Can nearby electronics cause noise in scanner CCDs?

[dano1]

Hey all. I just got my Nikon Coolscan V a few weeks ago, and am

worried about the location it's in.

 

I've currently got the scanner right next to my ~50w subwoofer. Now,

I know noise can be caused by anything electro-magnetic, but I also

know most CCDs are shielded from that. The question is, is the EM

shielding on CCDs enough to block out interference from a nearby

subwoofer?

 

I would put the scanner in a different location, but the power cord is

rather short. I could of course replace the power cord, it seems

pretty standard.

 

I'm just wondering if the subwoofer will have any noticable effect on

noise.

 

TIA,

Dan O.

[steve g]

While it is theoretically feasible, I would think that it would have less of an effect on noise than temperature would.

[bruce_rubenstein]

The effects of EMI are highly dependent on their frequency and distance. The low frequency of the woofer itself will do nothing. Speakers designed for PC systems usuall shield the magnetic fields so that they don't interfere with the monitor image. I have my Coolscan V sitting on top of my PC case (in theory not a good place) and see no effect.

[basscheffers]

I remember seeing pics taken with an old Kodak digicam way back in 1999. They were actualy of our station's antena and I can assure you, being just a few meters away from a 100KW ERP FM transmitter did cause a fair bit of noise! ;-)

[jan_brittenson]

I'd be more concerned with the acoustic noise from the subwoofer rattling the film. :)

 

You could probably have ground noise find its way into the analog portions of the scanner... But I doubt the subwoofer would contibute to that. Running a large AC motor, like a fridge compressor, on the same circuit might be more questionable.

[jeff medkeff anchorage, a]

<p><i>The question is, is the EM shielding on CCDs enough to block out interference from a nearby subwoofer?</i>

 

<p>You have a complex electromechanical system with amplifiers, A/D converters, power supplies, light sources, motors, and so forth inside, and you are only concerned about EMI at the CCD? How are you certain the subwoofer is not interfering with any of these other components?

 

<p>CCDs tend not to be well shielded from EMI at all, but this is because they aren't really very susceptible to it in the first place. Sure, engineers will talk about shielding to prevent crosstalk and the like, but this is to prevent the CCD from interfering with itself. Environmental EMI is only rarely a problem to the sensor. I can't tell you how often I shoot in EM noisy environments and the chip works just fine, but the camera's other circuitry manages to ruin the image anyway. I've no doubt it is just the same with scanners.

 

<p>That said, you are probably fine, but won't know for certain (or to your satisfaction) unless you test.