When I worked in commercial radio many years ago, we had a 'bulk eraser' that would wipe NAB cartridges clean for new commercials or jingles. It was an aggressive beast that would buzz and vibrate while you used it for the few seconds it took to sweep the tape back and forth. I can remember turning up for work around 5am one morning to a horrible smell as someone had forgotten to turn the bulk eraser off the day before. It's a miracle that anyone within the Broad Street area in Birmingham didn't lose their magnetic media.
I loved this Rob. And as someone who's frequently moving floppy disks when travelling, you'd be surprised how likely it is for a disk to end up next to my phone ;)
Nice video. Really appreciate that you went above and beyond by adding a graphical bar chart to the arduino gauss output, keeping things visually appealing for us.
Keeping my disk box on the top of my stereo speaker cabinets probably wasn't a good idea back in the day..... Great meeting you on Saturday BTW, Really enjoyed our chat.
Only thing is with names chosen on TH-cam I don’t actually know who you were and the profile picture is far too small lol - but yes was nice to meet so many interesting people on Saturday
Interesting test there, Thanks for doing it - I had a feeling the Fisk Tank Cleaner would do the most damage, as it was a larger magnet to begin with - I never really had any issues with disks when I was younger as I always used to put them somewhere safe Maybe had 1 or 2 max Amiga Floppy Disks go duff on me throughout the time I used them - Had PC Floppy Disks when I was on a computer training course, used ARJ compression software back then just so I could keep a backup of my data - used to take the Floppy Disks home with me, used to have over 10 at any one time, in a Disk Box - those were the days eh - when you needed tons of Floppies just to store the compressed data
Nice video. Have you tried to fix a floppy by using magnets? The theory is that you can fix the errors on a floppy by using a strong magnet. Of course you loose the data, but new data can be written on to it.
Would be the same as formatting it. The only time this might help is if you’re using 5.25” drives and you want to write a 40 track disk that’s had 80 track stuff on it or writing a 40 track on an 80 track drive
@@RobSmithDev Sounds like a plausible answer. Would you be doing a video on that? I think it could be an interesting experiment. Testing disk with known errors, reformat as 40 tracks, and see if s strong magnet helps? Also have you considered Super Strong Neodymium Fishing Magnet? That sell them cheap online.
In the 1980's I worked in software support for a multi-national company and we used to make 2 copies of our diskettes then wrap them in tin foil when we flew. We were told that if our brief case was x-rayed it would damage the storage. We were never convinced this was true but we followed company practice because to be wrong and caught out would have meant our job. Of course our hand luggage was seldom checked in those days. I don't remember suffering any media damage from x-rays or magnetic interference specifically but we did occasionally suffer loss on one copy for an unspecified reason; hence the 2 copies.
I took a load through airport security earlier this year, aside from confusing the staff who didn’t know what they were they all worked perfectly after scanning. But better to be safe than sorry I guess
An Apple product that I’ve accidentally erased floppies with is a MacBook Pro. I set a floppy down on one of the palm rests and it was unreadable afterwards. There are powerful magnets near the edges of the palm rests that are part of the speakers!
Wait..........that means that @RobSmithDev is Tyler Durden and we're all of his Space Monkeys ! The First Rule of Rob's Tech club is - No magnets near floppy disks The second rule of Rob's Tech club is - NO F****g magnets near floppy disks !! 😜
when I was a kid the primary thing was the desktop speakers we all had, they had magnets in them. we were told not to put floppy disks around the speakers. I personally don't remember ever a floppy disk getting damaged by a magnet. Saying that, I have seen a lot of floppy disks failed/corrupted maybe some of them were caused by magnets, I'll never know.
Was always wary of putting disks too close to speakers, used to keep floppy disks well away from bookshelf speakers in the day. Wonder if there was really much risk though as you are rubbing the magnets against the disk, I kept my disk boxes other side of room was so paranoid as a kid!
