LED lights disrupting TV reception

[Southwestern Sportfishing]

I recently replaced all the incondenset bulbs in my Raptor 361LEV fifth wheel with LED bulbs to conserve battery power while dry camping. I am currently in a RV Park with full hook ups but unfortunately no cable tv access. I have been watching television stations available on air up to now, I just turned on the lights and I have lost TV reception on 6 channels. I turn the lights off and the stations return. Does not matter which lights I turn on, they all interfere with reception. Is there some kind of filter available to cure the problem?
Thanks in advance

[bobbecky]

I was looking on the M4 Products web site, and found this in their FAQ's.

Do LEDs make Radio Noise? It is not common, but regulated LEDs can make radio noise especially in low frequency radio and tv signals. Ham Radio operators typically have problems with LED lights. AM Radio and low over the air TV stations can pick up noise if the equipment is older, if it is very close to the LED, improperly grounded, or on the same power circuit. Our LED circuits are shielded when possible and we try to match capacitance to minimize effects.

It may be that the bulbs you used may be less shielded than others. Maybe a different brand will work better.

http://www.m4products.com/faqs/

[sourdough]

I do not watch over the air TV but I am sure I've read that LEDs emit RF waves that can disrupt signals as you describe. A different LED may be the answer or possibly delving deeper into the matter??

[JRTJH]

All LED's that have a voltage range (12-24 VDC as an example) have a voltage regulator circuit in the assembly. That voltage regulator can emit an RF signal that will disrupt OTA reception. Sometimes (worth a try) is to change the wires going to the LED light (if it's a complete assembly) or to "turn the assembly over" (if it's a plug in bulb replacement). While that may not "fix" the problem in all situations, it's definitely worth a try before spending money on replacement LED assemblies or light fixtures.

[ChuckS]

HAM radio operator for over forty years now.. The LEDs in the RVs are hash master generators.

The cheap LEDs have voltage management in the form of a current limiting resistor. The voltage across the LED will vary in proportion to the applied voltage. The LED will survive a small variation of voltage. The higher priced LEDs will have a voltage regulator that maintains a constant voltage across the LED as the applied voltage varies. If you apply more than about 15 volts to the cheap LED it will overheat. The higher priced LED will handle a wide range of voltages. It's the voltage regulator that is problematic not the LED. The typical LED driver/regulator is a DC-to-DC converter which contains an oscillator that generates the RF interference.

You can try one of two ways to eliminate the RF hash.. easiest is to install a couple of quality ferrite beads.. snap on style near the TV set on the coax to try and decouple the RF from the coax line.. most likely how it’s getting into the TV set..

The other.. and it would be a pain..is to install .01 mfd ceramic decoupling caps across each LED fixture...

You might also look at the OTA signal amplifier and verify coax connections to it are tight and at the splitter and try to apply a short ground wire from the OTA tv amp to ground.

[Southwestern Sportfishing]

Thank you for the replies..... I’ve been watching tv in the dark .... smh

[Laredo240MK2015]

HAM radio operator for over forty years now.. The LEDs in the RVs are hash master generators.

The cheap LEDs have voltage management in the form of a current limiting resistor. The voltage across the LED will vary in proportion to the applied voltage. The LED will survive a small variation of voltage. The higher priced LEDs will have a voltage regulator that maintains a constant voltage across the LED as the applied voltage varies. If you apply more than about 15 volts to the cheap LED it will overheat. The higher priced LED will handle a wide range of voltages. It's the voltage regulator that is problematic not the LED. The typical LED driver/regulator is a DC-to-DC converter which contains an oscillator that generates the RF interference.

You can try one of two ways to eliminate the RF hash.. easiest is to install a couple of quality ferrite beads.. snap on style near the TV set on the coax to try and decouple the RF from the coax line.. most likely how it’s getting into the TV set..

The other.. and it would be a pain..is to install .01 mfd ceramic decoupling caps across each LED fixture...

You might also look at the OTA signal amplifier and verify coax connections to it are tight and at the splitter and try to apply a short ground wire from the OTA tv amp to ground.


I am also suspicious that hash from the leds gets into the dc supply line of the amplifier. You might try a filter there as well. Our 2015 Laredo was really bad, the 2018 Premier doesn’t seem to have any problem.