Something to consider

[Jackalope]

I get all kinds of helpful hints from my mentor. We had a long talk about genetics and what not last night. He brought up a interesting point.

I am not sure if people know that digital ballasts make noise that can be heard on a radio. I guess they make a noticeable hum that can be picked up by any radio. I am not sure what channel or if it is any that does not have a signal. He quit using them a few years ago because of this. He recently had to replace some of his older ballasts. All he had was the digital on hand. He noticed more activity around his house soon after. Not by the cops. But by thugs. He is pretty sure they were trying to nail down what house it was coming from. With fresh weed showing up regularly they know a grow is in town somewhere.

Is he paranoid? Who knows. It really doesn't matter where I live. Big cities with tons of people it may be a different story. If word of the ballast thing gets out thugs are going to find a way to take advantage of it. Pretty sure this would never be a problem with just a single ballast. Multiple ballasts is a different story. My mentor is running 8 lights so I am sure that puts out a lot of noise. Most likely this is only a problem for large grows.

I just wanted to throw this out there so people know. I am really not just giving everyone something else to worry about LOL.

 

[Old Salt]

Depending on their design, shielding the ballast, and putting a filter on the input line won't be enough. The bulb itself is very probably acting like an antenna. He or she would need to enclose the grow room in a Faraday cage.

 

[Scottsquatch]

Fuck that shit. I'm a very cranky and heavily armed veteran. Thugs ever came to my house, I am fairly certain I'd kill a few of them before they get me. I'm not gonna get into my activities in Iraq, but I have no qualms about taking the life of any bad guy that messes with me or mine. I also have a few close friends from the war that would certainly help me get rid of a body and clean up the crime scene. Bring on the thugs.

 

[Billotto]

I got the new square-wave ballast. No interference from that as far as I have noticed.

 

[Bud]

I own a fifty lb.female Rot wilder, who roams my house and is very protective of the family, and my grandpa’s 12 gage W/00 Buck. Stop by and say hi......

 

[I'mOne]

Interesting. I'm pretty sure the neighbors across the highway are cooking. I wake up to take a piss ant three am they are out in the yard talking and cars are coming and going all the damn time. I can't be home 24\7.

 

[Jackalope]

Square wave ballast I have never heard of. I will look into them. Maybe someone did figure it out and cured the problem.

I am totally prepared for one hell of a battle to protect me and mine if need be. Thank god I live in a place that shit don't go on.

Keeping our grows secret power wise is getting harder all the time. While LED and other new lights may not put out a signature that people can see. From what I hear the electric company can pretty much tell what you are running off the power grid. Thugs may not be able to notice any more but the electric companies will always know. How much info they share with the government is still yet to be seen. I worry more about things like that. If we ever go full legal weed or just full on medical. They are going to want to control it. Making it like alcohol that you have to buy from a company and not produce your own. If they can find out who is running lights they can easier stop home production.

 

[Old Salt]

Maybe it's time to consider a few solar panels and a battery pack to isolate the grow from the grid. Use a Kill-a-Watt to determine how much you use per day and size they system accordingly. For design purposes, a solar panel is active for about two hours per day in my area. A 350W panel will produce 0.7Kwh per day. If my grow uses 12Kwh per day, I'd need 18 of them, and a 20Kwh battery pack. The cost will be high, but lower than defending yourself in court.

 

[Jackalope]

I am installing a back up generator to the house this year. I have thought about adding solar also. Mostly the plan was only for back up power. Probably be out of my budget but worth a look anyway. Like you said Oldsalt. Probably cheaper than defending yourself in court.

 

[PE636]

I have heard with the new smart meters they can tell when you turn something on or off, and have an idea what it might be by the draw and startup signatures..
I think it would also be possible to evade this by charging a battery bank from the grid when needed or during cheap times and then run the grow off the batteries.

 

[Jackalope]

Why the hell didn't I move to a place you can just grow them outside when I had a chance LMAO.

 

[I'mOne]

You can still move to Oklahoma

 

[SmokingWings]

If we ever go full legal weed or just full on medical. They are going to want to control it. Making it like alcohol that you have to buy from a company and not produce your own. If they can find out who is running lights they can easier stop home production.

In the US it is legal to home brew our own beer for ourselves or our family. We can invite anyone of legal age to come over and sample it with us. Same with wine.

I do not know what the limits are on home brewing beer or making wine are. I do think that brewers can make more home beer than states allow plants whether for medical or recreational. Here we can grow 12 plants per household but I know guys who have made 10 gallons of a craft beer for consumption by their family and friends.

 

[Scottsquatch]

Honestly, I dont really want it to go legal. We all know it will only be a matter of time before big corporations own and control it all. Good genetics will get harder to find. Eventually they will outlaw it and force everybody back underground, but there will be a renewed urgency to bust growers. I like how it is now. Dont get greedy/stupid and you can fly under the radar with relative ease. Not only that, but great genetics are everywhere and are very easy to get right now. I dont want that to change.

 

[Emilya Green]

I got the new square-wave ballast. No interference from that as far as I have noticed.

