Turning my room into a Faraday Cage

D

DreadyBob

Well-Known Member
I wonder if anybody has any experience with this sort of thing?
Unfortunately my neighbour is a HAM radio fanatic, I've had years of issues with RF interference issues with his silly hobbie.
My main culprit to begin with was digital ballasts, they had only just come out at the time and unbeknownst to me the leaked like a bitch! This was the first time my cover was blown. I went back to using magnetic ballasts with no issues but then came out RF blocking ballasts and cable. These worked untill recently the interference came back... I had another awkward conversation.
I looked at all.my equipment, thought it was a contactor but turns out was one of the ballasts, I'm guessing they've just got too old... I've changed to LED but still have a CMH on the go as we speak, I can't afford to turn them off or replace it with another led at the moment but also I can't let the interference affect him for another 8weeks.
Thus my idea of making my room a Faraday cage out of chicken wire.... I could be fucking nuts for thinking it but on the other hand it's the only other solution I can think off!?
Any advise or an alternative would be appreciated.

cheers
 
P

Phytoplankton

Well-Known Member
DreadyBob said:
I wonder if anybody has any experience with this sort of thing?
Unfortunately my neighbour is a HAM radio fanatic, I've had years of issues with RF interference issues with his silly hobbie.
My main culprit to begin with was digital ballasts, they had only just come out at the time and unbeknownst to me the leaked like a bitch! This was the first time my cover was blown. I went back to using magnetic ballasts with no issues but then came out RF blocking ballasts and cable. These worked untill recently the interference came back... I had another awkward conversation.
I looked at all.my equipment, thought it was a contactor but turns out was one of the ballasts, I'm guessing they've just got too old... I've changed to LED but still have a CMH on the go as we speak, I can't afford to turn them off or replace it with another led at the moment but also I can't let the interference affect him for another 8weeks.
Thus my idea of making my room a Faraday cage out of chicken wire.... I could be fucking nuts for thinking it but on the other hand it's the only other solution I can think off!?
Any advise or an alternative would be appreciated.

cheers
Click to expand...
I’m far from well educated in rf interference, and have no idea if chicken wire will work, but couldn’t you just test it by putting the cage around the offending ballast, instead of the whole room? I could be way off base. Are you in the UK? In the US there are rf interference standards that electrical items must comply with.
 
Drop That Sound

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
There is a company that makes EMF/RF shielding paints!

Paint

The EMF Protection paint is a conductive paint that blocks RF electro magnetic fields and low frequency electrical fields. The colour of the paint is black and is applied as regular paint. In most cases one layer of the EMF Paint is sufficient for blocking EMF, however, applying a second coat...
www.woremor.com

You add special tape to use as the ground strapping going around the room, and then apply the paint right over it. They also have window films to cover glass, and all kinds of different fabrics and mesh to choose from.
 
Drop That Sound

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
Phytoplankton said:
I’m far from well educated in rf interference, and have no idea if chicken wire will work, but couldn’t you just test it by putting the cage around the offending ballast, instead of the whole room? I could be way off base. Are you in the UK? In the US there are rf interference standards that electrical items must comply with.
Click to expand...
Most of the noise is probably coming from the cord leading from the ballast to the socket (even with the RF choke/filters?!, and especially with longer coiled up cords), or the actual bulb itself, like an antenna.. Not sure if covering just the ballast itself would help.

They made so many noisy digi HID ballast when they came out.. Some of my newer ones came with the inline RF filters built into the cords, but the same older versions I got a few months before didn't.

How the heck did all those companies even get away with selling such bad noisy units, and bypass the FCC regulations like that? From what i've heard, some were so bad they could be heard for MILES away.

Even with the filters, many of the digi ballasts are still inevitably noisy due to the inherent design, afaik. Maybe not for miles with the filters & tidy electrical installations, but the ham radio operator next door still might be dealing with the interference no matter what unless you unplug it, or do the full cage of sheilding all the way around.

The only way to really test if whatever solution you come up with is working is to use an EMF meter, other than waiting for the neighbor to knock on the door again.. Either way, it seems like you'll have to either switch back to the old school magnetics, buy another LED (you sure its not the LEDs doing it?), or spend loads of money trying to create a large cage or sheilding the walls somehow to block it..
 
Tracker

Tracker

Well-Known Member
Look at lessemf.com for shielded underwear

Install ferrite chokes on the power cables to choke the RF leakage.
 
Last edited:
D

DreadyBob

Well-Known Member
Tracker said:
Look at lessemf.com for shielded underwear

Install ferrite chokes on the power cables to choke the RF leakage.
Click to expand...
All ready covered dude, my neighbour actually gave them to me. The cables are RF shielded but they are about 8yrs old. I think the components have deteriorated over the yrs of hard use.
 
