Dead Cable Modem - Caused by Subwoofer?

[RedWolf]

Anyone ever hear of a subwoofer ruining a cable modem? My netgear cable modem has been working fine for about a year now. I recently put it on top of my subwoofer. It's been there for about a week and now, it has crapped out completely. I tried another cable modem and it worked right away. Anyway, should I move the cable modem? Anyone ever hear of anything similar?

 

[JackMDS]

Subwoofers Job is to issue Strong Air Vibration. I.e. Audio Bass.

Probably vibrated your Cable Modem into oblivions.

But hey, it is better than the Guy that Put is Wireless Cable DSL/Router under a Metal Bed.

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

Maybe the sound was too bassy for the cable modem, it likes the high notes.

FWIW, I wouldn't park anything on the subwoofer cabinet, when I put something on mine, it vibrates and sounds lousy.

 

[martind1]

well, you gotta remeber a subwoofer is a BIG MAGNET. so i wouldnt put electronics anywhere near it.


and what do youmean the modem died?
-Edit- ahh you tried a new one and it worked. i see, thats weird, it might have been the subwoofer, or it might have been coincidence. you have two options. move the modem form the subwoofer, or keep it there and see if it dies again

 

[RedWolf]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm currently renting a modem so It'll probably go right back on there. The sub is behind the tv (rptv so that should be safe) so I'm tring to hide as much as I can behind there and the best place is on top of the sub. I may build a stand or put a rubber mat on the sub to decrease the vibrations. At this point, I'm more concerned about a loss of sound quality due to rattling than the cable companies modem.

 

[JackMDS]

Since Subs are not directional as the Stereo Tweeters.

Good placement is on the Floor. Back to the wall and no frontal obstructions.

 

[p0lar]

well, you gotta remeber a subwoofer is a BIG MAGNET. so i wouldnt put electronics anywhere near it.

I'm with martind1 on this one, heh. The vibration theory is sound (no pun intended - chortle), but nothing screws with equipment like a nice fat magnet, for better or worse.

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

Well, here's where being an EE actually comes in handy. There is nothing in a router that a magnet will adversely affect, except perhaps the power supply transformers, and that's a stretch. I have a rare-earth magnet about 2"x2"x3" that will pick up over 100#, and I just sat it on top of my router for 30 seconds, then on the cable modem for the same time. Nothing happened, normal operation continues... The magnet in the subwoofer is buried inside and will nowhere near the strength of field as this one directly on the case. I'd be a lot more worried about vibration, since I've seen continuous vibration remove all sorts of components from a PCB.

 

[p0lar]

Sweet!! Bold too...

I happen to have one of those as well, but not quite as strong.. I doubt it would pick up 30#, but I'm pretty sure it would do 20# - I've got a 25# barbell hanging out to test with as well.

I think the test logic may be somewhat skewed. The same test could be applied for vibration. I'll go drop a linksys router from 1 meter - the plastic may crack, but that is probably it. Now, if I drop it 5000 times, we will probably notice a considerable degredation of performance (or the absence of performance due to catastrophic failure). If you take the magnet and constantly whir it around the component or near the component so that the field strength (maybe) and polarity changes irregularly - I would hazard a piece of equipment that it may make a difference.

This tempts me to try it on this 1601....

I'll may set up this extra 1601 back to back with a 2507 that is hanging out and give it a whack while using it to pass packets to see what the effects are on performance over an extended period of time. I would also put it through a few reboots to make sure that the flash RAM and DRAM aren't affected as well. (=

I'll open up the case of my sub and literally place the 1601 underneath the speaker and leave it.. no harm, no foul - but if it blows.. oh well, we'll be one step closer to understanding the inherent effects of sub-woofer-induced equipmental homicide. (rofl)

This *could* be fun. And no, there's no way I'm going to let it near my PIX...

Anyone with any modifications to the experiment? Maybe I should paint stripes on the 1601 first?

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: p0lar
Sweet!! Bold too...

I happen to have one of those as well, but not quite as strong.. I doubt it would pick up 30#, but I'm pretty sure it would do 20# - I've got a 25# barbell hanging out to test with as well.

I think the test logic may be somewhat skewed. The same test could be applied for vibration. I'll go drop a linksys router from 1 meter - the plastic may crack, but that is probably it. Now, if I drop it 5000 times, we will probably notice a considerable degredation of performance (or the absence of performance due to catastrophic failure). If you take the magnet and constantly whir it around the component or near the component so that the field strength (maybe) and polarity changes irregularly - I would hazard a piece of equipment that it may make a difference.

This tempts me to try it on this 1601....

I'll may set up this extra 1601 back to back with a 2507 that is hanging out and give it a whack while using it to pass packets to see what the effects are on performance over an extended period of time. I would also put it through a few reboots to make sure that the flash RAM and DRAM aren't affected as well. (=

I'll open up the case of my sub and literally place the 1601 underneath the speaker and leave it.. no harm, no foul - but if it blows.. oh well, we'll be one step closer to understanding the inherent effects of sub-woofer-induced equipmental homicide. (rofl)

This *could* be fun. And no, there's no way I'm going to let it near my PIX...

Anyone with any modifications to the experiment? Maybe I should paint stripes on the 1601 first?

Dont forget to repeat it multiple times with different *same* components to ensure an accurate result, remember to plot a chart at the end too

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

For years, I worked in avionics development, and vibration was one of the more difficult tests to pass. You'd be amazed how seemingly benign vibration would tear up a typical consumer electronic device! FWIW, dropping a unit once, or even 10 times isn't a vibration test, it's really a shock test, which is not the same thing. Vibration typically does it's damage by fatigue of wires and solder joints, and takes many cycles. Shock tests normally pinpoint either bad case design or board mounting, and perhaps some large and heavy components. Sitting on top of a subwoofer is a perfect vibration test, at least in one axis.