On 2/18/10 09:34 , bpnjensen wrote:
On Feb 18, 5:38 am, Joe from wrote:
On Feb 17, 8:53 am, m wrote:
I have no dimmers in the house, so I can't comment on their influence.

mike
bpnjensen wrote:
I can tell you - they suck. Avoid them at all cost.

Bruce

Well, not completely true. The better (read more expensive) dimmers
include "radio frequency interference suppression circuitry". You get
what you pay for.

Hi, Joe - I guess I've seen these, but I've never trusted them - have
you had experience with their improved circuitry?

I have.

Not so good. They do reduce RF emission, but they don't keep the
spike off the line, which creates most of the problems associated
with dimmers.

I pulled the SCR and Triac dimmers from my house and replaced
them with in-wall variacs where I absolutely had to have a dimmer.
VERY quiet.

Truth is, I don't really need dimmers in the house. Where I'd
want mood lighting, there are multiple sources in the room, anyway,
I put half of them on one switch and half on a second switch, and
then simply turn on the level of illumination I want or need.

Outdoor dusk-to-dawn security lights are often as much noise as
dimmers for us in the radio hobby. The most common solution is to
use a screw-in security light/socket in an outdoor fixture. These
screw-in solutions are usually SCR/TRIAC dimmers in a different
configuration. Intermatic, however, makes these devices without
SCR's, TRIACs or any other similar device. Intermatic devices use a
photo sensor, a time constant, and a closure which eliminates
flickering in lightning flashes, as well as radio noise. Intermatic
screw-in security light solutions are only fractionally more
expensive than the cheap crap usually found on shelves. I mean,
like, a buck or two difference, if that. End of problems.


There is more elegant solution, and that's a separate photo
sensor connected to the line that feeds the security lights. Also
using a closure, these produce zero noise, no flickering with
transient changes in ambient light, they can handle large loads
without difficulty, and you can adjust their on and off conditions
for optimal performance. For this application, I, again, use
Intermatic controls. $12, takes 15 minutes to install. The
instructions are clear, concise, and everything you need to do the
install is in the package.

And no soldering is required.