Hi, I was reading a post made by someone here on how they had cause a cable outage, and I decided to check my ballast if it was the same one. Well, it isnt, but then I go to set my alarm clock tonight for the ASVAB test, and I hear buzzing on ALL STATIONS. this was verified by me going aprox 20-25 feet away and it working a little better. I live in a appartment, and I run a 600 watt HPS light. bought off ebay. I need some help 1. how afraid should i be about the cable company finding this out (i have the asvab at 630 AM tomorrow, and IM FREAKING OUT MAN (i dont want to be arrested, it will void me from joining the military!) 2. to what extent are my neighbors being affected. I have a lot of 8 appartments, im in the upper corner one 3, how can i fix this quickly, maybe for tonight. also, heres some key info. the balast has a ground green wire, which i did not connect to anything (by the light). I also have cut the ground prong on the cable thingy connecting to the timer switch, as it has no 3 prong adapter. so in essence, the ground prong is Not doing ANYTHING. I duno if I have to connect one of them, but im scared. I have had this light for like 2 or 3 weeks, and I dont like the idea that this has happened
I wouldn't panic man, that seems like a bit of an overreaction. I doubt everyone will call the cops when they notice their radios aren't working. Don't you think someone might have said something already? It's probably chalked up to a cell phone tower or something... On the other hand, it may be something worth doing research on if there's a way to keep it from happening. But concentrate on the ASVAB dude, it'll be fine till tomorrow I'm sure!
You know what you could do? Just go over to your nearest neighbor sometime and ask them if they are having any trouble with their radio or tv or whatever it is you are worried about. Maybe come up with a cover story about how yours is a little wonky but you think it could just be your own set, maybe it's old or something. You should be able to find out if they are having any interference or not.
worry about your future and the ASVAB. Once you join the military you dont got much time for growing trees anyway i hope your joinin the marine corps. and atleast not the chair force.
Ok, im goign to try to get some sleep. thanks. its the army btw, as a heli pilot (so dont hate, they have the best prog for me i wanted marines, maybe later. but anyways, the radio was just checked 10 feet away thro a wall, and It gives a little less RF. Can people notice it from a car? My biggest concern is my grow looking like a neon light to anyone with a handheld radio, or a cop with something like that. Im goign to a local hydro store tomorrow to see if they have any remedy. anyone know any cheap or temp fixes?
ARMY= Aint Ready to be Marines Yet. na im just playing with you bro, i have a bunch of buddies in the army and its very respectful, its worth it no matter what branch youre in. I wish i could help you with a fix but im not sure. best of luck on the ASVAB, dont stress if they dont tell you how much time you get per section you get enough(didnt tell us) and just think shit through youll be good.
Why didn't you just get an $.89 adaptor instead of cutting off the ground. That is very dangerous thing to do. I would hook up that ground wire to something ASAP Or buy a timer with 3 holes. I got one yesterday at a garage sale for 3 bucks. Before that I used an adaptor.
yea, i didnt know it was a big deal to ground it. im not very electriclly inclined, but i gota 93 on the asvab so im happy what can i ground it to (hopefully w/o buing a 3 prong adapter, as i heard one guy had the 2 to 3 prong adapter, and it caused cable outages on here). can i put the green wire directly to my inline fan (panasonic). thanks again guys
OP, that sounds like an abnormal amount of interference. GROUND YOUR LIGHT. That is very likely the problem. Just run a wire from your cold water pipe under your sink to the green grounding wire.
should I ground the green wire before the balast, or between the balast and the light socket>? thansk