PCB cages - are they necessary?

Tornadoboy

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Is there any real benefit from using PCB cages, aside from keeping things neat, protecting them from accidents when working inside cabs? Is RF interferance enough of a concern to warrent them or were they just something mandated by the FCC?

I have a 60-in-1 and I was thinking of making a small cage for it with a fan, and I've also got a couple of other custom cab projects on my to-do list that might get them.
 
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Card cages were generally used with multi-board layouts. The earliest ones actually had a buss with edge connectors. The idea was to allow easy and quick fixes by just swapping a new board in and getting those quarters rolling again. Later they were found to be useful in meeting FCC intererence guidelines and to keep boards from shorting together. Ultimately, miniaturization made them obsolete because you could fit almost any conceivable circuit on a single board.

Now days unless you are going to be putting games in extremely hot or humid environments (or small enclosures), there probably is little to be gained by adding a fan.

ken
 
The FCC will track the radio waves down and fine you!

All your neighbors TV's and Radios will no longer work when you turn on your games.
 
The FCC will track the radio waves down and fine you!

All your neighbors TV's and Radios will no longer work when you turn on your games.

The TVs are all digital now, so they will work fine. You may just hose their tv remotes, cell phones, ceiling fan remotes, garage door openers, wirless phones, pacemakers, and toy robots. Nothing to worry about ;)

ken
 
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