Larry,
Thank you so much for this information. I will suggest our local grow
suppliers use these lights...
--
73's, and thanks,
Dave
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On Mon, 2016-02-01 at 06:46 -0600, Larry Burke wrote:
> W0IVJ's recent post to this reflector coincidently provided links to
> products I was in the process of installing here. I promised an
> update after
> I had a chance to try these products in the field.
>
>
>
> Several weeks ago the neighbors across the street, who are about 750
> feet
> from most of my antennas, installed a 1000 watt HPS grow light in
> their
> greenhouse. This thing fired up about an hour before my sunrise and
> shut
> down about an hour after my sunset. It tore up 160, 80 and 60 meters.
> As it
> warmed up you could watch a wide band of S9 noise travel across the
> spectrum
> scope trying to decide on the multiple places it wanted to land for
> the day.
> The ballast was a no-name import designed by Satan himself.
>
>
>
> I had heard good things about the "Revolution Ballast EMI Filter"
> available
> from Hydrofarm so I elected to try that first. I didn't want the
> increased
> liability of installing a homebrew filter on someone else's property,
> so a
> commercially available filter looked like a great option. The filter
> attaches to the lamp (load) side of the ballast and does not provide
> any
> filtering on the AC input side. Unfortunately, this filter did not
> reduce
> the noise from this particular installation by any significant
> amount.
>
>
>
> The more expensive option was to offer to replace the offending
> ballast.
> While it was not my responsibility to do so, it was far and away the
> most
> expedient and effective way to handle the issue. After a bit of
> digging
> around I found the "Galaxy Grow Amp Model 902220". I purchased it
> from a
> local vendor who offered to take it back if it did not solve my
> problem.
> These are also available from online sources for far less than the
> MSRP
> shown in the link below. Galaxy advertising touts "ultra low RFI
> broadband
> emissions" and several vendors recommend these to growers who would
> like to
> minimize an RF signature recognizable by law enforcement. There's an
> emissions test report by a third-party lab posted on the Galaxy
> website.
> Galaxy maintains the following: "All Galaxy brand electronic ballasts
> legitimately pass FCC Article 18 Part B standards. This standard
> allows for
> much less radio frequency & electromagnetic interference than Part A.
> (277
> volt Galaxy ballasts are tested to Part A commercial standard). Part
> B level
> certification confirms FCC compliance not only for commercial
> applications,
> but for residential as well."
>
>
>
> Keep in mind I am a fair distance from the source, but when compared
> to the
> original installation the improvement with the Galaxy ballast is
> remarkable.
> The new ballast was installed without the "Revolution Ballast EMI
> Filter",
> by the way.
>
>
>
> I should point out that the neighbor was very cooperative and gave me
> total
> access to his greenhouse (veggies and house plants, for those
> wondering).
> It's a good thing the problem was resolved when it was. They are
> thinking
> about building a bigger greenhouse and indicated they would use the
> Galaxy
> ballast if and when they buy additional grow lamps. Had I not
> intervened
> there may have been several more of Satan's toys to deal with.
>
>
>
> Hope this helps someone in a similar situation. As always, Your
> Mileage May
> Vary.
>
>
>
> Links:
>
> Revolution Ballast EMI Filter - http://tinyurl.com/hclaw3m
>
> Galaxy Grow Amp Model 902220 - http://tinyurl.com/hx59v5z ;(click on
> the FCC
> docs button for information on EMC testing)
>
> Galaxy Grow Amp Model 902220 emissions test report -
> http://tinyurl.com/hlp9g9k
>
>
>
>
>
> Larry K5RK
>
>
>
>
>
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