[RFI] CFL list, anywhere?

[Christopher Brown]

You might want to re-think that.


There are plenty of noisy from the factory bulbs out there, but when one
goes from quiet to noisy take some care.

It could environment, a new outlets, new device plugged in, extension
cord, whatever that just made your house wiring a better antenna.

BUT, one of the common reasons for the bulb to go noisy is that the
little switching power supply in the base is failing.  It could be
because this is a very small cheaply made supply, or because the fixture
it is in retains heat and the supply has been running hot, does not
really matter.

The point being, these do not always fail safe.  I have had a couple
where the failing supply started running very hot and was melting the
case (caught them by smell), a family member had one fail and blow a
chuck out of the plastic case and throw a few sparks.  One bad case I
know of a failure of this type also involved flammable material near the
fixture and resulted in a house fire.


I still have CFLs, but only in about 20% of the fixtures.  Hall lights,
etc.  I walk the house with a little pickup loop every few months
checking for noise anyway, I wave the pickup near the CFLs when I do.
Any time I catch one that has a large jump in noise I replace it.  About
half the time they show discoloration on the case, from a hot running
switcher.

The good ones seem to last, not had to replace any this year but seems
to be a gamble.  Buy a 12 pack of GE, all quiet day1, 5 failed or went
noisy in the first year.  Rest are still happy after 3.  Have used every
locally avail brand not stamped "made in china" with similar results.



On 12/23/11 11:41 AM, Eric - VE3GSI wrote:
> This CFL can be added to the list.
> 
> Name of Bulb: 'globe' Mini-Spiral 23W
> Made in China BH0304
> Rating 120V 60Hz 380 ma
> FCC ID:N6AFJEE0302
> 
> Now, it should be noted when new, this bulb produced no noise.  The CFL bulb 
> is now about 2 yrs old and starting to produce wide band noise covering 80 
> meters picked up on a dipole about 100' from the bulb in question..  My 
> daytime floor noise is normally zero, so it is easy for me to hear even the 
> slightest change of noise on the band. Those with higher floor noise may not 
> notice the less then s-1 noise (max).  My thinking is any 
> electrical/electronic noise is bad even if hidden below any background 
> noise.
> 
> The bulb now lives in a less used utility room.
> 
> Eric - VE3GSI
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Andy"
> 
>> Howdy, all,
>>
>> Does anyone know of a good email list or forum concerning the subject
>> of CFLs (compact fluorescents)?
>>
>> I know, why would someone want to use them, right?  Actually, though,
>> I am one of those whose experiences with them have been moderately
>> good overall.  But I figure, they are going to be with us for a while
>> to come, so I am looking for a place to discuss them, why they
>> sometimes don't work, why they fail, without being Off-Topic in a
>> group like this one.
>>
>> Does anyone know of a site/list?  Preferably not something sponsored
>> by a manufacturer, but will take that if that's all there is.
>>
>> (And please, let's not take this as an invitation to discuss the pros
>> and cons of CFLs here!)
>>
>> Regards,
>> Andy
> 
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