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Bob Zmuda

Bob Zmuda

Well-Known Member
tangerinegreen555 said:
Just out of curiosity, what kind of ballast(s) were you using that created interference?

I've had the cable company come to my place twice saying there was interference.

They actually showed me the interference on a laptop graph. I started freaking but then remembered the lights hadn't kicked on yet, I generally start mine around 4 PM.

They tightened my cable connections, including one in the living room and their spikey graph flat lined. They said everyone down line from me was affected.

I'd like to get some kind of tester for that shit, got testers for every other thing. I should have asked the cable guy, but I was too busy playing dumb.

A ham radio picks that shit up? I always wanted a ham radio.
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I was using cheap chinese ballasts I had gotten for 40 bucks at the used hydro store. So there's that.

ALSO, I had a "live cable" chillin' right next to the ballasts! I had never heard of anything like this so I was clueless until they came.

An AM radio station that comes in clear will get completely distorted when your lights flip on if they have RF interference. Easy way to check. I've read that in "illegal states" cops will cruise neighborhoods with the AM radio on. When it gets distorted they log the address they are in front of. :shock:


jerryb73 said:
May be a silly question but here goes. Does it matter that I don't have cable? Can't travel through something I don't have? I got dish..
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Hmmm. That's a great question actually. I would think in that case you're probably fine? Shit. Not sure.
 
jerryb73

jerryb73

Well-Known Member
Bob Zmuda said:
I was using cheap chinese ballasts I had gotten for 40 bucks at the used hydro store. So there's that.

ALSO, I had a "live cable" chillin' right next to the ballasts! I had never heard of anything like this so I was clueless until they came.

An AM radio station that comes in clear will get completely distorted when your lights flip on if they have RF interference. Easy way to check. I've read that in "illegal states" cops will cruise neighborhoods with the AM radio on. When it gets distorted they log the address they are in front of. :shock:




Hmmm. That's a great question actually. I would think in that case you're probably fine? Shit. Not sure.
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Great advice on the am radio.. +rep
 
Dr.Amber Trichome

Dr.Amber Trichome

Well-Known Member
I broke the new million dollar machine today. The service engineer comes in to fix it and says to me, so I heard you broke the machine. Yeah, I said. It didn't take me long. He smells like he scrubbed his body with powdered detergent soap. Immediate contact headache ensued. Hope it's an easy fix. I think I would rather smell that dead deer carcass .
 
evergreengardener

evergreengardener

Well-Known Member
Bob Zmuda said:
Hmmm. That's a great question actually. I would think in that case you're probably fine? Shit. Not sure.
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It absolutely will just because you don't have cable doesn't mean a shitty ballast won't interfere with it. ( unless you live in real rural area and don't have a cable line hooked to the house at all )Best way to know if your ballast screws up or if the RF shield in your ballast fails. It's just to have a small alarm clock radio in your room set to an AM station if that station ever gets fuzzy you have a problem
 
jerryb73

jerryb73

Well-Known Member
evergreengardener said:
It absolutely will just because you don't have cable doesn't mean a shitty ballast won't interfere with it. ( unless you live in real rural area and don't have a cable line hooked to the house at all )Best way to know if your ballast screws up or if the RF shield in your ballast fails. It's just to have a small alarm clock radio in your room set to an AM station if that station ever gets fuzzy you have a problem
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Thanks Evergreen, very helpful info..
 
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