Live data from Hacker News

Ultrasonic investigations in shopping centres

windytan.com

111–120 of 145 posts

Re: Ultrasonic investigations in shopping centres

#111

Totally speculative territory, but I’ve had headaches when going to a shopping center since I was a kid. It’s infallible, one to two hours and my head is exploding. I’ve always attributed it to the noise, crowds and sensory overload but it never happens elsewhere. Could it be?

Thanks. I thought it was just me, and circumst

Re: Ultrasonic investigations in shopping centres

#112

Very interesting. I can remember being able to hear a high pitched tone when I was 4-6 shopping with my mother in department stores that seemed to get louder when we approached flush mounted speakers in the ceiling. This article measures the frequencies and explains it's a normally operating feature of the systems.

I had something similar, when i was young and walking the dog in the evening, i could here a high pitch tone if they had the tv on when i walked by houses.

Re: Ultrasonic investigations in shopping centres

#113
When I used to work with PA systems we had this really cool old-school looking impedance meter. We used to check the continuity of the PA like you do with a resistance meter in an electrical circuit.

I dont know much about analog audio but if I am remembering correctly, the device could inject a 1Khz tone that was only heard on speakers with impedance problems.

https://toa.co.id/product/zm-104a-impedance-meter

Re: Ultrasonic investigations in shopping centres

#114
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or the idea that the humans are just blissfully unaware while their 'hyper' cat/dog is stuck inside a home with some device screaming 24/7, LED lights flashing, etc.

That’s … a horrible thought. How does one get a 19khz microphone to check I guess?

My phone shows plausible-looking data up until 24 kHz. I don't have a test device to see if it finds the tone, though

Edit: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.intoorbit.... this is the app I use most. Phyphox (https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.rwth_aachen.phyphox/) seems to only go until 6 kHz but has a lot of other tools. For those wanting to avoid GPlay, this F-Droid app seems to go slightly above 20 kHz but I don't like the interface as much as spectroid: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.woheller69.audio_analyze...

Re: Ultrasonic investigations in shopping centres

#115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The unfiltered pilot tone was a problem when recording FM radio onto tape, beating against the bias tone and confusing Dolby NR into thinking there was constant sound. High-end cassette decks had an "MPX Filter" which was a sharp 19kHz filter before the recording system.

You betcha! And FM broadcasts have a high-frequency pre-emphasis, which adds something like 10dB of boost to audio high frequencies. This is to reduce high frequency noise that occurs in analog FM systems. Radio receivers have a matching de-emphasis high-frequency cut. Indeed, both vinyl phonographs and audio tape systems employ similar pre-emphasis and de-emphasis. It's the RIAA curve for phonographs. Not sure what…

For mag tape, it's different Dolby NR schemes.

Re: Ultrasonic investigations in shopping centres

#116

FM Radio transmitters broadcast a continuous 19 KHz pilot tone to indicate that it's a stereo broadcast. If it's present, then there's also a 38 KHz AM modulated carrier, which has the stereo information. The main FM modulation is (Left + Right) audio channels - the baseband. The 38 KHz subcarrier is (Left - Right). Notice that the stereo information is likely to be higher noise, being AM and without a lot of power.…

The unfiltered pilot tone was a problem when recording FM radio onto tape, beating against the bias tone and confusing Dolby NR into thinking there was constant sound. High-end cassette decks had an "MPX Filter" which was a sharp 19kHz filter before the recording system.

> confusing Dolby NR

Accidental DRM even before the "D" came to be.

Re: Ultrasonic investigations in shopping centres

#117
post #91
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder how much of this sound pollution disproportionately affects autistic people. We need to make our soundscapes accessible.

Or the idea that the humans are just blissfully unaware while their 'hyper' cat/dog is stuck inside a home with some device screaming 24/7, LED lights flashing, etc.

I think the dogs can hear our induction stove with ultrasonic whine, but somehow my cat will sleep blissfully in a room with a VGA CRT whining from 30-80 kHz (perhaps quieter than the stove), and used to sit in front of a CRT TV whining at 15.7 kHz so loudly I couldn't stand it without headphones.

Re: Ultrasonic investigations in shopping centres

#118
post #4

I live in Japan, Tokyo, and sometimes I come across these annoying/distracting high-pitched noises even in residential areas. They are a nuisance for bypassers too, if you've got ears young enough. But the residential areas don't have any problem with loitering youngsters, so I keep wondering if the noise is targeted against pests or wild animals. This article made me think if I should seriously start measuring the v…

I came across some of these in Tokyo recently as well. Super annoying, and I'm 40. I thought I'd be immune by now. I assumed they were intended to drive away cats or rats or mosquitos.

In some places they're used to drive away noisy youngsters.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/mar/17/society.humanrigh...

Re: Ultrasonic investigations in shopping centres

#119
post #91
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder how much of this sound pollution disproportionately affects autistic people. We need to make our soundscapes accessible.

Or the idea that the humans are just blissfully unaware while their 'hyper' cat/dog is stuck inside a home with some device screaming 24/7, LED lights flashing, etc.

To this day, not one person in the spec reviews in whatever overseas OEM electronics or those split AC units (which are fantastic in one regard) reflects on persistent light in a room where people are sleeping? The worst is encountering AC units when arriving at a hotel that do not have a "display" button to turn off the 20C display in white LED. Are the actual people that make these and make those decisions just tougher or they're just ignorant?

Re: Ultrasonic investigations in shopping centres

#120
post #110
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or the idea that the humans are just blissfully unaware while their 'hyper' cat/dog is stuck inside a home with some device screaming 24/7, LED lights flashing, etc.

My ex got a device to discourage ants. Then forgot where she placed them. Then found out that it was in my daughter's hearing range. Finding the last one was a nightmare. Here is the device. https://www.amazon.com/Ultrasonic-Repeller-Electronic-Repell... It was

Did it work in its stated goal?
Post reply on HN