[HCARC] Ham Shack Lighting

[Kerry Sandstrom]

Gary,

The lights you have to be wary of are the ones with switching type systems 
to reduce the voltage.  My wife has an Ott light that is very bad.  I don't 
know how it ever passed the FCC EMI tests.  I've used flourescents (old tube 
type), incandescent, and compact flourescents without problem.  The key is 
not to have your antenna any where's near the shack.  My antenna is 100 ft 
from the shack and gives me no problems.  If you have an indoor antenna 
you're going to pick up noise.

I haven't had any problems with dimmers, ceiling fans or a/c units.  But, 
again, my antenna is 100 feet away from the ceiling fans and a/c unit in the 
shack and 200 feet away from the ceiling fans dimmers and ac unit in the 
house.  Just be sure that all the stuff with dimmers or variable speed 
controls has an FCC registration number with it.  There is a fair amount of 
foreign stuff that has been illegally imported and is not approved and does 
cause problems.  Oh yes, in previous QTH's I've heard microwave ovens but 
not here because of the distance.

Likewise, I haven't had problems either direction with LCD TV's, stereos, FM 
radios, boomboxes, etc, but again I don't let them near my antenna.

Kerry