Magnetic tool holder in a electronics lab?

[george graves]

What's the potential problems with a magnetic tool holder in a home electronics lab without CTR scopes?

I'm thinking of adding some of the front of the shelves - not far from other test equipment and test leads, but arms reach from the center of my work area.

I assume that the magnetic field could mess with CRT scopes - but I what about other things?  What about test leads?

[vk6zgo]

Very unlikely to worry a CRO,they are well shielded.

The main thing which we used to worry about were Colour TV,& Computer monitor CRTs,where there was the possibility of causing colour purity errors.

You also may end up magnetising your screwdrivers,etc,which can be useful,or can be a major pain in the neck!

Good Test leads & probes are made of copper & brass respectively,so unless you have some real ELCheapo probes,you should be OK.

[richard.cs]

I don't see a particular problem with it. If you get it too close to a CRT scope you'll put the beam off center and the problem will go away as soon as you move it. It's nothing like the colour CRTs used in TVs where it's possible to magnetise the shadow mask and screw up the colours.

[amyk]

As mentioned in another thread, magnetic field obeys inverse-square law so the field strength drops off rapidly with the distance. Here it's an advantage as things like moving test leads around won't induce great voltages in them. Maybe still not a good idea if you are working with very tiny signals...