very low frequency noise

[Tall Trees]

Hi Snow,                I do not appreciate you making fun of real noise that effects several people in the community.  Obviously, you have never heard the hum and do not know what we are taliking about.  Please do some research on the internet before you make stupid uninformed comments like your last one on the forum.  Maybe you could get the highway cone and stick it up to your ear or someplace else.  I thought all you rednecks lived somewhere else I am sorry that you might live here near me.

[Joe Schmoe]

What did I miss?  I thought the suggestions were good ones with no antagonism...the megaphone is a good idea to try as long as your neighbors can't see you  .  You may have misread some of what he/she was saying, Tall Trees. 

[skitover]

Maybe radiation coming from the Smart Meters?

[ChrisLynnet]

Geez Tall Trees, that response was uncalled for. I thought Snow was being sincere. Wow.

[Bskip]

Whether Snow's comment was sincere or not..."you are an idiot"?? Completely unwarranted. Someone has a temper problem, and no sense of humor.

[Bskip]

Also, I saw this article in the news recently. I've never heard "the hum" but it seems that you all are not alone!
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/mysterious-hum-driving-people-crazy-around-world-6C10760872

[Wrightwood]

Tall Trees,
Verbal attacks on fellow forum members are unacceptable.
Your abusive comments have been removed.

[tcaarabians]

Hmmm. I think someone is being kept awake by the 'hum' and getting a bit short-tempered. I thought Snow was trying to be helpful.

I suggest you guys that want to work on this consider calling yourselves "The Humdingers." Sounds like a fun project and a good cause.  Do you only hear the noise at night?

I recall some residents in Santa Monica were being driven crazy by a noise at night. Then one day there was a fire in a nearby restaurant and the fire department turned off the rooftop a/c. Voila.. the source of the noise was discovered.

Good luck guys.. and if you all opt for cones... do get a picture and post it here. cheryl o7o

[Tall Trees]

I apologize for my previous post.  I tried to delete it last night but It was too late and the modify time had passed.  I think I will just keep quiet for awhile.

[SkierBob]

Perhaps there is someone in the area attempting to play a Aboriginal Didgeridoo?  At first attempt all one can do is make a very low hum with the instrument. 

[TimG]

The more I think about this, the more I bet it's something electric.  Either transformers or tranducers or condensers or something like that.  Have you ever noticed how eerily quiet it gets when the power goes out?  Just the constant hum of the refrigerator is surprisingly loud, but we tend to tune it out. 

Next time you hear it, maybe you should try turning off your circuit breakers and see if it goes away (for those who've said it's louder in the house than outside).

Also, I'm not sure but I believe sound waves propagate faster and farther the lower the air density (S = elasticity / density?), because it takes less energy to push the wave forward, basically, so that might be a factor in the hum up here, too.  Maybe even carries more when a low-pressure system passes over head?

Been a long time since I took a physics class, but it feels like it carries more up here when I hear those darn dogs barking at 3am.

[tcaarabians]

Hey.. Tall Trees... thank you for apologizing. I kind of think Snow deserves a p.m. on that as well. I leave that to you. But, I don't see why you should go away from the discussion. Not that I have a dog in this hunt. But, I'm loving the posts about the hunt and how you guys are determined to figure it out. Goodness,, this thread has been going on for several years now. It is time to get to the bottom of it.  And, then it will just be barking dogs that annoy you guys. best of luck... keep us all posted. This one is better than TV. cheryl o7o

[Joe Schmoe]

Just something of note.  I was up on Mount Wilson today overlooking the San Gabriel Valley.  We were right at about the level of the main temperature inversion @ 5700 feet - it was easily visible.  From my vantage point, I could hear a constant low rumble...something similar to a jet taking off from an airport in the distance, yet constant and not moving.  The sound came from "everywhere" in the direction of the populated area (6 miles away horizontally, about 5000 feet vertically) , and was absent in the direction of the wilderness.  Best guess was that this was accumulated noise from vehicles on roads and freeways below and may have been helped due to my proximity to the inversion layer.  Anyone who has ever played with home theater knows that low frequencies are amplified if you sit near a wall because the sound waves bounce back off the wall and combine with the incoming sound waves.  The sound waves add up and make for a louder sound.  The geometry of my position may help because we would be hearing the noise at an angle...and maybe it is more likely to reflect than if we were directly above the traffic.

And yes, I did a sound recording.  I haven't listened to it yet.. 

[Joe Schmoe]

Well, the camera caught the rumble for sure, but it's certainly nothing I'd call a hum.  In person and on the recording it sounds like the noise from a jet in the distance....but it didn't move and didn't vary.  I'm not convinced this is what people are claiming to hear (so I'm not gonna upload it to youtube) but given the distances and maybe weather conditions involved it was interesting to hear nonetheless.

[fisherman]

Any 0ne look for pump cavitation? The water pipe from the pump makes a good wave guide to the tank which is a good base drum.
 

[Deadhead]

Does everyone that is experiencing this live near the Methodist Church or is anyone hearing it in another location they'd like to disclose ?  I'm intrigued.  Have a friend that lives in Taos NM that has experienced the Taos humm and I told them I could have sworn the same type of humm has kept me up some nights in the East Canyon area.  Now I always have a fan on so don't hear anything at night but still think I hear something during the daytime every now and then.  TimG had a great point about how quiet it gets when the power goes down.  Maybe a power issue but still something else to talk about that makes Wrightwood so cool.  Unusual things tend to get noticed more in less populated areas.             

[SkierBob]

 I'm convinced the Langoliers are coming. 

[Deadhead]

Or the Tommyknockers. 

[Tall Trees]

Back in 1990 I was on the Sunset Ridge Truck Trail above San Dimas with the LA Basin to my south and Wolfskill Canyon of The Angeles National Forest to my north.   We were conducting owl surveys at night and this particular call point was located at 3600' elevation.  I was working with Bill King and during the survey he asked me if I could hear the hum of the city below us and I said no because I was not aware of it.  As soon as Bill mentioned this to me I listened and could hear the hum of the city.  Thanks for reminding me of this Joe Schmoe as I think you might be on to something since you heard the low constant rumble while on Mt. Wilson.  The constant low rumble noise emitted from 12 million people in the LA Basin may be a contributing factor to the hum some of us hear in town.  Since we do not hear the hum all the time you may be correct Joe Schmoe that weather patterns may play an important role in sound transportation and distance distribution.  One time I was conducting an owl survey on a dirt truck trail at the Colby Ranch and the sound of the steam below us in the canyon bottom made it impossible to hear anything at night.  I stepped back from the edge of the road to the otherside and the sound of the stream dissapeared and I could hear the owls we were surveying for in the distant canyons.  It is really amazing how sound travels especially at night.

[Tall Trees]

Hi Snow, Thanks for coming by the house and dropping off the listening device and ear plugs today.  You have so many good ideas on how to locate the source of the low frequency noise and I will contact you directly when I hear it next.  That way you might be able to come over and hear it for yourself.  It usually lasts for three to five days and then disappears for months but it always returns and I have only heard this sound in Wrightwood.