Re: 5.25 DRIVES: Important metal shielding?

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

stephen e buggie writes ...
>
> metal shielding in the 5.25 drive and the Unidisk 5.25" drive
> =============================================================
> 
> I've been adding the bi-color LED to BUGG-DRIVE.  The two 3/4 height
> models, and also DuoDisk, have metal shielding around the whole unit.
> 
> It would be nice to have more interior space.  Could the metal "roof" of
> the disk drive be left it?   How much interference will happen to radios,
> etc.?
 ....

     All of the experiments we've tried around here indicate pretty minor
benefits for shielding as far as radio and TV are concerned. It seems to help
a bit on some TV channels; but, you are seldom talking about an interference
vs. no interference situation.

     If you let the drive do some long copying chore, you could flip through
the channels and look for interference. Then, you could repeat the experiment
with the lid removed and decide if makes any difference. (Or, I guess you
could market a "Not for Channel 2", etc. drive.)

     The thing is, there are so many sources and pathways for RF in a
computer system. Besides which, you may be running two or three computers at
once. Unless some peripheral puts out a signal that flips your TV screen to
black, its effects are likely to be masked by all the other stuff.

     The best cure for computer interference with TV viewing is a satellite
dish.



Rubywand