
P.D. programs. A nice bloke, but I wasn't impressed with him when I
got the disks back a few days later. I tried to use a sound tracker
module, but all I got was read-write errors. On checking a few others
I found another couple with the same problems. A quick phone call
later, left me wondering. He hadn't used one of the offending disks,and
another one he couldn't load. It had me stumped, until his next visit.
We where talk ing about what could have caused the problem, when his
wife asked if noise could damage the disks. We both laughed, and asked
what she meant. Her answer...."You remember, you put the disk box on
the back shelf of the car so the kids couldn't get at them. Then you
whinged when you put the car cassette on and couldn't hear it because
the box was muffling the speaker, so you turned it up.".....Well, that
was the problem. 50 watts R.M.S. about 3 inches under my disks just
ain't healthy. The only thing that surprised me was, how come I didn't
lose all the disks. Oh, and how did my mate (yes we are still friends)
manage to put up with the volume from the other speaker....I think his
ears are painted on.
That's it... don't panic. Think twice before finding a residence for
your disks. And remember...IT'S BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ## 24 ##