+ras_oscar Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Anyone have a way I can carry some micro megnets in my cache bag without running the risk of erasing my GPS? I generally buy rare earth. I recently had to take a micro home with me because I accidentally dropped the magnets into a pile of mulch. Purchased magnets and returned the cache within a few days, but not really interested in repeating that scenario. Quote Link to comment
+wkmccall Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Anyone have a way I can carry some micro megnets in my cache bag without running the risk of erasing my GPS? I generally buy rare earth. I recently had to take a micro home with me because I accidentally dropped the magnets into a pile of mulch. Purchased magnets and returned the cache within a few days, but not really interested in repeating that scenario. Unless you're sitting a huge magnet right on top of the SD card, I wouldn't really worry about it. I would be more worried about the magnets scratching up the face of my GPS. Quote Link to comment
+ras_oscar Posted February 11, 2009 Author Share Posted February 11, 2009 Rare earth has a huge magnetic field, even the small ones. Also, my GPS did not come with a backup disk for either the OS or the maps. Once they're gone my GPS is toast. Quote Link to comment
+joranda Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Has it happened to you before? Quote Link to comment
+Vater_Araignee Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Anyone have a way I can carry some micro megnets in my cache bag without running the risk of erasing my GPS? I generally buy rare earth. I recently had to take a micro home with me because I accidentally dropped the magnets into a pile of mulch. Purchased magnets and returned the cache within a few days, but not really interested in repeating that scenario. Carry them in a container that will isolate them. You can go to the $ store and get 3 or 4 silly putties. Just keep putting the silly putty into 1 container until it is full then sandwich it on the magnets. Rare earth has a huge magnetic field, even the small ones. Um, Not all Rare Earth metals are created equal once imbibed with magnetic properties so that is a huge blanket statement. Most REM magnets have a strong magnetic field but that doesn't mean it is large. Also, my GPS did not come with a backup disk for either the OS or the maps. Once they're gone my GPS is toast. What is you receivers make and model? I have a Mio Digiwalker and the software was missing from the package. I still have a copy on each hard drive, 2 copies on cd, and 6 on sd, 64mb sd cards are literally a dime a dozen when you can find them. . Quote Link to comment
+Vater_Araignee Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I just took a Neodymium magnet and rubbed it on a sd chip for 60 seconds and all files are good so I'm leaving it attached for 1 hour and will report back. I suspect nothing will happen because if I remember correctly, the micro switches in microprocessors and memory chips are not made with a ferrous material. Quote Link to comment
Crab_Soul Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 should come back to the mulch with an even bigger magnet and try to pick up the earth magnets Quote Link to comment
+Vater_Araignee Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 (edited) Ok so the magnet has been stuck to the sd card for over 2 hours and... Yup, I can still read the files on it. ~~~edit to add it's 1023 my time~~~ make another report in a few hours. Edited February 11, 2009 by Vater_Araignee Quote Link to comment
+bflentje Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 The whole magnet erasing memory thing has always been overblown. Can magnets damage the structural array of memory devices? Yes, but in only extreme conditions (speaking generally here now). I can't tell you how many times in the old days I've tried to erase floppy disks and hard drives with magnets only to find that they still contain my data in perfectly good shape. I would guess that if a rare earth magnet won't erase a good old fashioned floppy disk then they certainly would have trouble with a solid state memory. Besides, hasn't the government mandate about EMP protection been put into place on all of our electronic gadgets?? Quote Link to comment
+Vater_Araignee Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Besides, hasn't the government mandate about EMP protection been put into place on all of our electronic gadgets?? If they have it is not being done. Besides an electro magnetic pulse is different from long term exposure to a permanent magnet. Quote Link to comment
+WatchDog2020 Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 (edited) Besides, hasn't the government mandate about EMP protection been put into place on all of our electronic gadgets?? If they have it is not being done. Besides an electro magnetic pulse is different from long term exposure to a permanent magnet. It wasn't built into the programming for the Gorgonites but they hid under a satellite dish and were fine when the EMP came. Try putting the card in the Microwave Edited February 11, 2009 by WatchDog2020 Quote Link to comment
