[david.burney]

Okay...this is strange, but bear with me and I promise this true, I'm not screwing with anyone. The QS G4's appear to give off some kind of, well, I don't know. At first I thought it was a heat issue, or some kind of static...I'm not sure, it may be in the plastic...anyhow...here we go.

Around September of last year, I had the pleasure of ordering our dept. five new QS machines with LaCie hooded monitors. About a week after set up, we noticed that the adhesive holding the velcro to the hood had practically "melted" and so the hoods would fall on that side. This happened to be the side that was closest to our towers (about an inch or two or three away). Every single hood did this. Every designer had their tower on their desktop and the hood on the side and on the top closest to the tower would not hold a bond with the gooey glue on the velcro tabs. I said to hell with it and left it alone.

Now, I've recently acquired the same monitor at home, the exact same monitor, mind you. After unpacking it, I noticed that the tabs had become stuck on the hood again...not just hanging by the goo, but were really fixed on there...good. About a week after sitting the monitor next to my QS at home, it started falling down. "Great" I figured...I'll just get some superglue or something. Well, just yesterday I grabbed my Buddy Christ action figure off my tower, right? And his arm falls off! I notice upon close examination that it appears that the adhesive has failed. I put the arm back and stick somewhere safe and have had no problems...I have yet to try to remove the arm again, but I'm conviced that something emitting from that tower did it. I've had that guy for months, in various local and nothing has ever even seemed the least bit loose. Pretty weird, eh?

So, I ask now...does anyone have any clue as to why this would happen? Has anyone experienced this themselves...on any other tower (graphite, yosemite)? Very strange indeed...would love to know why this happens. Thanks.

[tomra]

That`s just plain scary

Tom.

[Nephron]

Whoa.

Are there other unidirectional heat sources that might explain this? For example, is it always the side of the monitor that faces the window that is affected? Heat vents? Portable nuclear reactors?

How 'bout the Power Macs themselves. Do they vent a huge amount of heat in that direction?

All I can say is ... weird.

Cheers!

[tomra]

Just gave my "Yikes!" a hug and it felt as cool as it can be, but i have experienced some displays getting pretty hot?!

David, is your Lacie hot?

Tom.

[david.burney]

I've definitely ruled out the heat thing. The monitor is cool to the touch as are the PM's. Remember, this also happened to everyone elses monitors in my group...and we were in cube farms so there were no windows!

I think it has to be something in the plastic or some other composite that makes up the box. The velcro tabs on the hood were fine when I unpacked the monitor (for a second time i might add) until a few days of setting next to the tower. And while I'm sure the adhesive in my action figure wasn't exactly industrial in strength, I'm still freaked out by the fact that the adhesive totally broke down as a result of sitting on top of my mac.

So, it appears that I've ruled out most everything except the tower...what's next? I hope I don't start losing my hair or anything. If my fingernails begin to fall off my fingers as I type, I'll try to let everyone know!

More comments and theories welcomed and expected.

-- db

[yukon]

you see, it's the high pitched whine from the fans. the exact freqeency has been known to match the vibrational frequency of supercooled liquids, causing adhesive failure and barbara walters.

ever think that maybe it was YOU emitting these rays? quit blaming apple!

remember, by sig doubles as a disclaimer 8-)

[Camelot]

Have you considered that it's the monitor, not the Mac that might be causing this?.

If you reverse the placement of the Mac and the monitor (i.e. put the monitor on the other side of the Mac), does the adhesive still fail on the side nearest the Mac, or does the same side as before (now furthest from the Mac) that continues to fail?

[tomra]

Clever suggestion

Tom.

[Jonesy]

The Reality Distortion Field emitted by Macs is known to melt velcro. It is strongest in these PowerMacs to keep us buying them until machines which compare well with new PCs come out!

[Ph.D.]

My guess is that it is ozone being produced by the computer or the monitor. Ozone is a very corrosive gas and does bad, bad stuff to plastics, adhesives, and other materials. If your monitor was white plastic, for example, you might find that it is yellowing due to contact with ozone gas. Ozone has a characteristic biting smell that is instantly recognizable by anyone who has traveled the NYC subways, or sniffed the back of an old TV set.

