SLC to testing Induction Lamps on streets

[kenglish]

We might all be interested in this article, which talks about Salt Lake City testing out LED and Induction Lamps in certain streetlights.

Induction lamps use RF in the shortwave bands (HF) to operate.

Could this become yet another source of Radio-Frequency Interference?

[dxstuboy]

Gosh darnit. Why do people insist on killing radio?

[CAwasinNJ]

This one?

www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=9480483&pid=1

If it's HF, I don't see the problem as far as broadcasting goes.

[dxstuboy]

True but shortwave might be decimated by this. There are still a handful of us who have shortwave radios (just like a handful of us have HD Radios). If it saves energy though, I'm all for it as long as I don't live near one.

[dolt]

You will be more comfortable with an LED preference.

[CAwasinNJ]

I happened to be in Walmart's hardware department yesterday and I noticed a flourishing LED section has sprung up since I last looked. They're a bit on the pricey side still, but the wattage is insanely low and the rated hours is huge. I saw a number rated at 30,000 hours. Used 8 hours a day that's 10 years. Insane.

[dolt]

Yeah, if they actually live up to their hour rating, they turn out to be very cheap because of the lower wattage and less need for replacement. I have been giving them consideration because I am tired of changing light bulbs. The high front end cost is off putting.

[michaeljwyo]

Funny you guys should mention those. I was watching Mythbusters last night and they were looking in to different kinds of bulbs and lifespans and so forth. They had one LED bulb that was the same size as a typical incandescent. I had never seen one before. They put all these bulbs on a timer to turn on and off every two minutes......after 6 weeks of doing this non-stop, the only bulb that hadn't quit working was the LED bulb. However, I'm sure we all know the LED's don't last forever either. Look at the traffic lights. Ah yes, they were so pretty when they were new. Now that it's been a few years they are starting to develop little holes and gashes (or so it appears) due to LED's that are starting to quit working. I see some lights where half of the grid of LED's is flickering. So they're obviously not perfect. And to bring it back on topic, in my experience many LEDs in the traffic signals cause interference on the AM band. You'll hear a "whish" or a hum or a whine when you pass under them. Then too it's probably not noticable if you're listening to a local station. Here in Evanston I hear it if I'm listening to something distant....like an out-of-town station. I listen to KDYL a lot and I'll hear the whine when I pass under the LED traffic signals here in town. I wonder if these new induction lamps will also cause interference on the AM band too?

Michael n Wyo

[CAwasinNJ]

Jan 29, 2010 12:45:24 GMT -7 michaeljwyo said:

Funny you guys should mention those. I was watching Mythbusters last night and they were looking in to different kinds of bulbs and lifespans and so forth. They had one LED bulb that was the same size as a typical incandescent. I had never seen one before. They put all these bulbs on a timer to turn on and off every two minutes......after 6 weeks of doing this non-stop, the only bulb that hadn't quit working was the LED bulb.

If that's the episode I think it is, the test was to see if it's more efficient to turn lights off or leave them on. There's were some snide remarks about how anal Jamie is. Funny thing is, that episode was made more than 3 years ago. I know CFL's have gotten a lot better in the last 10 years and I expect CLED (is that even a real acronym?) to get better over time too.

And to bring it back on topic, in my experience many LEDs in the traffic signals cause interference on the AM band. You'll hear a "whish" or a hum or a whine when you pass under them. Then too it's probably not noticable if you're listening to a local station.

I think I've said this before, but oh well.

Maybe I'm just lucky with good AM radios. I used to DX KXNT from Vegas and I never had any noticeable interference at all from LED's even when I was passing right under them. The only problem I really had was when DX conditions eastward were favorable it got chewed up by KOA Denver.