conquistador
Deactivated User
Hellhamster.
2947 Posts
10/03
|  Posted - Jul 10 2007 : 1:41AMOne of my monitors doesn't have a manual degaussing function and it is starting to look rather funky. I have used a manual degaussing coil on the monitors for arcade machines but I don't own myself. Do places rent coils for a few hours? I don't understand enough about electro magnetism to know weather there is a way for me to improvise this effect. It's a 20 year old Commodore monitor that has spent too much time near an unshielded speaker. So to actually *buy* a degaussing coil for this application would be silly as I could replace the monitor for 20-40 bucks. I'm just a cheapskate.  [Link] |
budtugley
Senior Member
One man's trash can be the next man's treasure.
1187 Posts
1/04
| Posted - Jul 10 2007 : 2:06PM
I've done it before. You need a couple of pretty good magnets, some duct tape, and a good drill. Small, flat magnets work well.
Use a long drill bit. The best ones are the larger hole drill bits since they have a long, thin shaft and a large, flat cutting head. You need to duct tape the two magnets on either side of the flat drilling head. Use plenty of tape and try it out before you approach the monitor screen since you don't want the magnets to fly off and crack the screen.
Confident that you taped the magnets securly to the drill bit, start the drill, get it up to maximum speed, and then slowly approach the monitor screen. Then, slowly retreat with the drill still running at maximum speed.
Works great and it's cheap. [Link] |
conquistador
Deactivated User
Hellhamster.
2947 Posts
10/03
| Posted - Jul 10 2007 : 3:30PM
Thanks!
I have the drill and hardware covered. Just need some magnets.[Link] |
conquistador
Deactivated User
Hellhamster.
2947 Posts
10/03
| Posted - Jul 10 2007 : 10:45PM
budtugley:
What type of magnets do you use?
I have no clue what to buy.[Link] |
LubeNLuv
Senior Member
1854 Posts
3/06
| Posted - Jul 10 2007 : 11:25PM
I smell a Darwin award in the making here. 
[Link] |
| |
|
conquistador
Deactivated User
Hellhamster.
2947 Posts
10/03
| Posted - Jul 10 2007 : 11:44PM
You really think a degaussing could result in a Darwin?[Link] |
Harri Patel
Senior Member
#SDNY he's all yours. -- Michael Steele
5110 Posts
3/03
| Posted - Jul 11 2007 : 3:18AM
Try to get your hands on a really battered old hockey helmet and some mad-scientist goggles, so the paramedics get a good chuckle when they find your body.[Link] |
LubeNLuv
Senior Member
1854 Posts
3/06
| Posted - Jul 11 2007 : 9:00AM
^^^^
I lol'd.
@Conq: And no, Budtugley's home-made degausser will work. It's just listening to the two of you discuss it that says Darwin to me. I'm envisioning a guy who brings in one of those giant hammer drills with two 20lb magnets duct-taped to the bit and starts to spin it while the monitor is plugged in and turned on, slips and drills into the monitor screen....mayhem ensues.
I know you are smarter than that...but still makes for a funny mental picture.
Edited by - lubenluv on 7/11/2007 9:03:36 AM[Link] |
conquistador
Deactivated User
Hellhamster.
2947 Posts
10/03
| Posted - Jul 11 2007 : 6:56PM
LubeNLuv: You've got me laughing.
Anyway, does anyone know what size magnets would cut it?
I do believe that the monitor *should* be on at the time, don't I?
And I know the type of hole cutting drill bit you're talking about, we have some. I am just wondering if you meant to attach them to the surface of the bit that is perpendicular to the shaft (the cutting side of a hole saw). Or on the outside edges parallel to the shaft of the bit.
I may have suitable magnets, I work in an apartment building so there are a few workshops filled with tools and storage areas where I can scavenge for magnets.
I have a pair of old busted computer speakers, are they too small to cannibalize? (think the kind that come standard when you you buy a computer from dell/gateway but 8 years ago.)
Thanks.[Link] |
budtugley
Senior Member
One man's trash can be the next man's treasure.
1187 Posts
1/04
| Posted - Jul 12 2007 : 3:08PM
Visit any electronics store or even a computer store and tell them what you want to do and they might give you a pair of suitable magnets for free.
Take a look at this. [ invalid url ]
There's even a 10 second movie slip that shows how to do it.
