Beware Friends (Apollo Digital Ballasts)

[GuerrillaRed]

Hey guys,

Just thought I should put this here for other growers and those looking to buy. BEWARE OF DIGITAL APOLLO BALLASTS!

I bought several of them for my medical grow. They work fantastically and I'm pleased with them as a grower.

However, these things throw out so much RF interference that they knock out my satellite TV and the worst thing is they're unbelievably easy to detect.

With a simple AM radio, you can pick these things up out to about 150-200 yards. As you get closer the static gets louder and louder on the radio until about 20-50 yards out, they'll knock out everything around them. If you're black hatting or growing in the city, these things are literally an easily detectable beacon to your grow room. No one wants cops or thugs showing up at their door.

Also if you're in a neighborhood, these things will knock out your neighborhoods TV and some electronic stuff which will result in pissed off cable guys coming to your door at the least.

Now I bought mine super cheap new off of an eBay dealer. I'm willing to bet the reason I got them so cheap was they're an earlier model with this defect. I'm told the new Apollo ballasts don't have these problems. But if this is a concern, why take that risk?

If you live anywhere near people, I would strongly advise against these ballasts.

 

[hush]

I have cheap ipower ballasts and I'm now wondering how much (if at all) they are affecting things for my neighbors. I personally don't have cable or satellite TV service, and I don't listen to AM radio, so I don't guess I would know if they are affecting anything. Haha. It kind of makes me giggle to myself just wondering if anyone has been affected by them. I mean, it's been like 3 years now since I switched over to digital, so I can only assume that if there was a problem I'd have seen confused cable TV service guys wandering up and down my street by now, so maybe the ipower ones don't have that problem? I don't know. But I also live in the ghetto so maybe no one has cable service near me, lol.

 

[AKmedical]

I run 4 600W dimmable diggy iPowers, no issues with any equipment; satellite tv, radio, etc... I can't speak for the Apollo's though.

I have cheap ipower ballasts and I'm now wondering how much (if at all) they are affecting things for my neighbors. I personally don't have cable or satellite TV service, and I don't listen to AM radio, so I don't guess I would know if they are affecting anything. Haha. It kind of makes me giggle to myself just wondering if anyone has been affected by them. I mean, it's been like 3 years now since I switched over to digital, so I can only assume that if there was a problem I'd have seen confused cable TV service guys wandering up and down my street by now, so maybe the ipower ones don't have that problem? I don't know. But I also live in the ghetto so maybe no one has cable service near me, lol.

 

[wordsux]

good to know


sounds like the are just beacons for unwanted attention

 

[BlackBuds]

Great post. Digital ballasts, not just Apollo are detectible and pinpointed with software you can download to a laptop if you know what you are doing. Also, amateur radio operators have a campaign with the FCC about regulating these.

 

[GuerrillaRed]

Thank you, yeah it blew my mind when I was playing with this today. Just fucking around with my car's radio and a handheld radio, an idiot like me was able to figure out how to key in on my ballasts signal immediately and find it.

I don't even know how these things can be on the market considering what an inconvenience at best and a potential for felony or robbery gone wrong at worst these things are.

It sucks too because I absolutely love these ballasts. They're so much better than magnetic ballasts. But this is a horrible defect in them.

 

[DemonTrich]

ive been running Apollo ballasts for 3+ years now. currently I run 1x600 in veg and 3x600 in flower. absolutely NO rf interference. no cable guy issues, no knocks on the door. I also have a dvr box, ps3, ps4, and a 55" plasma above my flower room. no signal issues at all.

another very important tip ill add,
DO NOT USE USHIO BULBS IN APOLLO BALLASTS. I blew 3 new ballasts and 3 new bulbs in 30 minutes of 1st firing them up.

 

[jd4083]

magnetic 4 life

 

[St. Phatty]

Hey guys,

Just thought I should put this here for other growers and those looking to buy. BEWARE OF DIGITAL APOLLO BALLASTS!

If you live anywhere near people, I would strongly advise against these ballasts.

The symptoms you're describing are (mostly) those of radiated EMI.

It's possible that 1/4 inch steel mesh would help to corral some of that EM radiation. It's lower frequency radiation, doesn't need too much TLC to attenuate it.


One idea is to get a piece of 1/4 inch mesh and to make a box with that, fitting around the ballast, leaving space for the power cords.

It is Kluge-y, but it could be done as a clean Kluge.

Something like this we EE/ME's would expect to knock down the EMI by about 20 dB, i.e. noticeably.

