# Smart Electritican LED shop light radio interference...



## AAANDRRREW (Mar 11, 2015)

So, i have this LED shop light
http://www.menards.com/main/lighting-ceiling-fans/indoor-lighting/strips-shop-lights/smart-electrician-48-4800-lumens-led-silver-shop-light/p-1460080852477-c-1460466960158.htm?tid=3897661821258998157

Got it on sale at menards and thought I'd give it a shot. Overall, I'd say its ok. The light isn't as bright as I thought it would be, and its sort of of the softer end. But, I may be odd considering I'd like the most harsh bright light possible when working at my bench…

Anyway, I just got an older Sony stereo receiver set up (older, like 10 years old) with attennae becuase my milwaukee jobsite radio was really grouchy about my drill batteries charging and especially this new LED light. So now, I do have some interference, but its manageable…until I went to tidy up my wires - All I did was MOVE the lead to the light 6" and the radio lost almost all signal (its a local FM station). At one point I unplugged my light and the radio literally kicked off for 3 secs… really odd behavior. Has anyone done much to alleviate this? I did some research and saw some filters, but not sure it'll help much. I do have to add some outlets to my garage and another breaker for my garage heater, so I was considering also running a new circuit for the additional outlets (figured with power tools and a heater it would be a good idea to spread the load out…).

Thoughts?


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

You have external problems ie. signal strength from the radio station. One of the reasons for having FM over AM is the almost none existent interference from external sources. How far are you from your station. How many hills and mountains between the transmitter and your receiver? FM is line of sight and hills and mountains really degrade signal strength.


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## bold1 (May 5, 2013)

I had problems with LEDs cutting signal as well. I ran a test lead outside the building and clipped the lead to my antenna. Solved my problem.


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## AAANDRRREW (Mar 11, 2015)

I live in central WI and the radio tower is maybe 10 mi as the crow flies - its also on top of Rib Mountain, which is something like 800' above my elevation. My area is relatively flat, with the except of the "mountain".

I also have a much higher quality receiver in my basement that if the dimable LEDS are OFF or low light is fine, turn them up and the radio takes a crap as well.


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

You say "All I did was MOVE the lead to the light 6" and the radio lost almost all signal "

So move the wire back and see what happens. < sarcasm font off >

The interference I get in my radio is ONLY from the cordless tools battery chargers. I've moved both the chargers AND the radio several times to no avail. And I have noticed that if the batteries are plugged into the charger but NOT in "charge mode" there is no interference. Only when they go in charge mode.


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## AAANDRRREW (Mar 11, 2015)

Joe - I agree with you on the battery charger part.

As for moving the light lead - I did put it back so I could rock out, but, the wire is hanging in a less than desirable location and I was trying to make the shop look halfway decent haha.


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## OSB (Dec 16, 2016)

I bet the interference is from the LED switch mode power supply putting noise on your AC line, not transmitting RF waves through the air.

If you can put the radio on another circuit it would improve if that is it.

I'm sure an electrical engineer or good electrician could add some inductors or capacitors in front of the LEDs to filter out that noise but the best way to do it is buy a product with quality filtering built in.

When you wonder why some LED lights are so much more expensive than the bargain brand on sale, that may be the reason because leaving out filter parts is one effective way for the manufacturer to reduce cost.

I'm currently frustrated by my USB C charger that makes my clock radio squeal when I charge my phone. I'm not sure how I will fix that.


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## AAANDRRREW (Mar 11, 2015)

OSB - i guess you won't oversleep for work!

and yes, I agree with you. I had no experience with LED lights before I bought my new home. Reason was that the savings vs cost of the bulb just wasn't attractive for me. The new (to me) house was outfitted top to bottom with mid-level brand LEDS (they are TCP, I think available at home depot). All the regular LED bulbs are fine, but the previous owner finished the family room in the basement and has literally like 18 LED can lights (its like broadway stage bright when they are on) and those are dimmeable - and those are the ones that create a problem. And yes, the Smart Electrician brand light at Menards for a fraction of the cost of a high end one likely has a reason for the cost.


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## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

I replace the burnt out incandescent light in my garage door opener with an LED bulb and the remote would not open the door, swapped the bulb for an incandescent light and 'hey presto' the door opens again. That is the only time I've been disappointed with this new technology.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Most modern electronics do funny thing to the AC sine waves. Higher quality will have power supplies that are intended to address these issues. Does it say anywhere the lights meet FCC regulations?


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## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

I don't know, and I suspect that the FCC doesn't apply up here in the Great Whit North  Of course the physics are the same so if the light would meet FCC standards it should still work here, but I didn't really look at the ratings on the lamp although I guess I could check out similar bulbs at the store where I bought them…if I can remember where that was.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Canada probably has an equivalent. Canadian Standards and UL are universally accepted by both.


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## AAANDRRREW (Mar 11, 2015)

I have pretty much just given up with this light - I can make things better by adjusting my antennae some or plugging the light into the outlet and the stereo into a surge protector on the other plug in the outlet…but it comes and goes and some days its better than others. It's really frustrating because I like the light alot but it makes the radio unusable at times…

I'm going to be running another lead from my breaker box to the garage for some additional outlets and I hope that having the stereo on this line will help.

I talked to a friend whos very up to date with AV stuff and he recommended a power conditioner, which is like $60+ and not guaranteed to improve anything so I passed on that as well.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Make sure you new circuit is on the opposite phase.


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