Arcadia Ultraseal T8 18-40w Twin Electronic Lamp Controller

[stujo]

I have just purchased one of the above "new style" electronic T8 controllers (light grey case). This controller causes massive interference to my portable radio. I have emailed Arcadia about this to get their comments and wondered if anybody else has experience of this controller.

P.S. I also purchased an "old style" i.e. black case with visible choke Arcadia Ultraseal T8 38w single controller at the same time and this causes no intereference.

 

[stujo]

Re: Arcadia Ultraseal T8 18-40w Twin Electronic Lamp Control

In case anybody is interested I received a reply from Arcadia re the above:

Hi Stuart,
Sorry for the delay in replying, we have been carrying out some testing on the units here that you enquired about.

The new units use an electronic ballast which can have EMC (ElectroMagnetic Compatibility) issues due to the frequency at which they run. As part of the EC marking certification we have to carry out EMC testing which was done when we designed the units and we have just carried out on some of our stock units. The units pass the testing as laid down by the standard however the standard does not cover frequencies above 30Mhz which may be why you are experiencing some problems. We also tested the units using a portable radio and found that there was interference on MW but minimal interference on FM. We have contacted the supplier of the electronic ballast circuit boards and asked them to carry out testing as well and when I have the results I will contact you again.

The reason for switching to electronic ballasts is that they are more energy efficient and so should give lower running costs. Another advantage is that they reduce lamp flicker.

Best regards

Paul Jackson

Technical & Quality Manager
For and on behalf of Arcadia Products plc