 

[audiohi]

What is the best way to find out if your ballast is creating interference? I've got a Solis Tek I've been wondering about. I don't notice any problems with my plethora of electronics, but once my neighbor asked me to help him fix his old tube style television that we just couldn't get to work properly. It only recently dawned on me that maybe it's my fault!

 

[GuerrillaRed]

Try to use an AM radio around your ballasts. If you get nothing but loud static that intensifies as you get closer to the ballasts and goes away completely when they're turned off, your ballast has this issue.

 

[audiohi]

Is there a certain frequency that seems to be affected more then others? I don't have any portable AM radios anymore... I probably should get one for emergencies. That'll be on my list for sure. I tried my car radio and can't say I know if I heard any non-AM radio static.

 

[audiohi]

Actually.... Is it strictly static? I just noticed a beeping every 30 seconds or so around the 1700khz range. I did a test leaving just now... And I think it stopped with the ballast off!! Maybe now I'm just being paranoid

 

[marrdogg]

Was wondering if epapillons give off static? Also dont have a portable am radio, dont need to be interfering with none of my neighbors shit!

 

[DrFever]

i found this post in another forum

I have had my indoor setup for a week now, and I received a notice from the cable company on my door this morning. The notice says my line needs to be ingressed/causing issues in area. I have read about rf interference coming from ballasts and creating issues. Considering the coincidence of getting the notice soon after putting up the new ballast, I assume that is the source of the issue. My internet/phone has been shut off but not my cable....is that weird? Any suggestions, comments, concerns? Or, any threads already covering this issue that I may have missed?

Apollo 600w Digital Ballast/600w MH light
(Closet is in same room as internet modem)
distance from ballast to light approx. 8 in.
distance from ballast to modem/CAT5 is approx. 5 ft.

There isn't another space to move the grow to in the home. All other rooms are occupied. I am a carded user, so legal isn't the issue (Cali). Should I have the cable guy come check and see what he says, or some DIY methods? Either way, I need my internet back up and going ASAP!!!

Did AM radio test, to see just how bad the interference was. Found a crystal clear station, turned on ballast, instantly heard static along with multiple whirring frequencies. HOWEVER, this was only when the radio touched the ballast to roughly 6 inches away. 7 inches and further away, radio station was crystal clear again. Just to make sure I put the radio next to the modem/CAT5 and station still came in clear. It was only when the radio was 6 inches and closer did I hear any manipulation to the radio station. I assume that's a good thing...? But then how did they know to put a notice on my door and how would that cause issues in the area?

I do not know whether I was the only one who received a notice or not. Got it late this afternoon and it was stamped 8:15 a.m.

I just know that it says, "Your service issue will require follow up maintenance from an advanced technician to be performed on: 'Office will call to schedule an appoinment. your line needs to be ingressed/causing issues in area'."

Hey y'all so I wanted to give an update. I called the cable company today and scheduled for a tech to come out. Once the tech came, I went ahead and directed him to the grow room (keep in mind its legal where I live). We ended up moving the modem to another bedroom that wasn't used for cable tv and all he said was he thought he knew what the problem was. He walked out to the truck, came back, did some work for about an hour, and all was fine. Internet/phone back, lights are going, and all is well

Lesson learned: Make sure ballast is placed in a room not hooked up with cable and you shouldn't have any problems.

What caused my problem was radio frequency interference between the ballast and cable line, which in turn caused problems to any neighbor houses also tapped into the same main line. Neighbors called about picture quality, tech came, traced interference to our home, and put a filter on our line causing us to lose our internet.

 

[marrdogg]

Ain't that some shit!

 

[BudToker]

If you have a digital ballast and a radio scanner you may want to also scan 1.8MHz - 30MHz to check for RFI (radio-frequency interference).

“ARRL has received numerous complaints from Amateur Radio operators of significant noise in the medium and high frequency bands between 1.8 MHz and 30 MHz from ‘grow lights’ and other RF lighting devices generally,”

Source:
http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-to-fcc-grow-light-ballast-causes-hf-interference-violates-rules

Relevant:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_interference

 

[mack_219]

Been running a 1000W and 600W for 3 months now, no issues. The apollo ballasts do have Radio Frequency blockers (according to Apollo) so you shouldn't be getting any interference. Very happy with the quality of Apollo so far!

 

[jd4083]

Even though I said "magnetic 4 life" in this thread I actually own two Apollo digital ballasts (one 400w and one 600w) and have nothing but good things to say about them so far. The price to quality ratio seems to be outstanding. Thankfully I'm alone in the woods without any neighbors nearby but I'm curious how far that interference is being thrown if I have any at all...

 

[DemonTrich]

4 x 600 Apollo's and neighbors around. NO issues at all.