Fluorescent light RFI solved
 

I'm not sure if this is the right newsgroup for this, but I wanted to get
this information out there to help others.

Our electrician arrived with brand new fluorescent under-counter lights to
install in our new kitchen. I told him, "Hey, I already bought lights at
Expo! Can you simply install mine?"

For some reason he was very reluctant to install my lights. He insisted that
his were just as good, if not better, than mine. I didn't have a strong
preference so I let him install his lights.

When it was finally dark, my wife turned them on to get the full effect. To
my horror, the AM radio two rooms away was instantly and completely
obliterated with RFI. I ran out to the shack and confirmed noise all the way
up to 20 meters.

The next day, I removed his lights and installed mine, and I was extremely
pleased to note not a hint of noise on any frequency, unless the receiver
was 6 inches from the light.

His lights: Bright Inch by Elite Lighting.

Mine: SlimLite by Hera Lighting.
http://www.heralighting.com/hera/slimlite.html

They cost more, but they're worth every penny.

Regards,

Al W6LX

Fluorescent light RFI solved
 

News Features wrote:


When it was finally dark, my wife turned them on to get the full effect.
To my horror, the AM radio two rooms away was instantly and completely
obliterated with RFI. I ran out to the shack and confirmed noise all the
way up to 20 meters.

The next day, I removed his lights and installed mine, and I was extremely
pleased to note not a hint of noise on any frequency, unless the receiver
was 6 inches from the light.

His lights: Bright Inch by Elite Lighting.

Mine: SlimLite by Hera Lighting.
http://www.heralighting.com/hera/slimlite.html

Thanks for posting this, Al. As we get into more and more expensive
electricity, there's ever more pressure for all of us to reduce electrical
consumption by using fluorescent lighting, much of which results in
completely unacceptable rfi noise levels. Does anyone know of a database
that rates various brands as to rfi?

Bob
--
(Robert Smits, Ladysmith BC)

"I'm not one of those who think Bill Gates is the devil. I simply suspect
that if Microsoft ever met up with the devil, it wouldn't need an
interpreter." - Nicholas Petreley

Fluorescent light RFI solved
 

Robert Smits wrote:
News Features wrote:


When it was finally dark, my wife turned them on to get the full effect.
To my horror, the AM radio two rooms away was instantly and completely
obliterated with RFI. I ran out to the shack and confirmed noise all the
way up to 20 meters.

The next day, I removed his lights and installed mine, and I was extremely
pleased to note not a hint of noise on any frequency, unless the receiver
was 6 inches from the light.

His lights: Bright Inch by Elite Lighting.

Mine: SlimLite by Hera Lighting.
http://www.heralighting.com/hera/slimlite.html

Thanks for posting this, Al. As we get into more and more expensive
electricity, there's ever more pressure for all of us to reduce electrical
consumption by using fluorescent lighting, much of which results in
completely unacceptable rfi noise levels. Does anyone know of a database
that rates various brands as to rfi?


Not really antenna related, but...

They are ostensibly Part 15 compliant, so one could look at the
certification paperwork they supplied to the FCC.

I wouldn't count on huge amounts of item to item consistency, even
within the same brand and model. Based on my admittedly anecdotal data,
there's a fair amount of manufacturing variability, so unless someone is
going to go out and collect data on a statistically significant sample
(which practically means tens or hundreds of units tested), any set of
measurements is valid only for the item measured.

Fluorescent light RFI solved
 

"Jim Lux" wrote in message
...
Based on my admittedly anecdotal data, there's a fair amount of
manufacturing variability, so unless someone is going to go out and
collect data on a statistically significant sample (which practically
means tens or hundreds of units tested), any set of measurements is valid
only for the item measured.

Well, my report is certainly anecdotal. No measurements beyond turning on
the AM radio and bringing it up close to the lights were made. However, I
can believe that perhaps the electrician got a bad batch of lights. Maybe
the ground was missing or some filter or something like that. However, it is
highly unlikely that the (good) Hera lights happened to be totally quiet due
to some manufacturing variability. In other words, manufacturing
variabilities can and frequently do result in really bad units, but rarely
result in phenomenally better units than the norm. What this tells me is
that the Heras have a better controlled manufacturing process. If that's all
you got from my post, then I submit that that is a valuable data point.

(The web site of the "bad" lights says that they are California Title 24
compliant. I have no idea what that means.)

Let's put it this way: given my merely anecdotal experience, if you had to
buy undercabinet lighting tomorrow, which would you buy? That's all you can
get from anecdotal evidence.

Fluorescent light RFI solved
 

Interesting, but from past experience, the results may be just the opposite
a few months later because the source of the components may change over
time.
The components of fluorescent fixtures consists of
The ballast - which is usually outsourced by the fixture manufacturer.
Ballast types vary - GE, Universal, Advance, and several other Ballast
makers sell to fixture manufacturers.
The sockets - usually made by Leviton or Eagle or Rodale - but there are
others.
The lamp (the fluorescent lamp). Usually are not provided by the fixture
manufacturer. Made by Phillips, GE, Sylvania, etc.
Some even have a 'starter'.
--I expect the ballast is the critical component - some are magnetic, some
are electronic - its probably the culprit


"News Features" wrote in message
...
I'm not sure if this is the right newsgroup for this, but I wanted to get
this information out there to help others.

