I just picked up a Fox 40 so that I could redo my earlier Storm Whistle vs. air horn test, this time using the Fox 40 in place of the air horn. As before, I ran a test of audibility in the presence of significant background noise (two motors and a hydropulse boiler), with the listener inside a house, behind a wall with windows. The bottom line is that these are both terrific whistles. The Fox 40 has a higher pitch than the Storm, and is much smaller (roughly a third the size). But it is nearly as audible as the Storm. I would need to do a few more tests to be highly confident in my results, but based on my initial tests it seems as though the Storm can be heard from about 10-15 percent farther away, which isn't much given the much smaller size of the Fox 40 (and given that it is a pea-less whistle). Of course the results from tests such as these depend on the nature of the background noises, the hearing of the listener (my wife, in this case), and the person blowing the whistle (the Storm seems to require a bit more effort to get maximum volume, so it works well for "blowhards" such as myself). Neither whistle has quite the range of an air horn, but when within range both whistles are very noticeable due to their high pitches. At most distances they are actually more noticable than the air horn that I tested. Quite frankly I am surprised by how well these whistles work. I have always carried an air horn, and was skeptical about the efficacy of these wimpy little whistles, but that was before I tested them. TWEEEEEEETT!! Dan Hagen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Dan Hagen wrote: > > I just picked up a Fox 40 so that I could redo my earlier Storm Whistle > vs. air horn test, [...] > > Quite frankly I am surprised by how well these whistles work. I have > always carried an air horn, and was skeptical about the efficacy of > these wimpy little whistles, but that was before I tested them. > > TWEEEEEEETT!! > Thanks for the info Dan. The only comparative tests I've done were to blow the Fox 40 and Storm as loud as possible and listen. The Storm made my ears hurt, so I felt it was louder. However, your tests show how the whistles penetrate background noise. A good test may be to see how they penetrate wind and wave type noise. Mike. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I carry a Fox 40. Usually by the time I realize the need to use it (target paddler maybe 70 yds away from me) in winds of 10kn or more, the target paddler cannot hear the whistle. It is possible that the higher pitched sound is just not recognized as a whistle at that distance and those conditions. Anyway, I still carry it, although I'm more skeptical about the effectiveness of whistles in general. I wonder, with Michael, how the Storm whistle would perform at sea... Regards, Dave Carlson Michael Daly wrote: > > Dan Hagen wrote: > > > > I just picked up a Fox 40 so that I could redo my earlier Storm Whistle > > vs. air horn test, [...] > > > > Quite frankly I am surprised by how well these whistles work. I have > > always carried an air horn, and was skeptical about the efficacy of > > these wimpy little whistles, but that was before I tested them. > > > > TWEEEEEEETT!! > > > > Thanks for the info Dan. The only comparative tests I've done > were to blow the Fox 40 and Storm as loud as possible and listen. > The Storm made my ears hurt, so I felt it was louder. However, > your tests show how the whistles penetrate background noise. > A good test may be to see how they penetrate wind and wave > type noise. > > Mike. > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not > to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ > *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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