I suspect you were fine. The back of the speakers were probably shielded and the front was probably too far away to allow you to get a disk that close. A little bit of paranoia isn’t a bad thing with data though
No not true. I took a box full through last year and they all worked fine dispite the staff scanning them twice because they didn’t know what they were
I have magnet with which risk of damaging floppy is least of our worries and I need to watch my fingers. Wonder how much sectors would this nice magnet would erase.
It would get erased instantly. Probably would not heat up as much to melt but without proper analysis I would not dismiss possibility it could heat up a little.
@@RobSmithDev It‘s because of the popping sounds, you‘re using. Those are also used in „Jerry‘s Game“. But everyone has a different association with sound effects, I guess 😅👍
@@iggienator True... I thought I was being unique using the swooshing sound between scenes until I satrted watching Malcom in the Middle the other week
But are they safe from floating Boing Ball ornaments on your desk???? 😂 You are the official mad scientist of the Amiga community! You rock Rob!
Haha probably not! 😃 no you rock @AmigaBill
Once more I admire your ruthlessly scientific approach to ridding the world of the scourge of floppy disks
You love floppy disks! 💾 Although probably more the single sided kind
When I worked in commercial radio many years ago, we had a 'bulk eraser' that would wipe NAB cartridges clean for new commercials or jingles. It was an aggressive beast that would buzz and vibrate while you used it for the few seconds it took to sweep the tape back and forth. I can remember turning up for work around 5am one morning to a horrible smell as someone had forgotten to turn the bulk eraser off the day before. It's a miracle that anyone within the Broad Street area in Birmingham didn't lose their magnetic media.
Crazy things, I think the buzz sound makes them feel unsafe somehow! Did it melt?
I used to use one on 8-inch floppies when I worked in a library back in the mid-80's. That thing was hella-strong.
I loved this Rob. And as someone who's frequently moving floppy disks when travelling, you'd be surprised how likely it is for a disk to end up next to my phone ;)
Thanks Chris - was great to hear you on TWIR this week
Nice video. Really appreciate that you went above and beyond by adding a graphical bar chart to the arduino gauss output, keeping things visually appealing for us.
Keeping my disk box on the top of my stereo speaker cabinets probably wasn't a good idea back in the day..... Great meeting you on Saturday BTW, Really enjoyed our chat.
Only thing is with names chosen on TH-cam I don’t actually know who you were and the profile picture is far too small lol - but yes was nice to meet so many interesting people on Saturday
Also keeping floppies laying on CRT monitors... especially when they degauss which is worst kind of magnetic field for floppy drive.
Often wondered about this and now we have a good basis with which to evaluate actual results. -Mark.
Interesting test there, Thanks for doing it - I had a feeling the Fisk Tank Cleaner would do the most damage, as it was a larger magnet to begin with - I never really had any issues with disks when I was younger as I always used to put them somewhere safe
Maybe had 1 or 2 max Amiga Floppy Disks go duff on me throughout the time I used them - Had PC Floppy Disks when I was on a computer training course, used ARJ compression software back then just so I could keep a backup of my data - used to take the Floppy Disks home with me, used to have over 10 at any one time, in a Disk Box - those were the days eh - when you needed tons of Floppies just to store the compressed data
The mention of ARJ brought back a flashback of memories to me!
Thank you Rob excellent subject matter.
Nice video. Have you tried to fix a floppy by using magnets?
The theory is that you can fix the errors on a floppy by using a strong magnet. Of course you loose the data, but new data can be written on to it.
Would be the same as formatting it.
The only time this might help is if you’re using 5.25” drives and you want to write a 40 track disk that’s had 80 track stuff on it or writing a 40 track on an 80 track drive
@@RobSmithDev Sounds like a plausible answer. Would you be doing a video on that? I think it could be an interesting experiment.
Testing disk with known errors, reformat as 40 tracks, and see if s strong magnet helps?
Also have you considered Super Strong Neodymium Fishing Magnet? That sell them cheap online.