Ozone is typically produced by high-voltage power supplies and electronics. Most switching power supplies (as opposed to simpler old fashioned ones) generate enough voltage to produce ozone gas. The towers almost certainly use switching power supplies. However, so do your monitors, if they are CRT ones. In fact, they probably make a lot more ozone than your tower.

Were the towers on different sides? Or always on one side? It really could be ozone, from either the towers or the CRT's.

Cheers!

-Ph.D.

[Fyre4ce]

I don't know if this is the source of the problem, but if nothing else it will enlighten some people here.

There is a method of heat transfer called <i>radiation</i>, which involves the emission of electromagnetic waves (like light). Ever hold your hands up to a hot fire? The heat you feel is *not* from hot air, but rather from the radiation phenomenon I just described. You would still feel the heat even if there were a vacuum between you and the fire. Everything that's above absolute zero (ie. everything known to man) emits this blackbody radiation; the amount and frequency distribution of this radiation are dependent upon the temperature and a few other factors. Maybe the melting glue was caused by blackbody radiation... I dunno, that was my first thought.

Conclusion: Further experimentation is necessary to determine the cause of the adhesive failure.

[Fyre4ce]

Originally posted by Ph.D.:
My guess is that it is ozone being produced by the computer or the monitor. Ozone is a very corrosive gas and does bad, bad stuff to plastics, adhesives, and other materials. If your monitor was white plastic, for example, you might find that it is yellowing due to contact with ozone gas. Ozone has a characteristic biting smell that is instantly recognizable by anyone who has traveled the NYC subways, or sniffed the back of an old TV set.

Ozone is typically produced by high-voltage power supplies and electronics. Most switching power supplies (as opposed to simpler old fashioned ones) generate enough voltage to produce ozone gas. The towers almost certainly use switching power supplies. However, so do your monitors, if they are CRT ones. In fact, they probably make a lot more ozone than your tower.

Were the towers on different sides? Or always on one side? It really could be ozone, from either the towers or the CRT's.

Cheers!

-Ph.D.

On ozone: Laser printers and photocopiers can emit it too, and it's not good to breathe in because it can cause airway hyperreactivity. That "fresh" smell in the air after a lightning storm is caused by ozone formed from the high-voltage lightning bolts.

I'm doubting ozone is the cause of the adhesive failure, because ozone would react only on the exposed surface of the glue. Of course, maybe it melted in a way that allowed the ozone deeper inside. ??

I'm still stupified.

[CIA]

Call the X-files!

[tr]

Originally posted by Fyre4ce:
I don't know if this is the source of the problem, but if nothing else it will enlighten some people here.

There is a method of heat transfer called <i>radiation</i>, which involves the emission of electromagnetic waves (like light). Ever hold your hands up to a hot fire? The heat you feel is *not* from hot air, but rather from the radiation phenomenon I just described. You would still feel the heat even if there were a vacuum between you and the fire. Everything that's above absolute zero (ie. everything known to man) emits this blackbody radiation; the amount and frequency distribution of this radiation are dependent upon the temperature and a few other factors. Maybe the melting glue was caused by blackbody radiation... I dunno, that was my first thought.

Conclusion: Further experimentation is necessary to determine the cause of the adhesive failure.

LOL!!!

while working in the university physics department, a woman called, asking if radiation is bad for you. i said "well, what kind of radiation?" and she said "there's different kinds?" and i said, "sure. everything radiates. sunlight is radiation." she just about flipped out, and said "oh my god! is it safe to be in the sun?"


back on topic, and commenting on the conclusion of Fyre4ce, has this monitor been tested on any OTHER computers besides quicksilvers? i would think that would be a course of action before ruling that the quicksilvers emit 'bad karma'.


tr

[MindFad]

Nah, you just have your RDF dial up WAY too high. Turn it down, dude.
I turn my down on low on my dual-800.

[ilukas]

Originally posted by Ph.D.:
My guess is that it is ozone being produced by the computer or the monitor....

