1 Feb
2014
1 Feb
'14
8:25 a.m.
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Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2014 10:02:39 -0600
From: jules.richardson99 at gmail.com
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: minimum temps for running old hardware?
On 01/27/2014 01:03 PM, dwight wrote:
Moisture is the biggest enemy.
If the hardware is below the dew point
for the air, it will condense on the hardware
and do damage.
You have to warm things up slowly.
If things are really cold, things can fracture
A lot of things change with temperature in electronic
circuits.
Silicon is no exception. Shifting thresholds can cause
just as much problems, cold or hot.
ICs have to be made for specific temperature spans.
Too hot or too cold and they don't do what they are intended
to.
OK, so on that note - is there the possibility of lasting damage from
running electronics when they're too cold? Or is it more likely that
they'll just be glitchy or simply won't work when cold, but will be fine
again when warmed up?
I'm in much the same situation as Ethan, where one of the rooms I've got
vintage equipment in gets down to around 50F until the heaters have brought
things up to a more comfortable level, so it's useful to know if there's a
risk in trying to operate machines when it's that cold.
It sounds like magnetic media should be OK (unless there's an age factor
which makes them more susceptible to cold than when new), and that was
originally my biggest concern - but maybe I should be worrying about the
electronics, too...
cheers
Jules
from sudden changes.
Old electrolytics can freeze
if really cold.
Other than those few things, it should be OK.
Dwight