LED light bulbs cause RFI
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| Feb 11th 2016, 01:30 | |
NN7DTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Last week I purchased 3 two packs of FEIT BR30 LED bulbs from Costco. I was really happy with them at first, very bright, instant on - not like the florescent bulbs they replaced. However, over the last few days I have become aware that I can not listen to our weather radio, an FM radio, or HF radio with these bulbs on. They totally block out the wx radio, they produce a lot of noise on FM radio, and they increase the noise level on 14m by 5 S units. I am therefore taking these back to Costco for credit. I have also contacted FEIT Electric about this and await a reply. They need to do a much better job of engineering the power supply circuitry so they do NOT cause this harmful interference with radio communications. BTW, I also tried installing ferret core snap on filters to the power leads in the can lighting, but it had no affect on the noise. . |
| Jul 4th 2016, 15:32 | |
AC0XUTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
I have found that CFL bulbs are almost universally worse than the LED bulbs, so I have replaced all the CFLs around my house with LEDs. Sounds like bad luck there with your purchasing choice. I have had good luck with Cree LED bulbs, which Home Depot sells in my neighborhood. You also might want to try Philips bulbs - I don't have RFI data on their products but in my experience Philips makes what are probably the world's highest quality light bulbs in general, so we might conclude that they engineer their products better than other manufacturers. |
| Oct 20th 2016, 20:29 | |
KI4CBTTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
I have found that FEIT brand NON-DIMMABLE medium base LED light bulbs for standard sockets are pretty quiet in terms of RF noise, throughout the Amateur HF bands. Same for Westinghouse NON-DIMMABLE LED flood lamps. Every dimmable bulb I've ever tested emitted RF noise. I don't know if RF noise is generally worse with dimmable LEDs, but I am sticking to non-dimmable LED bulbs. |
| May 13th 2017, 11:46 | |
N5MJTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Hyperikon size E26 BR40 LED spotlights - installed 9 of these in in recessed, grounded luminaire fixtures in the shop. The LED lamps claim to be dimmable. I didn't intend to get dimmables, but am stuck with them now. They are bright and consume 16W each. Claims to be "Samsung technology" on the hyperikon website. Only thing is ... they generate an enormous amount of RFI in the VHF band. The noise is broadband, shows full scale on my FT60 (open squelch, of course) when the lamps are turned on. The noise seems to come with this model lamp no extra charge. Definitely not recommended anywhere a VHF signal is to be received. |
| May 25th 2019, 17:43 | |
W4QATotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
I pulled up in the driveway of my home this morning and noticed an S4 to S5 noise level on my 2m FM rig in my pickup truck -- the noise was so strong and rough that it could clearly be heard on top of local repeaters. So out came the SDR receiver, laptop, and portable antenna to locate the source. Much to my surprise, it turned out to be five 13w FEIT Electric, 750 Lumen, 2700K bulbs in the ceiling downlight fixtures. I've heard similar noise from certain light dimmers (sounds like a rough 120hz noise + hash, all the way up deep into VHF spectrum) -- but there is no dimmer on this circuit. 25 minutes later, I installed good old-fashioned incandescent 45 watt bulbs, and the LED bulbs will go to someone who needs them. Problem solved. Once I find a source for LED BR30 type bulbs that I know are absolutely quiet, I'll gladly buy them. Until then, I'm staying with Edison's invention. Note: The markings on the BR30 FEIT Bulbs were 13W 120VAC, BPCEBR30/927/LED/2, 105mA, 750 Lumens, 2700K CCT) |
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