Interference On All Home Electronics (Including Cell Phones) - Opinions Wanted

[MothBall]

Hello.

First, let me start by saying that I'm no radio expert. I have, however, been recording music for about 20 years. I did some searching on the web and found this to be the most competent looking forum for my questions because they're out of the ordinary.

We moved into our home a few years ago. In spring of 2014, we started feeling vibrations and each family member had their own tone-like form of tinnitus at one point or another. Rapid onset and rapid offset. I started noticing interference in my musical recordings and decided to record around the home with various recording devices (cell phones, tablets, Sony Handycam, home recording software, etc.). I've used "old school" and wireless devices and have found that this interference affects everything. We've had an excessive number of electronics fail as well as going through extremely excessive numbers of light bulbs.

In these recordings, I only have to boost them and add a bit of noise reduction to some. Some jump up so loud, you don't have to even do any processing. The voices run the spectrum from high pitched to slow, "darth vader" sounding voices. There also seem to be sounds of "tech" whether it's some type of shortwave or software (as I stated, I'm pretty ignorant to the field). We've dealt with it for a long time now. However, when I found our phones were recording similar sounds when away from home, I decided it was time to post it online and get some opinions from people educated in ham, shortwave, rf, etc. It's time something was done about it.

I have hundreds of hours of these recordings that seem to go on 24 hours a day. When you start to pull up one frequency, you'll find another frequency littered with more talking.

Also, when you record in the home, you can sit in dead silence..but when you play the recordings back, you'll hear bangs, clanking, clicking and popping that wasn't in the room during recording. There's so much info to add that I really can't get it all across in one post.

Any help or insight to this would be greatly appreciated. We can't even make home movies of our child without this interference affecting the video and audio.

I've attached some links to the audio for anyone to listen. The first is a sample of voices that were recorded in our bedroom with our friend's brand new phone as well as more voices afterward with my phone and tablet. Basically, a small compilation of voices.

The second are samples of "tech" or software type sounds recorded.

The third track is the strangest because it shows that it is, in fact, deliberate. It's a "heartbeat" type sound with a phrase repeated in between each set of two beats. It was recorded as we slept in our rooms.

The fourth is just an example of static laden voices that go 24/7. As I stated before, this is just a tiny sample. I have hundreds of hours of these recordings.

I also have dozens of recordings of what sounds like a radio frequency woodpecker. It's the only way I can describe it.

Thanks in advance to anyone who has an opinion or can shed some light on this (even to the smallest degree). As I upload more recordings, I will update the thread.

https://soundcloud.com/sounds-of-do...ings-with-friends-new-phone-and-my-cell-phone


https://soundcloud.com/sounds-of-do...nds-our-phones-and-electronics-are-picking-up


https://soundcloud.com/sounds-of-do...lking-in-between-recorded-in-bedroom-early-am


https://soundcloud.com/sounds-of-do...ference-that-affects-our-families-electronics

 

[alec_t]

Can't get the sounds to play. I don't wish to create a SoundCloud account.
Can you upload an MP3 (with file extension changed to e.g. .txt)?
This isn't a Halloween gag? .

 

[MothBall]

No gag. Whatsoever. That's funny, though. I didn't even think about the timing of the post.
I was under the impression you didn't need a soundcloud account to play files. That's terrible. I'll upload the Mp3s somehow. Even if I have to YouTube them. I have a feeling that they're a must-hear for someone who is schooled in this type of audio/science.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

If you zip them you can upload them directly here - however I fail to see any relevance to this forums or electronics?.

 

[MothBall]

Okay, I've numbered the files so you can reference the post and uploaded them to Drive.
I adjusted my privacy settings so this should work. Let me know. And thanks for your reply.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B1jBL-nrWZtoamc1QnJqbFp5alk&usp=sharing

 

[MothBall]

Nigel, i'm posting it here because it seems to be some kind of RF signal that has plagued us. But no one I speak with can figure it out. That's why I sought out this forum. The people here seemed to have a much deeper understanding of radio / communications than the average sound guy or laymen.

 

[ericgibbs]

hi,
I have played your sounds OK.
There are many instances World wide of both strange sounding audible and radio waves being heard or received that correspond directly with type of radio 'sounds' you have posted.
If you Google for strange sounds being heard world wide this will give you a possible cause.

As for the radio detected sounds Google Luxemburg Gorky effect

Lets know what you think.?

E

 

[JimB]

I was able to listen to the recordings in the links with no problems.

Where are you located?
Are there any obvious radio transmitter sites nearby?

If I understand you correctly, all the recordings which you have shown here were made using mobile phones.

