Written by 6:24 am News

Helicopters at Low Frequencies

Steven Stone is still dealing with audio during a crisis, albeit from some unexpected sources…


AR-helicopter.jpgIt’s Sunday morning and we’ve been without power, phone, and of course Internet since Thursday due to what is being referred to as our “100 year flood.” Fortunately I have a generator, so we have a cold refrigerator and hot water. I have been spending most of my time acting as a radio base. For those who didn’t read my last Blog; a radio base relays information between first responders in the field and command. I perform monkey hear, monkey repeat. Simple right? But not so simple when you have multiple responders who can’t hear each other and are trying to send vital information. Add to that the main communications channel on a second radio and other assorted sounds and you have what can be an audiophile nightmare – listening to MULTIPLE low-rez streams, all with important data.

And then there are helicopters.

I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of helicopters at a distance, but what about close, really close. They are LOUD. How loud? This loud – when one flies over my house, as they have been doing for the last two days evacuating stranded residents, the low frequencies shake the light cans in my ceiling.

What’s more interesting is that as the helicopters fly by the Doppler effect happens with low frequencies. We’re all used to the train whistle in the distance changing pitch, but when the sounds are below 100 HZ the effect is especially powerful. Talk about feel-it-through-every bone-in-your -body bass. A $1million dollar stereo can’t come close.

Since my current “job” involves listening to vital real-time radio broadcasts, I haven’t listened to recorded music in a couple of days. But I’m still thinking about audio.

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