Black dust....

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Darklord
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Black dust....

Post by Darklord »

So when I did my recent upgrade I noticed that the underside of the Mega ST4's
RF shield had black dust on it. It was not there the last time I had it apart for
cleaning about 6 months ago.

It is on the part of the RF shield that sits directly over the P/S. The Mega seems
to be working fine and the fan is running so I'm not sure what to make of this.

I visually inspected the P/S and didn't see anything blown.

Should I be worried? :)


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stephen_usher
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Re: Black dust....

Post by stephen_usher »

That'll just be atmospheric carbon dust from diesel vehicles accumulating over the top of a hot component carried there by convection. That's normal in any equipment with a cover over a hot component with natural ariflow through it.
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exxos
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Re: Black dust....

Post by exxos »

As said above. Pollution. I see it around carpets, sockets on walls etc. And to think we breathing in all that crap as well.
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Badwolf
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Re: Black dust....

Post by Badwolf »

stephen_usher wrote: Wed May 19, 2021 9:47 am That'll just be atmospheric carbon dust from diesel vehicles accumulating over the top of a hot component carried there by convection. That's normal in any equipment with a cover over a hot component with natural ariflow through it.
Fascinating. What's the mechanism by which it's deposited, do you know? Sudden change in convection direction?

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stephen_usher
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Re: Black dust....

Post by stephen_usher »

Not sure, possibly static charge.
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Darklord
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Re: Black dust....

Post by Darklord »

Well, thanks guys.

I find the part about diesels interesting. I live about 4-5 miles outside of a city
with a population of around 4500-4800 or so. Can't remember the last time I
saw an actual diesel within miles of me. Do see them on the 4-lane highways
but that's literally miles away.

So does this stuff carry that far? Ugh.
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Tomswork
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Re: Black dust....

Post by Tomswork »

Diesel exhaust loves to fertilize allergies and moss on things down wind


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Darklord
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Re: Black dust....

Post by Darklord »

I understand....still, I live in the hills of Appalachia (Eastern Kentucky, to be exact).
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PaulJ
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Re: Black dust....

Post by PaulJ »

I would say most likely not unless diesel dust loves Mega’s. Now if you have black else where then maybe but with your local I’d say very unlikely especially if the Mega is the only place it showed up. :D. The Atari supplies run so hot it could be some out gassing from components on the supply.
cmorley
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Re: Black dust....

Post by cmorley »

Fans with sleeve bearings (instead of ball races) will grind themselves to bits over time creating fine dust. So could be fan guts.
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