You mean to say the QuickSilvers contribute to the ozone layer?

News on CNN: in a mix of technology and religion, an Apple Macintosh user affirms that his mini tower computer is helping the current ozone layer problem by emitting ozone through its power supply fan. According to David Burney from Tulsa, Oklahoma, he stumbled upon this phenomenon when his Christ action figure lost a previously super-glued arm upon melting of the adhesive by the powerful molecules made of three oxygen atoms. In a statement this morning, Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Computers, resigned his position in the company saying that he could not compete with Apple's proprietary power supply technology adding, "I guess that's what the hippies meant by 'flower power'"


btw, computers do emit a lot of electromagnetic radiation. it's what the chinese call bad chi (read kee).

[Mac Zealot]

ooh scary.

*quietly sells his quicksilver*

And I was wondering why all the rubber feet on all my electronics kept falling off.

[Boondoggle]

Velcro failure on ALL the monitors: Bad batch of adhesive

Arm fell off action figure: Coincidence.

Both the computer and the monitor are full of parts that are joined by adhesives. They have not fallen apart. There are lots of different kinds of adhesives. The chance that the action figure and the velcro use the same adhesive and would react in the same way is nil. The adhesive on the velcro could be a water-based or a hydroscopic formulation, which would be vulnerable to humidity. It could either take up water from the air and get gloppy and "melted", as might happen if you say, took it out of the box with the dessicants in it.. Or it could release water to the air and get dried out and weaken. Chances are the formulation was either wrong for the application, not properly made or it was not properly applied. QC on velcro tabs is not very stringent.

Ozone (O3) results from uninsulated electrical discharge in the presence of oxygen, generally in air. There is not nearly enough uninsulated electrical discharge in the computer or monitor to make a flea sneeze. The funky smell in the back of a TV is hot insulator. Laser printers can create ozone because the relatively high energy source is exposed to the atmosphere. In your CPU and monitor that is mostly not the case. Ozone is a fairly reactive gas. It is detectable by your nose at very low levels. Ozone created at or near ground level will never reach the Ozone layer. It will stay down here near ground level happily eating your tires. Darkening of plastics can be caused by UV radiation, also dirt.

Radiation can be used as a hardener for certain types of adhesives. They are UV actives, and others. These types of adhesives are used in clear plastic parts and other applications. More than likely, low level radiation would have as much effect on adhesives as it would on the plastics and adhesives of the monitor and CPU. That is, none. If thermal radiation was affecting the glue, then it would heat up the monitor case as well unless LaCie has recently discovered thermally transparent plastics.

Computer monitors emit A LOT of electromagnetic radiation. Most if it in the visible range. It is called "light".

CPU's emit minor electromagnetic radiation, mostly RF, hence the FCC ID number on the back. If radio waves are messing with your glue you got real problems.


I suggest anyone concerned with these phenomena coat their hands with a thin layer of methacrylate just before typing as a protectant.

[david.burney]

thanks! I knew there would be a rational explanation for it. I don't know why I didn't come up with the same conclusion before you did!

Anyhow, I realize my Buddy Christ losing his arm was probably coincidence, but it was just to funny (or weird) to pass up a post like this. Also, since then, the other velcro tab on the other side of the hood (the side away from the tower) has fallen as well. So why does LaCie give you such an impractical way to keep your hood fastened to your monitor...that just sucks.

Thanks for all your support people...it has helped me through this trying time. I was hoping though, that I could tell my wife that my 867 was emitting strange rays and that we should sell it as soon as possible. Of course, I'd have to replace it with a brand spanking new Dual 867!

[tomra]

Originally posted by david.burney:
Also, since then, the other velcro tab on the other side of the hood (the side away from the tower) has fallen as well. So why does LaCie give you such an impractical way to keep your hood fastened to your monitor...that just sucks.

When i come to think of it...we purchased 3.rd.party hoods similar to the ones on the LaCie displays for five of our 21" at work. This is some 6-7 months ago now and they have all fallen off due to failing "velcro_glue"!

Tom.