Thread: Degaussing wand

Hi Log,
I have almost the exact same one, though mine is a much later model though(it has grey ends, a different sticker and a moulded plug lol). That one would be well over 20 years old I'd say, mines only 10ish years old. I doubt you can still get them, certainly not Australian made.

Strangely it seems like a lot of power for not a very powerful magnet.

Stuart

There's one on Ebay at the moment the same style. Degaussing wand | eBay

Cheers.

Hey guys, how does a degaussing wand work?

Its just a iron core(19mm MS bar), wound with copper wire to make an electro magnet dropped into 40mm pvc pipe and filled with epoxy.

The field alternates with the AC. So when you have the part against the degausser, you are making the part magnetic one way half the cycle and reversing it in the next half cycle, by moving them apart(with the degausser still on) you destroy the old field but the new one isn't as strong, repeating 100 times a second until you are far enough away that it doesn't matter anymore.
You could use it to make a magnet by switch the degausser off rather than moving it away(though these things don't have a lot of power for that sort of thing)

They are meant for demagnetising the shadow mask(?) of a CRT TVs(how do they make those BTW?)

Stuart

Thanks Stu

Originally Posted by Log

There's one on Ebay at the moment the same style. Degaussing wand | eBay

Cheers.

Or one for the big spenders.....NEW Factory Second's Degaussing Wands | eBay

Following on from Stu's Post, when activated, they produce an alternating magnetic field at mains frequency, which "wears down" the magnetic field in the item (tool) being demgnetised. Because they are mains powered there are two points in each mains cylcle where there is an instantaneous zero magnetic field but no way to release the button at exactly the right time to ensure no residual field in the unit being demagged.

To overcome this, the unit is activated and passed the length of the tool rubbing along it a few times, then withdrawn while still operating and seperated from the tool by a couple of metres before releasing the button. This ensures that the residual field in the tool is minimised and timing the button release is non critical.

What Malb said.
I hit submit by misstake and it seems my typing speed hasnt improved.

Stuart

p.s. a couple of meters malb? I'd have said 100mm would just about do it.(with there degaussers, more powerful demagnetisers may need more distance)

Originally Posted by malb

Following on from Stu's Post, when activated, they produce an alternating magnetic field at mains frequency, which "wears down" the magnetic field in the item (tool) being demgnetised. Because they are mains powered there are two points in each mains cylcle where there is an instantaneous zero magnetic field but no way to release the button at exactly the right time to ensure no residual field in the unit being demagged.

To overcome this, the unit is activated and passed the length of the tool rubbing along it a few times, then withdrawn while still operating and seperated from the tool by a couple of metres before releasing the button. This ensures that the residual field in the tool is minimised and timing the button release is non critical.

Thanks for that, I've just been holding the job on one end of the wand and slowly taking it away, I'll do it as you have explained in future.

Cheers.

Have been using them with electronics for the best part of 40years, demagging heads, tape guides rollers, wiping tapes, degaussing monitors etc. Was taught in that game to always seperate device and degausser by full arm span, (1.9m for me) because with a shutoff close to the object being demagged, there is a danger of inducing a field in some other part of the gear being demagged. Might not be an issue for a screwdriver, but sure can be for a big multitrack recorder or 2in video recorder.
The bigger tape erasers that we used for 3/4 video and 1/2 inch audio tape could upset a watch with hands a metre away, so we learnt ere on the side of safety

It is easy to see how far away you need to move with a CRT monitor or an old TV set by looking at the screen while it is running & waving the degausser & backing away, usually 2 or 3 metres before the picture stops wobbling.

Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers

It is easy to see how far away you need to move with a CRT monitor or an old TV set by looking at the screen while it is running & waving the degausser & backing away, usually 2 or 3 metres before the picture stops wobbling.

Just have, Malb's(and Cliff) right at least as far as tvs go. Certainly over a meter(Idont have a tape inside), not sure you'd notice the difference on tools but given the extra cost I'll certainly be giving it a go.

Spot welders do the same thing with watches.

Stuart

Originally Posted by Stustoys

Just have, Malb's(and Cliff) right at least as far as tvs go. Certainly over a meter(Idont have a tape inside), not sure you'd notice the difference on tools but given the extra cost I'll certainly be giving it a go.

Spot welders do the same thing with watches.

Stuart

I'll never forget the first time I used my TIG, I had my old Nokia in my pocket at the time doing a couple of test welds. Went to check my messages on the phone, and it was frozen, no response to any button pushing - had to pull the battery out to reset it so it would work again. This wasn't a modern smartphone or anything either, just your run of the mill old Nokia - one of the first to have a colour screen. Not entirely sure it was related, but it never froze before that, and I never had it within a couple of metres of the TIG when I was using it after that day.

Not game to do testing with my smartphone....

Try putting the wand up to your temple and turning it on does amazing things to your vision (don't ask how I know this)