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new "secret techniques" to bust growers?

A

acridlab

Urban myths!

about digital ballast rfi?? get yourself a radio, throw on some sweet elevator music on a.m, n check out ur lumateks, quantum's, shit even my solis teks give off quite a bit, even more when u use the remote on the matrixs…. if u have the cheap ebay ipower ballasts i can pick up on them over 100 ft away...
 

the gnome

Active member
Veteran
May I ask what ballast you use?
what he said


no difference.. i was trying to explain what i meant about coiling cords in case someone didn't get what i was trying to say.. basically keep your cords straight, no loops, and don't let them cross over each other if possible..

thanks for clarifying acridlab,
I always like knowing why...
is it something like the winding on a transformer?
we get very few am sta. where i'm at, and at night in florida all we get is cuban or south american latin stations all mumble jumbled together

I can get 1 strong am in the daytime and 2 others that are already fuzzy.... going to check out AM reception near the nanolux ballasts i installed.
4 yrs ago when i 1st started the indoor rodeo i picked up 2 cheapo digi ballasts from ebay, i couldn't even listen to FM radio in the same house with em!

soooooo, is there any way to shield a an e-ballast from detection?
read years ago in apt grows that Eballasts interfered with cable reception, and the cable guys narrowed it down to this guys gro and came a knocking wondering what kind of *electronics* the grower was using to cause such interference??
 
B

BredForMeds

they are just using hand held FLIR.. and the nose binoculars.. and to confirm.. take your trash.. its no new technique.. there just using ILLEGAL TECHNIQUES.. to figure out were they are.. thhen they watch until they get some evidence usable in court..

plus they are using facebook.. and these grow forums to get 1 person.,. and flip them.. and then they have them try to get clones or bud.. or hash from you doing a buy for them.. and boom your fucked..


does anyone know if they can use your records against you to charge you with cultivating more plants they you got caught with.. say u had records stating how many clones u took.. how much each plant yielded.. and such.. would they charge you for past shit.. or just what you get caught with?
 
Radio frequency interference, while rare, is possible when electronic ballasts are installed in areas where equipment operates on the same
frequency as the ballast. If problems involve
masking of signals rather than actual damage to
the equipment, there is a very simple solution: replace the electronic ballast with a hybrid ballast.
This product is almost as efficient as the electronic ballast but does not operate at the same high frequency and will not cause interference with sensitive equipment.
ateam.lbl.gov/Design-Guide/DGHtm/harmonicdistortionandelectronicballasts.htm
 
A

acridlab

No problem, gnome.. the noise is hard to describe,, basically that squealing, squeltching, noise u get in between stations..like I said above,, if u have decent equipment and it's rated UL, or whatever, the rfi prolly doesn't reach more than 6-10 feet.. better safe than sorry tho,, and they have copper mesh n similar if u wanted to make a cage around ur equip. My brothers a sound engineer, and they use in studios , etc..
 
A

acridlab

ateam.lbl.gov/Design-Guide/DGHtm/harmonicdistortionandelectronicballasts.htm

I'm not about to drop even more coin than I already have on ballast, lol
What kind r u using?? Maybe I'll check em out next time I'm around a shop, test em myself..
 

the gnome

Active member
Veteran
No problem, gnome.. the noise is hard to describe,, basically that squealing, squeltching, noise u get in between stations..like I said above,, if u have decent equipment and it's rated UL, or whatever, the rfi prolly doesn't reach more than 6-10 feet.. better safe than sorry tho,, and they have copper mesh n similar if u wanted to make a cage around ur equip. My brothers a sound engineer, and they use in studios , etc..

well i don't think the nanolux passed the AM radio test.
i don't get any squelching, but the closer you get to it
static builds until it drowns out the station.
I can get copper screen, like you use on a screen porch.
maybe that would work instead of the copper mesh?

TBH i don't think there's any e-ballast that's entirely RFI neutral
 
A

acridlab

well i don't think the nanolux passed the AM radio test.
i don't get any squelching, but the closer you get to it
static builds until it drowns out the station.
I can get copper screen, like you use on a screen porch.
maybe that would work instead of the copper mesh?

