Noisy LEDs annoy: send us your suspects!
A press release back in September 2017 by the DARC (the amateur radio club of Germany) announced their concern for a significant increase in environmental RF noise causing interference to radio communications, broadcast radio and even DAB reception. They lay the blame firmly at the door of LED lighting and the widespread use of poorly designed and (RF) noisy LED products...
A press release back in September 2017 by the DARC (the amateur radio club of Germany) announced their concern for a significant increase in environmental RF noise causing interference to radio communications, broadcast radio and even DAB reception. They lay the blame firmly at the door of LED lighting and the widespread use of poorly designed and (RF) noisy LED products.
Tests carried out by Elektor on these LED lamps (and also LED lighting strips) confirmed their suspicions. The Federal Network Agency now welcomes our initiative to get you to send in any suspect LED lamp so we can carry out tests on them.
A few days ago, we were contacted by the Federal Network Agency who is the recognized government authority responsible for RF spectrum surveillance regarding product electromagnetic compatibility equivalent to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US. They are keen to support our efforts to identify offending LED products. The Federal Network Agency referred to our article Electromagnetic Interference from LED Lamps featured in the Elektor Magazine edition 2/2018 (March & April) and expressly welcomed our invitation to our readers to send us any suspect lamps. The Federal Agency asked us to keep them up to date about on the results of our tests so they can apply pressure to get the worst offenders withdrawn from sale.
Sounds like a deal! We can all do without noisy environments, so again we put out a call to all readers and radio amateurs alike:
Send us any suspect LED lamp!
So if you have a lamp you think may be guilty of emitting more than just light please send it to us:
Elektor
LED Lamps dept.
78 York Street
London W1H 1DP
United Kingdom
Label the parcel with ‘EMC LED lamp’ so that everything gets routed correctly at our mail box. You can also let us know by e-mail at editor@elektor.com with the subject line "EMC LED Lamp". We will test the lamp and, if necessary, publish an update on the subject and pass the information on to the Federal Network Agency, that’s a promise.
PS: This also applies to combinations of LED lighting strips with switched-mode PSUs, they can also be a source of radio interference, as described in the article Struggling with LED Snake Lights from Elektor Magazine edition 3/2018 (May & June).
Tests carried out by Elektor on these LED lamps (and also LED lighting strips) confirmed their suspicions. The Federal Network Agency now welcomes our initiative to get you to send in any suspect LED lamp so we can carry out tests on them.
A few days ago, we were contacted by the Federal Network Agency who is the recognized government authority responsible for RF spectrum surveillance regarding product electromagnetic compatibility equivalent to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US. They are keen to support our efforts to identify offending LED products. The Federal Network Agency referred to our article Electromagnetic Interference from LED Lamps featured in the Elektor Magazine edition 2/2018 (March & April) and expressly welcomed our invitation to our readers to send us any suspect lamps. The Federal Agency asked us to keep them up to date about on the results of our tests so they can apply pressure to get the worst offenders withdrawn from sale.
Sounds like a deal! We can all do without noisy environments, so again we put out a call to all readers and radio amateurs alike:
Send us any suspect LED lamp!
So if you have a lamp you think may be guilty of emitting more than just light please send it to us:
Elektor
LED Lamps dept.
78 York Street
London W1H 1DP
United Kingdom
Label the parcel with ‘EMC LED lamp’ so that everything gets routed correctly at our mail box. You can also let us know by e-mail at editor@elektor.com with the subject line "EMC LED Lamp". We will test the lamp and, if necessary, publish an update on the subject and pass the information on to the Federal Network Agency, that’s a promise.
PS: This also applies to combinations of LED lighting strips with switched-mode PSUs, they can also be a source of radio interference, as described in the article Struggling with LED Snake Lights from Elektor Magazine edition 3/2018 (May & June).
