darthphunk
Active member
Hey guys.
I discovered something weird about my basement. There is a small patch of magnetic interference in one of the sections and I am not sure what is causing it.
I noticed it when I was working on my Super Pac Man. I don't do cosmetic work in the basement, but I will do all other work on a game down there. I was putting a new monitor in the Super Pac and I was having problems degaussing the monitor. I worked on it for a while and was getting frustrated. I turned the cabinet a little when I was working and I noticed that when I turned it, the distorted monitor changed. I scooted the game around and discovered there is a small area with magnetic weirdness.
This is not to scale, but this is what the room looks like. There is no interference when the games are by the walls. There is also no interference in the wall mounted CRT tv above the bar. I only see the distortion if there is a game sitting in the green area (which is where I was working on Super Pac)
This is an old home, built in the late 30's. There are no pipes above and minimal electrical cables running directly above the site (1 cable to power a light near there, but not directly over)
The floor is cement with a hard corrugated plastic subfloor, with OSB, then a thin styrofoam vapor barrier, then laminate flooring... nothing in the cement like cut off bolts or old brackets or anything.
I am thinking there is something weird in the ground directly underneath that area. Any ideas beyond DONT PUT GAMES THERE? Can I shield this?
I won't be putting games in that spot, because it's a walkway... but there is room for a cabaret or two on the wall just under the phantom zone and I don't want to damage anything.
I discovered something weird about my basement. There is a small patch of magnetic interference in one of the sections and I am not sure what is causing it.
I noticed it when I was working on my Super Pac Man. I don't do cosmetic work in the basement, but I will do all other work on a game down there. I was putting a new monitor in the Super Pac and I was having problems degaussing the monitor. I worked on it for a while and was getting frustrated. I turned the cabinet a little when I was working and I noticed that when I turned it, the distorted monitor changed. I scooted the game around and discovered there is a small area with magnetic weirdness.
This is not to scale, but this is what the room looks like. There is no interference when the games are by the walls. There is also no interference in the wall mounted CRT tv above the bar. I only see the distortion if there is a game sitting in the green area (which is where I was working on Super Pac)
This is an old home, built in the late 30's. There are no pipes above and minimal electrical cables running directly above the site (1 cable to power a light near there, but not directly over)
The floor is cement with a hard corrugated plastic subfloor, with OSB, then a thin styrofoam vapor barrier, then laminate flooring... nothing in the cement like cut off bolts or old brackets or anything.
I am thinking there is something weird in the ground directly underneath that area. Any ideas beyond DONT PUT GAMES THERE? Can I shield this?
I won't be putting games in that spot, because it's a walkway... but there is room for a cabaret or two on the wall just under the phantom zone and I don't want to damage anything.