You state that you have been "recording music for about 20 years" In what context was this recording done, and do you have a good old fashioned analogue tape recorder which you can run "in the bedroom" and see if that also records the phantom noises?

My first thoughts when I heard you recording was that it was a digitised radio signal breaking through into the audio stages to the mobile phone.

Don't laugh, but can you try setting your mobile phone to record and then wrapping it well in aluminium cooking foil and leaving it to record for a while, and the see if it "heard" anything when wrapped in foil?

JimB

 

[MothBall]

Thanks for the reply. I have, in the recent past, researched the "sky trumpets". This seems more in the realm of the Gorky Effect that you mentioned or possibly some kind of heterodyning(?). There are so many notes / tidbits of information I've written down over the last year and a half. I'll try to explain things the best I can..but you have to cut me some slack and remember that this is a guy who's been recording rock music most of his life rather than the school of RF, elf, ulf, ultrasonic, etc. So I am schooled in Khz, Hz, etc..my other explanations may leave more to be desired.

In the summer of 2014, my wife and I would get blasted with a high pitched frequency in our ears that seemed to be in the 11000 - 13000 hz range when entering our bedroom. After unplugging all electronics in the room, we were still being pelted with the signal when entering. However, when bringing out sounds in some recordings (and viewing them in spectral view), a majority of the "voices" and other anomolies being recorded were deep down in the 50hz - 450 hz range. Also, when we'd enter other rooms, a rapid onset of a tinnitus-type-tone would seem to lock on to our ears but would drop off within 5-10 seconds. Other times, one or both of us would have it all day. Neither of us have had problems like this before. Looking at the wav files in spectral view, you could see distinct lines of narrow, ultra-high frequencies that would come and go. Although the high pitched frequencies have faded (as well as what seemed like artificial tinnitus), the low frequency sounds / voices persist when I record from time to time.

One voice (which I will post in this reply), is like a rather corny, ghoulish horror show laugh that was recorded in the home while I was in and out of the house working in the garage. It was very, very corny. I called it the "Fat Albert Ghoul" for yucks. It was obviously "tech" and not anything "supernatural". As silly and crazy as this sounds, it's very real. As Alec_T eluded to, my timing is impeccable...but this isn't a Halloween gag. Hah! I've researched everything from heterodyning to people shooting sounds / spying with simple lasers. This has been a deep rabbit hole...and my interest in audio has kept me digging. Most of this stuff is showing up in recordings and is unheard by the ear. For lack of a better term, they seem to act like artificial EVPs.

I'll leave you with the corny, ghoul laugh. You can also hear me walking back out of the house in the file. It's also me coughing on my way out.

Again, I read some of the posts and replies on this forum and found it to be the most educated in this fringe audio. You guys really know your stuff.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1jBL-nrWZtoNVBudTZVdHp6OWM/view?usp=sharing

 

[MothBall]

I was able to listen to the recordings in the links with no problems.

Where are you located?
Are there any obvious radio transmitter sites nearby?

If I understand you correctly, all the recordings which you have shown here were made using mobile phones.

You state that you have been "recording music for about 20 years" In what context was this recording done, and do you have a good old fashioned analogue tape recorder which you can run "in the bedroom" and see if that also records the phantom noises?

My first thoughts when I heard you recording was that it was a digitised radio signal breaking through into the audio stages to the mobile phone.

Don't laugh, but can you try setting your mobile phone to record and then wrapping it well in aluminium cooking foil and leaving it to record for a while, and the see if it "heard" anything when wrapped in foil?

JimB

Thanks for the reply, Jim!
I'm near Detroit. No obvious transmitters. I've done a search for antennas / ham operators, etc.

The recordings were done with mobile phones, digital recorders and even a Sony Handycam. ALL picked up these transmissions.

I've been recording rock music with analog tape in the past and now with pro-tools style multitracking on a mini studio in my home (desktop PC)

I absolutely love that you guys are chiming in. This has been my own project for the past year and a half...Haven't really shared except for a few friends and family.

I don't laugh at any sound experimentation...I will absolutely wrap it in foil and see what happens. I could even do the same with a Handycam if that will help. I also have an old school cassette recorder...but it has so much motor noise, it's almost unbearable.

EDIT - All these recordings you have heard were done by putting the phone or tablet in record mode, putting it on the bed and covering it with tons of pillows and blankets. Making a giant padded cocoon. Then shutting the bedroom door to avoid any contamination.

 

[ronsimpson]

Happy Halloween!
Tonight some thing living in the walls of your house will come out and eat you. LOL

Years ago I had maps of where all the commercial radio transmitter are located. Can't find them now.

