Ceiling light kills TV signal

[Titus]

LED lights do weird things. We have several LED lights in our kitchen on different switches. Lights on one switch will cause a buzz on our AM radio. But if we turn on more LED lights with a different switch the buzz goes away.

[Al and Missy]

Originally Posted by AI927

I have had this issue since I got my 2018 Interstate, both with the ceiling lights and bathroom fan. Jackson Center replaced the fan but it did not fix it. They did not attempt to do anything about the lights. Last time I was at JC they still did not have a fix for it.

I understand Airstream uses a different brand OTA antenna now. While at JC I asked if this would solve my problem but did not get an answer one way or another.

It is likely the interference is radiated from the LED fixture and dimmer wiring and is spread over a wide range of frequencies including the frequency of the desired signal (TV station). When the two signals arriving at the antenna are the same frequency, the stronger signal wins. In this case, it is the interference. Nothing can be done to filter it out at the antenna or TV set. It must be stopped at the point of origin.

[uraljohn]

Originally Posted by J-K Georgia

That is very interesting. I have talked to the folks at the mother ship when we were up there. The comment was, that is a problem we used to have. Our 2016 International Serenety 28 foot has always had that problem. Cable or satellite is ok, just the free space signals.
Did the replacement power come separate from the wall plate or is it one unit?

I called Winegard directly and told them about my problem of suddenly no reception. The nice lady sent me a direct replacement. The faceplate and power supply come as one unit. Removed the wall plate, unplugged, plugged in replacement and done. I did switch the faceplate as the one she sent me was brown. Took about 5 minutes for the whole job. Results are perfect. I sent the bad one back to them.

[bellj]

We have the same thing in our 2004 Airstream Motorhome. The only thing consistent is that it is only the lights on the direct same 12 volt power line as the antenna booster(s). I didn't do it because of this issue, but through the years I've changed out the original antenna booster, as well as a separate but attached to the same power line antenna booster for a separate TV antenna, so I have two boosters on that same 12V power line. I've tried both cheap, and also expensive voltage regulated, LED bulbs, 12V converter on & off, different Winegard and King antenna heads, and various antenna amplifier gain levels. It happens only on certain weak channels and that closest row of LED lights. And the really wild part is that the multiple and close fluorescent lights down the ceiling center both when they were actually florescent tubes and even after LED conversion tubes have never affected the signal, nor have the sink and stove LED lights that very likely ARE on the same power line.


It's one of those "go figure" situations - but I can turn that closer set of lights off when this occurs and it's fine, so it's really not worth trying to repair further. I suppose I could try a filter like they put on stereo and CB power lines - and I have an oscilloscope I could try also to see if there's any ripples on the line, but it's just not really worth the extra expense and effort for our situation except out of curiosity. But you sure aren't alone experiencing that issue. LOL

[groundhogy]

LED lights?
Some LED lights have what they call “switching” regulators. The switching action causes radio noise that sprays all around the light, ending up at your antenna. The noise has a stronger signal than the tiny TV channel signal so it gets swamped out.

If you think this is your problem..
Try unplugging LED lights until the trouble dissapears. Then go buy another brand of light.

[Wdstatham]

I replaced all the halogen bulbs in our 2004 CCD with LED bulbs a number of years ago. Never had any problems with TV reception , cable or antenna, until last 2 winters at Travelers Rest , in FL. There we were on the TR cable TV system. If certain lights in AS were on, they interfered with reception.

Same trailer & same lights in other RV parks on their cable system no problems. Seems like the LED problem I have is related to the cable system at TR. We will be using Direct TV when we are ever able to go back to TR.

I remember seeing some LED bulbs advertised as not causing TV problems. Don't remember who was selling them (maybe on Amazon), and don't know if their claim is true.

[Pahaska]

Hard to do much with the ceiling lights in an Interstate. They are part of the touchpanel system. In my case, I just stopped using the ceiling lights when I wanted to watch over-the-air TV. I have installed several switchable lights that help make up for the ceiling lights no on.

[groundhogy]

You just pull out the light bulb that is suspect. If reception improves, replace with another brand that does not use the switching regulators.