Weird goings on

[cocoots100]

Can anyone help explain what is going on here?
The other night I switched on our main lights in the living room and it set off a child's battery powered toy which was sitting in the middle of the room. Happens every time you switch the light on. The ceiling light is one of those 5 x 40w small bulbs.

any info would be much appreciated

 

[securespark]

You got IR dimmers?

 

[conny]

Got the same type of lighting in ours and Grand daughter has a 'Barney Bear' which is 'sound' activated. Does the same thing, dunno why, just does. No IR's just a normal switched light.

 

[jtizzard]

Could it possibly be due to the magnetic field that is being emmited around the light fitting itself, With it being a slightly bigger fitting with more lights there is going to be more lines of flux

 

[securespark]

"And that's when you came up with the idea for the Flux Capacitor..."

 

[jtizzard]

"And that's when you came up with the idea for the Flux Capacitor..."

lol yea, switch all the lights on in your house and go to 2050

 

[mattylad]

Its Magic!

try putting the toy away

 

[conny]

Matty,

do you live on the wirral by any chance?

 

[mattylad]

no.

 

[RF Lighting]

I remember years ago, my sister used to have some sort of talking teddie wich would start talking every time the kitchen light was switched either on or off (can't remember which).

It was an ancient fluorescent fitting, and all i can thing is it was something to do with induction and magnetic fields in the ballast or something, the same as your light might be doing with that big inductive transformer

I have just been back to 1987 in the delorian, and retrieved the teddie. It was not activated on the return journey, so I think we can rule out flux capacitance as the cause. Although having said that, the batteries were out of date by time I returned, despite being new when I set off. Thats the trouble with time travel.

 

[securespark]

 

[Click-Sure]

The same thing happened to one of the wife's 'toys' recently until she had the spark plugs changed

 

[cocoots100]

Found out from the previous owner that there was once one of those ceiling fans with a light under it. This was removed and the current light installed on the same wiring. Also, a friend who has no knowledge of electrics whatsoever mentioned that there could be a rheostat somewhere between the light and socket.
Can anyone comment on that?

 

[breezer]

rheostat is a type of "dimmer switch" so that cant be right

my 2p will be on a RFI. when the light is switched a small spark jumps across the switch, this spark gives out a small radio wave, the toy in question sees it

thats my theory

 

[Fuseblower]

rheostat is a type of "dimmer switch" so that cant be right

my 2p will be on a RFI. when the light is switched a small spark jumps across the switch, this spark gives out a small radio wave, the toy in question sees it

thats my theory

Agreed!
Ref Marconi's spark gap wireless transmitters as used on the Titanic etc.

Sparks are a well known source of RFI being able to be heard all across the RF spectrum.