sconefirm
- 39
- 18
Hey guys,
So couple weeks ago I had RF interference coming from my ballast which was affecting the internet in my area, this resulted in the cable company calling out to investigate, I pulled the plug and interference disappeared. I got the ballast replaced and the issue was still there so eventually it got replaced for a magnetic ballast and that's what I'm using now.
Today the cable company engineer called out to my house again saying there is massive interference coming on the cable from my house, he investigated and said he thought it was a broken cable outside, he joined that and said he will monitor it today and tonight and come back tomorrow if the interference is still there to do further investigation.
My setup is:
LUMii 600W Magnetic Ballast
LUMii 600W HPS Dual Spec
LUMii reflector (replaced with ballast)
5" Rhino filter + PrimaKlima 5" Temp Controlled Fan
Ballast plugged straight in to wall socket.
Fan plugged in to separate wall socket and no timers used atm.
Any one have an idea what could be causing this? It's quite urgent as if I don't resolve it today then I'll have to pull the plug on it again for good tomorrow until I resolve this.
Any help is appreciated
Digi Ballasts will cause some interference with Wifi signals but not cables. Those are all shielded. Seems like they are trying to pass the buck vs fixing their equipment. Turn on a radio. If the radio isnt all static'd out then that's a total BS call on their part. Unless you are running something like 40 ballasts. Not to mention unless your ballast is seriously sitting inside of the neighborhood switch/trunk and even then.
Is this in the US? Does it happen to be TWC/Spectrum?
If you want some piece of mind download a program called winmtr. Trace it to a website with the ballast off. Let it run for 5 mins. Plug the ballast in. See if you get a bunch of packet loss. With that info you can call them on their BS. If you don't understand this stuff I can break it down for you. Basically the 3rd address and on is their equip. If it is RF, like they claim, as soon as you turn the ballast on those numbers will jump way up. If those numbers are already up before the ballast (more then 3%ish) then it's their equipment.
View attachment 964190
The mag ballast has no rf interference. I was saying that the amount of interference you had is an indication of bad wiring. Also one electronic ballast wont cause major problems. Maybe the cable guy will find the bad wire?
I guess I should have added unless you are using a phone and a 4g/5g hotspot then you cant do this
I maybe worded it wrong so I had digi ballast but replaced it with magnetic so it's definitely not that. @MIMedGrower advised me before it could be bad wiring and it looks like it is. I'm actually in Europe, the first time it was definitely the ballast causing it, the engineer showed me a graph where the interference would exactly start at 3 am and finish at 11pm (that's the cycle I had the timers set on before but don't use timers any more). The engineer stood outside with this radio thing, I went inside the house unplugged the ballast and the interference disappeared then I plugged it in and it would immediately appear so it was definitely the ballast back then. Got the magnetic ballast, thought it was all over and done with but clearly not ugh.
I've switched everything off, I'll download that program now and do the test, I already did the radio test and there was no static at AM. Thank you I appreciate the help!
Thanks for the comment mate ! Is that the internet wiring or the electricity wiring at home? He reckons it was a cable outside the house right under the window where the grow tent is :O he rejoined it and said he'll monitor it today and come back tomorrow.
Likely the cable but it can be the house wiring. They may reconnect some stuff with those little plastic rf filters.
The cable guys almost certainly don't give a damn about your grow op. If anything, they are more likely to drool over it.I did that job for a long time, and short of the very rare case of suspected child abuse, we never reported anything. May I suggest, if he returns, be vague but let him know you have some grow lights and offer to turn them on/off while he checks the interference. Almost guaranteed this dude just wants to fix the problem, close the ticket and move on. The easier you make his job, the more he'll like you.
See the problem is, I work for this cable company and I'm a store manager for them so I'd prefer not to risk telling him anything about the light at all. Thanks for the recommendation :)
Hopefully it's only their cable and he does not want to go in to the room where the grow tent is lol, I'm paranoid af that they'll eventually cop on that's why I stopped using the timer lol. Never thought this would actually happen to me lol
@cemchris I've done the test with the software, can you take a look at the results if you don't mind. What I take from this is that it's their faulty equipment/cables and nothing to do with my setup. This correct?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?