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Lumatek ballasts will get you busted

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Mr. Bongjangles

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Man, bullshit!! I tested a 1000w lumatek today at the hydro store and the very very cheap radio that was at 6 feets from it still clear. I've heard a difference but I'm sure 2 feets away and would have been crystal clear sound. The wires was 15 feets long and in a loop. All the worst condition and no RF.

Your ballast is in YOUUUR appartment and has messed up my entire blocks wireless internet, phone, and radio setups and you are the last to notice that? HUmmmm...you smoke too much or you're just a liar!

Calm down dude - you've got some growing up to do if you call someone a liar that quickly and without fully understanding the issue.

Having had the same issue and subsequent visit from the cable guy, I can vouch for this experience.

I'm no expert on RF interference, but, I believe the issue is not simply about distance from one's neighbors.

Couple possibilities - RF interference is getting onto the cable system via the power circuit. Perhaps it is getting in by having a cable outlet too close to the ballast. Not sure if these things are even possible, but, I think something along these lines is happening, as the interference with cable systems is definitely happening and I got the same comment about it affecting the entire neighborhood.
 

prophecy

Member
But hey, all the neighborhood have problem but you don't? Seems impossible to me! And you seems to understand the problem more than me...no offense buddy!

I tested it and work just fine!!!!
 
We run 4 600-w lumatek purple ballasts here and a 1k purple lumatek elsewhere. We have a computer, expensive printer, cable modem within about 10 feet of the ballasts, never had a problem. We have a digital tv with surround sound and wii (running wirelessly connected to our mac) nearly directly under the ballasts. Never had a problem.

But since our cat/budsitter IS a cable guy, I'll ask him what he thinks about all this and get back to you. It's nice to have him as a go-to guy, especially since the veg room IS the computer room . . . We have an old-fashioned 1k xtrasun IN the veg room.
 
My hubby says our buddy has the equipment to check us out for this problem, so we will be doing it in the next week or so. Of course, there are OTHER cable companies, and my hubby says that cable companies each broadcast in a slightly different area of the rf spectrum. Maybe Mr. Mountain will chime in, he's gifted with electronics.
 

Phillthy

Seven-Thirty
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just ordered a new 600w lumatek and will be ordering 41k ones shortly. these are the dimmable ones and i intend to run the 600 on 400 and the 1ks on 600 for a while. let you know how things go. no cable in this neighborhood but i do run wireless internet.
 

prophecy

Member
Ignorance is not attractive.

You mean ignorance that the guys live in a shutdown appartment block and not even capable to notice it in his OWN appartment! :tiphat:

I tested mine at hydrostore and its ok. I tested mine at home and its ok too! The wire was looped to infinite and at 5 feets the radio frequency was crystal clear with a 15 years old very very very VERY cheap radio!!!!!
 

Mr. Bongjangles

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You mean ignorance that the guys live in a shutdown appartment block and not even capable to notice it in his OWN appartment! :tiphat:

I tested mine at hydrostore and its ok. I tested mine at home and its ok too! The wire was looped to infinite and at 5 feets the radio frequency was crystal clear with a 15 years old very very very VERY cheap radio!!!!!

I just have cable internet. Furthermore, I have nearly 5 megs of downstream bandwidth at the outlet, but my wireless network only supports about 1-2 megs per second. Thus, I wouldn't even notice my speed dropping in half.

Maybe the interference was just affecting people with digital cable or cable boxes. I didn't really wanna play 20 questions with pissed off cable guy.

SneakySneaky never said what kind of cable services he has either.

So yeah, all your posts have been based on false assumptions and ignorance of the issue. :tiphat:
 
L

lid

I have two duel 600 watt lumatek ballasts and never had a problem. I have digital cable t.v, wifi and misc. other wireless stuff with no problems. Its never even bothered my scale like a cell phone will.
 
We have digital cable and run wireless connection from the computer to the wii with no problems. Digital tv is DIRECTLY UNDER the ballasts. Computer is about 5 feet from ballasts. No problems. Nevertheless, since I have a cable guy who works with me on occasion, I will talk to him. He and Mr. Mountain are good friends and love to geek out about tech stuff anyhow.
 

mrwags

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Do you guys see the start date of this thread? This would have involved the blue colored ones instead of the newer purple color. This issue as well as the bulb issue has been repaired YEARS ago. The OP of this post is 07 :).


Have A Great Day
Mr.Wags
 

Mr. Bongjangles

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From Wikipedia's article on Coax cable -

Signal leakage is the passage of electromagnetic fields through the shield of a cable and occurs in both directions. Ingress is the passage of an outside signal into the cable and can result in noise and disruption of the desired signal. Egress is the passage of signal intended to remain within the cable into the outside world and can result in a weaker signal at the end of the cable and radio frequency interference to nearby devices.

For example, in the United States, signal leakage from cable television systems is regulated by the FCC, since cable signals use the same frequencies as aeronautical and radionavigation bands. CATV operators may also choose to monitor their networks for leakage to prevent ingress. Outside signals entering the cable can cause unwanted noise and picture ghosting. Excessive noise can overwhelm the signal, making it useless.

An ideal shield would be a perfect conductor with no holes, gaps or bumps connected to a perfect ground. However, a smooth solid copper shield would be heavy, inflexible, and expensive. Practical cables must make compromises between shield efficacy, flexibility and cost, such as the corrugated surface of hardline, flexible braid, or foil shields. Since the shields are not perfect conductors, electric fields can exist inside the shield, thus allowing radiating electromagnetic fields to go through the shield.


Found that interesting... Makes me wonder if something wasn't grounded correctly on the cable wiring at the house or further up the chain.
 

Mr. Bongjangles

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Do you guys see the start date of this thread? This would have involved the blue colored ones instead of the newer purple color. This issue as well as the bulb issue has been repaired YEARS ago. The OP of this post is 07 :).


Have A Great Day
Mr.Wags

Read the whole thread... I just recently posted to clarify these issues still exist with the 2010 model Lumatek ballasts, and videos have been posted demonstrating it.
 
C

Cheeb

I'll confirm that my 2010 dimmable 1K lumatek puts off some type of interference.

I can sit in my vehicle in the rear of the driveway quite a distance from the front of the house where 4 1k Lumateks hang in the basement.

Tuned to a clear AM radio station it immediately becomes static once the lights kick on. Nothing noted to cable tv or cable internet.

I'm not worried about it at present and do believe Lumateks are the best electronic ballasts on the market right now.

However,
Hydrofarm's black phantom 1k though is badass. The dimming feature actually dims the bulb to its next lower settings - rather then just a flicker and its dimmer. Performance wise I cannot yet say however if it can hang with the solid output of the lumatek.
 

Mr. Bongjangles

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I'm pretty your problem is not the ballast itself but the wriring in your house or appartment.

Thanks prophessor, that's some true insight there considering my posts earlier already suggested the cable or electrical wiring is involved.

Regardless, the source of interference is the ballast. As the videos demonstrate, even the brand new ones throw off a ton of interference.

I didn't know having the cable & electrical wiring at my house inspected was a prerequisite to using a digital ballast, but it seems like that is the case. If not, one risks exposing themselves, which is the whole point of the thread. Not that I am certain the wiring is at fault, but if it were, that would be the implication.

Either way you cut it, the interference these ballasts generate is the problem, and using them is a risk unless you can be absolutely certain it will not cause an issue.

It's like saying "you're safe, until a grounding wire somewhere comes loose" which isn't very safe at all, now is it?
 
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