a ridiculous question that i think i already know the answer to.

[Cathpah]

I want to put permanent camera/lens storage in my truck (nissan pathfinder) and was thinking I would get a big metal safe/lockbox type of thing and screw it down in the back/trunk area. The only problem is, I also have a small (8 inch) subwoofer speaker with box back there too.

Now they can both certainly fit next to one-another without touching, but I am wondering if the vibrations from the subwoofer will damage my lenses/camera. I know there is a magnet in the sub (just like in any speaker) so i will certainly have my camera as far away from the sub as possible in the box so as not to damage any of the electronics. Lenses would still have to be kind of close to the sub though. I am certainly planning on putting a lot of foam padding in, so that would take away some of the vibrations, but certainly not all.


what do you think? is this the worst idea ever? is it sub or camera stuff in the back, and not both? or can i somehow pull this off?


as always, thanks ahead of time.

[cfcRebel]

The vibration should clean up the dust on the sensor pretty well.:D

Seriously, i won't put them that close together. But just my humble opinion.

[In2Photos]

I have done car audio installs for almost ten years and no 8 inch sub that I have installed would do any damage to your camera gear. Think about it this way, how many amplifiers have you seen mounted directly to a dual 12 inch sub box?

As for the magnet problem. There is a material that will shield the magnetic waves from your gear called mu-metal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu-metal) if you are that worried about it.

[Cathpah]

I have done car audio installs for almost ten years and no 8 inch sub that I have installed would do any damage to your camera gear. Think about it this way, how many amplifiers have you seen mounted directly to a dual 12 inch sub box?

As for the magnet problem. There is a material that will shield the magnetic waves from your gear called mu-metal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu-metal) if you are that worried about it.

its an MTX 8 with some special box (or at least thats what circuit city told me) "that makes it perform better." can certainly make my hat shake a bit when I'm driving if turned all the way up.
so you don't think the vibrations will disturb it very much?
i guess I don't understand that "how many amps have you seen mounted directly to a dual 12inch box" example.

I'm just worried about the vibrations. if you can, tell me more about your reasoning. I sure do hope you are right! ;)

edit: thanks for the heads up on mu-metal

[In2Photos]

its an MTX 8 with some special box (or at least thats what circuit city told me) "that makes it perform better." can certainly make my hat shake a bit when I'm driving if turned all the way up.
so you don't think the vibrations will disturb it very much?
i guess I don't understand that "how many amps have you seen mounted directly to a dual 12inch box" example.

I'm just worried about the vibrations. if you can, tell me more about your reasoning. I sure do hope you are right! ;)

edit: thanks for the heads up on mu-metal

What I mean by "how many amps have you seen mounted directly to a dual 12inch box" is that the output from these two 12 inch speakers is much more than the 1 8 inch speaker you have and they do not damage the amplifier mounted to the box. Your vehicle produces more vibration while traveling down the road than your subwoofer does. If you put ANY padding into the camera storage area you should eliminate most, if not all, of the vibrations from the car and subwoofer.

If I were you I would be more concerned about someone stealing it or condensation forming during cold weather.

[Jon]

I shouldn't think the subwoofer would be any harder on your gear than the normal road vibration would be. Pad it against one and you should be good for both.

[Cathpah]

WOW. thank you guys so much. I REALLY thought it was a bad idea, but winter is finally over and I don't ever want to be without my camera, so I really wanted to set up permanent storage in my truck (as I can't go too far without it). I am very glad to hear from both a car audio guy and a forum mod that it'll most likely be okay.
Thanks for the confidence guys....now to go set it up.

edit: after checking around, I couldn't find big enough metal boxes (was hoping for a lock box type enclosure) so I think I may just get a pelican box and find some way to attach it to my car so that it won't move around. Anyone have any experience with this?

[vixeh]

I would be more concerned with the strong magnetic field than the vibration. It seems possible that magnetized autofocus mechanisms could be troublesome. Just a thought.

[In2Photos]

I would be more concerned with the strong magnetic field than the vibration. It seems possible that magnetized autofocus mechanisms could be troublesome. Just a thought.

That has already been discussed. There is a material called mu-metal for shielding.

edit: after checking around, I couldn't find big enough metal boxes (was hoping for a lock box type enclosure) so I think I may just get a pelican box and find some way to attach it to my car so that it won't move around. Anyone have any experience with this?


I am not familiar with the Pelican cases but I would assume that you could drill holes through the case and the floorboard of the truck and bolt it to the body. Make sure you use stainless bolts for rusting or coat the underside with a truck bed undercoating. If I had a case and the truck to look at I am sure I could come up with something else, but right now it is all I've got.

[rklepper]

I would be more concerned about the effect on your eardrums than on your camera gear.

[In2Photos]

I would be more concerned about the effect on your eardrums than on your camera gear.

A single 8 inch woofer will not cause hearing damage. In fact low frequencies are less responsible for hearing damage than high frequencies.

[4x4rock]

my truck (nissan pathfinder).

OT....Great truck, what year? I have one, 1999 :).

I saw an article in Outdoor Photography that they use the 2005 Xterra for all those ourdoor shooting trips and they have a tool/camera box in the back that store all their gears. Pretty cool setup.

[canonblade]

I would be concerned about the temperture changes, could be like an oven in there, especially during the hot summer days.

[DavidEB]

forget the mu-metal. I've used it for shielding superconducting magnetometers in a lab. It's rediculously expensive (a 1meter cubic can might cost you well over $1000), very heavy, brittle, and hard to work with. Dents, stress points (bolts, etc...) and temperature swings damage its shielding ability.

