T12 & T8 lights...and my radio...

[gew98]

So I got some spanking new T8 lights and installed them in my bunker. If anyone has followed T12's are no longer being made. So my old radio nary a reception problem with T12's. Now with the T8's installed the static they induce in the wiring has my radio on perma fuzzy hiss with them turned on. The T12's did not bother radio...but the T8's...oi !. Is there a way to build or buy a "filter" so this "static" stays out of the wiring ?.

[mold maker]

Oh but their saving the environment, so their better.
As far as I can tell all they did was make your old fixtures junk. Somebody profited, at your expense.

[Ken in Iowa]

You may have a bad ballast.

[winchester85]

my shop was t-8's to begin with. radio reception in there has never been good and with the lights on even worse.

[MaryB]

Your ballast is wrong for the T8.. quiet them? All the wiring is now acting as an antenna... good luck and go LED!

[gew98]

The ballasts are not bad - these lights are spanking new out of the box. Had a couple left over on this last job and it was toss them in the dumpster or take them home. Flourescent ligths have always been a killer on radio reception..... but these new lights take their **** out on every circuit in the panel as far as radios are concerned. I figured maybe someone had a filter remedy so such disturbance does not reach the radio through it's power cord.

[ascast]

T8's are a drop in conversion. The mercuric stuff in the tube is different. You have a bad ballast.

[gew98]

T8's are a drop in conversion. The mercuric stuff in the tube is different. You have a bad ballast.

I installed several hundred of these lights - couple left over. We even used a couple as temp lighting and had the same result with the temp panel and trying to plug in a radio. They light just fine...just radios on the same power supply don't like it. This is'nt the first time I have encountered this. You can even isolate the lights and each one will still do the same thing. I have gutted T12 light fixtures and installed T8 ballasts regularly.

[DLCTEX]

We get the same problems with phones when the lines cross a fluorescent fixture or their wiring. Putting the phone wires in metal conduit solves that problem, but I don't have the answer for your problem.

[waksupi]

Anyone tried the new LED 4' replacement lights?

[popper]

You can wrap the power cord around a large ferrite 'donut' - may help, or try automotive 120v 'inverter filter'. Try a battery powered radio to see if it's power cord or radio pickup. The newer ballasts are electronic and not supposed to produce EMI (ha). The old transformer ballasts just created 120 hz hum. Fluorescents are basically an 'arc' lamp.

[gew98]

Anyone tried the new LED 4' replacement lights?

I've put up several hundred of those LED 4' lights...they are awesome...just that they are very expensive. Never had any leftovers or I'd have them instead over the T8's for sure.

[gew98]

We get the same problems with phones when the lines cross a fluorescent fixture or their wiring. Putting the phone wires in metal conduit solves that problem, but I don't have the answer for your problem.

Data & phone lines can simply be "free run" as there is no code in the NEC to put it in EMT and or cable/basket trays. Common sense dictates you should..but I've seen multitudes of factories that want it cheap and don't care...... regardless of how degraded the signal(s) may be.

[MaryB]

Ferrite cores might help... crapshoot though! Put them as close as possible to the light fixture on the power wire. http://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dxe-csb-525p

[gew98]

Apparently there is a fix. My company's fix it man told me to get some RFI "filters" to tone down the electronic ballast noise. I stopped at one of our suppliers and they are available to be ordered , but they were not sure if one is needed for every light or just the feed to them. RFI filter is what they were called. Need to research this on the net now.

[Cmm_3940]

Last I checked, you could still get T12 bulbs for 'commercial use only' applications. Has that changed recently?

[mold maker]

I bought a 12 pack at Lowes recently.

[gew98]

My employer no longer orders bulbs and or T12 light fixtures as their suppliers told them they are no longer made. Eventually LED will take over but they are presently expensive. Here's a link to my current search on radio interference frequency filters.

http://www.radioproshop.com/filters/filters.htm

[MaryB]

RF filter AKA ferrite core you run the wire through...

[smokeywolf]

I've replaced a couple of my 4' T-8s with LEDs. Was a little hesitant to spend the money. WOW. Money well spent. I've got a couple of 8' fixtures in my shop. Wish I could get LEDs for those.