D

DreadyBob

Well-Known Member
Drop That Sound said:
Most of the noise is probably coming from the cord leading from the ballast to the socket (even with the RF choke/filters?!, and especially with longer coiled up cords), or the actual bulb itself, like an antenna.. Not sure if covering just the ballast itself would help.

They made so many noisy digi HID ballast when they came out.. Some of my newer ones came with the inline RF filters built into the cords, but the same older versions I got a few months before didn't.

How the heck did all those companies even get away with selling such bad noisy units, and bypass the FCC regulations like that? From what i've heard, some were so bad they could be heard for MILES away.

Even with the filters, many of the digi ballasts are still inevitably noisy due to the inherent design, afaik. Maybe not for miles with the filters & tidy electrical installations, but the ham radio operator next door still might be dealing with the interference no matter what unless you unplug it, or do the full cage of sheilding all the way around.

The only way to really test if whatever solution you come up with is working is to use an EMF meter, other than waiting for the neighbor to knock on the door again.. Either way, it seems like you'll have to either switch back to the old school magnetics, buy another LED (you sure its not the LEDs doing it?), or spend loads of money trying to create a large cage or sheilding the walls somehow to block it..
Click to expand...
Thanks for your explanation dude, right on the money there. I've spoken directly with Shane of migro, he's assured me the LED conform to standards. I've done a test albeit rudimental. I can here the noise that I give off through he's amp in his shed, he's like a child throwing a tantrum so send the missis up to turns the digis off mid tantrum and he's there then scratching his head. I've tried to convince him it's my lecy installation as it's very old and I need to update it. he's a clever guy though.
If I can do something that benefits us both with our hobbies I don't mind spending a little, prehaps the only option is another LED. I've just bought 2 though and I've had to get another extraction set up so can't really afford it just yet... also the bastards charged me 95 import tax from Ireland! bastards.
That paint option sounds interesting.
 
D

DreadyBob

Well-Known Member
Phytoplankton said:
I’m far from well educated in rf interference, and have no idea if chicken wire will work, but couldn’t you just test it by putting the cage around the offending ballast, instead of the whole room? I could be way off base. Are you in the UK? In the US there are rf interference standards that electrical items must comply with.
Click to expand...
yep good old shitty uk, we did have regulations but they count for fuck all cause its all made in a factory in China, its all bullshit nowadays cause the country is fucked.
 
D

DreadyBob

Well-Known Member
amneziaHaze said:
I think just 2 metal cages over your balast would be enough and you need to ground them i think
Click to expand...
would chicken wire be OK to make the cages out off? when you say grounded like Equipotential bonding? connected in to my house bonding at the CU or just clamped to metal structure?
 
Drop That Sound

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
To test if shielding the offending ballast would even work, you could just temporarily stuff it in a microwave oven, and use metal tape to cover the rest of the gap going around the door around the cords hanging out.

I don't think it will work though, but could be wrong... The way I see, its like sticking your internet router in the microwave, but leaving the antenna hanging outside of it. The antenna being the output cable and the socket/bulb.
 
Gemtree

Gemtree

Well-Known Member
Drop That Sound said:
Most of the noise is probably coming from the cord leading from the ballast to the socket (even with the RF choke/filters?!, and especially with longer coiled up cords), or the actual bulb itself, like an antenna.. Not sure if covering just the ballast itself would help.

They made so many noisy digi HID ballast when they came out.. Some of my newer ones came with the inline RF filters built into the cords, but the same older versions I got a few months before didn't.

How the heck did all those companies even get away with selling such bad noisy units, and bypass the FCC regulations like that? From what i've heard, some were so bad they could be heard for MILES away.

Even with the filters, many of the digi ballasts are still inevitably noisy due to the inherent design, afaik. Maybe not for miles with the filters & tidy electrical installations, but the ham radio operator next door still might be dealing with the interference no matter what unless you unplug it, or do the full cage of sheilding all the way around.

The only way to really test if whatever solution you come up with is working is to use an EMF meter, other than waiting for the neighbor to knock on the door again.. Either way, it seems like you'll have to either switch back to the old school magnetics, buy another LED (you sure its not the LEDs doing it?), or spend loads of money trying to create a large cage or sheilding the walls somehow to block it..
Click to expand...
AM radio can check it too
 
D

DreadyBob

Well-Known Member
Gemtree said:
Cmh is square wave and low frequency. Shouldn't have any rf noise. I had the same problem being by an airport and run cmh just fine
Click to expand...
I bought 8 of them 8yrs ago because of the situation. Never had an issue, worked fantastic, no noise whatsoever. thing is I hadn't used them for 4yrs And recently turned 2 back on. I'm guessing something has failed in the sheilding. It could be iv over used them, they've got too warm and fried something? I've heard the noise they are giving through his radio, I've switched them off and heard the noise completely dissappear.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top