WARNING for 1000k digital ballasts

[Pinball Wizard]

responding to reported problems; is the problem

 

[sanke]

5 miles? Where did you get that number?
My buddy works for Comcast, and one day when he was hangin out with his truck,
I asked if he had one of those fancy RF meters. He did! So we tried it out
on my 600watt purple lumy (no dimmer or SL). There was ZERO rf interference until
he was about 12" away from the running ballast. Only a tiny bit. It doubled within 6", but
was still ok. When he actually touched his meter to my ballast, he meter started making
beeps and whistles. That really helped with my piece of mind.

Just my .02

now you just need him to try it on a 1000 watt... interesting though, i was thinking of switching to 1000's, maybe now several 600's..

 

[Greencloud]

Knowing is half the battle.....

 

[Wasabi420]

like i said before the rf interference from a 1000k is supposed to travel only 150 yards....dont hold me to that number but that is what i was told. Also certain amplifiers put off RF interference so i suppose you could use this as an alternate to the HAM radio excuse in case anyone comes knocking on your door.

 

[DankSide]

honestly just clamp or cage it and move on, way more important factors in a garden to worry about, but it will be good to have the peace of mind on the fix for this one.

 

[TroubleGuy]

That was the best place I could find to set it up. I just wanted people to see what happens and that digital ballast do give off rf interference.

Also there is more interference when the ballast is sharing the same circuit as the radio.

I also tested the ballast on a totally separate circuit and the ballast about 15 feet away. The radio noise was much less pronounced but it go more intense as I moved the bulb closer to the radio.

Those are good details to know

 

[vansterdam]

I just set up a 600W Digi from GYO last week...today, cable guy knocked on the door. They could pick up the signal from over 100 yards...

 

[TryChrome]

i'm runnin 2 400w lumatek's and haven't had any problem. i also think it's nice for my babes to have some company so i always have a radio in the room with em... sounds great. but got my interest definitely perked. on the lumatek box it says it's been internally shielded and when i bought it from the guy he said lumatek and one other brand have addressed the problem. can't remember the other brand specifically. definitely gonna check into this though.

 

[jarff]

Runnin 600,s and I had af who works for the cable company and NP....He,s never run into any problems,but is going to keep his ears open ...... everyone I know is using Lumatek,s.....The local hydro shop can,t keep em on the shelf...
I almost ordered some 1000,s today...think I,ll wait til I find out more info....I,m def not goin back to the magnetics after using digitals...

jarff

 

[jarff]

oh BTW has anyone on here ever try calling Lumatek about this problem........with the numbers they,re selling you,d think they would have a solution for the screw-up.
Also I was wondering if this problem pertains to the 120 volt or 240 volt?..anyone tested this possibility......and since i,m no electrician is it possible that ppl. are using a neutral wire from the panel when running 240 V...Lumatek says not to run a neutral wire when running 240....just a thought...
jarff

 

[pityrules]

My eyes are opened to the whole security-ballast thing now! Thank you to everyone for the information....there's what I know, there's what I don't know, and there's what I don't know that I don't know.

I have been running a 1000 W digi ballast and I did notice that it interfered with my phone line but I moved my phone and all was fine. I didn't even consider that security would be an issue. I have been running it for about 5 months and I haven't had any security problems yet, but maybe I shouldn't wait for one and invest in a faraday cage.

I live in BC and I am sure that every other house and repair person grows weed but I have a history of not loving the cops so I should be careful.