growingforfun
Well-Known Member
From what I've read they are the worst acually
RF noise interference
- Thread starter max316420
- Start date
Rider101
Well-Known Member
You guys do know that any HPS street light made after 2000 has a digital ballast with no shielding? They use the cheapest ballast with no filters or shielding in street lights but since there is no need for a long cord there is no EMI or RF issues with these units.
Same with the latest LED street lights cheapest units and drivers yet no issues with EMI or RF.
FYI if you are worried about getting caught well, in the age of smart meters where power companies pass along when and how much power your using to the police, EMI and RF issues are the least of worries.
Same with the latest LED street lights cheapest units and drivers yet no issues with EMI or RF.
FYI if you are worried about getting caught well, in the age of smart meters where power companies pass along when and how much power your using to the police, EMI and RF issues are the least of worries.
OneHitDone
Well-Known Member
Unless your running like a 10 lighter I kinda call bullshit on this one.
Ever heard of a swim spa or other power sucking electrical devices?
Pay your bill and mind your business.
If your trying to run a commercial sized op and your in a legal state - suck it up and get legal. If your in a non-legal state trying to grow that big your just being greedy
SPLFreak808
Well-Known Member
high frequency and voltage through a long cable can introduce radiated interference depending on the quality and length of the cable, high powered ballast itself isn't usually that noisy due to the interference being contained in a metallic enclosure, plastic ballasts are actually more noisy.
Conduction down an a/c line is different, this is due to faulty design or failing circuits (transformer glue melted ect)
Conduction down an a/c line is different, this is due to faulty design or failing circuits (transformer glue melted ect)
growingforfun
Well-Known Member
Again your half right, the first half is right, the second half isnt. EMI and rf are good to worry about, but I guess if you've never been in a position to worry that's good
Renfro
Well-Known Member
LED runs on DC voltage and that can't create RF interference except as a spark gap. You need alternating current to create a radio wave.
Renfro
Well-Known Member
FCC has laws against unlicensed emissions in certain frequency bands. Many critical and non critical services require dedicated radio frequencies. Any prohibited RF emissions in those restricted bands can come with a hefty fine and/or even jail time.
Imagine an airline pilot trying to communicate with the tower.
Rider101
Well-Known Member
Been growing since 1988 so yes i have been in position where I could have been caught for the last thirty years , I live in BC Canada and my grow op is now 100% legal so the last year has been worry free. The police have been in my house. My front door got kicked in because the moron had the wrong address the house next door had been torn down do to mould from an illegal grow op. None the less the cops were called and the house had to be checked. My lights were on and i had just harvested plants some how the police never saw them Grin. Perhaps it is because I built a hidden room
.30 Years growing without being caught is due to a very good understanding on how the police investigate grow ops. My ex was a legal secretary one tenth the pay as a lawyer yet does most of the work. The police use five flags to get most of their warrants first is someone squealed on you most common the second is just smell, followed by power consumption and the condition of the yard if any pan out they check the history of the people living in the house as well as the history of the house itself. Then they will get a search warrant. When I asked her if anyone had been caught due to EMI she just shrugged and said she had never heard of a case like that and she has been doing this for over twenty five years.
FYI if you have smart meters and your pulling more then 4k per 12 hour cycle your house has been red flagged sorry but that is a fact if you live in BC Canada but my bet is its true in the rest of Canada as well as the states.
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Rider101
Well-Known Member
No ballast cable is going to produce enough emissions to harm radio communications on planes.
One of the people i worked with was into CB radios big time. In fact he bumped up the power way past the legal amount. He thought that no one would ever catch him because he would only use in on the road but he did get pulled over and his equipment seized. Turns out when you pump put that much power into aerial they become huge sparklers.
Don_Sequitor
Well-Known Member
That reminds me of the old AM border blasters.
The radio station where I used to volunteer DJ had technical issue occasionally. During those times, someone setup a transmitter and temporarily "pirated" the airwaves. The low powered transmitter could only be received in like a 1 mile radius.
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Rider101
Well-Known Member
There are Narcs in this forum that are trying to get you to stop growing by fear mongering then there are morons who repeat what the narcs say. Call me paranoid if you like, but I've never been caught in over thirty years of growing.
