[RFI] The ARRL Contest Update for April 1, 2020

[KD7JYK DM09]

"Guess you are not on an airway frequented by commercial aircraft, as 
that is who was complaining in Scotland. Besides, you're just a ham, 
what do you know about it? (from the point of view of officialdom)"

You'd be very surprised, as I often am...  (regarding above)

My post was in reference to the responses by some, through the forum, 
that think this is something new, different, unique, or special, not the 
poorly written OFCOM report.  Am I wrong, or did this report, or one 
nearly identical, come out a year, or two, ago? It looks very familiar.

Now, I'm seeing comments that based on the random image of a tungsten 
bulb used to accompany the report (assume some web flunky thinking no 
further than, "Light Bulb.  Picture.  Copy.  Paste.  I get break now."), 
that that particular bulb type was the cause, how, and why.  The style 
shown has been around for some thirty years, they were a big deal when I 
was in the lighting business in the 90's.  I have several, and am in the 
presence of several, up to several times a week, usually monitoring the 
VHF airband, with the squelch off.  No issue has ever been noted by 
myself, or others, nor have I heard of an issue from a filament bulb 
operating normally (no other issue within the circuit), in any write-up, 
by anyone, ever, since they were created some 130 years ago.  I can hear 
aircraft 300 miles beyond the west coast from near Dayton, Nevada, but I 
have yet to hear noise from a bulb (using various filament types) made 
from the 1890's onward when within inches, to feet, daily.  Seems pretty 
unlikely there'd be an issue now, despite the theories presented today 
based on the OFCOM article-monkey image, and description of something 
else entirely on amazon.  Not to say they don't produce noise at a 
thermal, or molecular level, but, seriously, that hardly matters in most 
cases...

Also, note that the recent link through the forum shows, again, some 
plain filament tungsten bulbs, never known to be an issue under normally 
operating conditions, by the billions, globally, daily, AND, the RFI 
producing crap from Hell, "LED Filament" bulbs (remember my comment of 
it's one, or the other?), which I had mentioned here for quite some 
time, as I came across them, and they caused havoc to communications 
equipment, the worst jamming wi-fi. Entirely different technologies, the 
only things related being, light production, and general bulbish shape.

Here is the link posted to the forum earlier, describing one thing (not 
a problem), in the text, showing some of that not-a-problem bulb, THEN, 
at the fourth image down, a DIFFERENT type of bulb, an LED bulb, 
specifically marketed as "LED Filament" by those that manufacture, and 
describe them incorrectly, but more accurately, the ones that DO 
generate an issue, and the precise type I've commented on, beginning 
with the first ones I had seen, about ten years ago:

https://www.amazon.com/CTKcom-Nostalgic-Tungsten-Incandescent-Industrial/dp/B06XDBDTGN/ref=sr_1_19?qid=1585791373&refinements=p_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A4906234011&s=hi&sr=1-19

I'm seeing numerous issues surrounding this, not limited to, but 
including, reactionary confusion by many, of the terms, "light bulb", 
"filament", "tungsten", in some cases, "LED", and "LED filament", 
associated with random photos of random bulbs, of different types, and 
technologies, used together, and separately, in vague reports, by 
sellers, and web article flunkies alike, of average incompetence.

Now, I have no intention of bashing those associated with a larger US 
based radio club RFI research lab that checks these things out on 
occasion, and my following words are in general, years after the fact, 
but, seriously, it's been a decade, or so, go out at lunch tomorrow, 
spend a few bucks, and buy the type of bulb that's causing the issue, 
screw it in, turn it on, use a junk HT, or scanner with AM VHF RF 
reception capabilities, and hear the broad-spectrum Tesla Coil type RFI 
spewing crap storm these have been generating for years, and get up to 
speed.  It really, REALLY mattered then, and we're getting more boned by 
the day.  Honestly, I figured this would have been addressed within the 
first week (years ago), when only a couple were on the market.

Kurt