Do you know where I can locate the material (installing it is another matter, but we will figure that out!)? Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
A. The specific product you are looking for can be purchased locally at pest-control suppliers. I decided to swoop into this a bit further by doing a bit of research on the Net. Available bird-control items look like Madonna's wish list: chains, spikes, nets, sticky and slippery gels, rubber snakes, mesh and wire. Also, propellers (no joke), physical repellers and assorted-frequency noise-makers. Throwing pine cones? This is serious business and you need some serious equipment. Another solution? Regular readers, I know you're thinking right along with me on this one: an army of cats!
Q. I and two neighbors have a problem with a hum or sizzling noise in the mid-frequency range. It is a 24-hour problem, the only change being in volume. My house (1036) is a single story with a TV antenna. Across the street is a power pole and street light. A block away is a cell-phone tower. I have lived here since 1956 and did not have this noise prior to the tower. 1223 is a two-story house. This house has a power pole, street light and transformer in front. The pole is always humming, although Seattle City Light says it is none of their equipment. They checked the power panel and changed the meter. Next door at 1225 is a single-story home. This homeowner, at the first indication of this noise, was searching for a water leak as it was so loud. We solicit your help.
A. You say the noise seems to be coming from the pole at 1223 itself? I haven't heard too many telephone or cable-TV lines make buzzing noises, thereby pointing that proverbial finger of blame in the direction of City Light.
Transformers and other equipment can and do make noise. A typical residential-service wire is 26,000 volts, but the larger high-voltage lines (if any are in your area) - the type with large insulators - can be 115,000 volts or more. During moist or wet weather they can produce a corona discharge that sounds like a sizzling or frying noise, similar to what you describe. In fact, that 115,000 volts could be highly effective at eliminating the previous reader's pigeon problem! Street lights can make noise, but they don't run 24 hours a day.
A City Light engineer I spoke to has a particular criterion for determining if a transformer should be replaced: If he can hear it when he steps out of his vehicle, it gets replaced. He promised to drive by and check out the units in your neighborhood. Old house electric meters can make a rattling noise under low-load conditions, the likely reason for the meter change you noted.
As far as the cell tower: According to engineers I spoke to in the wireless business, the tower is a radio transmitting station (the older analog signals are still in use). Interference could be occurring, but it is extremely rare to hear anything. It is not easy to determine who owns and runs a given tower, but the owner or a contact phone number may be posted nearby. Lacking that, city and Federal Communications Commission records will show the owner.
If contacting the various entities doesn't solve the problem, consider hiring an independent acoustical engineer. They have experience sleuthing out mystery sounds. You'll find them in the Yellow Pages under Acoustical Consultants. |
