magnets and memory cards

The latest issue of OP had an article on "substitute" tripods, and one item
shown was a magnet, with "175 lb. strength", and a camera mounting screw on
top. My immediate reaction was that this can't be good for memory cards. Can
some engineer type confirm or deny? Thanks!

Dr. Bob

> The latest issue of OP had an article on "substitute" tripods, and one item
> shown was a magnet, with "175 lb. strength", and a camera mounting screw on
> top. My immediate reaction was that this can't be good for memory cards. Can
> some engineer type confirm or deny? Thanks!

Think about how you record and read from a memory card. Not with a magnetic
head like with tapes or computer drives.

"Proffesor Kleinschmidt" <> wrote in message
news:...
> > The latest issue of OP had an article on "substitute" tripods, and one
item
> > shown was a magnet, with "175 lb. strength", and a camera mounting screw
on
> > top. My immediate reaction was that this can't be good for memory cards.
Can
> > some engineer type confirm or deny? Thanks!
>
> Think about how you record and read from a memory card. Not with a
magnetic
> head like with tapes or computer drives.

Unless your memory is a microdrive.

Word has it that on Thu, 23 Oct 2003 09:19:15 -0700, in this august
forum, "Dr. Bob" <> said:

>The latest issue of OP had an article on "substitute" tripods, and one item
>shown was a magnet, with "175 lb. strength", and a camera mounting screw on
>top. My immediate reaction was that this can't be good for memory cards. Can
>some engineer type confirm or deny? Thanks!

It should be fine with CF cards, which aren't terribly sensitive to
magnetic fields, but I'd be nervous about using it near a microdrive,
though. OTOH, if it's a 'horseshoe' or coaxial (like a speaker magnet),
the field wouldn't extend up past the mounting screw, so it wouldn't be
an issue.

--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------

"Dr. Bob" wrote:
>
> The latest issue of OP had an article on "substitute" tripods, and one item
> shown was a magnet, with "175 lb. strength", and a camera mounting screw on
> top. My immediate reaction was that this can't be good for memory cards. Can
> some engineer type confirm or deny? Thanks!

IMHO, it can't be good for certain mechanical pieces of the camera or
lens.

-Dave

In article <>,
"Dr. Bob" <> wrote:

> The latest issue of OP had an article on "substitute" tripods, and one item
> shown was a magnet, with "175 lb. strength", and a camera mounting screw on
> top. My immediate reaction was that this can't be good for memory cards. Can
> some engineer type confirm or deny? Thanks!
>
>

It won't hurt any modern media card but it can be a problem for lens
motors and solenoids, and maybe some camera's power inverters.

With proper placement of a magnet on an Oly Cx0x0Z class camera, you can
invert the shutter operation. The shutter will be closed during
exposure and open during unloading. It comes out with odd hue shifts.
Don't put the magnet on the back of the camera - it goes nuts and it
could overload the power supplies.

On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 09:19:15 -0700, "Dr. Bob" <>
wrote:

>The latest issue of OP had an article on "substitute" tripods, and one item
>shown was a magnet, with "175 lb. strength", and a camera mounting screw on
>top. My immediate reaction was that this can't be good for memory cards. Can
>some engineer type confirm or deny? Thanks!
>
It shouldn't hurt the memory, but "theoretically" it could alter the
read write results. That's sorta like a hall effect transistor works,
BUT I've never heard of it bothering a CF in the real world. OTOH I
would be concerned about some of the camera and lens components.

Roger Halstead (K8RI EN73 & ARRL Life Member)
www.rogerhalstead.com
N833R World's oldest Debonair? (S# CD-2)

Jeff Zawrotny <> wrote:
>"Proffesor Kleinschmidt" <> wrote in message

>> > The latest issue of OP had an article on "substitute" tripods, and one item
>> > shown was a magnet, with "175 lb. strength", and a camera mounting screw on
>> > top. My immediate reaction was that this can't be good for memory cards. Can
>> > some engineer type confirm or deny? Thanks!
>>
>> Think about how you record and read from a memory card. Not with a magnetic
>> head like with tapes or computer drives.
>
>Unless your memory is a microdrive.

I have a few small magnets, the kind with a hole in the middle that
you can stack on a pencil.

A while back I tried to use one to erase a floppy disk. Couldn't.
No noticable effect. I'd be surprised if such a magnet had any effect
on a microdrive.

--
Ray Fischer