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LED light fixtures |
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White70JavelinSST
Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: Aug/08/2012 Location: Minnesota Status: Offline Points: 4867 |
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Posted: Feb/13/2017 at 9:42am |
I bought a LED light fixture from Menards. It's made in China. 4 ft long. It puts out good light, and starts in cold weather. However it has a nasty problem. It creates a RF signal that I can hear in my radio. Have you guys experienced this?I think I may have to hang some aluminum foil over it and ground the foil to stop the RF signal.
Do other LED lights do this? Any thoughts? |
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70 Javelin SST, second owner, purchased 1972
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tufcj
Supporter of TheAMCForum Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: Jul/10/2007 Location: Watkins, CO Status: Offline Points: 4085 |
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I have an LED fixture over my workbench in the basement. Bought the whole fixture for less than conversion bulbs at Home Depot. I'll have to take a radio down to see if there's a RF problem. I do like the LED light output.
I did LED bulbs in one of my closet fixtures. Found that the ballast wasn't compatible with the LED conversion bulbs. Luckily, one of the electricians at work had some spare ballasts that were compatible. Bob tufcj |
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69 AMX
74 Javelin AMX 67 Rogue If you need a tool and don't buy it... you'll eventually pay for it... and not have it. Henry Ford |
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White70JavelinSST
Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: Aug/08/2012 Location: Minnesota Status: Offline Points: 4867 |
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The signal is quite powerful also, I moved the light fixture about 20 feet away from the radio, plugged it in and turned it on and could still hear the RF noise in the radio.
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70 Javelin SST, second owner, purchased 1972
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SirDigger
Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: May/23/2012 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 2455 |
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The cheap LED ones do this, because they use cheap LEDs,
and to put out a good light, and reduce the heat on the LED they are cycled on/off on 100HZ, the human eye is to slow to regognize this. |
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SirDigger&his german Friends are looking for Parts http://theamcforum.com/forum/the-german-amc-forum-ambassadorsirdigger-needs_topic83570.html
1970 Javelin SST 304 1970 Javelin SST 360 |
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Lucas660
AMC Addicted Joined: Apr/16/2012 Location: Vic, Australia Status: Offline Points: 1344 |
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I am using a Phillips smart bright led batten. $25au dollars. No interference problems and amazing light. Draws 21 watts. As SirDigger said it is triac switching in the light is causing the interference.
I installed the Phillips unit last week and has blown my mind. Just an idea as they are so cheap. I am sure they will be available in the USA but are a new product. Good luck. |
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amxlonnie
AMC Fan Joined: Sep/21/2008 Location: Pumpkintown SC Status: Offline Points: 29 |
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I use a bunch of 11 watt LED flood lights with regular bulb bases. I get cheap screw in bases for about a buck each and I found a thrift store that wound up with a bunch of bulbs I bought for a buck each. I really lucked out on that find ! No RFI noticed !
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Rebel Machine
AMC Addicted Joined: Jul/03/2007 Location: Western Il Status: Offline Points: 5122 |
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Knowing what I do about electricity and RF I doubt the problem is in the RF spectrum, more likely the cheap power supply in the LED fixture is dirtying the AC power and the radio is being affected by it. Try plugging the LED fixture into one AC circuit and the radio into a different one, see if the interference goes away. If your radio uses batteries try that. -Steve- Edited by Rebel Machine - Jun/04/2017 at 6:09am |
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billd
Moderator Group Forum Administrator Joined: Jun/27/2007 Location: Iowa Status: Offline Points: 30894 |
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I agree - having dealt with similar things while working at Compressor Controls Corp. (RF was a HUGE topic)
I have 4 of the "shop light" type LED fixtures. Two came from Menards and two from Lowes. The Lowes lights are of course a bit better, nicer light, and were more expensive, but the Menards units see to work fine as well. I have an old TV (yes, CRT and converter box) in my shop and the TV is not only next to the lights but on the same circuit since THOSE lights are run from the outlet circuit, I simply put a switch in the outlet box and ran a conduit up and put up another box with an outlet for the light over each work area. I also have a radio up high on a shelf just inches from the "shop light" LEDs - and listen to WHO a lot - that's a 50 bazillion gigawatt AM station in Des Moines. The LED lights don't cause any problems either due to proximity or AC side issues. The radio does exhibit some less than ideal signal now and then because, well, it's a STEEL building with double steel walls (the inside walls are steel as well as the building's outside skin), a steel ceiling, etc. So to get radio signal in the building is a miracle in itself. I don't always run those 4' lights because it's often bright enough with the big overhead LED lights anyway, but for close work, detail work, comparing colors or finishes, etc. and while plating I do use them and the radio and TV act the same with or without the lights on. I'd check the AC side as suggested, perhaps try one of those rings on the AC supply cord of the light - similar to what you see on computer monitor and other cables. Having been out of electronics even as a hobby for years - work with someone like Steve on that....... but there are ways to help clean things up that cost little to nothing. If there is any radiation coming from the power supply in the light you could actually shield that with copper sheet. I had to do that in a car stereo contest years ago - I had a nice Alpine system, really clean sound - CD, AM/FM head unit and I added another unit under the dash - and introduced noise. I worked with a local professional sound shop and we wrapped the additional unit in copper sheet and removed the noise in the system. LEDs are DC, and lower voltage so this type of shop light has a transformer to step things down, and circuits to rectify and filter to give DC to the LEDs themselves and there's a lot of room to introduce sound. It won't be from the LEDs themselves but the supporting circuitry. Again, I've had zero trouble with my own lights, my entire auto shop, the whole lower level, is 100% LED now save for an older "trouble light" which is fluorescent. When the long 8' tubes go in the wood shop upstairs, guess what I plan on doing if I have the money..... I love the instant on, no real warming up, ability to turn them off if I go out for 10 minutes, then back on and not deal with more warm-up times, etc. and I calculated in the first level I cut about 2/3 off my energy use - at least and increased the usable light.
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304-dude
AMC Addicted Joined: Sep/29/2008 Location: Central Illinoi Status: Offline Points: 9082 |
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I kind of skipped this thread as there has been a few through the years about using LED fixtures, not having issues in regards.
Find out if possible on a weak station or between channels, when moving the radio from one end of the light bar to the other end if the noise is more noticable. If so, that is the area in question. You can use aluminum foil and cover the end if it is an area that is part of the assembly, not the lighted area. Then ground the aluminum foil using wire to the grounded area in the shop. Some devices have ground part of the case or body. The LED lights may be plastic all around, and can be allowing noise from the internal power supply to radiate. If the aluminum foil trick works, you can order Metalised paint for enclosures to create a Faraday cage inside the enclosure. It will require disassembly and down time. Once painted, you can tape aluminum foil against the paint and screw a grounding wire to mount on the aluminum foil for contact. Hopefully the lights have a neutral wire if not invest in a proper replacementvutility cable and replace the two wire one. Using the neutral wire to the new ground wire added to the plastic body of the lights. |
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71 Javelin SST body
390 69 crank, 70 block & heads NASCAR SB2 rods & pistons 78 Jeep TH400 w/ 2.76 Low 50/50 Ford-AMC Suspension 79 F150 rear & 8.8 axles Ford Racing 3.25 gears & 9" /w Detroit locker |
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