Dyna S/EMP

Question; Can the Dyna S be effected by a Electromagnetic Pulse like all the modern ignition systems? On my trip to Slab City my bike kept cutting out just I passed Billy Bob the Sheriff 4 times. :dry: Everything checks out and it hasn't happened since. I know they have these devices to stop a runner so I'm wondering if he used it on me.
Steve

Depends on the field orientation, but yes, a really strong magnetic field, and I think a super-strong electro-magnetic pulse (radio waves) could disrupt the Hall-effect pickups.

We only have to wait until they stop someone's pacemaker.

Another good arguement for points. I have my plate, wires and cam in my top box, That's scary. :S
Steve

Steve, no such device exists, Law Enforcement has yet to develop and use anything that can effectively stop a vehicle using an electronic device.

The devices I have read about that are in development use high voltage discharge to mess up a vehicles electronics, these are deployed an the road and when driven over discharge into the bottom of the engine bay.

EMP strong enough to stop your bike from across the road is not feasible without some very fancy equipment, were are talking cryogenically cooled super conducting stuff, not something the cops have in their car. Even a scrap metal magnet would not disrupt your bike's ignition. It would erase a hard drive or a cassette tape, but your bike would still run. To disrupt IC's it takes some serious field strength.

Hall effect sensors use silicon wafers as semiconductor material, probably would take a massive field to mess up that process.

I don't remember where I got it from but it said they (Gov) have them already. Mith? Maybe, but it sure was weird.
Steve

Tyler wrote: The devices I have read about that are in development use high voltage discharge to mess up a vehicles electronics, these are deployed an the road and when driven over discharge into the bottom of the engine bay.

EMP strong enough to stop your bike from across the road is not feasible without some very fancy equipment, were are talking cryogenically cooled super conducting stuff, not something the cops have in their car. Even a scrap metal magnet would not disrupt your bike's ignition. It would erase a hard drive or a cassette tape, but your bike would still run. To disrupt IC's it takes some serious field strength.

Hall effect sensors use silicon wafers as semiconductor material, probably would take a massive field to mess up that process.

"Electromagnetic" needs disambiguation. It has two different meanings, but they often get used interchangeably, incorrectly.

One use of "electromagnetic" is in describing a type of radiation.
An electric charge creates an electric field.
A moving electric charge creates a magnetic field.
An accelerating electric charge creates electromagnetic radiation.
Radio waves are electromagnetic radiation.
A high voltage discharge across an air gap, etc, generates a high amount of electromagnetic radiation.
Electromagnetic radiation is comprised of an oscillating magnetic field and oscillating electric field, in unison, and perpendicular to each other.

The other use of "electromagnetic" is describing a means of creating a magnetic field, using an electro-magnet.
An electromagnet creates a static (steady) magnetic field when a constant current flows through it.
It does not necessarily create any electromagnetic radiation.
A high voltage discharge does not create a very large amount of a magnetic field.

The electromagnet creates a very short range magnetic field, which may be strong, but diminishes rapidly with distance. This is considered "near field".
Electromagnetic radiation has a much farther range, called "far field". It may have some near field activity, but the purpose of it is to send waves over a huge distance.

The near-field magnetic effect may disrupt a hall-effect sensor if it's strong enough, and the bike passes right over it, but it will only result in a misfire, probably, and wouldn't stop the bike.

An EMP works by sending out a huge pulse of very strong electromagnetic radiation. This can disrupt any semiconductors that rely on high gain, and low-current.

I've seen two way radios easily disrupt ignition modules from a couple feet away, and those are only 1/2 to 2 watts. Anything with an op amp is susceptible to just locking up. It would stall the igniter, but didn't do any damage. Proper shielding helps a lot. I was doing tests on open components on a bench, so they were not shielded. But it was not comforting to see how easily the ignition could be shut down.

Loud is spot on, but the technology is not "portable" yet. I can't remember where I was reading about this but there were two competing technologies to disable vehicles as part of some police or federal program. One was little 4-wheel cart that would discharge high voltage into the car when driven over. The other was an EMP cannon, and the thing was huge like this one...

gizmodo.com/5454295/this-emp-cannon-stops-cars-almost-instantly


I don't think the police have a suitcase sized version of this yet, but the probably will someday.

Would being in a points cover be adequate shielding? This is interesting. I was watching a movie last night about a visit we had and the disrupting radio waves at the far end of the FM band. Sci fi I know but it got me thinking about it. Made F16 jets fall out the air. :blink: :lol:
Steve

Yea, I would wonder if this affects a points systems...

With the Dyna S, there is no "microprocessor". So I wonder if this would be affected also. It may get turned off. But should start right back up. Thoughts?

With solar flairs, EMP's caused by nukes in the upper atmosphere (N Korea), etc, I've always was glad I kept my old 69 Ford and Z1. So my question is would the Dyna be effected too?
Steve

Points should be fine, if even affected at all. The dyna s and factory igniters would probably recover, if they even shut down at all. Even the early elec-advance kz/zx igniters are pretty robust, analog ignitions so should recover, if affects at all.

Any digital system, with a processor could easily go belly up. I've had some experiments where the microcontroller went dead. It was protected from high voltage, but not high emr. I had to use a long distance opto isolator to make it reliable.

Carbed diesel!