Re: Capturing EM interference with a microphone

On Fri, 04 Nov 2005 17:03:09 -0500, jh top-posted:

> Thanks for everyone for your ideas. I'll try some stuff (when I get a
> chance; it might be a while) and post anything interesting. I'm hoping
> to eventually (maybe after I learn more about electronics) build a
> reasonably sensitive EMI-only "microphone" to use as a sort of computer
> stethoscope.
>
> Here's my idea: could a computer technician, with this tool and some
> practice, hear and immediately recognize the EMI signature of a dying
> power supply or other bad component, the same way an expert pilot can
> instantly diagnose engine troubles just from their noises? Certainly,
> many technicians can recognize the distinctive sound made by some dying
> hard drives; but most components don't make any noise that we can hear
> naturally.

If it were me and my resources, in this day and age, I wouldn't bother.
It's fun to probe around, and maybe play the sounds for your friends and
stuff, but I seriously doubt if today's micro-stuff could actually be
diagnosed by the sounds in the EMI. Well, you could hear an obviously
dead component, but there have been trouble-shooting methods for that
for decades.

For fun and education, yes definitely.

For a _real_ diagnostic tool, if you could pull it off, you could win
a Nobel prize. ;-P

Have Fun!
Rich

.

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