Ballasted Lights can be traced by their radio noise:

[squiggly]

I Just got this letter today from my cable company

" Comcast has determined the cable signal we supply to your home via the coaxial cable is radiating out of your home. This means there is a leak of our signal into the air and/or interference is being back fed into out mainline."

They goes on to say it interferes with police radio and other communications and they need to come into the house. I moved the cables away from my digital ballast but I am not sure if its going to work? My next step is to get rid of the cable dont know what to do

They need a warrant for that, and they will need considerable proof to get one. Get a lawyer and get some mag ballasts. Put the metal tape recommended above on your cables.

 

[Canappa]

I

They need a warrant for that, and they will need considerable proof to get one. Get a lawyer and get some mag ballasts. Put the metal tape recommended above on your cables.

I am just going to cancel my service, I am 100% legal not worried bout the police. Thanks for the tip with the wire covers

 

[squiggly]

I


I am just going to cancel my service, I am 100% legal not worried bout the police. Thanks for the tip with the wire covers

Dish network/direct tv are decent

 

[md1010]

http://www.arrl.org/part-15-radio-frequency-devices
They want digital ballasts banned! I always used a mag ballast with shielded and grounded lines for this reason.

 

[md1010]

Oops. Wrong link. The above link is for the rules in general.
Here is the right one.
http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-to-fcc-grow-light-ballast-causes-hf-interference-violates-rules

 

[Natural]

Any shielded 14/3 or 16/3 cable, with a working voltage of 600+ will work if you just replace the current "un-shielded" version. Be sure to ground the shield as well. I'm not aware of any shield wrapping; however you could use a metalized tape. Though that would reduce flexibility. Example. Lapp USA Olflex Tray II 14/3 (model number U2214030). This example is around $1.40 per foot.

This is basically underground power cord, correct? I'm I wrong to assume any interference would be minimized, if I shield my ballast' power-source from my service panel to the controller? ..or is the problem in between the ballast and the bulb?

 

[Skunkmasterflex]

I would also like to know some options as to what I can do to fix the radio noise. I tried the suggested car AM radio trick and it definitely messes with the frequency while my car is in my garage. It makes pulse humming noises. Definitely not good. Anyone with links to something to block this would be awesome.

 

[md1010]

It should say shielded cable capable of handling at least 600V. It is the cable from the ballast to the light. When you strip this cord, there should be either a braided wire shield or a metal foil shield. This shield needs to be connected to a ground source like Protaid said above. Just wrapping the cord in foil tape will work but it needs to be grounded as well.

 

[fishwhistle]

So the shorter the run between ballast and light the less the interference also like gavita says,the ballasts seem to have less to do with it than the cord does.Heres a link i had stashed away from a few years back about this subject,https://www.thcfarmer.com/community/threads/blocking-rf-noise-from-digital-ballasts.13090/

 

[md1010]

It looks like it is from the electronic ballast. The cord acts as an antennae. Shortening it will not help the way I see it. The antennae needs to be shielded so it can not broadcast. I only run mags because they are more reliable right now. Electronics fail left and right where I work and these are basically street lights lighting our yard.
Two mag ballasts have been working for 25 years now, only replaced caps.

 

[outwest]

Some ballasts, apparently phantoms and lumatek (probably others) have the internal electronics shielded so this is not an issue.

outwest

 

[md1010]

True as long as the cord going to the light is shielded and properly grounded. They are antennae. That is a leak. HAM radios are shielded, the antennae is what sends and receives the signal from this shielded box. My dad was a HAM radio operator in the Navy many years ago. Still does it on occasion to this day.

 

[md1010]

There is a PDF of the complaint and test results from ARRL on the link I posted above.(Too big for me to upload here.)
It shows the Lumatek LK 1000 as FAIL. It does not look like the cord is shielded though. They are basically mini AM radio transmitters and the cord is the antennae.
The Higher the wattage, the further they can broadcast.

 

[Natural]

Thanks for the info..apparently Lumatek has been trying to address this problem. They proclaim they have the 15 ft shielded cords available..that must be hard wired to the socket...and for runs longer than 15 ft, they recommend you buy shielded cord and ground it yourself. I have 2 brands other than Lumatek, and they came highly rated and tested for being shielded ballasts. The problem I am having is with my air cooled plug-and-play raptor hoods...as well as their connectors to the ballast didn't match the raptor types so I had to buy conversion plugs. lol
Looks like if I want properly shielded/grounded ballast-to-lamp cord, I'm going to have to a bit of research and Mcguyvering.

 

[md1010]

Just remember if using foil tape to tape OVER this tape with electrical tape to prevent electric shock should something happen and something shorts out through the ground. Be safe!!

 

[Max Frost]

Someone mentioned the Gavita's earlier as being low RF I think. Do the Gavita models that have the ballast attached to the lamp still produce RF?

My place is sorta out in the country. The nearest neighbor is probably a good 500 - 1000 yards away. I don't plan to have cable at all, but will go with Direct TV. Is RF even a problem at all in this situation? Thanks in advance!! -Max

 

[Prince Blanc]

If this is the case, why don't cops use this to track down illegal grows?

 

[Max Frost]

If this is the case, why don't cops use this to track down illegal grows?

They do!! Or at least, so I'm told. A bigger risk is to be discovered by the cable company and turned in. Often times...for a reward.

 

[Purpz]

They do!! Or at least, so I'm told. A bigger risk is to be discovered by the cable company and turned in. Often times...for a reward.

Heat signatures is a big one too from what I understand. And smart meters.

 

[caveman4.20]

Ftp
!