How bad is it? Son runs magnet across screen.

[FriarTuck]

I just got word from home that my 3 year old called out "look, I'm drawing rainbows on the computer." To my wife's horror, the rainbows were produced by the magnet he was running across the eMac's screen.

How bad is the damage, and how much is it going to cost me?

Thanks.

[robbieduncan]

Unless it was a really strong magnet the damage should not be permanent. Basically it should cost you zero.

[notjustjay]

Heh.. cute..

Degauss the monitor (does the eMac give you that option? Most standalone monitors have it as a menu option along with pincushion, contrast, etc)... and give it time. It'll go away.

I used to do this with our TV when I was a kid, I had a honkin' huge magnet the size of a small bar of soap. Don't think the TV ever had any permanent damage.

[SumDumGuy]

Reminds me of when I had two 15" subwoofers for my car and was keeping them inside until I had time to install them. My wife kept tripping over the boxes, so she slid them under my computer desk. I got home and it looked like my screen had melted...everything was pulled to the bottom. From 3 feet away the magnets on the woofers had ruined my screen.

After I freaked, I hit the degauss button and everything was OK. If you can't degauss, it should still go away over time. I just don't know how long it will take.

[frescies]

Im pretty sure you can degause from the "Monitors" control panel. Peice of cake really. Thats how I degaused back when I had a studio display on a first generation G4. I'm pretty sure this is the only way to do this on a fully integrated monitor.

[rainman::|:|]

yeah a degaussing or three should take care of you... you may consider telling the little tyke that sure it's pretty, but you should only make the rainbows on *other* people's TVs... grandparents, babysitters, etc. You don't want to totally ruin his fun, do you?

:)
pnw

[FriarTuck]

Thanks, folks. I'll give your suggestions a shot when I get home. I hope to report success by the end of the day.

Thanks again.

[maxvamp]

RadioShack and MCM electronics both sell degaussing coils, and bulk tape erasers. Either one can be used to degause a screen if it gets heavily magnatized where the monitor cannot clean itself up.

If the guy at Radio shack has no idea how to use these tools, email me @ maxvamp@attbi.com, and I'll walk you through it.

There is no permanent damage here.

Max

[idea_hamster]

Originally posted by maxvamp
If the guy at Radio shack has no idea how to use these tools, email me @ maxvamp@attbi.com, and I'll walk you through it.
Now THAT's service! What a great bunch of folks here -- so much more than just rumors! :)

[FriarTuck]

Well, it seems that the eMac degausses itself upon startup. So shutting it down, letting it sit for a while, and then starting it back up was enough to get rid of all of the "rainbow" but for a bit of a shadowy image. Hopefully that wil be gone with a few more degausses.

Thanks for keeping me from selling the kid to the circus today.

[manitoubalck]

I have had my computer screen next to my Hi-Fi amp for quite a while and due to the strong magnets in the amp the screen has discolouration in the bottom left corner(Doesn't really bother me.) how ever it is permanent.

The eMac is a 1 piece system which means you can't simply replace the screen. If the damage is permanent your up for a whole new system (that’s Macintosh for you.) Do yourself a favour and buy a system where all the components are interchangable (G5 or Windows based system), therefore if something breaks it's just a matter of replacing the stuffed component not the whole system.

[Powerbook G5]

Yeah, the monitor should automatically de-gauss itself whenever you turn it on, so it should be fine even if you don't have a menu item for it.

[Counterfit]

Yes you can replace just the screen. It's just expensive and a major PITA.