HID Lights

[Doc401]

OK, Here is one for the books..lol

Has anyone had a problem with their digital lights interfere with such things as cable tv?
If so how did you solve the problem?

Thanks for any and all replies!! Doc imp:

Doc401 Reviewed by Doc401 on 10-19-2012. HID Lights OK, Here is one for the books..lol Has anyone had a problem with their digital lights interfere with such things as cable tv? If so how did you solve the problem? Thanks for any and all replies!! Doc :pimp: Rating: 5

[Dutch Pimp]

RF interference from digital ballasts can a problem. Extra shielding works sometimes.

Test it with an AM radio. If the interference reaches your neighbors? Bad news.

Magnetic ballasts have no RF interference.

[Doc401]

Thanks DP for the reply.

Yep, it is reaching neighbors!! Heck i think it is messing with the cable system in the area to the point the cable guys showed up saying there is a problem here somewhere..lol
So is there any fix for this??

[drudown11]

OK, Here is one for the books..lol

Has anyone had a problem with their digital lights interfere with such things as cable tv?
If so how did you solve the problem?

Thanks for any and all replies!! Doc imp:

Digital Ballasts also fuck up any type of Wi Fi you may have. The more ballasts the worse the problem.

[emilya]

OK, Here is one for the books..lol

Has anyone had a problem with their digital lights interfere with such things as cable tv?
If so how did you solve the problem?

Thanks for any and all replies!! Doc imp:

To have a problem to the extent that you do, I would expect that you have a badly designed ballast or one that is getting ready to fail. Ballasts and even fluorescent lights are very noisy electrically generally and they are a constant problem at my house. I am a Ham operator and have to shut down my lights in order not to have interference on my radio, and my antenna is way out in the yard! I have adjusted the day/night cycle on my lights just so I can have a quiet time in the early evenings when I am generally on the radio. If you are getting into the cable (a closed system) you must really be pumping out the wattage in RF energy. I am glad that I don't live near you.

Generally, the cheaper the ballast, the lower the frequency it is operating at and therefore the higher amount of harmonic energy it generates. Some of the cheaper ones radiate all over the radio spectrum and are very inefficient. The more you spend on one, the better they are designed, and as Dutch mentioned, the magnetic ones don't even make a sound. When you replace that ballast, look carefully at the higher frequency models, or even the ones that allow you to change the frequency the inverter works at to minimize interference to specific devices. You have to pay more for this, but as you now see, it is worth it.