[Elecraft] Fluorescent RFI solved

[G4GNX]

FWIW I have a friend who lives about a mile away and his neighbour replaced his halogen downlighters with LEDs. He also did not change the dimmer. The RFI on 2 metres completely wipes out the band. The guy is an ahole. When he found that he couldn’t listen to his DAB BC radio, he changed a few of the LEDs, but refuses to replace the rest, so 2 metres is still wiped out. What he’s done is actually illegal in the UK, but my friend won’t report it.

I have mostly LED lighting now. Mini Sun and Phillips seem to be RFI free. I also installed a couple of cheap LED lights in a cloakroom next to my shack and they ‘appeared’ to be RFI free, but I missed one band hone checking. They obliterate any RX on 4 metres. Fortunately I don’t need to use them when I’m using the radio, so I can live with it, as they don’t seem to be causing issues with any other RX/TV etc., I guess  Should replace them, but it would be a lot of hassle, as the entire fitting would need to be replaced. As I’ve had no other reports of issues with them, I guess I can live with my RFI pollution conscience. 😇

Good advice to test for RFI before installing. 🙂

73,
Alan - G4GNX




> On 27 Nov 2022, at 15:18, Mark Newbold <mark at dogfeathers.com> wrote:
> 
> Not all FEIT LED's are RFI-free. At the local Red Cross office I tracked down a horrible RFI problem to 23 FEIT BR30 13-watt track/flood lights in a nearby business. That business owner returned them to Costco for a refund (even though they had been installed for several years) and replaced them with Ecosmart lights from Home Depot. Those were RFI-free.
> 
> Any time you buy a LED light, you need to test it for RFI before installing it. If you buy a bunch of LEDs, test them all. There might be just one that is making RFI, even though they all appear identical.
> 
> --Mark K7NEW
> 
> -- 
> Mark Newbold
> Port Angeles, Washington, USA