Electrical interference

[Thomas Prondzinski]

Well after the shop remodel was done I noticed I have alot of electrical interference, in the radio and tv. I installed nine I believe to be t8 4 bulb lights. I have not been able to tune in a station without static,works when lights are turned off,also tv is all static. Any one run into this problem,have any ideas on a cure? My cd collection is not that big.



Thanks Tom

[Stephen Dixon]

Unfortunatly the new electronic ballasts do generate a high frequency signal, which is why the lights don't flicker, but in doing that, RF frequency harmonics are also generated. The ballasts are generally encased in a grounded enclosure, but the sockets and the tube pins act as antennas. I would start by checking each tube to be sure that the bulb is fully seated as a loose bulb, or bad connection, makes the problem worse, after that I would try to see if any 1 light is at fault. Do this by disconnecting 1 light at a time and see if it helps. Finaly you may have to move the radio or tv to another room and just run speaker wires back to the shop. BTW over on the Wood Central forums there is a current thread on this same problem.
steve