Neodymium magnets in a DIY cover

JeffL · 01-02-2009, 01:53 AM

Hi everyone,

I've just bought my first ebook reader (the prs505, of course) and am immensely chuffed with it. However, as I can easily forsee breaking the screen in my backpack, I'm going to hollow out a hardcover book for a DIY cover. And I'm going to use magnets to keep the cover closed.

I know that the question of magnets has arisen several times with regard to ebook readers, and the concensus is that magnets are safe. Especially given that the prs505 already has magnets built into it.

However, I'm thinking of using neodymium magnets, which are an order of magnitude stronger than 'standard' magnets. I've noticed that neodymium magnets are strong enough to shut down some smartphones, though mine have no apparent short term affect on the Sony. Does anyone have experience with neodymium magnets near their reader, or does anyone have an educated theory as to whether this is safe in the long term?

ashadocat · 01-02-2009, 11:34 PM

it should be safe. mostly all the sony internals are solid state. hold the magnets up to an sd card. if any of the files are corrupted the it's not safe. corrupted files mean that is was strong enough to move some of the relays in the silicon. try again while transferring files to the card. if any are corrupted it means that the magnet is holding the relays in place and also unsafe. if it can't affect an sd card it sure as hell can't affect a cpu. the only thing affected by magnets are relays(like those used in silicon chips) and mechanical devices (like the arm on a hard drive.) most of the time this will just cuose a crash unless you affect the bios rom. mosty bios roms' are somewhat magnetically shielded and way better then sd cards

acidzebra · 01-03-2009, 09:20 AM

I have a couple of small neodymium magnets holding my DIY Sony cover shut. Hasn't caused any issues though I don't know if I would recommend storing it next to your wallet with credit cards and such.

txoof · 01-30-2011, 03:27 PM

There shouldn't be anything even remotely effected by the magnets within a solid-state e-reader.

kartu · 01-30-2011, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffL

I've noticed that neodymium magnets are strong enough to shut down some smartphones...

You have seen it happen? Which models? If not, I smell an urban legend...

JeffL · 02-14-2011, 08:31 PM

As a followup:

I can confirm that the magnets had no effect on the Sony Reader.

To kartu: I've tested neodymium magenets on a Blackberry Bold. If placed next to the body, the Bold screen would blank out. I've also confirmed this on a Storm. The device doesn't actually switch off, I have checked online and it appears that this is a deliberate feature by Blackberry- some holsters contain a magnet, which will switch the device into sleep mode.

Chris H · 02-15-2011, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffL

I know that the question of magnets has arisen several times with regard to ebook readers, and the concensus is that magnets are safe. Especially given that the prs505 already has magnets built into it.

My lighted Sony cover for the 650 has magnets in it, not sure of the type, but...

delphin · 02-23-2011, 02:47 AM

Just wanted to revive this thread to point out that the PRS-650 already has magnets built into the reader itself right out of the factory.

The reason I figured this out is that the reader seems to be made of aluminum, and I couldn't figure out what the cover magnets in the Sony covers were sticking to. Faced with a similar problem, if I had to engineer a solution for this, then I would simply place some small magnets inside the reader at the corners, and when I checked, that seems to be exactly what Sony has done.

Anyone with a 650 - If you want to check this for yourself, get a small thin piece of steel or iron and tap it lighly against the lower right corner and upper right corner of the 650 and you will feel the attraction of the magnets built into the reader.

So in theory, you wouldn't need magnets to hold the cover closed, you would only need a thin sheet of material cut from a steel can or some such.

The attractive force from these magnets is a little weak though, so you would do better with small dime sized rare earth magnets BUT YOU WILL HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY LINE UP PROPERLY AND ARE GLUED INTO THE COVER FACING THE RIGHT WAY OR THEY WILL REPEL INSTEAD OF ATTRACT.

With everything lined up the right way, with magnets facing magnets on the top-cover, reader itself, and bottom cover, at both the upper right and lower right corners of the reader, the force holding the cover closed will be much stronger, and should hold it closed quite nicely when the reader is not in use.

