[RFI] LEDs et al

[Tom Thompson]

Nice post, Dave,

I really like your approach and the information you have on your web 
page.  I think trying to correct the problem without getting the 
authorities involved initially is definitely the right way to go.

73,   Tom   W0IVJ


On 7/2/2016 8:05 AM, Dave Cole wrote:
> On Sat, 2016-07-02 at 04:13 -0400, HankP wrote:
>
>> I can hardly wait until AZ passes their "Recreational Marijuana " law
>> - they just presented 250K signatures on petitions to get it on ballot
>> . Part of the law is that everyone is entitled to have 6 plants -
>> Having suffered for several months with ONE grower behind me -
>> resolved because he moved - I can just imagine how its gonna be when
>> all the cheapest possible grow lights start appearing for the 6 plants
>> . You can kiss 160 thru 80 goodbye and the really lousy ones go thru
>> 15 meters . Hank K7HP
>>   
> Hank,
>
> I had the same trepidations when Oregon did this...  There is however a
> bright side to this, (pun intended), in that the price of Pot may crash,
> and folks will stop growing from the garage, as it appears is now
> happening here in Oregon...  If AZ follows OR in this, growing in your
> garage will become much more difficult, and I assume, not as profitable,
> as it is today.
>
> Here is what I "think" happened in Oregon, this is a somewhat long post,
> so bear with me please...
>
> In the beginning, many people were growing for medical use in the
> garage.  Relative to what is in place now, the state exercised no real
> controls on growers.
>
> Based on RFI, and contact with people generating RFI, growers appeared
> to be everywhere.  I had RFI all over, and most of it all centered on
> homes, most with Garage windows blocked out, and most with HVAC units on
> the side of the Garage.
>
> The state then "legalized" recreational use and growing, with that
> legalization came a LOT of standards on quality and tracking.  Only
> selected insecticide, an almost savant like need to count plants, take
> notes, issue permits, perform inspections, and  then collect tax.  This
> allowed anyone that "really" wanted to grow the ability to grow, and
> they did, and are still growing today...
>
> What appears to be dozens of grow houses have popped up, (probably a lot
> more), they are easy to spot if you know what you are looking for.  Lots
> of HVAC, big service panels, barbed wire everywhere, all around an an
> old warehouse, or recently vacated large business.  Couple that with an
> HF radio, and you can locate one easily enough.  Most seem to be in
> industrial areas now.
>
> I am assuming that the big money growers don't want some Ham costing
> them thousands of dollars in lighting, and FCC issues later, so for the
> most part it appears they are doing their homework and putting in quiet
> lights, and moving out of town into the industrial areas, at least it
> appears that way when I point a 135 MHz. beam at them, or listen on 40
> next to them.  Some are really quiet.
>
> I have a handout I pass out to the sales shops here in town, outlining
> what quiet lighting is, and how it will cost a grower if he/she is
> located and has to replace all those expensive lights because of RFI.
>
> I know the info is in the hands of growers, as a few have asked about
> lighting issues, based on that handout.  Yes-- it has a Google phone
> number in it, which forwards to my phone...  That way, I can keep them
> at arms length.  Anyway, back to my story...
>
> I am pretty sure the price of Pot here is crashing...  How do I know
> this?  No...  I don't use, or buy pot, but every so often pick up a news
> paper called "The Eugene Weekly", it is a liberal rag, and an
> interesting read now and again.  Why did I get a copy of "The Eugene
> Weekly", this time?
>
> Niel Degrasse Tyson was coming to Eugene, so I grabbed a Eugene Weekly
> as they covered it in much more detail than the other liberal paper here
> in town.  In that edition of Eugene Weekly, there was clear evidence of
> a price war starting up, Pot ads everywhere, (like 10 or 20 of them),
> all claiming to have the lowest price, and best product...  One ad even
> asked users to travel out of the city to a country shop because the
> price of Pot is cheaper in the country...
>
> So as the price of pot falls, (and surly it must fall with so many new
> growers and shops in the area), the garage growers appear to be leaving
> the growers market, maybe they are just purchasing their Pot now, or
> maybe there is no money in it anymore due to all the regulations, in any
> case I don't care as long as the RFI levels continue to drop.
>
> If this trend continues, this bodes well for Oregon, and maybe for
> Arizona as well.  If you have any input of any kind, vote, talk to, and
> in general push for the most regulated Pot environment you can...
>
> In Eugene, my RFI noise levels have actually dropped since the day Pot
> became legal, literally the day it became legal a known RFI source just
> quit, that day!
>
> I am having to hunt RFI far less now as well...  At least one assumed
> grow site is no longer generating RFI, (I was intending on contacting
> them, but no need now), so I assume he has shut down.  A second assumed
> site seems to have gone dark as well...
>
> Ten years ago, my RFI noise levels were around S4, or 5.  Two years ago,
> they were around S7 or 8, now they are S5, all on the same antenna, and
> same rig...
>
> What changed?  Active RFI hunting, legalization of Pot for recreational
> use, and an aggressive campaign to inform the growers that RFI will not
> be tolerated, and if found and not corrected, (after a good faith effort
> on my part to be fair and decent about it), will be turned over the FCC
> for enforcement.  That, and a written handout informing the grower that
> I can, and probably will, inform the property owner, and any FEDERAL, (I
> try and use the word FEDERAL a lot), agency that can help me reduce RFI,
> if this issue is not corrected, pretty well ends most issues, without
> calling the FCC.
>
> I have been told that the area now has a reputation for having,
> "militant hams" when it comes to RFI, so I know the campaign is working.
>   
> I now hunt less, the "Whack-A-Mole" game I used to play with growers is
> no longer happening, and my noise levels are dropping, all since Pot
> became "legal" in Oregon...
>
> Get your clubs involved now, don't wait, try and get RFI protection
> written into the AZ laws.  I was unable to do this in Oregon, as I had
> some personal health issues pop up, (heart problem took priority), that
> took all of my time when this was happening here...  Let the lighting
> shops in your area know that Part 15 lights are for homes only, let them
> know what RFI is.  Most have never heard of it.
>
> Tell the shops that you will tell every single person you locate that is
> generating RFI to take the lights back to the sellers and demand a
> refund.  Mention recalls, etc...
>
> Of course in all of this I am nice, polite, and I never tell them they
> are wrong, or can't do anything, I just tell them what I will do if we
> don't correct the RFI issue...
>
> Kindness really helps, just explaining the RFI issue to a grower will
> normally get the issue fixed.  I never get mad, or demanding...  I don't
> want to turn them in, I just want my RFI ended.  I guess the gist of
> this is, get your clubs involved now if you can, be proactive, not
> reactive.
>