Magnets & Fluorescent Lights?

[Necro]

For some reason I'm thinking magnets near a fluorescent tube causes some issues.  I don't know why I think this or where I read it, but anyone know either way?  I'm wondering if U360's next to the lower bezel on my cab (Omega Race, lower bezel is lit by a fluorescent light) are going to cause it to flicker or act odd BEFORE I spend the money on the U360's.

[M.Lanza]

Quite a few cabinets have a fluorecent marquee light within close proximity to the speaker magnets without causing any problems.

[richms]

You may have the magnet vibrate if its near to the ballast and its an old wire-wound one, but that would be the same with any metal near it in any case, and even the crap old wire-wound ones are usually pretty tight with containing their magnetic fields.

The tubes have no effect that I have seen at all.

[grantspain]

unshielded speakers near to a crt cause problems,perhaps you had seen a note about magnets near a tube and the author meant a television tube rather than a flo tube

[AcidArmitage]

maybe cold cathode tube got mixed up with cathode ray tube?

[Necro]

Nah, I was definitely thinking Flour's get messed up with a magnet nearby and did some weird 'wave' type thing when you did it.  I must have just been mis-remembering.

Thanks for the info.

[u_rebelscum]

Magnets can have an effect on florescent light, but not very much.  Related issues:

Cheap and older ballasts included a magnet.   These ballasts make noise, flicker more, are less energy efficient, flicker/waves can be seen in video, and basically suck compared to the other type of ballast.   Better ballasts are solid state with no magnets.  It's not the magnet that's causing that; the technology is.  Maybe someone read "Magnetic ballasts cause waves and flicker," and confused/simplified it to "magnets cause flicker"?

Motors and speakers with strong magnetic fields can influence the electrons flying inside the tube.  You know, the whole "electromagnetic" relationship.  But the changing magnetic field would be doing the most effect, if at the right (wrong?) frequencies.   Strong AC current can light up florescent tubes, for example.  Again, magnetic ballasts would feel the effect more.  Again, maybe someone read "(changing) magnetic fields cause waves and flicker," and confused/simplified it to "magnets cause flicker"?

Even so, look at all the speakers right next to the magnetic ballast in many old arcade cabs without problems.  You would need a very strong constant magnetic field (IOW, the field a magnet produces) to mess up florescent light


Hmm... I'm thinking of testing if my rare earth magnets have any noticeable effects on different florescent lights/ballasts I cant find tonight.

[Necro]

I may have been confusing the put a fluorescent light near an AC source and it can lightup sometimes thing with a magnet for some oddball reason

Sorry for the confusion!