Pics of some of my Whistles

Hey guys, where can I get info on whistles, is there a particular website? Interested in things like the difference between 2 chamber and single chamber, the advantages of 2 tones, the use of shrilling tones and which is better, high or low pitch
 
First I recommend Doug Ritter´s site (not just for whistles):

http://www.equipped.org/signal.htm#SoundOff

On whistles and acoustics, gosh I've seen info over the years, before the times of the internet, but cannot remember where and I never did get too scientific about it or kept any references. I had an uncle who had a PHD in Physics and played the recorder in a Baroque group, he was interested in sound and would sometimes talk about it and I know he did a bunch of experiments at the University of Mexico, sorry I have no references though.

I did find a couple of links that may help you, I will come back and post more if I find something:

http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/sound/soundtoc.html

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/teaching.html#music

Luis
 
ken_nerve said:
Hey guys, where can I get info on whistles, is there a particular website? Interested in things like the difference between 2 chamber and single chamber, the advantages of 2 tones, the use of shrilling tones and which is better, high or low pitch
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I'm a novice when compared to someone like Luis and the references he very helpfully gave.

My understanding is that a higher pitch tone gets attention above ambient noise - but does not carry distance well.
Whereas a lower pitched tone carries well, but may not be as effective above noise.

Hence the use of dual channels in "survival" type whistles (some have triple channels).

Using two or more frequencies also gives some interaction between the tones - which causes some variable/changing pitch (this is also the effect of the pea in traditional pea whistles) - this tends to attract attention better - since the human ear can detect variance in sound better - kind of like movement catches the eye better.

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVT.cjb2005.net
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net
 
Thanks guys, you've been a great help.
So.. just wondering, are those tubular boy scout whistles 2 tone?

Also, I read this article abt whistles in Outdoor-Magazines.com. In it, the author says older guys out there hear lower tones better and younger ones hear higher tones better. Any reason for this?
 
Interesting article.

Yes those metal tubular Boy Scout whistles are two tone, Acme (AKA Hudson) makes them in at least three sizes under the names "City", "Scout" and "Metropolitan" (Metropolitan is the standard English Bobby whistle and costs a bit more than the others). There are a whole bunch of copies of these, some good, most bad.

They are still standard issue in some groups but I feel the newer Tornadoes and the Fox are technologically much better, I do have a bunch for reasons of tradition, nostalgia or the "Collectors Syndrome".

I remember an acoustics class in college (I was a physics major for two years) where the professor in lab turned on a speaker at a high frequency that was driving everyone crazy, except him that is, he said he was old and did not hear it, that was over 30 years ago, maybe it would not bother me today.

Luis
 
ken_nerve said:
Also, I read this article abt whistles in Outdoor-Magazines.com. In it, the author says older guys out there hear lower tones better and younger ones hear higher tones better. Any reason for this?
Click to expand...
As one ages there is some loss of hearing the higher frequencies.

When young hearing is unaged/undamaged - one hears the full spectrum of sound from about 20Hz to about 20-22KHz (hence the Hi-Fi specs for 20-20KHz) - there are a few who may actually be able to hear higher than 20-22KHz

But with age/health deterioration and sometimes damage (loud music is a common cause) one starts to hear less of the higher frequencies.

That's why youngsters appear to be sensitive to higher pitches - and can find louder volumes at high frequencies actually annoying or even painful - whereas more mature people may find it harder to hear, or even not at all.....

So for oldsters lower pitched sound will not only carry further, but also be heard better -
because they simply can't hear the higher frequencies as well.

Varying pitch, trilling, or warbling all make the sound attract more attention - since changing tones make them more noticable, like the eyes catches movement better.

All this type of "technology" have been applied to emergency vehicle sirens etc. when attention getting can be a matter of life and death....

Although whistles have been around for a long, long time -
this kind of science and technology have been applied to them for ages - since they were always used as attention getting devices.