I think you have more than one thing going on here. So finding the problem(s) will be hard.
In many places there is low frequency noise that sounds mechanical. I would look for water pipes vibrating, or heating ducts vibrating. Just touch them and see if you feel that same noise, or if the noise changes when you put pressure on them.
There may be a heater, frig, air conditioner, or something with a motor that is causing part of this. You could record with the main barkers turned off. (turn off all power) The noise could come from the neighbors so turning off the power will not matter.

Sleep good! LOL

 

[MothBall]

Happy Halloween!
Tonight some thing living in the walls of your house will come out and eat you. LOL

Years ago I had maps of where all the commercial radio transmitter are located. Can't find them now.

I think you have more than one thing going on here. So finding the problem(s) will be hard.
In many places there is low frequency noise that sounds mechanical. I would look for water pipes vibrating, or heating ducts vibrating. Just touch them and see if you feel that same noise, or if the noise changes when you put pressure on them.
There may be a heater, frig, air conditioner, or something with a motor that is causing part of this. You could record with the main barkers turned off. (turn off all power) The noise could come from the neighbors so turning off the power will not matter.

Sleep good! LOL

Ron, thanks for your reply.

I'm finishing my kid's Halloween costume and checking this at the same time..it is, in deed, a happy Halloween...I got to make him his spookiest costume yet.

I did exactly what you mentioned in the past.. I checked all pipes and even padded them at one point..our ducts are nothing more than insulated, plastic hoses that run under the house (crawl space)..so there's nothing there really. I've done so much experimenting with this, it's crazy.

But you mentioned fridges, appliances, etc...and here's the real rub..and the real mystery - Last may, we lost power for a few days. I thought to myself, "Great time to record around the house! It will deduct some variables." It actually made zero difference. I got the exact same sounds with the power off for a good two days as I did when the power was on. We've even removed our "smart meter" and replaced it with an old school analog meter. The bedroom and bathroom seem to pick up the strongest signals. The rooms are on the opposite sides of the house from each other.

While I'm replying, I should add that some signals are very choppy..like very fast pulses when viewed in spectral waveform view. Another thing that I discovered recently - If you keep bringing up certain frequencies on the talking / voices part of the recording, it will start to sound almost like a resonating drum or "star wars" effect. As a control, I tested this with actual human voices in the room and it doesn't happen with them. Only with these transmissions.
I've included a sample of this below. What you will hear was talking...but after tweaking frequencies and boosting, the voice that seems to "piggyback" on it, sounds more like a special effect. This could be something you guys hear all the time and I would have no idea.

Voice tweak -
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1jBL-nrWZtoTF80TmtJazVOcnc/view?usp=sharing

 

[Mikebits]

I'm sorry I just can't resist.

 

[alec_t]

This is a long shot, but do you or your neighbours use an audio-over-mains system for audio distribution around the house? It's possible that could cause spurious signals either by RF pickup or magnetic induction. Mains-borne electrical interference might even manifest itself audibly due to the magnetostriction effect in iron-cored things such as motor coils and lamp ballasts.

 

[atferrari]

Do your neighbours experience something like this?

 

[cowboybob]

If the signal(s) are RF, here's a site that will list the (registered) antennae near your house: **broken link removed** (mostly those within 4 miles of your address/ZIP). The sites noted include everything, cell, public service, who knows what else. You may (or may not) be surprised by the sheer number of sites noted. I know I was:

Last may, we lost power for a few days. I thought to myself, "Great time to record around the house! It will deduct some variables." It actually made zero difference. I got the exact same sounds with the power off for a good two days as I did when the power was on.

Most of these transmission antennae sites, generally speaking, have back-up generators.

Maybe you could correlate what your hearing with a particular station's signal.

 

[Mikebits]

Hey Bob that is slick. How do they get the info. From HAM license applications or something?

 

[cowboybob]

Mike, I think it's a compilation from FCC registered sites data. It does not appear to include Ham operators (if it did, it would have included me... ).

I also found it interesting that my house (the red graphic) is in a older neighborhood that doesn't have public sewer (thus no pump station status RF) nor cell towers.

Obviously, still getting irradiated, but at least at reduced levels.

 

[JimB]

OK, I give up, whats with the "dislike" in my post #8 ?
JimB

 

[cowboybob]

Good question, Jim.

Maybe Brevor thought you were being derisive with the aluminum foil suggestion...

Although, on that note, I recently did that to see how it affected the number of "bars" on my (utter POS) LG GPL500GB, and they were un-affected. No reduction in signal strength at all (at least bar-wise). Now, to be sure, the screen face side was still open and, given the density of cell towers around me, the sig may have snuck in from that direction.