Roger's Connection


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Roger's Connection^®
ON-LINE INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Magnetic Safety Notice

Caution! Because the magnets used in Roger's connection are very powerful, you should keep them at least several inches away from computer floppy disks, audio and video tapes, and credit cards that have a magnetic stripe on the back. To play it safe, we recommend a foot, so that you have a safe margin of error. Bringing a Roger's Connection magnetic tube too close to one of these items can erase or damage the information stored on them - ATM cards will cease working, audio tapes can be partially erased, and so on. Even the inventor of Roger's Connection once accidentally erased a couple of his own credit cards with several Roger's Connection tubes that were in the same pocket as his wallet!

You should also keep them a safe distance away from color TV screens and color computer monitors, perhaps a couple of feet or so. DO NOT keep your boxed Roger's Connection sets on top of a color TV or color computer monitor. The color CRTs (Cathode Ray Tubes) used in these devices use a perforated metallic layer behind the glass screen that is called a "shadow mask", which helps direct the scanning electron stream to the correct phosphor color dot on the other side of the glass screen. If exposed to a high magnetic field, the shadow mask can become permanently magnetized, which will distort the image and cause colors to shift irregularly.

Many modern TVs and computer monitors have built-in "degaussing" coils to correct this problem. However, older devices must be manually demagnetized with an external degaussing coil, a task usually performed by service personnel.

Monochrome (black & white) TVs, and monochrome or grayscale computer monitors, do not have a shadow mask and thus can not be damaged when a magnet is placed near the screen. In fact, some very interesting lessons on the effects of magnetism on the electron stream that "paints" the picture on the CRT can be performed. However, due to the problems that can be caused with color equipment, this is not generally encouraged for children without proper supervision and cautions.

For many people, the magnets used in Roger's Connection may very well be the most powerful magnets they have ever used, and so these extra precautions are in order.