Static from LED lights ...help!

[TheGreyhound]

Hey all I just installed my Midland 275 and I am getting reports that my transmit is sounding great. I have the 3db Nagoya UT72 mag mount antenna.

Problem is when I turn on my led lights there's a ton of static on my side. I see the signal meter jump to half way.

What can I do to solve this? Someone suggested putting ferrite chokes on all the power cables and the antenna cable. Think it will help?

 

[Ubiety]

You might try isolating your led light circuit from your radio power circuit. There was another thread exactly like this in the last few months that you might search for, lots of good back and forth and a solution found. Good luck!

 

[Ubiety]

Here are a couple of recent threads dealing with the same or related issue.

Wiring help

I tend to underthink on somethings and overthink on others, and it's a curse, I've been staring at boxes for things in my garage i need to get in my rig, but always put it off because I'm not sure I'm doing it right... So I present you a MS Paint Diagram! (Ignore the fuse values and there is a...

www.overlandbound.com

HAM interference with fog lights?

I am having some added static/interference when fog lights are turned on. The fog run on the factory wiring harness but are diode dynamics brand lights. The radio power takes from a block under drivers seat that is supplied via 2awg direct from battery. The antenna is on rear hatch mount. Fogs...

www.overlandbound.com

 

[TheGreyhound]

Here are a couple of recent threads dealing with the same or related issue.

Wiring help

I tend to underthink on somethings and overthink on others, and it's a curse, I've been staring at boxes for things in my garage i need to get in my rig, but always put it off because I'm not sure I'm doing it right... So I present you a MS Paint Diagram! (Ignore the fuse values and there is a...

www.overlandbound.com

HAM interference with fog lights?

I am having some added static/interference when fog lights are turned on. The fog run on the factory wiring harness but are diode dynamics brand lights. The radio power takes from a block under drivers seat that is supplied via 2awg direct from battery. The antenna is on rear hatch mount. Fogs...

www.overlandbound.com

Thanks Im going to have a look, I tried ferrite beads on dang near everything.... no change. Tried running radio and LEDs direct from the battery.... no change. Stumped....

 

[TheGreyhound]

Thanks Im going to have a look, I tried ferrite beads on dang near everything.... no change. Tried running radio and LEDs direct from the battery.... no change. Stumped....

I think its just cheap LED lights putting out a ton of RF.... I also get some interference over the air to a handheld, not as bad as the onboard unit, but its definitely over the air. :-|

 

[Ubiety]

Hit me up in a week or so and maybe we can put our heads together and figure something out. I'm not an EE but play embedded SW developer and have a serious tool fetish ;) Hopefully we will chat about this around a campfire next Friday evening :)

 

[Flipper]

Its the switching power supplies in the lights radiating noise being picked up by your trucks wiring and radio receiver.

 

[Trad77]

Hey all I just installed my Midland 275 and I am getting reports that my transmit is sounding great. I have the 3db Nagoya UT72 mag mount antenna.

Problem is when I turn on my led lights there's a ton of static on my side. I see the signal meter jump to half way.

What can I do to solve this? Someone suggested putting ferrite chokes on all the power cables and the antenna cable. Think it will help?

Research grounding and bonding. Proper ground and proper bonding goes a long ways. In addition to grounding and bonding, defiantly put ferrite beads on the power cord to the LEDs. Make sure they are as close to the LED lights as possible.

 

[Prerunner1982]

You might also try RF Bonding, using braided ground strap to connect the isolated metal parts of the vehicle to the main body of the vehicle such as the hood, rear hatch, and exhaust. The pieces can act as an antenna for the RFI, RF bonding may help to mitigate that. It also helps add to the ground plane properties of the vehicle, though not quite as important for VHF/UHF as they require minimal ground plane. You can get rolls of braided ground strap on amazon.

 

[old_man]

Put a .001uf, .01uf, .1 uf, and 1.0uf ceramic caps as close to the lights as possible. Follow up with a ferrite before the wire back to the battery.

The reason for the 4 sizes in parallel is that the smaller caps have a higher frequency response. Each size basically will help across the whole band, but will be better at a portion of the frequency range, so by using the different sizes, you maximize the whole thing. These caps are dirt cheap. Remember, use the ceramic caps, not the old styles.

The problem comes from the fact that you have to limit the current through LEDs. In order to cut down power consumption, they have done away with a series resistor and put a cheap chopper circuit in its place. You may have noticed this problem driving on the interstate. Many big rigs run a ton of these cheap LEDs and as you go by them, you will hear a ton of static in your AM radio. What you may not know is that the interference can play havoc with your cell phone as well.

 

[TheGreyhound]

Appreciate the ideas but pretty sure the lights themselves are just not really salvageable for this. I've got ferrites now on EVERYTHING and still no improvement. Will just try different lights down the road I suppose.