New Lights Mess with my Remote Controls!!!

[pkremer]

OK, you thought you heard it all!

Yesterday, I just received my new Orbit 36" 192W lighting system for my 46-gallon aquarium!
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=11348&N=2004+113345

It came with SunPaq 96W Dual Daylight (6700°K/10000°K) and 96W Dual Actinic (420 nm and 460 nm) bulbs. These lights are awesome!!! I have posted a picture...the lighting system is not very visible in the picture because the aquarium is so bright...but that's the point right?

Anyway, I noticed yesterday that my television remote did not work at all, and my DVD remote would only work from a few feet away. I thought that was odd, but tried new batteries anyway...neither helped! I was wondering why my remotes all stopped working, it didn't even occur to me that my aquarium lights might be causing this...

I was trying to watch a movie tonight, and was fighting with my remotes, and it occurred to me! HEY! I shut the actinic light off, remotes do not work. I shut the daylight bulb off and they all work again! Turn it back on, they do not work anymore! How funny is that! My new lights are so bright that even my remotes are affected 10 feet across the room! Hopefully my coralline will like it too!

 

[ntswift]

Thats really wierd, but some remotes work off of RF and some use laser. Your remote has to be laser because light will not affect RF. Maybe try getting a universal RF remote and that might cure your problem. But hey that is still pretty cool!HTH

 

[Tex]

Wow, interesting problem. Your remotes are either infared or RF, not laser. Most use L.E.D.'s (light emitting diodes) I'd hazzard a guess that the new tank light could affect the diodes of your remotes with a certain wavelength. Dang, as an engineer I'll be thinking about the physics and mechanics of this one for a long time. Might even have to call some old friends at Oak Ridge National Laboratories to gain some insight.

 

[tjara03]

i believe swift was redering to infared when he said laser...

anyways the approx. Wavelength of the LED in your average remote is in the range of 850 - 950nm, whereas the wavelength of the sun measured in infrared in about 1083nm.

The day light bulb in your fixture is supossed to duplicate the sun, is it not??

Now we try to replicate the sun as best as we can but by no means is it perfect, so you could expect the Wavelength to alter a little from what the sun is, so i would belive that Tex is correct that the wavelength is what is causing this, pretty interesting stuff...

as swift stated if you could find an RF remote to use with your TV and stuff, this should solve your problem, because RF wavelengths are not near as short as infrared.. HTH..

 

[ntswift]

Thanks Jara, yes i did mean infrared, I just had a long day yesturday. anyway lots of good info here!