Our electrician arrived with brand new fluorescent under-counter lights to
install in our new kitchen. I told him, "Hey, I already bought lights at
Expo! Can you simply install mine?"

For some reason he was very reluctant to install my lights. He insisted
that his were just as good, if not better, than mine. I didn't have a
strong preference so I let him install his lights.

When it was finally dark, my wife turned them on to get the full effect.
To my horror, the AM radio two rooms away was instantly and completely
obliterated with RFI. I ran out to the shack and confirmed noise all the
way up to 20 meters.

The next day, I removed his lights and installed mine, and I was extremely
pleased to note not a hint of noise on any frequency, unless the receiver
was 6 inches from the light.

His lights: Bright Inch by Elite Lighting.

Mine: SlimLite by Hera Lighting.
http://www.heralighting.com/hera/slimlite.html

They cost more, but they're worth every penny.

Regards,

Al W6LX

Fluorescent light RFI solved
 

"Hal Rosser" wrote in message
...
--I expect the ballast is the critical component - some are magnetic, some
are electronic - its probably the culprit

Hello, Hal.

I suspected the electronic ballast in the "bad" light myself. They both use
electronic ballasts. Perhaps it's an unfiltered ballast in the "bad" light
or something like that. They both are supposedly made in the USofA so I
can't blame it on the Chinese tendency to eliminate unnecessary items like
filter capacitors to save 18 cents of the cost.

I hope you're wrong about the two lights switching places; somehow, I can't
imagine the "bad" light gradually becoming RFI-quiet over time... by what
mechanism could that happen?

I am judging the lights as they are... one is noisy, the other is quiet. It
is somewhat amazing that we are trying to make excuses for this situation
rather than accept that some lights are noisy and some are quiet! :^)

Fluorescent light RFI solved
 

"News Features" wrote in message
news:lDumk.35103

I hope you're wrong about the two lights switching places; somehow, I
can't
imagine the "bad" light gradually becoming RFI-quiet over time... by what
mechanism could that happen?

I can think of one, but it's obscure and unlikely. Some electrolytic
capacitors must be "formed" by application of voltage to develop their
rated characteristics. (However, it's applied DC that usually does such
forming, and I think all production flourescent lamps run exclusively on
AC.) If an unformed cap were installed as a filter and if it were later
formed by applied voltage, that is the mechanism that occurs to me.

Contradictions welcome.

Fluorescent light RFI solved
 

On Wed, 6 Aug 2008 22:38:20 -0400, "Hal Rosser"
wrote:

Interesting, but from past experience, the results may be just the opposite
a few months later because the source of the components may change over
time.
The components of fluorescent fixtures consists of
The ballast - which is usually outsourced by the fixture manufacturer.
Ballast types vary - GE, Universal, Advance, and several other Ballast
makers sell to fixture manufacturers.
The sockets - usually made by Leviton or Eagle or Rodale - but there are
others.
The lamp (the fluorescent lamp). Usually are not provided by the fixture
manufacturer. Made by Phillips, GE, Sylvania, etc.
Some even have a 'starter'.
--I expect the ballast is the critical component - some are magnetic, some
are electronic - its probably the culprit

I'm curious, what does the ballast do? I see it referred to on light
fixtures I've installed, but I've never quite figured out what it is.

bob
k5qwg




"News Features" wrote in message
...
I'm not sure if this is the right newsgroup for this, but I wanted to get
this information out there to help others.

Our electrician arrived with brand new fluorescent under-counter lights to
install in our new kitchen. I told him, "Hey, I already bought lights at
Expo! Can you simply install mine?"

For some reason he was very reluctant to install my lights. He insisted
that his were just as good, if not better, than mine. I didn't have a
strong preference so I let him install his lights.

When it was finally dark, my wife turned them on to get the full effect.
To my horror, the AM radio two rooms away was instantly and completely
obliterated with RFI. I ran out to the shack and confirmed noise all the
way up to 20 meters.

The next day, I removed his lights and installed mine, and I was extremely
pleased to note not a hint of noise on any frequency, unless the receiver
was 6 inches from the light.

His lights: Bright Inch by Elite Lighting.

Mine: SlimLite by Hera Lighting.
http://www.heralighting.com/hera/slimlite.html

They cost more, but they're worth every penny.

Regards,

Al W6LX

Fluorescent light RFI solved
 

http://home.howstuffworks.com/fluorescent-lamp6.htm

Fluorescent light RFI solved
 

In article ,
"Hal Rosser" wrote:

Interesting, but from past experience, the results may be just the opposite
a few months later because the source of the components may change over
time.
The components of fluorescent fixtures consists of
The ballast - which is usually outsourced by the fixture manufacturer.
Ballast types vary - GE, Universal, Advance, and several other Ballast
makers sell to fixture manufacturers.
The sockets - usually made by Leviton or Eagle or Rodale - but there are
others.
The lamp (the fluorescent lamp). Usually are not provided by the fixture
manufacturer. Made by Phillips, GE, Sylvania, etc.
Some even have a 'starter'.
--I expect the ballast is the critical component - some are magnetic, some
are electronic - its probably the culprit

GE makes an RFI Filter that can be added to standard 4 Ft Tube Ballasts,
and that will eliminate MOST MF/HF Fixture Interference. I have been
using them in Alaska for years.

--
Bruce in alaska
add path after fast to reply