Also I agree that temperature swings would be a problem for the camera gear, if you park the car in direct sun. And, do you want to have to climb into the truck just to get your camera?

Think about a permanent mount that allows you to easily attach and detach a pelican box. The box could sit on rubber feet for vibration reduction while driving. It should have a lock of some sort.

good luck,

[Cathpah]

haha...yup, that's where I got this idea. Already had a couple power inverters for the cigarette lighter and am always going on short trips to find something to photograph, so I figured I'd try to set up something like what they have. too bad I didn't have all the sponsors like they did ;)

oh, and its a 96 pathfinder. sure do love it. The thing just won't break down <knocks on wood>

OT....Great truck, what year? I have one, 1999 :).

I saw an article in Outdoor Photography that they use the 2005 Xterra for all those ourdoor shooting trips and they have a tool/camera box in the back that store all their gears. Pretty cool setup.


so aside from magnetic field issues...do you guys REALLY not think that the vibrations will not affect my gear? As i said before, the sub can certainly shake my hat while I'm driving and can also make my license plate rattle a bit. I'm not one of those teenagers with 2 huge subs in the back of a car that rattles the body and frame all they way down the street thanks to crappy bass, but it is still some significant vibrations.

I just don't want to plunk down money for a pelican case to stay in my car to find that it won't protect it sufficiently. Also, should I go with the foam insert instead of the dividers to cut down on vibrations? I would assume so.

[Cathpah]

I would be concerned about the temperture changes, could be like an oven in there, especially during the hot summer days.

As ridiculous as it sounds, I never really thought of that. I've been waiting for winter to FINALLY end because I was worried about the cold, but heat will obviously certainly be a factor as well. Anyone know the temperature range that it is okay to have lenses/cameras/batteries/cf cards?

[flyb0y]

I would be worried about somebody rear ending me with his bigger truck and destroying more moneys worth of glass than the pathfinder is worth. That is if you plan on keeping that much glass back there.

[Cathpah]

forget the mu-metal. I've used it for shielding superconducting magnetometers in a lab. It's rediculously expensive (a 1meter cubic can might cost you well over $1000), very heavy, brittle, and hard to work with. Dents, stress points (bolts, etc...) and temperature swings damage its shielding ability.

Also I agree that temperature swings would be a problem for the camera gear, if you park the car in direct sun. And, do you want to have to climb into the truck just to get your camera?

Think about a permanent mount that allows you to easily attach and detach a pelican box. The box could sit on rubber feet for vibration reduction while driving. It should have a lock of some sort.

good luck,

Anyone have any idea how large the magnetic field would be on a subwoofer similar to mine?
OOPS....I just looked it up and apparantly my sub is a 10inch, not a 8inch like I once thought. Its the MTX thunder 5500 10 inch sub (http://www.mtx.com/caraudio/products/enclosures/sledgeHammer5500.cfm)

also, although a permanent mount would be good, I want to find a way to never be withouth my camera, therefore having it always be in my truck. I do want it detachable so I can lug the case around to a photo site but want it to forever be in my truck.

what do you think?

[Cathpah]

I would be worried about somebody rear ending me with his bigger truck and destroying more moneys worth of glass than the pathfinder is worth. That is if you plan on keeping that much glass back there.

and thats why god created insurance. Okay, god didn't create insurance...but someone pretty cool did.

[Jon]

If you're getting enough vibration (from the speakers, or the road) to vibrate something, I'd make sure any place I put my gear was well-padded.

[CyberDyneSystems]

If the "box" for the Camera gear is metal,. I don't think the magnetic feild can effect the contents.

...At least that what Faraday said...

As for vibrations.. nah.

[viodea]

don't quote me on this one.
I think if the sub doesn't effect the CF card, I don't think there is any big issue with the camera.
I always avoid constant vibration to any delicate electronic device. Well padded would make me feel much comfortable. Just like having my gear on the passenger side with me.
After all, the main concern for me is heat. Electronic device and heat don't get alone well.
Are you going to leaving the camera in the truck even when you are not planning on doing any photography?

[viodea]

humm... was I thinking stranght? CF cards won't be effect by magnetic field, do they?

[CyberDyneSystems]

I don't think so,. a micro drive certainly could be,. but not RAM.

And again,. the metal case will act as a "Faraday Shield" preventing any intrusion of an electrical feild,. magnetic or otherwise.

Same idea as a tinfoil hat ;)

[Cathpah]

I don't think so,. a micro drive certainly could be,. but not RAM.

And again,. the metal case will act as a "Faraday Shield" preventing any intrusion of an electrical feild,. magnetic or otherwise.

Same idea as a tinfoil hat ;)

so does this mean I can't use a pelican box? I had originally planned on metal, but after checking a few places it looks like a pelican box might be more realistic/attainable.

I know the plastic won't act as a Faraday shield, but how strong/pervasive is one of those magnets anyways?

[DavidEB]

A metal cage will block electric fields but not necessarily magnetic fields. If the box is made of something paramagmetic (like nickel steels) or ferromagnetic, the magnetic field might even be stronger inside than out. A box made of non-magnetic metal (aluminum) will act as a faraday cage for electric fields and have essentially no effect on magnetic fields excepting very high frequency time-varying fields.

It is exceedingly difficult to block static or slowly varying magnetic fields.

On the other hand, I doubt that the fields from your speaker will do you any harm. Go ahead and test it. tape a CF card to the speaker, run something loud (maybe "Memories" by Streisand may be appropriate) and then see if the card has been effected.


speaker magnets typically have field strengths around 1,000 guass, and if your stuff is more than a few cm away it's probably safe (just my guess). PC's have speakers inside the box often right next to RAM and disk drives.