Just got a question from a friend, as we used to run the Super Stocks and sprinters with magnetos, old Vertex, later Mallory etc. He has a friend who just picked up an old 3W with an early Olds, that has a mag in it. He had taken a ride in an A with a blown engine and a mag, and felt some abnormal beats, made him nervous. We all remember what even solid core wires would do to radios, so could be possible? I'm thinking I would be looking at trying to hide a Pertronics inside that mag housing to be safe. Anybody experienced this? Actual experience/ knowledge please
I know that anyone that has a pacemaker is advised not to use or be around TIG welding process due to the emitted high frequency. A mag emits similar high frequency, but I don't know how they compare in scale. So I would say to play it safe he should not have a mag in his car.
Problem is he's young, and of course his young buddies know everything and are telling him to keep the mag cause it's cool- but dead ain't cool. Thanks for the input!
@oldsboy can attest to this. He runs a mag in the flathead in his T Sedan and changed it out for a regular points distributor to give his grandfather a ride. Mags and pacemakers do not go together.
I had to wear a heart monitor once for a day or so. I was working on oilfield engines at the time. I went back to the doctor and they read the recorder. The nurse said ,pointing at the recording, right here you were legally dead, I said, What? Here too for about ten minutes. Evidently when I would fire up one of the old Ajax engines, the mag would interfere with the recorder. My wife has had three different pacemakers. Remember the old microwave in use signs in restaurants? I don't believe the new pacemakers are sensitive like that. Not sure about welding. An old Vertex is only about 1-2 amps unless hopped up. Lippy
Yep, he asked because of the sprint car thing- but my opinion would be one shouldn't be driving a sprinter with a pacemaker in the first place
I typically do not like "fake" parts on hotrods, but in this case I could understand using a mag look alike distributor on his car. Some of the fake mags that are for sale have a bad rap in the reliability department. But it would not be a big project to convert one yourself. And some of the high output mags use av external coil you could package it so that most would never notice.
My wifes pacemaker is not affected by a microwave and I doubt a mag would bother the newer ones either. He should check with his doctor not us. Lippy
I have a defibrillator with a pacemaker and have not slowed down building chassis and using a tig welder since I got them installed. I have not used my Plasma since because of a warning from the manufacturer. Also I use the microwave everyday. I know a mag can throw off some strange electrons. Years ago when I farmed I had several irrigation engines with Mags and was bitten by them a few times, an experience I still remember.
I would have him check with his cardiologist. That being said, my doc said not to carry my cell phone in a shirt pocket, whether turned on or off. OK. To do a little test, I dug out my boy scout compass. Sure enough, there is a magnetic field around the phone, whether turned on or off. So, in the interest of science, have someone sit in the car with a compass and see how it reads when not running. Then start the car and see if it changes when running. Post the results here. On the other hand my doc said I can carry the hotel magnetic keg card in my shirt pocket, no problem. I asked him a lot of other examples just so I could get a sense for making decisions when the doc is not nearby.
Friend told me just a couple days ago that his wife has to do all the wood cutting , his cardiologist told him that defibrillator & chain saw ignitions do not play well together ?
When I had my implant done two years ago I asked my cardiologist if I could still use both my MIG and TIG welders. He asked to see the manuals, so I brought them to him on my next visit. He was non committal and suggested that I don't weld with the TIG welder, especially when I use the AC side for aluminum. Now anything I need to be welded, I call my son. I just don't want to take a chance. I had a G Shock watch get toasted (all the numbers kept flashing and couldn't be stopped) and the only thing that could have ruined it was my TIG while welding aluminum. My audiologist also told me that I should remove and turn off my hearing aids when using my TIG welder. Don't get old!!!
A Boy Scout compass is not a complete test, it only detects a magnetic field, will not detect higher frequency electromagnetic pulses. Pacemakers and ICDs (Jump-start-box) have wires that go to the heart region. These wires sense very small electrical voltages generated by your heart and make the proper corrections to keep you alive. NOTE: These wires act as an antenna and receive strong electromagnetic pulses (a.k.a radio frequency transmissions - why no one listens to an AM radio in a welding shop). Both ignition systems and electrical welding/cutting have the ability to transmit strong electromagnetic pulses. The intensity of these pulses decrease as the square of the distance from the source of the pulses. I got a new jump-start-box in December - The instruction book warned about welding and strong electromagnetic signals. Your device may be different - don't take your advice from the internet. Russ
I wouldn't take any chances. That being said I didn't think the hype about mags and pacemakers was real and chalked it up to over cautious behavior. That is until my wife came to the garage while I was adjusting carbs in the flathead, with the mag, and asked why the TV kept going out whenever I started the engine. The mag was interrupting our TV signal the house. Apparently they can make problems, a TV is nothing compared to a pacemaker. That's why I changed the ignition system to give my Grandfather a ride. Also after making contact with one, you'll know how much power they pack pretty quick.
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