BTW - that lower pitched Fox 40 whistle for animal handlers mentioned in the Outdoors Magazine article is the Fox 40 "Pearl" whistle I mentioned earlier in this thread.

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net
 
Max Thunderstone said:
...Attached is one of Peter's:

http://www.phlaunt.com/atwoodknives/10959716.php

Anyone have one? How does it compare?
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Those are very pretty and I've read somewhere around here that he tests them and makes sure they are good, I've never tried one though.

I've tried other commercial single chamber whistles and some are fine, I feel that they have to be high pitched to be heard from far, a single tone low pitch does not seem to carry too far IMHO.

I still prefer the pea or multichamber, the advantage of these single chamber whistles is that they are very small so you can easily put them in a keychain or around your neck like jewelery, but some that are made for jewelery are not so good as whistles go.

If you like the single chamber whistles you may want to try a dog training whistle with adjustable pitch, Acme makes a good one, inexpensive ones are often found at pet stores, good ones will look well made as in good finish, no burrs, etc., you should be able to adjust it from a high pitch that you cannot or almost cannot hear to a high pitched loud sound that will hurt your ears.

When I was young we used spent .22 LR cases as whistles, close your fist and lay one between two fingers with the back rim towards you knuckles and the hole near the middle joints, push it down so that only a small part of the hole can be seen, put you lips gently over the joints and blow hard into the case, adjust the angle and size of the exposed hole to get the loudest sound.

A similar trick can be done with a beer or soda bottle cap, close your fists and put them together, hold the cap between index fingers and thumbs, thumbs together at their joints and thumbnails towards the sides with the inside of the cap towards you, covering most of the cap with your thumbs, place you lips gently over the joints in your thumbs and blow hard.

Edited, corrected a description and added a link on how to whistle an acorn (just like the soda cap):

http://www.sciencetoymaker.org/acorn/assembl.html

Edited again for a couple of comments:

I just tried my two dog training whistles with adjustable pitch, one at the lowest pitch does sound loud but I have to remove the adjusting screw completely and cover the end with my finger, the other one is almost inaudible to my ears no matter what I do to it, this one is much thinner and therefore higher pitched than the first.

I also just tried the bottle cap trick with a plastic cap from a modern soda bottle and it is much easier to whistle it than the older metal caps.

Luis
 
There are just too many whistles out there to try them all but technologically the multichamber whistles from Acme and Fox are likely better than anything else, as far as I know the frequencies in the different chambers have been properly calculated to produce an effective sound wave using computer simulation and real life testing and have been proved in the field by referees and rescuers around the world.

The pea whistle, although invented long before the time of computers has proved to be very effective also, for a while it seemed that the technologically advanced design of the Fox 40 would replace it but real life use has shown that the pea is still very good and has advantages in some situations.

Single chamber whistles can be good if well made but a good pea or multichamber is definitely better IMHO.

Luis
 
Damn you people.

I was just shopping around for a new Tilley hat and was already paying for it when i saw one of those orange Fox40 whistles. It was one of those near the counter impulse buys. I just picked it up and told the cashier to include it as well.

Just got a scolding from my wife 'cos i tried using it in the car. Didn't realise it was that loud.
 
PWork said:
Happy we could be of service. :D
Loud, ain't it?! :eek:

Paul
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It's like i went deaf for awhile after that. Kinda like my ears felt numb. I can say that i've never heard a whistle that loud.
 
Don Luis said:
I have the Pearl, it's the second from top on the right in the first picture on my first post, to me it seems much like the Acme Cyclone which is the green whistle third from left in the first picture. These are two chamber whistles with a somewhat lower tone, the idea is that in an indoor match without a noisy crowd, such as a basketball game without many spectators, or when coaching rather than refereeing, you do not need too much volume or such a high pitch, there is an Acme Tornado model for that too, it's the orange one just below the Cyclone in my first picture, in the Thunderers or any pea whistle you simply use a larger model, such as those sometimes called "Traffic Police" models.

