ballast interference questions

Ok so I have a 400/600 watt switchable electronic digital ballast I bought two weeks ago. Yesterday morning the cable company shows up says they've been getting complaints for two weeks (aprox same time I got my new lighting stuff) they asked to check in back yard at the box said it was coming from my house he said it's weird the neighbors said the their tv is fine between 11-5 (when it's night time in my grow room) at that point I knew what was causing the problem given when it started and the times he said it was happening.

He wanted to check for loose connections inside I excused myself to (put the dogs up) at which time I killed all power to the grow room and locked it down, he came in said well I can't find what could be causing it. I did some research found a thread here saying that the digital ballasts can put off a strong rf signal that can interfere with tv/radio etc. So I've disconnected the digital ballast and put it up, I figure at this point I have a few options quit growing all together, move stuff outside somewhere and just grow outside, change lighting source i.e cfl, t5 ho or get a magnetic ballast.

I honestly don't want to quit so it's most likely I'll be switching stuff up I'm figuring I already have a nice air cooled hood setup so leaning most towards a magnetic ballast (heat isn't an option grow room is good sized) My main question is will there be any more knocks on my door about a rf interference with a magnetic ballast? Right now I have just moved my plant under a spare 4' t8 4 bulb 6500k setup to keep same light cycle even though I know it will slow down growth for the time being until I get a new ballast or decide to go with a whole new lighting setup all together. I just wanted input about the rf problem if there is one with magnetic ballast's or if I would benefit more by going to a cfl or t5ho setup?

and since cable guy was here should I worry about anyone trying to get a warrant? is this something that would make a utility company tip the police off or rise any suspicions? I live in a non mmj state it is decriminalized but still even the citation alone would/could cause problems with my job.

If in fact your lighting is causing rf interferance the problem should be solvable by grounded shielding. If the ballast comes in a metal box (like magnetic) be sure the ground is attached to the casing.

Where in relation to the cable run/box do you have the ballast?

What Bird said.

Do you happen to have a metal box? Like a filing cabinet?
Put your ballast inside, and ground the cabinet, no more RF discharge.

it was in the basement on a small stand that sits about a foot off the ground. I'm not sure how far it was exactly from any cable lines I'd guess 8ft it's really hard to not be near any cable lines in the basement especially in the area I have setup to grow in. Not sure I have a spare box like a filing cabinet how would I go about grounding a metal box? I'm going to grab a few cfl's at the hardware store today to supplement my t8 lighting that it's currently under until I can figure out how to resolve my lighting issue and go back to my mh/hps lights. Like I said if magnetic ballast's don't have this rf problem I can just pick one of those up as from what I read heat seemed to be the big downfall with those and I don't think heat could be a problem where I'm growing at.

Wow that's crazy. What brand and model is that? In the near future I plan on buying one. and would like to avoid that situation. Good luck

If it's interfering with a something 8ft away, there's a problem (imo).

Got an AM/FM portable radio? You turn on your light and tune the radio to the frequency of the interference, then move around/away to get a rough idea of how large the interference zone is.

A metal bread box would work too. Attach a wire to the box, with a nut and bold, solder, etc., but however you do it, the connection has to be metal to metal. Then connect the other end of the wire to any ground point.

Then run your interference test again, it should be fixed.

But again, if you're getting interference @ 8ft, (first) check your internal ground/shielding like bird said.

Hope that helps.

SeriousBiz said:

Wow that's crazy. What brand and model is that? In the near future I plan on buying one. and would like to avoid that situation. Good luck

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it's a hydrolight brand it's what a lot of our local stores carry around here like I said I might switch to a magnetic one if I can't get it figured out I'll hunt down a am/fm radio (don't have one laying around except the ones int he car) if I can't find a solution though I'll most likely move to magnetic or different method all together or location as I can't afford to have utility companies showing up waking me up to check things out.

well I exchanged digital ballast today for a magnetic ballast guy at store said it could have even just been how the cord was ran if it runs parallel with any of my cable lines it could be part of the problem. I forgot to find a cheap am radio to try that test. I changed a few things up as he suggested flipped light so cord was facing even further from any possible cable lines, wound up any extra cable to hang since he said it can act as an antenna if there is a stray rf signal.

on a side note bulb wise does anyone know if it's worth the extra money for say a hortilux hps compared to a run of the mill hps that's 25% the price??

my ipower 600 says it has an rf remiter im guessing that takes away the excess rf overload.