# Question about Magnets and reels



## WestCoastMike (Nov 7, 2007)

can someone point me to where I can get details and info on how magnets work when maggin a reel
to gain more control. Do the magnetic poles all need to be facing the same direction I have a bunch or rare earth magnets but they have both poles on each side will these work thanks for the info?


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## KConrad (Oct 14, 2007)

if your asking how they work,in why... google up "eddy current" and that will explain the phenomenon that occurs when a non ferris metal spinns in a magnetic field... 

As for the poles, they need to oppose each other.. N-S-N or S-N-S for example.. 

Hope this helps...


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## Connman (Apr 14, 2001)

Poles do not have to be alternating . Alternating poles gives the most focused magnetic field and therefore the strongest braking but you don't always need the strongest braking pattern .pulling out some magnets may not give enough braking which is why some casters use different patterns .
N S N S N S is strong 
N N S S NN is weaker
NNN SSS is weaker again 
And if you use one mono mag the pole doesn't matter . 
Some tourmament casters will refer to their reels as using a strong 6 which would be six of NSNSNS or a weak 4 which would be NN SS . I use a medium 6 . NSN NSN


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## eric (Oct 24, 2007)

n54 neodymium mag... i dont think youd need to worry about poles..

1's enough. lol

or hard drive magnets , those neos work just as well.


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## Captain_Dave (Oct 25, 2007)

*what size magnets?*

Just curious, does size matter? Of course it does, but what I meen is... Is it better to use several small magnets 1/8" - 3/16" diameter or a few larger 1/4" - 3/8" diameter? also does the field get stronger if you stack thinner magnets to gether to achieve the same height as a single magnet of the same diameter? Thanks

Captain Dave


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

Captain_Dave said:


> Just curious, does size matter? Of course it does, but what I meen is... Is it better to use several small magnets 1/8" - 3/16" diameter or a few larger 1/4" - 3/8" diameter? also does the field get stronger if you stack thinner magnets to gether to achieve the same height as a single magnet of the same diameter? Thanks
> 
> Captain Dave


Using multiple small magnets gives more room for varriability but if you find the sweet spot with one large magnet then that is fine Stack smaller magnets will have more effect due to it becoming closer to the spool and also increasing its total force pull. stacking magnets eccentially gives you one larger magnet. You can also move a magnet closer to the spool with metal shimms to ain more effect without increasing magnetic strength. Just one more area of variability.


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## eric (Oct 24, 2007)

just look for old PCs that people throw away. or if you have a broken hard drive.

try the mag from those. there are about the size of this daiwa,abu, knobby mag brackets.

just glue it into the side plate or tape. and give it a try. 

i think even with 1 hdd mag, itll give you more then enough brake


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## WestCoastMike (Nov 7, 2007)

Thanks for the info everyone it was exactly what I was looking for .....


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## KConrad (Oct 14, 2007)

Connman said:


> Poles do not have to be alternating . Alternating poles gives the most focused magnetic field and therefore the strongest braking but you don't always need the strongest braking pattern .pulling out some magnets may not give enough braking which is why some casters use different patterns .
> N S N S N S is strong
> N N S S NN is weaker
> NNN SSS is weaker again


Hey Connman, 
Isn't your example an example of alternating poles? 
Not at all trying to be "smart" or cheeky here, just a valid inquire since I'm no competition caster nor reel mechanic 

What I mean is.. in the second example you gave (N N S S N N ) is still a N(+1)S(+1)N(+1) arrangement; example three is still alternating only N(+2)S(+2)... 

It was my understanding (which may be wrong) that if you use more than one magnet (not counting stacking) they do need an alternating pattern to some degree (even if NNS) because if all magnets have the same polarity, the efect is basically the same as just "one" magnet. 

I've only magged my avet, and still learning here... so don't shoot me for being inquisitive:redface:


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

KConrad said:


> Hey Connman,
> Isn't your example an example of alternating poles?
> Not at all trying to be "smart" or cheeky here, just a valid inquire since I'm no competition caster nor reel mechanic
> 
> ...



They dont have to alternate to have an effect but just like you state it will have the same effect as one large magnet. I think Connman was showing the variabilty that can be obtained with changing the poles on multiple magnets. So to take his example of 
N S N S N S is strong 
N N S S NN is weaker
NNN SSS is weaker again 
then
NNN NNN would be the next step down And of course it doesnt matter between N and S if you are only using one pole.


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## Connman (Apr 14, 2001)

Bad example on my part . Those examples where for an ultramag where you can space the magnets well apart , which I tried to show with my typing spaces but didn't explain . Apolagize if my typing tone was rude , was not my intent .

I know some reels set up with 3 and 2 magnets too 
3 mags 
Strong NSN , weak NNN or SSS doesn't matter .

2 Mag
Strong NS 
Weak NN or SS 

Many ways to skin a cat , they all seem to work , most is just personal preferrence and wouldn't make much differece except to the most demanding tournament cast .

(was typing my post before I saw Narfpoits , he explained me better than I explain myself )


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## Hudak (Sep 10, 2007)

How much of a difference is seen from spacing the mags further apart or closer together. I know on a Chrome Rocket I had that Bill built, It seemed if I spread the mags out, the effect was less then if they were tight together. Has anyone done enough testing to come up with a decent conclusion? Possibly #634th way to skin that cat.....


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## KConrad (Oct 14, 2007)

Connman,
You weren't rude at all.. no need to apologize. Thank you for the sentiment however. 

I was the one trying to not come off as being confrontational or rude..


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## outfishin28 (Jul 15, 2005)

Am I correct in saying that an aluminum spool is not affected at all, or just a little by mags?


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## sprtsracer (Apr 27, 2005)

outfishin28 said:


> Am I correct in saying that an aluminum spool is not affected at all, or just a little by mags?


No...aluminum spool works just fine. The spool does not have to be magnetic, just metal. When the metal (aluminum) spool passes through the eddy current, the faster it spins, the more it is slowed by the magnetic field. A PLASTIC spool will NOT work, however, unless you place some metal (read: cut out beer can bottom) on the spool, inside toward the magnet(s). It's easier (and better) to get an aluminum spool. You can do a search on here about "magging" and find LOTS of info.


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