+Vater_Araignee Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Besides, hasn't the government mandate about EMP protection been put into place on all of our electronic gadgets?? If they have it is not being done. Besides an electro magnetic pulse is different from long term exposure to a permanent magnet. It wasn't built into the programming for the Gorgonites but they hid under a satellite dish and were fine when the EMP came. Try putting the card in the Microwave No thanks, I like the enamel coating in the nuker intact just fine. Quote Link to comment
+dakboy Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Besides, hasn't the government mandate about EMP protection been put into place on all of our electronic gadgets?? EMP shielding is expensive & consumes more resources. I'd wager most if not all of the stuff in your house & car is not shielded for practicality, economic & packaging reasons. Quote Link to comment
+bflentje Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Besides, hasn't the government mandate about EMP protection been put into place on all of our electronic gadgets?? EMP shielding is expensive & consumes more resources. I'd wager most if not all of the stuff in your house & car is not shielded for practicality, economic & packaging reasons. That was a joke. I see I used the wrong icon to qualify my quip. Quote Link to comment
+Castle Mischief Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I think you'd have to have a "rip your fillings out" strong magnet to affect flash memory- which is the only type of memory that I've heard of in GPS units. Maybe there are GPS units with actual magnetic-media hard drives but I kind of doubt it considering the rough handling that most GPS units are expected to take and the damage that dropping your standard HDD even six inches can do to the head and the disc surface. Quote Link to comment
Crab_Soul Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Besides, hasn't the government mandate about EMP protection been put into place on all of our electronic gadgets?? If they have it is not being done. Besides an electro magnetic pulse is different from long term exposure to a permanent magnet. It wasn't built into the programming for the Gorgonites but they hid under a satellite dish and were fine when the EMP came. Try putting the card in the Microwave Haha i dont think anyone got that small soldiers refrence. Quote Link to comment
+Vater_Araignee Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 It has been over six hours (not counting the previous) with a magnet on the car... Yup I can still read the files. Worry about a magnet screwing up a cheap compass yes, a GPSr no. Quote Link to comment
+ras_oscar Posted February 12, 2009 Author Share Posted February 12, 2009 OK, Guys and Gals, you've convinced me. I'm a worry wart and should just cut it out and gom caching. Thanks for the input I'm using a Mio Digiwalker. I will see if I can back up the memory to a CD for archive purposes. Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I'm not an expert on the subject, by any means, but a quick Google search will provide a ton of evidence that magnets have zero effect on flash or SD RAM. Yes, they have an effect on magnetic media such as cassette tapes, floppy disks, and even harddrives, but that is a completely different technology. They can also have a gaussing effect on CRT monitors and televisions, but not on an LCD display. In other words... don't worry about it. Quote Link to comment
+Prime Suspect Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 CompactFlash memory cards, are immune to magnetic fields. "There's nothing magnetic in flash memory, so [a magnet] won't do anything," says Bill Frank, executive director of the CompactFlash Association. "A magnet powerful enough to disturb the electrons in flash would be powerful enough to suck the iron out of your blood cells," says Frank. Quote Link to comment
AZcachemeister Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Keep them in your shoe, all will be safe. (and your plantar fascitis will miraculously be gone as well!) Quote Link to comment
+Vater_Araignee Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 OK, Guys and Gals, you've convinced me. I'm a worry wart and should just cut it out and gom caching. Thanks for the input I'm using a Mio Digiwalker. I will see if I can back up the memory to a CD for archive purposes. What model? Maybe I can email you a copy. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 I once accidentally left a few rare earth magnets in my pocked and put my GPS in the same pocket. I freaked out thinking I might have done something to it, but it was fine. Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 ["A magnet powerful enough to disturb the electrons in flash would be powerful enough to suck the iron out of your blood cells," says Frank.[/i] Hmmm... I wonder what that would sound like? "clink." "clinkclink." "clink.clinkclink.clink" Quote Link to comment