Luis
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Don, you mean the Cyclone and Fox Pearl have abt the same sound? The only advantage would be that the Pearl is more compact than the Cyclone, am I right? Would I be better off with a Cyclone or a Pearl then, assuming that size isnt an issue.
 
ken nerve,

I waited to get home to check them over.

The Pearl has a lower tone than the Cyclone and to my taste better sound, They are both easier to blow than the ACME and Fox three cavity whistles, like they will sound fine with less pressure, but not as easy as with a pea whistle, neither is as loud as the Fox 40 Classic or the three cavity Tornadoes.

Not much difference in size, they both could be made smaller/flatter if you are willing to file down or cut them down, but I wold leave them as they are.

I guess if I had to choose between the two I would go for the Pearl because I like the lower tone and it can probably be heard farther. Truth is I cannot think of any application for which I would not rather use a Fox 40 or ACME Tornado or ACME pea whistle.

Luis
 
Here's my small collection...

r00125139ch.jpg
 
Point44 said:
Just got a scolding from my wife 'cos i tried using it in the car. Didn't realise it was that loud.
Click to expand...

I gave my wife a Fox 40 Mini for her keychain a few years ago. She took it out onto the back porch to try, blew it once, and came back in with her eyes very big. :D

She definitely has confidence that it will do the job. It has stayed on her keychain ever since.

My wife has been very patient with my attempts to load her down with survival gear. She never leaves home without at least one knife in her pocket (usually her Spyderco Ocelot prototype and a Victorinox Classic). And her keychain includes a light (Arc-AAA), whistle (Fox 40 Mini), and pepper spray (ASP Key Defender). She keeps a bunch of other stuff in her purse.

--Bob Q
 
This is such an interesting and useful thread - I thought I'd revive it - seeing as I just got some more whistles -

Whistles2.jpg
Whistles2side.jpg


2 photos because it is significant how slim or otherwise some whistles are.

I just did an ad-hoc non-scientific test of blowing all the whistles - the ones I was most impressed with were (in order)-

Acme Slim(line) Tornado (636)
Mini Fox40
|
Fox40
Storm
Acme Tornado 2000

The Acme Tornado 2000 is claimed/advertized as the most powerful whistle at 122db - got low on the list because it just did not seem that much louder when compared to the others on the top of the list.

I really, really liked the Acme Slimline Tornado (636) because it sounded as loud as the Tornado 2000 - but there was a sort of trilling tone(s) to it - whereas the T2000 was just shrill.

The Mini Fox40 got higher for me over the original Fox40 - not because it was louder (again), but because it seemed as loud for all intents and pruposes - but in a much smaller package. In other words it surprised me how loud it was for the smaller size.

The Storm is very loud - it is a fabulous whistle in terms of sound performance - but OMG the size!

These will all hurt my ears if blown in a confined space - I consider them all very loud whistles.

The Seron P-38 also did very well - being a pea whistle it has a distinct advantage of varying pitch/trilling tone - that probably will attract attention - that's the reason I liked the Acme Slimline Tornado's seeming trilling tone.

Kiefer EcoGuard sounds like a regular pea whistle but lower pitched which some people like - I prefer the higher pitch of the Seron P-38, and will probably want to try out the Acme small Thunderer 560.

Bottom marks go to the ACR WW-3 (USCG/SOLAS approved) whistle - it just wasn't that loud in this company - it is pretty average - and I had some problems not being able to get both tones to sound on some - unless the whistle(s) were wet.......

I got my new whistles (the Acmes and the EcoGuard, left in the photos) from Kiefer.com
Their prices were good and the shipping was reasonable $4.95 for an order under $25. I ordered last Thursday - 2 days ago - and got them today (Saturday)

The Seron P-38 was a gift from my friend PWork (Thanks!)

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net
 
Glad you like it Vincent. :)

I gotta look into some of those thin whistles. You know me, I like things on the "minimal" side. :D

Paul
 
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