How to Shield Galaxy Note S-Pen From Case Magnet Interference With Magnetic Cover

Hey!

This is a slightly unusual question/off topic (I think) but can someone tell me how to shield from a magnet?

I have one of these covers
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Credit-Card-Magnet-Ho...818?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a7c8734c2

but for a Galaxy Note, not iphone and the problem is the magnet from the back/in the case is interfering with the S-Pen that also uses magnets
which makes around an inch of screen real estate unresponsive to the S-pen of the phone!

I really like the case and would rather not throw it... but I am not sure if this might damage my phone either! If I can block that magnet field from hitting the phone, problem solved!

Thanks in advance!

Try some "Mu Metal" or Google "magnetic shielding" (esp. Google "Shop for...")

Ah, Steve Lawson beat me with an answer!

I was pretty sure there are metals that do this, so on Wikipedia I finally found they do exist, eg, Permalloy or Mu-Metal.

Now where you'd buy them, who'd cut it, what it'd cost - I dunno.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_shielding#Magnetic_shielding

Thanks for replying guys!

Yikes, this stuff is expensive:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ultraperm-80-Metal-Sh...mplifier_Parts_Components&hash=item2564450b17

and this says "audio" so not sure if it will work *totally * as intended

First thing to try: a keeper. A piece of thin steel sheet between the phone and the magnet will to some degree protect it from the magnetic field. This may be sufficient. Otherwise try two a or thicker steel sheet.

Second option: I would consider the possibility of surgical removal: a simple magnet-otomy.

Determine the magnet's exact location and decide whether to work from inside or outside the case.
(Cutting inside leaves the outside looking neater.)

Delicately slit open the edge or stitching surrounding the magnetic area, slice through glue if present with a sharp craft knife (mind your fingers), extract magnet.

Stick down the edge with glue, or sew it if you can do that kind of lightweight thread engineering.

Then make closure with velcro (or other creative inventive method).

Haha! Thanks for the advise, will search for a thin sheet metal piece or will get the surgical gloves ready!

Cheers!

Ha! I was going to suggest a piece of sheet steel, too, but Frank beat me to it ;)

Yes, the sheet steel may diffuse (or spread) the magnetic field enough for it to present a weaker field to the whole phone (or even no field--depends on whether any of the field "lines" penetrate the sheet steel), instead of concentrated locally. It depends on how sensitive the S-pen is to stray magnetic fields.

Also, I did a little reading about magnetic shielding, and learned that the way it works is to conduct the magnetic field away from the area being shielded. So, it may be enough to have a sheet that is only wide enough to catch all magnetic lines that are strong enough to interfere with the S-pen. The lines should come out of the magnet, enter the sheet steel (or mu-metal, etc) making an abrupt turn into it's plane, follow the plane of the metal, and emerge from the edges and travel back to the magnet via air/leather/plastic/or whatever other material is between the sheet metal edges and the magnet. If the magnetic conduction of the metal is good enough, it should bend the field lines away from the phone.

Determining that threshold where the field is diffused enough, may be tricky, so the simpler course is to use a piece the size of the phone (or slightly less so the edges don't impinge on anything).

Also, the sheet _steel_ must have iron/nickel content (i.e. be of magnetic metals). Test it with a magnet -- if the magnet sticks, it has a chance of working.

Will do, and the geek in me thanks you for the explanation as well!