Knowing a thing or two about electronics and radio waves, the very name of the square wave ballast makes me laugh. It is good stuff, but still, their choice of name is very humorous. Pure sine wave interference can be dealt with fairly easily since all that needs to be filtered is the main frequency and maybe the 2nd and 3rd harmonics, but a square wave.... A square wave produces the nastiest sounding, most unclean type of signal that could possibly be generated. A square wave generator can essentially transmit everywhere all at once, the signal is that unclean. The early pioneers in radio with their spark gap transmitters, were sending square waves over the air. There was no tuning them in... their signal was everywhere.

I am a ham radio operator. If my grow room transmits any signals at all, my sensitive ham equipment would have to deal with it. I have had to replace fluorescent light bulbs. I have had magnetic ballasts that were as noisy as they could be, making times where I could not hear signals without turning off my lights.

I was asked to demo the new Lumatek digital ballasts when they came out. They are not only shielded quite well to keep them from emitting signals, but they use a much higher frequency than most of the competitors use to produce the high voltage needed to power HID lights. Because it is a higher frequency, it has much less of a chance to interfere with other services and it is much more efficient (flicker rate) when it comes to powering our lights. I have a very big antenna outside on a tall tower that can pick up weak signals from stations all over the world. Even knowing the frequency that the Lumatek is operating on, I can not pick up the signal.

There are lots of things out there where it doesn't make sense to buy cheap. An efficient and well made ballast is one of those things.

 

[Jackalope]

In the US it is legal to home brew our own beer for ourselves or our family. We can invite anyone of legal age to come over and sample it with us. Same with wine.

I do not know what the limits are on home brewing beer or making wine are. I do think that brewers can make more home beer than states allow plants whether for medical or recreational. Here we can grow 12 plants per household but I know guys who have made 10 gallons of a craft beer for consumption by their family and friends.

I was more referring to hard liquor but good point. If you make beer. Check into marijuana beer. I read years back about a way to infuse the THC in while brewing. If you grow and make beer it may be worth a try. If it works I know someone that wants a 40 LOL

 

[SmokingWings]

I was more referring to hard liquor but good point. If you make beer. Check into marijuana beer. I read years back about a way to infuse the THC in while brewing. If you grow and make beer it may be worth a try. If it works I know someone that wants a 40 LOL

The amount of quality craft beer out there now is enough that I can't talk myself into trying to do better.

 

[Momma's Kitchen]

I get all kinds of helpful hints from my mentor. We had a long talk about genetics and what not last night. He brought up a interesting point.

I am not sure if people know that digital ballasts make noise that can be heard on a radio. I guess they make a noticeable hum that can be picked up by any radio. I am not sure what channel or if it is any that does not have a signal. He quit using them a few years ago because of this. He recently had to replace some of his older ballasts. All he had was the digital on hand. He noticed more activity around his house soon after. Not by the cops. But by thugs. He is pretty sure they were trying to nail down what house it was coming from. With fresh weed showing up regularly they know a grow is in town somewhere.

Is he paranoid? Who knows. It really doesn't matter where I live. Big cities with tons of people it may be a different story. If word of the ballast thing gets out thugs are going to find a way to take advantage of it. Pretty sure this would never be a problem with just a single ballast. Multiple ballasts is a different story. My mentor is running 8 lights so I am sure that puts out a lot of noise. Most likely this is only a problem for large grows.

I just wanted to throw this out there so people know. I am really not just giving everyone something else to worry about LOL.

thanks for the point

 

[Momma's Kitchen]

Fuck that shit. I'm a very cranky and heavily armed veteran. Thugs ever came to my house, I am fairly certain I'd kill a few of them before they get me. I'm not gonna get into my activities in Iraq, but I have no qualms about taking the life of any bad guy that messes with me or mine. I also have a few close friends from the war that would certainly help me get rid of a body and clean up the crime scene. Bring on the thugs.

Thank you for your service

 

[Momma's Kitchen]

I was more referring to hard liquor but good point. If you make beer. Check into marijuana beer. I read years back about a way to infuse the THC in while brewing. If you grow and make beer it may be worth a try. If it works I know someone that wants a 40 LOL

Then maybe I would drink beer instead of wine

Where I am, they drill holes into your room from outside the building, stick a camera though and see what you got and where you are at. Then they come back with a team of guys (maybe girls??) and rip off everything! Lights, plants, nuits everything! They did it to a friend of mine and he was big production. When he got out to the building, all plants were gone and the lights were stacked and ready to be taken out. It was insane! I felt so bad for him. He thinks he heard them too coughing was the signal. They put boards over the fences and blackberry bushes. He thought that would help keep them at bay. All it did was really give them cover.

I also use a baby monitor (my friends)... so I can hear if anyone is... going to make a very very bad choice even though it isnt that close it at least gives me a heads up. They go far distance too...walkitalki too would work.


Whats that saying? "Hell hath no fury, than a woman scorned"
I maybe 5'2 but I tell ya, i'd give them a run for it