[sdiy] Stray capacitance y noise

[Glen]

At 01:02 AM 9/18/03 , Peter Grenader wrote:

>Question:
>
>Can atmospheric conditions effect stray capacitance and noise levels??

Answer:

I think just about any atmospheric quality *could* have an effect on *some*
circuitry. Whether it's causing your particular problem, I wouldn't know.
However it's definitely possible for temperature, humidity, barometirc
pressure, atmospheric pollutants, acoustic vibration, and probably other
things related to the atmosphere, to affect circuitry in undesired ways.

As for capacitance changes, I'm not sure if that would normally be a first
concern during times of high humidity, but I think it *could* be a problem.
I would suspect that leakage currents in high impedance circuits would be a
first concern with very high humidity levels, especially if there was any
condensation on any of the circuitry.

I would probably expect more likelyhood of thermal problems. Have you tried
cooling off your unit somehow, to see if that helps? Start with simply
using a fan on the circuitry, instead of air conditioning. This will affect
the temperature of your circuity more than the humidity, unlike air
conditioning which greatly affects both. If the fan is enough to make you
circuitry behave, I would lean toward a diagnosis of a heat problem,
instead of a humidity problem.

Good luck with the circuit, and tell your dog to cheer up--the sequencer
will be running properly again soon. :)

later,
Glen