[RFI] Grow Light RFI

[Donald Chester]

This article appeared on the police.com website about a year ago:
http://www.policeone.com/drug-interdiction-narcotics/articles/8224280-How-cops-are-catching-grow-ops-with-AM-radios

If ARRL, NAB and the greater amateur radio and broadcasting communities would distribute this and similar articles as far and as wide as possible, people carrying out illegal operations would become concerned (or paranoid) enough about the possible RFI they are generating, to make damn sure their grow lights are clean. Vendors selling the lighting systems will quickly get the message and clean up their products, and the problem will abate of its own accord, sooner, not later. If you suspect one of your neighbours is causing this problem and want to get rid of the interference without getting involved with cops, thugs, gangs, reprisals and court subpoenas, just print off copies of the article and anonymously mail it to the suspected culprits, or slip it in their letter box or leave it on their doorstep, and the noise just might inexplicably disappear. 

Someone should forward this and similar articles to "High Times" magazine and other like-minded publications and webs sites; it would be nice to get the DIY home grow operations paranoid enough to buy better lighting fixtures. I couldn't care less if someone wants to grow their own weed; just make sure your usage or creation of mind altering substances doesn't negatively impact anyone but your own self. 

This is a rare case where amateur radio operators,  AM broadcasters,  and other users of the MF and HF spectrum have RFI culprits by the part of the anatomy where it hurts, if we would just take advantage of the opportunity.

Don, k4kyv