+Vater_Araignee Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 ["A magnet powerful enough to disturb the electrons in flash would be powerful enough to suck the iron out of your blood cells," says Frank.[/i] Hmmm... I wonder what that would sound like? "clink." "clinkclink." "clink.clinkclink.clink" more like AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIII Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 I just took a Neodymium magnet and rubbed it on a sd chip for 60 seconds and all files are good...l. If anything would screw it up that would have. Quote Link to comment
+Too Tall John Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 If you guys want to screw up an SD card using a magnet, you're going about it all wrong. What you have to do is: Get one of the really big, like 20 lb, Neodymium magnets (the ones that come with the warnings about proper handling!). Suspend it about 5 feet above a cement floor with a quick release. Place the SD card below the magnet on the floor. Be sure you are clear of the magnet and any potential flying parts. Remember, the magnet will quite possibly chip and/or shatter. Release the magnet. If you can get it to land so a corner strikes the card rather than a flat side, all the better. That will wreck your SD card. Quote Link to comment
GOF and Bacall Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 (edited) I don't see what all the fuss is about. I just carry them stuck to the flat spot on the side of my skull. Edit on accounta because it's spot, not sport. I think the magnets have had an effect on my typpinging skilses. Edited February 13, 2009 by GOF & Bacall Quote Link to comment
+Vater_Araignee Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Out of curiosity I ripped a 32 mb chip apart to see what was ferrous inside. What I found was 2 chips and 7 extremely small resistors and or diodes (I don't know I can only see that there is something there) on green board. The larger of the chips had zero detectable attraction to the magnet so I snapped its half of the board off. The second chip continually pulled the magnet to center so I cut it off the board and had the same result. I broke out a couple pairs of needle nose pliers and ripped all the contacts out of the chips (than a few broke off at the edge) which dramatically reduced its attraction to the magnet. After breaking the the chip open all I could discern where golden sparkles inside and a few remaining pieces of the contacts. The whole process left me in awe of micro sd chips, they are smaller than my pinky nail. I wouldn't be able to see squat in them. Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Out of curiosity I ripped a 32 mb chip apart to see what was ferrous inside. All that work, and no pics to share? I'm still amazed at the size of micro SDHC cards myself. Quote Link to comment
+Glenn Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 CompactFlash memory cards, are immune to magnetic fields. "There's nothing magnetic in flash memory, so [a magnet] won't do anything," says Bill Frank, executive director of the CompactFlash Association. "A magnet powerful enough to disturb the electrons in flash would be powerful enough to suck the iron out of your blood cells," says Frank. Cool! Where can I get one of those magnets? Quote Link to comment
+Glenn Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Rare earth has a huge magnetic field, even the small ones. Also, my GPS did not come with a backup disk for either the OS or the maps. Once they're gone my GPS is toast. Most GPS manufacturers have a support section on this website where you can download unit software. For example click here to see the Software Download section at the Garmin Support website. Quote Link to comment
+Vater_Araignee Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Out of curiosity I ripped a 32 mb chip apart to see what was ferrous inside. All that work, and no pics to share? I'm still amazed at the size of micro SDHC cards myself. I just never think of it. I have been working on a new container made from 24" 1"x2" scrap from a construction site and when I got the hinges on I thought "I should have been taking pics" yet I still didn't bother to break out the cam. Quote Link to comment
+Castle Mischief Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 After breaking the the chip open all I could discern where golden sparkles inside and a few remaining pieces of the contacts. That would be the unicorn-horn and fairy-wing-dust alloy that we in the EMS business use to give electronics that added zing. We wanted to call it "wonderflonium" but it was already taken. Quote Link to comment
+Vater_Araignee Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 After breaking the the chip open all I could discern where golden sparkles inside and a few remaining pieces of the contacts. That would be the unicorn-horn and fairy-wing-dust alloy that we in the EMS business use to give electronics that added zing. We wanted to call it "wonderflonium" but it was already taken. Well I didn't want to say Mystical Magical Mighty Micro switches, I couldn't see the actual switch. They don't call me the Human Microscope for a reason. Quote Link to comment
+Sileny Jizda Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Just don't store a rare earth magnet in each front pocket and you'll be okay. If you do you might have a few problems later on. Quote Link to comment
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