Quiet Dimmer Switch?
Ron Hardin
the new neighbors.
--
Ron Hardin
rhha...@mindspring.com
On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.
Peter Maus
Most of the dimmers these days are required to be RF suppressed.
The problem is not the RF, but the hard clipping of line current by
the SCR or Triac. I put caps across the line and that helped...and
caps across the lines to my radios, and THAT helped tremendously.
But it takes a big one... .5 uf or larger.
This quieted down the dimmer noise not only on my mains powered
radios, but also on my battery portables also, because it shaped the
switching transient.
To be specific regarding brands...the best and quietest power
control devices are made by Intermatic, in Spring Grove, Il. A
stroke of luck for me, because they're only about 10 miles from me
here in Grayslake. I had several problems with dimmers, and got one
of their engineers on the phone, who gave me lists of model numbers
for the purposes I specified. VERY helpful company.
Their website is: http://www.intermatic.com/
Good luck.
Paul Elosge
Ron Hardin <rhha...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:39D8A3...@mindspring.com...
> Does anybody make a quiet dimmer switch? I want to buy one for
> the new neighbors.
I've had success with new dimmers from Lutron. I believe the "problem"
dimmers I replaced were also from Lutron, but they were 20-30 years old.
The first dimmer problem I had was my own dining room dimmer. This is before
I got interested in shortwave and was having a problem on AM broadcast
stations. I replaced that one with a Lutron Maestro. These are nice, but
expensive, so I wasn't willing to be so generous when I needed to replace my
neighbor's dimmer. Also, this Maestro solution gets very expensive in 3-way
configurations. (See http://www.lutron.com/maestro/Default.htm)
So when I got my first shortwave radio, and had a problem with my neighbor's
dimmer, I looked for something cheaper. I used one from their Ariadni line,
and it solved the problem. His was a 3-way configuration. (See
http://www.lutron.com/ariadni/Default.htm)
The Lutron web site has lots of information on their different model lines.
Unfortunately, there is nothing specific on RFI other than the statement on
each product page of "Superior RFI suppression". I don't know if all models
use the same circuitry, but the two models I used fulfilled my needs.
You can get Lutron products at Home Depot and Lowe's, among others. The
hardest part for me was the baffling selection of models. Plus, you are not
selecting it for your own house, but your neighbor's. First find out of the
configuration is 3-way or single pole, and what style and color switch and
switch plates they are using and go from there. You wouldn't want to mess up
their decorating scheme with a white dimmer next to existing ivory switches,
would you? ;-)
ManKind
rene...@mediaone.net
autotransformer (Variac) principle. I specified them for use in a
recording studio. Made by "Superior," the 450 watt was $270, 800
watt, $295 in the mid 90's. Includes large mounting box, (large
hole--about 6X8 inches, required for wall-mounting) re-paintable cover
plate and large knob. Probably still available from Proscenium
Lighting (323) 467-1785, 1050 Cahuenga (at Romaine) Hollywood 90028
or elsewhere. I have never worked for either company.
On Mon, 02 Oct 2000 15:01:01 GMT, Ron Hardin <rhha...@mindspring.com>
wrote:
Ron Hardin
have the notation ``Suppresses Radio Interference'' (the low end
does not).
I tried out the Diva (3-pole, $33) which has the advantage of a
definite off position (rather than sliding to off, it has a
separate control for genuine off, preventing its being left on
by accident very often), on a light in my house to see if I want
to offer it to the neighbor.
It is indeed pretty quiet, not perfectly (a portable MW radio
near it or its line can hear it fine, but if not near there's no
trace of noise), but amazingly quieter than the dimmer the
neighbor has, which floods his house and mine with extreme noise.
I very much doubt that I could detect any effect from it operating
in his house, so I'll offer it in exchange.
The advantage of its being high-end is that the neighbor should feel
that he has gotten a good deal too.
(The Lutron ``Nova'' is reported to be quiet in some RFI pages,
but I don't think it's any different. Does anybody know?
Home Depot doesn't stock it, and it looks like it slides to off,
which I didn't want, to prevent inadvertant leaving a little on.)
Anyway there's a high end and a low end, and the high end Lutron
dimmers are suitable for neighbors, even if you don't want one
near your radio.
Ken Maltz
quietest. The cheap model in Home Depot transmits noise like crazy, but the
better models they sell are fine, even in my MIDI/digital audio studio, where
noise would mean disaster.
There is some RFI in the broadcast band (AM) but not much to speak of and no
noise on HF at all.
Just make sure that there is a solid ground connection and you should have no
problem.
Ken Maltz
Syosset, NY
NRD-535D, Collins R-388, Panasonic RF-2200, Hoka Code3 Gold-Pro, 60' long wire,
MLB balun
Ron Hardin
Ron,
In short, the Nova is better at RFI suppression than the Diva.
Lutron controls basically provde three levels of RFI suppression. The basic rotary dimmer Lutron makes has a very basic
RFI circuit, which is usually adequate. One step up in RFI suppression would be in Lutron's Glyder, Ariani/Toggler, Skyl
ark, Diva, Maestro, and Lumea2 controls. Finally, Lutron's spec grade dimmers have the best RFI suppression in them that
Lutron puts into any wallbox controls. The spec grade dimmers are Vareo, Nova, Nova T, Centurion, and Athena.
The residential grade dimmers use a capacitor and a bar choke for RFI suppression. The spec grade dimmers use a capacito
r with a torroidal choke for RFI suppression. Each dimmer's RFI suppression circuit works best when fully loaded, so don
't move up to a higher wattage rated dimmer unless you have to in order to avoid overloading the dimmer.
Thank you,
Charles Reifinger
Applications Representative
creif...@lutron.com
>>> 10/04/00 08:03PM >>>
>Hi,
>My neighbor has a cheap dimmer that floods my house with RFI.
>I want to buy him a better replacement with less RFI.
>I have heard that the NOVA series is quiet. It's not stocked
>by the local Home Depot, so I got a DIVA (3-pole).
>Trying it out on my own lights, it is indeed pretty quiet; if
>a radio is across the room, you can't hear it. However it shows
>up if the (MW) radio is near it or its wiring.
>I'm sure it's adequate to solve my problem with the neighbor
>at that level.
>Question though: is the NOVA quieter yet than the DIVA, or
>are they the same in RFI generation?
>I wanted to report on the RFI situation to several newsgroups.--
Ken Maltz
Lutron controls basically provde three levels of RFI suppression. The basic
rotary dimmer Lutron makes has a very basic
RFI circuit, which is usually adequate. One step up in RFI suppression would be
in Lutron's Glyder, Ariani/Toggler, Skyl
ark, Diva, Maestro, and Lumea2 controls. Finally, Lutron's spec grade dimmers
have the best RFI suppression in them that
Lutron puts into any wallbox controls. The spec grade dimmers are Vareo,
Nova, Nova T, Centurion, and Athena.
The residential grade dimmers use a capacitor and a bar choke for RFI
suppression. The spec grade dimmers use a capacito
r with a torroidal choke for RFI suppression. Each dimmer's RFI suppression
circuit works best when fully loaded, so don
't move up to a higher wattage rated dimmer unless you have to in order to
avoid overloading the dimmer.
Thank you,
Charles Reifinger
Applications Representative
creif...@lutron.com
Now, this is a useful posting! Thanks!