13
RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE
For many years, Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) has been an annoying problem for owners of
Inverters. RFI in a domestic situation may produce noise or interference on a radio or TV receiver.
Most of the problems with RFI in a Remote Area Power Supply (RAPS) installation involves AM radio
reception.
Considerable development time has resulted in a reduction of the RFI produced by the WM1500 to a
level that complies with C-tick requirements. Compliance to this standard means RFI is low, but how
well the inverter performs in a particular installation can vary. Below are some suggestions to help
reduce the effects of RFI in your installation.
It is recommended that the power system including the inverter is housed at least 15 metres from the
home.
Ensure a good earth stake is placed as close to the inverter as possible.
See the “INSTALLATION” section of this manual for wiring.
Avoid running DC cables into the home, if at all possible. If this cannot be avoided, run DC and AC in
separate conduits separated by as much distance as practicable. All DC wiring should also be kept as
short as possible.
To further reduce the effects of RFI, it is important that your AM radio has good signal strength. This
will enable your radio to reject any noise being produced by your inverter, regulator, controllers or DC
lighting. If possible, try moving the radio around to improve the signal strength or use an external
aerial. Some of today's building materials such as steel roofs and foil insulation may form a barrier to
incoming radio signals. If an external aerial is required, it should be on the outside of the home,
mounted as high as practicable and as far from the battery shed as possible. Connection from the aerial
to the radio should be via a low loss coaxial cable.
PLEASE NOTE: This aerial must be an AM RADIO type; a TV aerial will not work.
If your inverter is to be installed in a Mobile Home or similar, try to keep your inverter at least 1 metre
away from your radio or audio equipment. The further the better.