TBH i don't think there's any e-ballast that's entirely RFI neutral

i agree gnome,, i think they will all have some rfi, some more than others,i heard good things about the nanos, i wanted one but at the time they didn't have a 240 option, do they now?? and, as long as that screen is really copper it should work..theres other materials that work also,if u google "faraday cage", u will find a lot of good info.. i also read that some cases are more extreme with digital ballasts and rfi if your homes wiring isn't grounded properly, and even some central ac units will somehow intensify the rfi.. i gave up trying to eliminate it completely.. my solis teks only give off rfi for about 5 ft. ever since i quit using the remote and re ran my wiring. thats not too bad, now i can listen to my shortwave while working..and my neighbors haven't complained about any cable interruptions so thats good.. i guess certain hd tvs don't like are ballasts at all, lol.. luckily I'm still 10 years behind everybody and still rock the old tube tv,lol.. and I'm still waiting for to hear what ballast johnny is using also, I'm always trying to learn and stay current with good grow gear..
 
Quantum, nexgen and a cheap generic one. Course, my grow area is remote from the house and wired specifically for what im doing.
 

the gnome

Active member
Veteran
i agree gnome,, i think they will all have some rfi, some more than others,i heard good things about the nanos, i wanted one but at the time they didn't have a 240 option, do they now?? and, as long as that screen is really copper it should work..theres other materials that work also,if u google "faraday cage", u will find a lot of good info.. i also read that some cases are more extreme with digital ballasts and rfi if your homes wiring isn't grounded properly, and even some central ac units will somehow intensify the rfi.. i gave up trying to eliminate it completely.. my solis teks only give off rfi for about 5 ft. ever since i quit using the remote and re ran my wiring. thats not too bad, now i can listen to my shortwave while working..and my neighbors haven't complained about any cable interruptions so thats good.. i guess certain hd tvs don't like are ballasts at all, lol.. luckily I'm still 10 years behind everybody and still rock the old tube tv,lol.. and I'm still waiting for to hear what ballast johnny is using also, I'm always trying to learn and stay current with good grow gear..

a few years ago i looked at the nano's too but no 220V option so i passed.
they have em know tho with the dimmable feature and they have a random 30 start delay for staggered start for multiple setups, i really liked that one as I'm now 6000w

if all your looking at is 5ft your waaaay ahead of the game in my book....
testing the nano were talking 30+ft :shucks:
I'm getting on that right away.
thieves aspect don't worry me its the other guys.
wonder what band frequency LEO uses?
anywhere near AM?
 
Last edited:

the gnome

Active member
Veteran
Quantum, nexgen and a cheap generic one. Course, my grow area is remote from the house and wired specifically for what im doing.

and you get no AM interference.. at all?

I got the nanolux because it was pretty cheap, but the quantum was $20 cheaper... rats!
 
A

acridlab

a few years ago i looked at the nano's too but no 220V option so i passed.
they have em know tho with the dimmable feature and they have a random 30 start delay for staggered start for multiple setups, i really liked that one as I'm now 6000w

if all your looking at is 5ft your waaaay ahead of the game in my book....
testing the nano were talking 30+ft :shucks:
I'm getting on that right away.
thieves aspect don't worry me its the other guys.
what band does LEO use?

good question about leo,, don't know what band they use..i would imagine that they have the technology to figure it out quick.luckily, i don't have to worry anymore, my state finally went medical.. and if i was in a state that was still controlled,, i still wouldn't worry too much if it under a 4k setup.. they have way bigger fish to fry.. just got to worry bout snitches n rippers..
 

the gnome

Active member
Veteran
good question about leo,, don't know what band they use..i would imagine that they have the technology to figure it out quick.luckily, i don't have to worry anymore, my state finally went medical.. and if i was in a state that was still controlled,, i still wouldn't worry too much if it under a 4k setup.. they have way bigger fish to fry.. just got to worry bout snitches n rippers..

yup i'm with on that,
I think 90% or more of LEO's take down are due to*intel* from snitches..
but being in florida LEO loves any kind of hydro bust and they play it up to no end.
just this week there were enough signatures in florida to put medical MJ on the ballot... that was a feat right there.
so its up for the vote this year!
 

mojave green

rockin in the free world
Veteran
the rfi leakage produced by digital ballasts is of a very low power and not on any set frequency. each manufacturers ballast will spew a certain amount of rfi, some more than others. it often does affect am radio, but pinpointing the source or the frequency of that interference would take more than your average leo drives around with.
if you are really worried though there are measures you can take:
Switching loads (inductive, capacitive, and resistive), such as electric motors, transformers, heaters, lamps, ballast, power supplies, etc., all cause electromagnetic interference especially at currents above 2Amp. The usual method used for suppressing EMI is by connecting a snubber network, a resistor in series with a capacitor, across a pair of contacts. While this may offer modest EMI reduction at very low currents, snubbers do not work at currents over 2Amp with electromechanical contacts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_interference
:tiphat:
 
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