magnet for tricking stop lights

[ericalm]

Doing a little search now and I found this thread where a cbr900 rider makes this <a href="http://www.fireblades.org/forums/honda- ... post752588" target="_new">claim</a>. Maybe there's something in the long island water that we think alike.

The linked post: "I keep 2 rare earth magnets in each toe slider of my boots....put your foot on the sensor loop and it changes in 10-20 seconds. if I end up on a weight sensor, then no dice....unfortunately there's a lot of weight sensors by me."

Um, yeah, this guy is self-deluding IMHO. There are not a lot of weight sensors near him. There are not a lot of weight sensors anywhere. Almost all the in-road sensors are induction loops and the rest are magnetic. If the light changes in 10-20 seconds, it has nothing to do with magnets. There's a good chance the light is on a timer or has been changed to an optical sensor. It's not like the city rips the loops out and repaves the street when they change the way lights are controlled.

[babblefish]

The sensor I used to get stuck at is the diagonal quadrupole type and I positioned myself just like the diagram, but no-go until I installed the magnet. Must be witchcraft.

[ericalm]

The sensor I used to get stuck at is the diagonal quadrupole type and I positioned myself just like the diagram, but no-go until I installed the magnet. Must be witchcraft.

Here's an experiment:

Best to conduct this either very late at night or at dawn's early light. Some intersections switch to timed intervals during rush hour or busy times of the day. Also, no traffic to interfere with results.

Go to an intersection where the lights are controlled by an inductive loop. Bring an observer. Stop at the intersection when the light is red. It's important to stop in the same place (or close to it) every time and to approach the stop at the same speed. Mass moving over the induction loop may interfere or trigger it.

Have observer record interval of time between stopping and the light changing. Repeat several times. Observer should record whether there was traffic moving in the opposite direction or cars approaching intersection from other side. Those times should be set aside for reference, but not factored into calculating an average wait time.

Calculate the mass of the magnet. Go find an equally conductive but non-magnetized block ferrous metal of approximately equal mass and dimensions. Replace magnet with other metal. Return to same intersection at same time of day and repeat time tests.

Remove metal mass but do not replace magnet. Return to same intersection at same time of day and repeat time tests. (These are your "control" times.)

Now find another intersection which utilizes the same type of loop and repeat the whole thing.

Observer should also record temperature and weather conditions at time of each trial.

Report results on ModernBuddy.com. Graphs are good. Can we get a graph?

Since no one has done anything this thorough, I'm comfortable saying that while the efficacy of magnets is questionable, some users report they work while others say they don't.

[old and in the way]

About the dead battery; I had same problem with dead battery ,slow charging,etc. a few days ago . Buddy had set for a few weeks after the spring tune up at dealer[1000 mile] and run on and off over the summer,now up to1200 miles.I did not think of checking water level in battery until yeasterday as I put trickler on to charge it up......sure enought it was down in every cell!!! Added distled water to full and charged, bingo! Oh , original crappy battery I have run down on several ocassions........... I will think to put this on my list of things to check in the future!

[babblefish]

ericalm,

Without the magnet, the light never changes unless a car comes up behind me. I've sat at that particular intersection late at night (when there are no cars) until my hair grew an inch and the light would not change. It's a weird intersection that has left turn arrows and I've watched all the lights change for cars going in different directions, but it never gave me the green light. The location of the sensor is clearly visible and I've put my scoot over various parts of it, but it just ignores me (kinda like my ex-wife). The addition of a magnet (remember, this is no ordinary magnet) causes the light to change every time. Next time I'm at that intersection late at night, with no cars, I'll try the wave-just-the-magnet-over-the-sensor thing and see what happens. Of course, it (the magnet) may be inter-acting with the steel frame of the scooter making the metal mass seem bigger. I don't really know, it just works - for me.

[babblefish]

About the dead battery; I had same problem with dead battery ,slow charging,etc. a few days ago . Buddy had set for a few weeks after the spring tune up at dealer[1000 mile] and run on and off over the summer,now up to1200 miles.I did not think of checking water level in battery until yeasterday as I put trickler on to charge it up......sure enought it was down in every cell!!! Added distled water to full and charged, bingo! Oh , original crappy battery I have run down on several ocassions........... I will think to put this on my list of things to check in the future!

I had the same experience - my battery was almost completely dry, but I used distilled water instead of distled water.

[MrNatural]

Sometimes I ride into the Subway to order sandwiches.

LOL! That could only be done in TX. Bet they don't bat an eye!

[meldot]

I had my first experience with this yesterday. I was practicing around the neighborhood at around 8am and got stuck at a red. I knew it wasn't going to change, but for some reason, I thought those sensors were controlled by weight (I swear I heard that in my safety course) So I tried bouncing up and down, nothing. And then a car pulled up behind me, and we waited. I was just about to hop off and hit the walk button, when the man pulled up along side of me and said, "I don't think you have enough metal" and he was able to trigger the light. And then he even waited for me to get through the intersection! It was my first interaction with a driver and thankfully, super positive.

[ericalm]

meldot, try parking over the sensor and tapping your center stand on it.

In LA, we have a real mixed bag of types of sensors and lights that appear to have sensors but actually work on timers, lights that are on timers during certain parts of the day, etc.

I still think about this a lot. One thing that strikes me is that I think a lot of people don;t realize how long you sometimes have to wait for a light when you're in a car. I drive my cage a bunch this weekend and last week and noticed this. Sometimes, no matter what you're driving, you just have to wait a while.

[pdxrita]

Positioning correctly over the sensors can help. I have to go through a metering light in one spot on my commute and if I don't land directly in the middle of the circular sensor, my side of the light never cycles. In another spot, there is no visible sensor and I have yet to find a way to trigger it. I just have to wait for a car to come along behind me. Fortunately, that's never taken more than a minute or so. I agree with Eric as well that sometimes it may be a matter of perception. It just seems like the light is not cycling, but eventually it does. Without the distractions present in a car, such as a radio, it seems much longer.