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Fenway: A neighorhood under siege by a mystery tone that doesn't stop
By adamg on Wed, 12/18/2019 - 11:49pm
Kristen Mobilia uncovers her ears long enough to type:
Have you heard about a pervasive high pitched tone that is heard across the Fenway? It is going on right now & many neighbors hear it as well. This happens fairly regularly for long periods of time...911 and 311 have been alerted - no response
Another report:
@universalhub what is happening in Fenway? Strange, deafening tonal noise is continuously disrupting the neighborhood. No response from 311. #fenway
— Midge (@Midge_Five) December 19, 2019
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Comments
Mobilia is also a former City
Mobilia is also a former City Council candidate who made it pretty clear she doesn't want any new people or buildings in the Fenway neighborhood. Maybe this mystery noise will keep them out like she wants.
*Correction
Mobilia is also a former City Council candidate who made it pretty clear she doesn't want any new [luxury] buildings in the Fenway neighborhood. Maybe this mystery noise will keep [luxury developers] out like she wants.
Very informed comment
She ran on a platform of smart development, but nice to see a knee jerk reaction from someone who knows nothing.
Aliens
Aliens
Large machine
There was a huge air-conditioning unit at an apartment complex near me that was putting out a pervasive vacuum-cleaner noise. I called the DEQE, who were very interested, since noise pollution is a thing they care about. Eventually, I found out who was responsible for the unit, and because I wasn't the only one complaining, they took care of it. It was installed with sound insulation, which fell off.
I doubt that the noise in question here is an A/C unit, given the weather, but some other type of compressor might be the culprit.
The damnedest thing
about these kinds of noises is that once you hear them, you can't un-hear them, and your ears get attuned to it, rather than tuning it out: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/11/the-end-of-silence/...
Seconded
Came here to link this article.
Very important for long term quality of life, and should legislated to be taken seriously.
It is legislated, but poorly:
It is legislated, but poorly: https://www.acentech.com/blog/the-commonwealths-pure-tone-requirement/
Basically, what's happening here is a "pure tone", and it's a noise violation to be generating a pure tone 3 dB louder than ambient volume.
The problem is MA defines a "pure tone" by comparing it to the octave bands above and below it. This means that a tone with a simple harmonic will not be a violation, since the harmonic will be in the next octave up and noise in two adjacent octave bands is technically not a pure tone violation.
A/C runs all year
Many commercial buildings run A/C 12 months out of the year and there are many other HVAC equipments that can produce remarkable amounts of noise. This type of noise may be a centrifugal chiller.
I often hear a high pitched tone
During the winter on windy days in particular. I live in East Fenway. I have no idea what it is but I was thinking it's some sort of wind situation. The thing is, I'm not sure what I hear is loud enough to be heard in other parts of the Fenway.
There is a lot of construction going on too
Yes, in the east Fenway, on
Yes, in the east Fenway, on very cold, windy days there is a loud noise. It appears to be coming from a new building behind Huntington Ave near the Mass Ave T Stop but it is hard to locate. I thought when the building was occupied, they would fix it, but nothing has happened.
It's like the 'Windsor Hum'
In Ontario, no one knows where it comes from (or why) but it's always there. Humming....
Reminds me of the shakespeare quote;
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
Who knows, it could be mole people.
The mother of all hum
Get a speaker that can handle 1800 watts continuous duty, and plug it into a 120-volt electrical socket. By Ohm's law, 120 volts squared / 8 ohms = 1,800 watts.
The power in a wall socket is a 60 Hz sine wave, which is a very low bass note; at 1,800 watts it will be LOUD. No one will be able to figure out where it's coming from, because we use the distance between our ears to determine the direction of a sound we hear, but the wavelength at 60 Hz is so long compared with the dimensions of a human head that there will be little difference in phase from one ear to the other.
Why would you want to do that?
Does it amuse you to annoy people? Do you feel that their lives are too easy, so you want to add some aggravation?
Maybe I should wish that someone does things like this to you, but I don't. They would likely impact innocent people.
the ghost of Mr. Butch
A last note played on his Stratocaster reverberating for eternity, like the final cord of the Beatle's "A Day in the Life."
I'm not opposed to calling the police on industry
but I can't imagine being like, "do I have tinnitus, or is this a literal emergency?"
"911 what's your emergency?"
"Shhhhh!!!!!!! Listen! Do you hear that?!?!"
English High hurricane
This sounds like the summer version of the hurricane level sound (granted that's a bit exaggerated) generated by the HVAC fans of English High. The maintenance folks for city schools don't care how much noise pollution they generate.They can't even tell the truth (they are apparently deaf and don't hear it).
Working with the school ombudsman got some relief by limiting the hours the larger fan is used (there is a smaller and less noisy fan). But like any organization run by folks with a FU attitude as the season progressed the relief diminished.
HVAC equipment should be required to be equipped with noise cancellation accessories. Noise pollution is nearly as unhealthy as air pollution.
Given that the quantity of noise is ever rising (boom boom cars, bikes with radios, even a sound blaster atop an electric unicycle) at least larger equipment needs to be silenced.
Although credit is deserved for local police that starting dealing with motorcycles fitted with illegal bomb sounding exhausts.
I'm not saying it was aliens...
But it was aliens.
Does this happen literally
Does this happen literally "all the time" or actually just in some sort of circumstances - like day as opposed to night, dry not wet, windy or still?
.
I'm thinking of a middle-aged (~40-50 years old) building I worked in. Exterior weather-stripping/window sealant had worn out. Windy days you would have this mournful wail around you while you worked as wind blew over the bad seals.
Closer reading
Ugh...I know it well.
Sounds like the noise made by a heat pump. I’ve been complaining to my neighbor for years about his, which is right next to my house. He could not give the remotest of shits even though this constant f*cking sound makes me want to murder someone. To make matters worse, it’s somehow even louder in my house than it is outside where there’s competing noise. It’s like it emanates from the walls. I love to go out and smash it with a crowbar. Good luck, Fenway.
Call DEQE
Seriously. Noise pollution is part of their mandate, and they won't ignore you. You can download a sound-meter app for your cellphone. Take readings at your property line and in your house, and record the noise. Offer those to the agent. You can at least play the recordings back to them. If it's as loud in your house as you say, they might be able to hear it over the phone directly. Be sure to tell them that you've talked to the neighbor, and that he is unresponsive.
As a last resort, file a lawsuit. Get as much evidence together as you can. You have a legal right to peaceful enjoyment of your home. Anything a neighbor does that interferes with that is a cause for action. [IANAL]
Thank you, but...
what is DEQE?
Now DEP
Which used to be the Department of Environmental Quality and Engineering.