cops are onto RFI-AM radio and elec. ballasts

[the gnome]

I'll tell you if anyone starts walking near my house with an Ariel trying to tri bloody angulate anything theyre going to get a swift kick in the baws and whipped with said ariel.
Sb

oh yeah I likes your way of thinkin sawneyB

 

[Gry]

Camouflage that front door with shielding paint !

 

[nukklehead]

I find safety in copper.... (mags).. no bad vibes here..

 

[Tonygreen]

i bought a solis tek to make sure no prob due to being in fla and it had the cable co in my neighborhood all day and they pinned my place as the source so i shut down my grow while they were outside and their meters immediately cleared up. they wanted in to try and find the source so im glad the shut down worked.

i thought about diy shielding but went to mag's to be sure.

here is a link to info about interference w/test's on diff. balasts and also how to reduce the interference.

http://www.w0qe.com/RF_Interference/grow_light_electronic_ballasts.html


peace

I been tellin poeple about them solisteks...

 

[rhinoman 1]

Hey All, there's a product called eco-foil, used this at a friends house. His neighbor is a ham radio guy with big antennas. It's been over a year and no problem so far.

 

[the gnome]

I been tellin poeple about them solisteks...

solisteks, nanolux, lumatek..........
if it's made in chaina seems to be a prob.
they are probably are doing something to hamper RFI but obviously not nearly enuff,
I think they're taking a "see if anyone complains" attitude.

in 2010 I bought 2 of the cheap ass no name ballast w/lite kits for my 1st indoor runs,
it fugged up parts of my FM band in the house it was so bad.
both ballasts had a meltdown @ 12+14months
brands name ballasts aren't as bad as the cheapo no names i 1st bought
but when i say not as bad, I'm not saying it's good, just another step better in the very bad range of RF! leakag
so chinese manf. are obviously aware about RFI an try to do better if the ballasts are going to a reputable name distributer.....
like solistek, nanolux, lumatek on and on.
if every grower using a digi ballast complained to dist. AND too the FCC is when i see the prob getting better.

 

[amannamedtruth]

Hey All, there's a product called eco-foil, used this at a friends house. His neighbor is a ham radio guy with big antennas. It's been over a year and no problem so far.

Thing is a lot of these ballasts are sending that high freq back into the building's wiring, to the breaker, and possibly back to the main lines. There needs to be a choke or filter on both ends of the ballasts to really eliminate the issue.

 

[Tonygreen]

My wifi got knocked out every time the ballast switched on, scary lol.

 

[Jhhnn]

ohh yeah and mags cause less interference, but dont think they are safer.. especially if you are running a bunch of them you need filters!! also the longer the cables the more interference

Everything in mags operates at 60 hz. Any RF they put out is at that frequency which isn't in a band anybody uses other than for power transmission lines & audio.

 

[FlowerFarmer]

I find safety in copper.... (mags).. no bad vibes here..

Any idea what mags are copper wound these days? Seems like a few years back every manufacturer has switched to aluminum wound transformers. I'd gladly pay the few extra bucks for the copper units.

 

[nukklehead]

Any idea what mags are copper wound these days? Seems like a few years back every manufacturer has switched to aluminum wound transformers. I'd gladly pay the few extra bucks for the copper units.

Nope didnt know that I will re phrase...

I find safety in aluminum... lol........

Of course I dont know what few years back is... no pun...

Been running same mags ( 2 identical 1k'S...1 spare 1 running) for 8 years.. replacing caps
x 2 in both and ignitor in one (switchable)...just rotating.. dont know if copper or not...??

my 69 chevy truck starts everyday too....... lol... and it doesnt interfere with the neighbors
cable.. (tongue in cheek..)..no p-match.. just an ole foggie having fun !

 

[FlowerFarmer]

There is definitely something to be said about good ol' mags. Like A Rock!

I've seen mags run after having been complete submerged under water during a series of crazy thunderstorms and a leaky basement.


Just hate the weight and the buzzing/vibration. I've seen some damn quiet mags in my day, but they are far and few between now a days, especially when you are running multiples.

 

[Weed Gretzky]

crap i just bought 4 cheap-o 600w Apollo horticulture ballasts. guess ill just have to try em out and see. do you guys hear of a lot of people switching back to magnetics.

 

[amannamedtruth]

Just made my first filter. Just the A/C line side, but its providing power, I'll test for RFI once I make a lamp side. Pretty easy to assemble.

 

[growshopfrank]

Just made my first filter. Just the A/C line side, but its providing power, I'll test for RFI once I make a lamp side. Pretty easy to assemble.

If I were in your place i would look at adding some capacitance between the ballast and the mains
The theory is similar to adding a stiffening capacitor to a car audio amp, the cap adds a little reserve so when the transistors switch the cap smoothes the spikes.
A little searching "capacitors for filtering" will give you far more info about this than I can here, good luck

 

[growshopfrank]

Any idea what mags are copper wound these days? Seems like a few years back every manufacturer has switched to aluminum wound transformers. I'd gladly pay the few extra bucks for the copper units.

Venture lighting 1000 HPS looking at one manufactured 11/14 with copper windings. Made in India tho

 

[rhinoman 1]

Thing is a lot of these ballasts are sending that high freq back into the building's wiring, to the breaker, and possibly back to the main lines. There needs to be a choke or filter on both ends of the ballasts to really eliminate the issue.

Yeah I agree with that. But your lamps are still going to be blasting rf energy. Shielding the entire room is a quick and easy fix.

 

[nukklehead]

There is definitely something to be said about good ol' mags. Like A Rock!

I've seen mags run after having been complete submerged under water during a series of crazy thunderstorms and a leaky basement.


Just hate the weight and the buzzing/vibration. I've seen some damn quiet mags in my day, but they are far and few between now a days, especially when you are running multiples.

Yeah well my 69 chevy aint that quiet either.. j/j flower..

If you need silence they are not the gig thats for sure...

And yes... one of mine was submerged for a short time in a
basement flood. I replaced all wire caps, dried out thoroughly,
replaced capacitor.. set her up for a good long time to dry out
and she did, and is still running... she does have a little rust on
the case but functions fine..

Again.. no p-match.. just an ole fart having fun..

 

[FunkBomb]

I remember this being an issue when digital ballasts first started showing up years ago. I use Galaxy ballasts from Sunlight Supply. They are some of the best out there. No issues at all after years of use.

If you're still worried just buy magnetic ballasts or use a different lighting technology.

-Funk

 

[Catatafish]

I'll will add a 3rd verification on the solis's. If ya really want to shit your pants ... after your done checking the low end freqs (540?) , check the other end (1600?).

I found 1600 was much louder and went much much further for some reason. i got over a block away before it finally went down enough to not be noticible. 540 only lasted roughly till the end of driveway. Order placed for mag that night sucks as they worked awesome. It had a very distinct sound that would get louder the closer you got. Verified by turning on and off and re-checking.