Touchstone, Heat and Magnets

edlex · 08/24/2009, 10:22 AM

Ok so after a little research I found that heat and magnetism do not mix. In fact heat in excess of 170F (80C) will demagnetize a magnet. Now I don't think the TS is heating up that much but, lower amounts of constant heat may be degrading the magnets and causing it to slide just slightly off it's "sweet spot" and creating the on/off charging "ding" or flaky charging some of us have been experiencing. Any engineers out their care to chime in on the heat and magnet issue?

BMIC50 · 08/25/2009, 08:09 AM

Since in-car heat can easily approach that temperature (at least down here in Fla), it sounds prudent to do some real world testing.

How many people (especially in Fla or any southern, sunny state) leave their Touchstone in the car? Any degredation in magnetism?

supercluver · 08/25/2009, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMIC50

Since in-car heat can easily approach that temperature (at least down here in Fla), it sounds prudent to do some real world testing.

How many people (especially in Fla or any southern, sunny state) leave their Touchstone in the car? Any degredation in magnetism?

Yeah, I live in Houston, TX and I have definitely noticed a correlation between heat and the touchstone not working. If I park outside in the sun and its really hot, it will do the charging/not charging "dance" until the A/C has cooled things down. If I just park in the shade and it stays even a bit cooler in the car, it works fine right away. I don't have any actual temperature data to say at what point it gets flaky, but I've been parking in the shade a lot more the past few weeks and the touchstone has been working great. Before that, I just parked wherever and it was definitely annoying how it wouldn't work regularly.

I haven't really noticed the magnets being "weaker" when its hotter, it seems to hold the phone onto the touchstone just fine regardless of how hot or cool it is.

dave75 · 08/25/2009, 08:37 AM

Temperture may affect the electronics in the TS, but it's very unlikely your car will get hot enough to damage the magnets. When magnets get damaged it is permanent, not temporary so unless the magnets no longer work after they have cooled down then the magnets are not the problem.

Temperature in the car may affect current though. As the temp goes up, the resistance in the circuit goes up causing a drop in current. As the temp comes back down, the resistance goes back down and current goes back up. That is a temporary problem related to temp.

These are not answers to why your TS is not working, just some facts about electronics and magnets.

BMIC50 · 08/25/2009, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by supercluver

Yeah, I live in Houston, TX and I have definitely noticed a correlation between heat and the touchstone not working. If I park outside in the sun and its really hot, it will do the charging/not charging "dance" until the A/C has cooled things down. If I just park in the shade and it stays even a bit cooler in the car, it works fine right away. I don't have any actual temperature data to say at what point it gets flaky, but I've been parking in the shade a lot more the past few weeks and the touchstone has been working great. Before that, I just parked wherever and it was definitely annoying how it wouldn't work regularly.

I haven't really noticed the magnets being "weaker" when its hotter, it seems to hold the phone onto the touchstone just fine regardless of how hot or cool it is.

Thanks! I currently do not use a Touchstone in my vehicle, but I hope to have one soon. I havent heard of anyone losing magnetismdue to heat, but I have heard of the dancing on/off problem that you mention. What charger do you use?

extraclass · 09/03/2009, 03:00 PM

How about a slot that would hold the PRE in proper location with a coil behind it to transfer the power! Even a snap-in mount would hold the thing without magnets!

The circuitry to energize the coil can be made to withstand extreme heat so that is not a valid argument! I am surprised some aftermarket company hasn't done this already!

Leland Cox

moreismore69 · 07/17/2010, 12:30 PM

Hey all, I was going through a case issue, really like the seidio touchstone capable cases, but i've had 2 that the little tab snaps off and the face won't stay on. That was getting frustrating, and although i'd love to not have a case, it freaks me out. So i went to Verizon and bought their new touchstone capable case.

i can definitely say it makes my phone look like its awfully huge and kind of weird, but the way they have the back cut out to allow the touchstone charging is terrific (no slide off's ever!) Which is great because my touchstone on my desk at work was a constant slide off because of my typing.

anyway, just some info.

srath16 · 07/17/2010, 02:08 PM

here in Fla, the temperature in my car reads about 108 degrees at 2 PM. I have touchstone mounted just above two a/c vents right in the direction of the sunlight and it's been like this for 5 months now and believe it or not I have had no issue with magnets or heat bothering the TS functionality. The TS is burning hot when I enter the car so I turn one a/c vent upwards to cool down the TS and place my phone on it to charge, no issues at all.

netwrkr9 · 07/17/2010, 02:28 PM

Live in SoCal and work in AZ and NV, I have had a TS in my car now since last Oct. and the magnet still works fine.

