Any electronics gurus in?

[RizzoTheRat]

I've got a bedside lamp that has a metal base, you touch it anywhere on the metal and it turns on or off. No idea how it works, and I've never really cared until now.

My mobile phone charger broke the other day so I got a new cheapy one off e-bay, it plugs in right next to the lamp and now when the phone decides it's had enough power the map turns on, which is quite annoying in the middle of the night. Phone charger is the only thing that's changed so I'm assuming it's not coincidence.

Any ideas? I've got part of the charger cable coiled in loop so I might try it with is straight as I assume the lamp is picking up some kind of electric field change.

[Simpo Two]

I thought they worked on capacitance, but that's where my electronics knowledge stops, sorry.

[Cupramax]

Yep, capacitance it is...

http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/questi...

[RizzoTheRat]

Interesting, in that case can the charger be affecting it from several inches away, or is something else causing the problem?

[callyman]

Can you not move the chrger further away or even leave it downstairs to charge for one night to eliminate the possiblility?

[RizzoTheRat]

That's far too sensible a suggestion I'll try not charging it overnight tonight to make sure it is the charger, but if it is, I really don't understand the mechanism or how to stop it.

[cpas]

Inductive magnetic field coming of the charging wire or phone effecting the capacitance of the light.