degaussing for compass

SOMEWHERE on the net I've seen somebody who rents out equipment to degauss
the area around where the compass goes.

In Cessna 180/185s the compass rests between a steel "V" brace and this
sometimes gets a magnetic set, or something. Does anyone remember who rents
out that equipment?

Karl
"Curator" N185KG

On Fri, 8 Dec 2006 09:32:32 -0800, karl gruber wrote
(in article ):

SOMEWHERE on the net I've seen somebody who rents out equipment to degauss
the area around where the compass goes.

In Cessna 180/185s the compass rests between a steel "V" brace and this
sometimes gets a magnetic set, or something. Does anyone remember who rents
out that equipment?

Didn't Mike Pickett know someone who has something like that?

Sacramento Sky Ranch used to rent a degausser, or you can buy one at
Radio Shack (it's called a bulk tape eraser).

karl gruber wrote:
SOMEWHERE on the net I've seen somebody who rents out equipment to degauss
the area around where the compass goes.

In Cessna 180/185s the compass rests between a steel "V" brace and this
sometimes gets a magnetic set, or something. Does anyone remember who rents
out that equipment?

Karl
"Curator" N185KG

Recently, rq3 posted:

Sacramento Sky Ranch used to rent a degausser, or you can buy one at
Radio Shack (it's called a bulk tape eraser).

karl gruber wrote:
SOMEWHERE on the net I've seen somebody who rents out equipment to
degauss the area around where the compass goes.

In Cessna 180/185s the compass rests between a steel "V" brace and
this sometimes gets a magnetic set, or something. Does anyone
remember who rents out that equipment?


Be aware that a "degausser" can also be a "gausser", and magnetize the
object instead. It may be a more tricky task than it appears, since to
degauss the object one has to apply exactly the amount of magnetism of
opposite polarity. When erasing tapes, this isn't much of an issue,
because the recording process will overcome the relatively weak magnetism.
I'm not so sure about successfully degaussing steel bars near a compass,
and certainly not while they're installed.

Neil

It may be a more tricky task than it appears, since to
degauss the object one has to apply exactly?

Degaussers work from line power by generating a strong 60 Hz
alternating flux which is slowly decreased in intensity by removing the
degausser coil away from the subject. I'd remove the compass and any
electronics first though for that reason.

I'd think a strong or larger degausser could be temporarily made from a
500 ft coil of three conductor (plus ground) # 14 romex wiring cable.
The ends should be connected to make a 2000 ft coil, and the whole mess
tied together with tie wraps. As an alternate the whole mess could be
made with 3 conductor extension cords. & a suicide plug/socket
arrangement.

Has anyone ever tried something like this?

Neil

...I'd remove the compass and any
electronics first though for that reason.

I'd think a strong or larger degausser could be temporarily made...

Is degaussing an airplane considered by the FAA as something that an
owner/pilot could do?

Jose
--
"There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody knows
what they are." - (mike).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

No
"Jose" wrote in message
...
| ...I'd remove the compass and any
| electronics first though for that reason.
|
| I'd think a strong or larger degausser could be
temporarily made...
|
| Is degaussing an airplane considered by the FAA as
something that an
| owner/pilot could do?
|
| Jose
| --
| "There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing.
Unfortunately, nobody knows
| what they are." - (mike).
| for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Recently, nrp posted:

It may be a more tricky task than it appears, since to
degauss the object one has to apply exactly?

Degaussers work from line power by generating a strong 60 Hz
alternating flux which is slowly decreased in intensity by removing
the degausser coil away from the subject.

My over-generalization was in response to the typical use of a magnetic
tape degausser where the size of the coil is much larger than the item
being degaussed and the purpose is only to randomize the magnetic
alignment of the oxide particles. In that use, residual magnetism isn't
critical, but I don't think it would be the same for magnetized bars (the
braces) that are much *larger* than the coil.

I'd remove the compass and
any electronics first though for that reason.

I'd think a strong or larger degausser could be temporarily made from
a 500 ft coil of three conductor (plus ground) # 14 romex wiring
cable. The ends should be connected to make a 2000 ft coil, and the
whole mess tied together with tie wraps. As an alternate the whole
mess could be made with 3 conductor extension cords. & a suicide
plug/socket arrangement.

Has anyone ever tried something like this?

Well... I still think it would be better to remove the braces from the
plane first. Using that size coil in-situ sounds risky.

Neil

On Dec 8, 12:59 pm, "Neil Gould" wrote:
Recently, rq3 posted:

Sacramento Sky Ranch used to rent a degausser, or you can buy one at
Radio Shack (it's called a bulk tape eraser).

It may be a more tricky task than it appears, since to
degauss the object one has to apply exactly?

Degaussers work from line power by generating a strong 60 Hz
alternating flux which is slowly decreased in intensity by removing the
degausser coil away from the subject. I'd remove the compass and any
electronics first though for that reason.

I'd think a strong or larger degausser could be temporarily made from a
500 ft coil of three conductor (plus ground) # 14 romex wiring cable.
The ends should be connected to make a 2000 ft coil, and the whole mess
tied together with tie wraps. As an alternate the whole mess could be
made with 3 conductor extension cords. & a suicide plug/socket
arrangement.

Has anyone ever tried something like this?

Neil

It may be a more tricky task than it appears, since to
degauss the object one has to apply exactly?

Degaussers work from line power by generating a strong 60 Hz
alternating flux which is slowly decreased in intensity by removing the
degausser coil away from the subject. I'd remove the compass and any
electronics first though for that reason.

I'd think a strong or larger degausser could be temporarily made from a
500 ft coil of three conductor (plus ground) # 14 romex wiring cable.
The ends should be connected to make a 2000 ft coil, and the whole mess
tied together with tie wraps. As an alternate the whole mess could be
made with 3 conductor extension cords. & a suicide plug/socket
arrangement.

Has anyone ever tried something like this?

Neil