? I picked up a dozen 3 bulb fixtures at the local habitat and installed them in my shop . Since the fixtures had no tubes I installed Sylvania Substitube LEDs . The lights work great , instant on and plenty of light . Only problem is , I have zero radio reception with the lights on . I have put ferrite filters on everything to no avail . My question is , can I eliminate the ballasts , possibly replacing them with LED Drivers ? Would that cure my woes? shop radio is a must have and I don't want to go incandescent.
How to reduce RF interference from LED light tubes
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I am not certain, but the likelihood of finding a dimmer in a single gang with two separate switches is unlikely. In addition to the electronic components needed by a dimmer, it also needs a significant heat sink.
You could replace the existing single gang box with a double gang box, replace the triple switch with a double, and run the LED wires to a spearate single gang dimmer (LED rated).
Before working on the box, turn off the power to the box at the breaker panel. Usually, all switches in a single box are on the same circuit, BUT TAKE NO CHANCES. Make sure each wire is not live with a non-contact tester.
Depending how your existing box is mounted, you may be able to simply cut sideways into the plaster/wallboard sufficently to fit the double gang. If your existing box is nailed into a stud, you should be able to access the nails and remove the old box. If the old box uses a an extended strap to hold it in place. you might need to take out some wallboard above and below the box.
The new box can be screwed into the stud on one side and supported on the opposite side with either built in support brackets or with sheet metal support straps that lock it to the plaster/wallboard. If the box is free-standing (not on a stud), it can be replaced by an old-work bouble gang box that has built in support brackets for both sides.
As you are working on the existing box, be careful of the existing wires.
It means "don't wire that end of the tube to both live and neutral -- you can have it be the live-end of the tube or the neutral-end of the tube, but not both". Whoever wrote it was clearly not a native English speaker; also, the illustration is a much better explanation of what the deal is.
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Best Answer
You bought LED replacement "tubes" which are called plug-n-play and allow you to not mess with the ballast -- but also require you retain the ballast. You are now married to the worst of both worlds: the EMI/RFI output of the legacy ballast, which could be considerable for a magnetic ballast, and also whatever EMI is coming from the new LED "tubes", which can also be considerable if they're cheap.
If you really want to go LED, you would be better off going with LED direct-wire replacement "tubes", and bypassing the ballast. You may want to consult the Sylvania documentation and see if they are capable of also operating in direct-wire mode; some are dual-mode like that. Don't just give it a whirl.
Otherwise pull down your fixtures, see how they are wired (instant vs rapid start, 1 vs 2 wires per lamp end) and get direct-wire LED "tubes" which are compatible with your lamp wiring. And bypass the ballast. Be sure to consult the factory to learn what kind of EMI the LED "tubes" will be emitting if any.
Plan "B" is to find a quality ballast with known very low EMI, and change that ballast, then either try your LED "tubes" or just use real fluorescent tubes. The light from them is superb these days, better than LED.
Plan "C" is that they make DC power supplies with the same formfactor as fluorescent ballasts. I scored several hundred of them on eBay for nothin'. Then get LED strips, two 5m rolls of 3528s should replace 3 fluorescent tubes, and cut them to fit in the fixture and power them off that DC supply. Obviously, the EMI output of the power supply will be the ruling factor; DC LED strips have no EMI at all unless you dim them.
Lastly, check your grounding. If your grounding is less than tip-top, it will greatly increase EMI. If the grounding is not tip-top, make it so, remembering that Code now broadly allows retrofitting of just a ground wire.