RFI from LED flood

[88v8]

50W LED flood from LED Hut
https://www.ledhut.co.uk/led-garden...ine-led-flood-light-180-watt-replacement.html
Usually their stuff is very good, but this produces awful RFI on three different FM radios.
Has to be an LED unit as it's under the gable of a thatched house where the heat from a halogen would be a no-no.

So .... is there anything I can put in the circuit to supress the RFI?
Or can you recommend a flood 50W or greater that doesn't have this problem?

Thankyou.

 

[333rocky333]

Good quality Led Corn lamps seem to be quite popular they fit into standard Discharge fittings with slight wiring alterations

 

[winston1]

Report it to Ofcom. Deliberate creation of interference is illegal.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

is there anything I can put in the circuit to supress the RFI?

Replace the cheap-as-chips internal power supply.

Or can you recommend a flood 50W or greater that doesn't have this problem?

Try professional architectural lighting vendors.

Be warned that they will want more than 45 of your English Pounds.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Just put one of these http://cpc.farnell.com/enlite/en-fl...e&ddkey=http:en-CPC/CPC_United_Kingdom/search (they were on offer at about £30 gross) in to replace a 70w metal halide. No RFI, beam pattern not quite as good (the LED has a very flat field over a very wide spread, have had to drop the focus a lot to avoid firing light into the neighbours window but getting a fair bit of bounce from my house wall so it does what I needed it to do), brightness OK and instant start so could (if I wanted) slave it to a PIR detector.

Is your interference definitely airborne? (are the radios running on battery when the interference is present)?

 

[aptsys]

50W LED flood from LED Hut
https://www.ledhut.co.uk/led-garden...ine-led-flood-light-180-watt-replacement.html
Usually their stuff is very good, but this produces awful RFI on three different FM radios.
Has to be an LED unit as it's under the gable of a thatched house where the heat from a halogen would be a no-no.

No it's not. All of the LED lamps are cheap rock bottom stuff palmed off as good quality. Always stick to good known brands.

 

[bernardgreen]

I have several 10 W 230 V flood ights used for temporary lighting installs.

They can use used inches from an FM radio ( broadscast or walkie talkie ) without any noticable interference.

They are metal casing and earthed hence very low RFI emissions. They do NOT have PIR sensors. I always advise to use a separate PIR sensor and not one combined with the lamp.

as it's under the gable of a thatched house where the heat from a halogen would be a no-no.

If the flood light is in a plastic case then the risk of a thatch fire from a failed and burning floodlight would be too high for my insurers.

 

[88v8]

Thankyou.

It's in a metal casing.
Controlled by two separate PIRs.

Good question about battery radios. No, they are all mains FM. Don't have a battery radio.

I plugged it in in the garage to check the light output, it caused interference.
So I tried it in two rooms in the house where there are radios, it didn't.
But the spur from which it's powered is where the kitchen radio is plugged in, and that has the worst interference, so it could be a mains problem. Previously a halogen was in use, no issues with that except I needed to relocate it and couldn't because of the heat.

Better quality.. thanks for the Farnell tip.

Also found an architectural supplier, they have a 50W in a metal case for £13.95
http://hoylight.co.uk/led-flood-lights-57-p.asp
which seems a little cheap, and 100W for £76.
I'm not sure anyone is immune from the temptation to sell cheap stuff.

Trouble is, I don't know what brands to look for.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Thorn.

Philips.

JCC.

Aurora.

 

[88v8]

Ahhh, Thorn. I see they offer a 45W that gives 4500 lm vs 3500 lm from my Eterna 50W,
http://www.thornlighting.co.uk/en-g...g/area-floodlighting/LED_Fit/led-fit/96628332
and it's just above a climbing rose so that seems appropriate. I'll see if it will fit the space.

Meanwhile, tonight, another issue has emerged: The light shares its feed via a fused spur, with an extractor fan.
Olde worlde pub-type Expelair that I bought new five years ago. The one with three speeds via a switchable transformer that gives 260V for starting, then 240V and iirc, 210V.
Perhaps you can guess....when the fan is switched on, it triggers the light. Which does go off again, until the fan is switched off then on comes the light for another two minutes or whatever. Grrr.
I suppose I have to find another power source for the light, which is a pain as our kitchen is not over-equipped with sockets and the walls are wattle & daub so I'm not going to mess with them.

I'm also in the midst of upgradng the car's headlamps (1963 Rambler) and that is not proving quite as easy as it looked.
Why is nothing ever simple.

Onwards.

 

[JohnW2]

Why is nothing ever simple.

Because it would be less 'fun' if it were?

Kind Regards, John

 

[mattylad]

Report it to Ofcom. Deliberate creation of interference is illegal.

A total waste of time.
As a licensed radio user I am aware of others that have tried reporting issues, they basically say use another frequency as they have not got the manpower to assist.
It also costs the reporting person quite a lot of money to get them to get off their backsides and come and have a look see what all the bother is about.

 

[JohnW2]

A total waste of time. As a licensed radio user I am aware of others that have tried reporting issues, they basically say use another frequency as they have not got the manpower to assist.

Same here.

Kind Regards, John

 

[winston1]

It also costs the reporting person quite a lot of money to get them to get off their backsides and come and have a look see what all the bother is about.

That is only true if they have to find the source. If you know what it is there is no fee.

But I agree they are not interested these days. It was so different years ago when the post office handled it.

 

[JohnW2]

But I agree they are not interested these days. It was so different years ago when the post office handled it.

Indeed it was - particularly when was on the receiving end of an accusation of being 'the source'.

Kind Regards, John