01-02-2009, 01:53 AM	#1
JeffL Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 98 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony prs505	Neodymium magnets in a DIY cover Hi everyone, I've just bought my first ebook reader (the prs505, of course) and am immensely chuffed with it. However, as I can easily forsee breaking the screen in my backpack, I'm going to hollow out a hardcover book for a DIY cover. And I'm going to use magnets to keep the cover closed. I know that the question of magnets has arisen several times with regard to ebook readers, and the concensus is that magnets are safe. Especially given that the prs505 already has magnets built into it. However, I'm thinking of using neodymium magnets, which are an order of magnitude stronger than 'standard' magnets. I've noticed that neodymium magnets are strong enough to shut down some smartphones, though mine have no apparent short term affect on the Sony. Does anyone have experience with neodymium magnets near their reader, or does anyone have an educated theory as to whether this is safe in the long term?

02-14-2011, 08:31 PM	#6
JeffL Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 98 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony prs505	As a followup: I can confirm that the magnets had no effect on the Sony Reader. To kartu: I've tested neodymium magenets on a Blackberry Bold. If placed next to the body, the Bold screen would blank out. I've also confirmed this on a Storm. The device doesn't actually switch off, I have checked online and it appears that this is a deliberate feature by Blackberry- some holsters contain a magnet, which will switch the device into sleep mode. Last edited by JeffL; 02-14-2011 at 08:34 PM.

02-23-2011, 02:47 AM	#8
delphin Evangelist Posts: 434 Karma: 346901 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: SONY PRS-650	Just wanted to revive this thread to point out that the PRS-650 already has magnets built into the reader itself right out of the factory. The reason I figured this out is that the reader seems to be made of aluminum, and I couldn't figure out what the cover magnets in the Sony covers were sticking to. Faced with a similar problem, if I had to engineer a solution for this, then I would simply place some small magnets inside the reader at the corners, and when I checked, that seems to be exactly what Sony has done. Anyone with a 650 - If you want to check this for yourself, get a small thin piece of steel or iron and tap it lighly against the lower right corner and upper right corner of the 650 and you will feel the attraction of the magnets built into the reader. So in theory, you wouldn't need magnets to hold the cover closed, you would only need a thin sheet of material cut from a steel can or some such. The attractive force from these magnets is a little weak though, so you would do better with small dime sized rare earth magnets BUT YOU WILL HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY LINE UP PROPERLY AND ARE GLUED INTO THE COVER FACING THE RIGHT WAY OR THEY WILL REPEL INSTEAD OF ATTRACT. With everything lined up the right way, with magnets facing magnets on the top-cover, reader itself, and bottom cover, at both the upper right and lower right corners of the reader, the force holding the cover closed will be much stronger, and should hold it closed quite nicely when the reader is not in use. Last edited by delphin; 02-23-2011 at 02:54 AM.

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01-02-2009, 11:34 PM	#2
ashadocat Member Posts: 21 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2008 Device: sony 505	it should be safe. mostly all the sony internals are solid state. hold the magnets up to an sd card. if any of the files are corrupted the it's not safe. corrupted files mean that is was strong enough to move some of the relays in the silicon. try again while transferring files to the card. if any are corrupted it means that the magnet is holding the relays in place and also unsafe. if it can't affect an sd card it sure as hell can't affect a cpu. the only thing affected by magnets are relays(like those used in silicon chips) and mechanical devices (like the arm on a hard drive.) most of the time this will just cuose a crash unless you affect the bios rom. mosty bios roms' are somewhat magnetically shielded and way better then sd cards

01-03-2009, 09:20 AM	#3
acidzebra Liseuse Lover Posts: 869 Karma: 1035404 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Netherlands Device: PRS-505	I have a couple of small neodymium magnets holding my DIY Sony cover shut. Hasn't caused any issues though I don't know if I would recommend storing it next to your wallet with credit cards and such.

01-30-2011, 03:27 PM	#4
txoof Member Posts: 20 Karma: 2600 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Kindle 1, Kindle 3	There shouldn't be anything even remotely effected by the magnets within a solid-state e-reader.

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