Yup but i have seen a post where a narc claiming to be a legal grower in Ontario Canada claimed that an electrical inspector on a routine inspection told him he would have to shut down his legal grow because the LED light was not CSA approved. Reality check in Ontario Canada only public buildings are inspected on a routine level two any appliance that does not meet CSA is just unplugged. Don't believe anything in any cannabis forums get the facts from other sources.
growingforfun
Well-Known Member
Well maybe you should stick with what you know about canada and not assume everyone lives there.Been growing since 1988 so yes i have been in position where I could have been caught for the last thirty years , I live in BC Canada and my grow op is now 100% legal so the last year has been worry free. The police have been in my house. My front door got kicked in because the moron had the wrong address the house next door had been torn down do to mould from an illegal grow op. None the less the cops were called and the house had to be checked. My lights were on and i had just harvested plants some how the police never saw them Grin. Perhaps it is because I built a hidden room
30 Years growing without being caught is due to a very good understanding on how the police investigate grow ops. My ex was a legal secretary one tenth the pay as a lawyer yet does most of the work. The police use five flags to get most of their warrants first is someone squealed on you most common the second is just smell, followed by power consumption and the condition of the yard if any pan out they check the history of the people living in the house as well as the history of the house itself. Then they will get a search warrant. When I asked her if anyone had been caught due to EMI she just shrugged and said she had never heard of a case like that and she has been doing this for over twenty five years.
FYI if you have smart meters and your pulling more then 4k per 12 hour cycle your house has been red flagged sorry but that is a fact if you live in BC Canada but my bet is its true in the rest of Canada as well as the states.
It's great info for where you live and I bet some of it holds true for other places, but where I live rfi is in fact a concern and should NOT be overlooked.
Rider101
Well-Known Member
So how much more did you pay the salesman for your ballast that would not get you busted?
Again all you need to do is add the shielding to the cables in the link i posted above to stop RF noise on your circuit.
And how I'm i to know where you live? LOL If your smart you don't have to worry about RF because you would have your ballasts and other grow room equipment on a GFCI circuit. And if your system is putting out huge RF noise they will trip. And if your circuit is a little noisy they will remove most of the noise because of the magnet that is used to monitor power imbalances.
FYI No one has died from using cannabis but a lot of growers have electrocuted themselves.
http://www.arrl.org/gfci-and-afci-devices
RFI to Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters
Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI) and Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCI)circuit breakers are occasionally reported to “trip” (open the circuit) when a strong RF signal is present, usually a ham’s HF transmissions. GFCI circuit-breakers operate by sensing unbalanced currents in the hot and neutral conductors of an ac circuit.In the absence of RF interference such an imbalance indicates the presence of a fault somewhere in the circuit, creating a shock hazard.The breaker then trips (opens) to remove the shock hazard.
RF interference to GFCI breakers is caused by RF current or voltage upsetting normal operation of the imbalance detection circuit, resulting in the false detection of a fault.Similarly, RF current or voltage could upset the arc detection circuitry of an AFCI breaker.
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growingforfun
Well-Known Member
Again... I use gavita de hps ballasts because the ballast is mounted to the reflector and that's they best way to reduce/prevent rfi.
They ran me 300$ each.
Using the proper equipment for your needs isnt a sales gimmick, it's common sence. The op is saying he has rfi issues Why tell him dont worry about it? Hes worried so I'm trying to help him out.
Rider101
Well-Known Member
Reread my posts I never told him not to worry about it I gave him a link to the filters he needs.
By telling him to spend 300 on each ballast he has to replace vs 10 on the filters he needs for four ballasts is not doing the dude a favor. Please don't ever try to help me out thanks dude.
Let me guess you don't have a GFI on your grow. Ya what did you just say about having the right equipment? LOL
FYI GFCI must be installed correctly to work if in doubt hire a professional.
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Rider101
Well-Known Member
If your sure that the cable shields did not work just make a faraday cage from metal cloth you can buy it at any big box hardware store it looks just like a screen on a window or door. Never use solid material such as tin foil your ballast will overheat and die! Again a solution that that will work 100% of the time and cost less then twenty bucks.
Note if your ballast case is made of metal your wasting your time and money making a faraday cage.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage#targetText=A Faraday cage or Faraday,a mesh of such materials.
A Faraday cage or Faraday shield is an enclosure used to block electromagnetic fields. A Faraday shield may be formed by a continuous covering of conductive material, or in the case of aFaraday cage, by a mesh of such materials.
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growingforfun
Well-Known Member
Hire a professional to install something somewhere you dont want anyone ever to be.
Gotcha.
Renfro
Well-Known Member
Umm I don't have them. Ghost trips can cause havoc.
The cord to the lamp is an antenna.
A faraday cage must be connected to a good earth ground in order to function and it need be made of very conductive material to be effective ie: copper. That is too costly to implement and not required. Honestly I would just run magnetic ballasts if I was that worried about RF.