Quote Originally Posted by 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:
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.