Hi everyone,

I am reworking Polaris (W32 #550) and hopefully I have her back in the water after 25 years in my front yard. In the '70s  I installed fluorescent overhead lights, and the first ones were creating a hum in the Multiband radio. It got worse with the Asimov masthead strobe lights with the flash generator installed over the chart table. I ran that when I got too tired during the night watch, my wife was sleeping peacefully having had the first watch half. The masthead strobe was whining up and down when switched on making that portion of the trip to Hawaii somewhat stressful.

My main concern is, do the LEDs create radio interference? I like some music at night, not mental torture.

I saw at West Marine LED strips of varying lengths that would be a perfect replacement for the old fluorescent tubes. 

What is your experience with them?

Thanks, Mike Zorn, Olympia Wa.

I have been using strip LEDs from ledwholesalers.com for 5 years.  No signs of interference.  But that answer is totally dependent on the manufacturer.  You can not generalize the answer to all LED strips.

I used them to convert fluorescent light fixtures.  They come as 18 inch strips with adhesive backing and 12v wiring on both ends.  I think they cost about $1 per inch. You can cut the strips into any size with siscors and use both ends. I use 1, 2. Or 3 nine inch strips in each fixture to get the amount of light I want.

You would not want to use these strips naked. They are too bright.  They need some kind of diffuser lens.

 Be sure to get the warm white version.