08/24/2009, 10:22 AM	#1 (permalink)
edlex Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Miami, Fl Posts: 660 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 10 Thanked 68 Times in 57 Posts	Touchstone, Heat and Magnets Ok so after a little research I found that heat and magnetism do not mix. In fact heat in excess of 170F (80C) will demagnetize a magnet. Now I don't think the TS is heating up that much but, lower amounts of constant heat may be degrading the magnets and causing it to slide just slightly off it's "sweet spot" and creating the on/off charging "ding" or flaky charging some of us have been experiencing. Any engineers out their care to chime in on the heat and magnet issue?
	Liked by

08/25/2009, 08:09 AM	#2 (permalink)
BMIC50 Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Boo-val,FL Posts: 2,545 Likes Received: 130 Thanks: 176 Thanked 161 Times in 129 Posts	Since in-car heat can easily approach that temperature (at least down here in Fla), it sounds prudent to do some real world testing. How many people (especially in Fla or any southern, sunny state) leave their Touchstone in the car? Any degredation in magnetism?
	Liked by

08/25/2009, 08:37 AM	#4 (permalink)
dave75 Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 801 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 29 Thanked 78 Times in 59 Posts	Temperture may affect the electronics in the TS, but it's very unlikely your car will get hot enough to damage the magnets. When magnets get damaged it is permanent, not temporary so unless the magnets no longer work after they have cooled down then the magnets are not the problem. Temperature in the car may affect current though. As the temp goes up, the resistance in the circuit goes up causing a drop in current. As the temp comes back down, the resistance goes back down and current goes back up. That is a temporary problem related to temp. These are not answers to why your TS is not working, just some facts about electronics and magnets.
	Liked by

09/03/2009, 03:00 PM	#6 (permalink)
extraclass Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 10 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	We don't need no magnets! How about a slot that would hold the PRE in proper location with a coil behind it to transfer the power! Even a snap-in mount would hold the thing without magnets! The circuitry to energize the coil can be made to withstand extreme heat so that is not a valid argument! I am surprised some aftermarket company hasn't done this already! Leland Cox
	Liked by

07/17/2010, 12:30 PM	#7 (permalink)
moreismore69 Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 3 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Hey all, I was going through a case issue, really like the seidio touchstone capable cases, but i've had 2 that the little tab snaps off and the face won't stay on. That was getting frustrating, and although i'd love to not have a case, it freaks me out. So i went to Verizon and bought their new touchstone capable case. i can definitely say it makes my phone look like its awfully huge and kind of weird, but the way they have the back cut out to allow the touchstone charging is terrific (no slide off's ever!) Which is great because my touchstone on my desk at work was a constant slide off because of my typing. anyway, just some info.
	Liked by

07/17/2010, 02:08 PM	#8 (permalink)
srath16 Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 90 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 4 Thanked 10 Times in 9 Posts	here in Fla, the temperature in my car reads about 108 degrees at 2 PM. I have touchstone mounted just above two a/c vents right in the direction of the sunlight and it's been like this for 5 months now and believe it or not I have had no issue with magnets or heat bothering the TS functionality. The TS is burning hot when I enter the car so I turn one a/c vent upwards to cool down the TS and place my phone on it to charge, no issues at all.
	Liked by

07/17/2010, 02:28 PM	#9 (permalink)
netwrkr9 Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3,132 Likes Received: 154 Thanks: 453 Thanked 495 Times in 364 Posts	Live in SoCal and work in AZ and NV, I have had a TS in my car now since last Oct. and the magnet still works fine.
	Liked by

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