Edited by - budtugley on 7/12/2007 3:15:28 PM
Edited by - budtugley on 7/12/2007 3:19:25 PM[Link] |
RandomPrecision
Senior Member
Enjoy!
8175 Posts
3/06
| Posted - Jul 13 2007 : 2:06AM
This doesn't sound too dangerous in theory. It's just that I'm really paranoid about electricity and anything that's powered by it. I don't mind using those things. It's just when I venture it to a realm I know little about (other than it fucking hurts to be electrocuted).[Link] |
croy
Platinum Member
Discovry
4574 Posts
3/04
| Posted - Jul 13 2007 : 6:29AM
Make sure you aren't grounded.
I didn't read that as drilling into the monitor, much less doing it while powered up. Don't know where you would get hurt.
I believe you don't start losing body parts until 480 VAC, so no fears. Death would be easier to take than missing parts.[Link] |
conquistador
Deactivated User
Hellhamster.
2947 Posts
10/03
| Posted - Jul 13 2007 : 6:48AM
Will it matter if the drill is properly grounded?
Almost none of the outlets in my building are 3 pronged. And the plugs on the tools reflect this.[Link] |
croy
Platinum Member
Discovry
4574 Posts
3/04
| Posted - Jul 13 2007 : 7:04AM
I didn't think of that, I usually use a battery powered DeWalt. Well since the casing is metal, you will be grounded too. But the path the electricity takes is the one of least resistance - through the metal object (the drill) into the outlet.
But if the monitor doesn't need to be powered up, I'd unplug it and give it time to discharge stored energy. Capacitors can add an adrenaline rush to your day.[Link] |
conquistador
Deactivated User
Hellhamster.
2947 Posts
10/03
| Posted - Jul 13 2007 : 7:09AM
I have a dewalt battery powered I can use too, it's just not as bad ass at the corded one.[Link] |
| |
|
conquistador
Deactivated User
Hellhamster.
2947 Posts
10/03
| Posted - Jul 13 2007 : 7:11AM
While I was working at the video arcade a co-worker and I made a machine which we called the dominator. It was a bunch of monitor capacitors and a bunch of 9 volt batters wired together with a switch (at quite a distance),
It worked.[Link] |
conquistador
Deactivated User
Hellhamster.
2947 Posts
10/03
| Posted - Jul 13 2007 : 7:12AM
Doesn't the monitor have to be on?[Link] |
budtugley
Senior Member
One man's trash can be the next man's treasure.
1187 Posts
1/04
| Posted - Jul 13 2007 : 7:36PM
Yes the monitor has to be on. There is a large capacitor near the CRT neck that's dangerous but only if you touch it directly. It's something like 50,000 volts but you'd have to stab it with a screwdriver to get the full jolt and it will stay charged for something like 30 days even after the monitor has been unplugged. In sits under a rubber cap usually so it takes some effort to get electrocuted. For the most part that capacitor is used on the beam deflecting magnets at the neck of the CRT tube and unless you remove the cover and then the rubber cap and then stab the wiring with a metal object there won't be a problem.
Step 1. Turn on the monitor.
Step 2. Start your drill with the magnets securly taped to the drill bit and get it up to maximum speed.
Step 3. Approach the monitor screen, get as close to it as possible without making contact and move the drillbit/magnet assembly from top to bottom, side to side, and corner to corner. Do some circular motions while you're at it. It shouldn't take more than 10 to 15 seconds to work.
Step 4. With the drill/magnet still running at top speed slowly retreat until you're a yard away and then you can power down.
Step 5. Relax and have a beer. That was easy enough.
If that's too much to do, any TV repair store, most computer maker stores, or any electronics store with a tech in shop could do the degaussing if you give him a beer or two, a burger, or something of small value. Maybe $5 cash would to the trick.[Link] |
conquistador
Deactivated User
Hellhamster.
2947 Posts
10/03
| Posted - Jul 13 2007 : 7:47PM
Thanks.
I would rather do it myself. I like any excuses to but on safety glasses.
I appreciate the help. It's not a urgent problem so it might take me a few days, but I will let you guys know about my results, provided my boss doesn't outlaw the use of company drills for degaussing.
The unfortunate thing is that today I actually got for free a monitor to replace the old one.
I have an SLI system, but I can't see attaching monitors to all 6 outputs. I think it would just make my apartment hotter.[Link] |