In the 1980's I worked in software support for a multi-national company and we used to make 2 copies of our diskettes then wrap them in tin foil when we flew. We were told that if our brief case was x-rayed it would damage the storage. We were never convinced this was true but we followed company practice because to be wrong and caught out would have meant our job. Of course our hand luggage was seldom checked in those days. I don't remember suffering any media damage from x-rays or magnetic interference specifically but we did occasionally suffer loss on one copy for an unspecified reason; hence the 2 copies.
I took a load through airport security earlier this year, aside from confusing the staff who didn’t know what they were they all worked perfectly after scanning. But better to be safe than sorry I guess
An Apple product that I’ve accidentally erased floppies with is a MacBook Pro. I set a floppy down on one of the palm rests and it was unreadable afterwards. There are powerful magnets near the edges of the palm rests that are part of the speakers!
Wow I’m surprised they’re not shielded but then again I guess there’s less need to now
@@RobSmithDevPerhaps speakers should be shielded, but a lot of laptops (not just Macbooks) use magnets to detect if it is opened or closed.
“Project Mayhem” also used bulk erasers in the movie “Fight Club.” Looked like they were targeting a VHS rental shop.
I’ll have to rewatch that and take a look
Wait..........that means that @RobSmithDev is Tyler Durden
and we're all of his Space Monkeys !
The First Rule of Rob's Tech club is - No magnets near floppy disks
The second rule of Rob's Tech club is - NO F****g magnets near floppy disks !!
😜
😂😂😂
This was a good video I missed this one , great video I enjoyed it , I felt strangely drawn towards it😂😂😂
Magnetising to watch
Love this!
Another mad experiment Rob. Again I am impressed by the gauss reader you created.
Next we need to test hard drives!
when I was a kid the primary thing was the desktop speakers we all had, they had magnets in them. we were told not to put floppy disks around the speakers. I personally don't remember ever a floppy disk getting damaged by a magnet. Saying that, I have seen a lot of floppy disks failed/corrupted maybe some of them were caused by magnets, I'll never know.
Usually the computer speakers were shielded but I suspect with the case on them you probably couldn’t get the disk close enough anyway
We were told traveling on the London tube would cause floppy issues. Guess how we got to World of Amiga in the 90's!
I wonder what impact leaving disks on top of the CRT or beside desk speakers would have? I always got grief from my Dad about that.
Good question……
Was always wary of putting disks too close to speakers, used to keep floppy disks well away from bookshelf speakers in the day. Wonder if there was really much risk though as you are rubbing the magnets against the disk, I kept my disk boxes other side of room was so paranoid as a kid!
I suspect you were fine. The back of the speakers were probably shielded and the front was probably too far away to allow you to get a disk that close. A little bit of paranoia isn’t a bad thing with data though
I voted for the Iron Filings, i reckon just one or two of those on the disk would destory both disk and drive 😄
Hahaha yes those things get everywhere! - but that wasn’t a choice lol
I'm told that the airport x-ray have been wiping drives for years. Any truth in that?
No not true. I took a box full through last year and they all worked fine dispite the staff scanning them twice because they didn’t know what they were
You should also test how long the data in floppies can survive when microwaved 😊
lol yeah I’m not putting a floppy disk in a microwave
Well, I already know how easy it is to distort a CRT with an iPhone. MagSafe has its drawbacks!
Sure does - but only in a retro world I guess
I have magnet with which risk of damaging floppy is least of our worries and I need to watch my fingers. Wonder how much sectors would this nice magnet would erase.
if its that strong, probably the entire disk instantly
What if you put a floppy in an MRI machine?
I suspect it would die instantly!
It would get erased instantly. Probably would not heat up as much to melt but without proper analysis I would not dismiss possibility it could heat up a little.
I guess H the Boing Ball Base because it oscillates.
That shows how much I know!
I was actually surprised by that one myself
I have a feeling, you are a Rick and Morty fan…
Actually never watched it. What makes you think this?
@@RobSmithDev It‘s because of the popping sounds, you‘re using. Those are also used in „Jerry‘s Game“. But everyone has a different association with sound effects, I guess 😅👍
@@iggienator True... I thought I was being unique using the swooshing sound between scenes until I satrted watching Malcom in the Middle the other week