Things That Go 'Beep' In The Night
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This house is haunted, I'm beginning to think. First the baffling toilet that empties itself without leaking, now the mysterious beeping noise. Every once in a while, usually but not always at night, I hear a couple of high pitched beeps about a half second apart. It's a sound akin to a cell phone announcing a text or a walkie-talkie page, or even a pager (except that I haven't got a pager). When it happens I always check my two cell phones, but neither shows any indication of activity - no messages, no missed calls, no texts. The TV is off, and none of the appliances are digital except the coffee pot, which isn't set. I have smoke alarms, but they make a racket that will wake the dead, and it's not remotely close to a beep sound. The alarm clocks aren't set, the stereo isn't on, and the PC is muted unless I'm blaring music to study by. The microwave oven is plugged in, but not in use and not set for any cooking time. No doubt the PC could make such a sound, but it's not a POST tone, and the noise usually happens when I'm sitting in front of it, and sounds like it's coming from another room. It's possible that I'm losing my mind, though I doubt that anyone here will notice the difference, but any ideas as to what else it might be would be appreciated.
Will Rogers never met me.
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CO2 detectors can blink off at random intervals when the battery's low on a charge. Haunting isn't a terrible guess, but do you seriously think one of them had an iPhone when met their untimely end? ;P
Something worth reading, albeit it's invincible!
SCraw2855 wrote:
CO2 detectors
I think you may mean CO ;)
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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Hard-hearing neighbour's phone maybe? ;p Do you perhaps have a UPS?
Hmmm... I do have some elderly neighbors; maybe I should pop outside when I hear the beeps and see if one of them is out in the yard.
Will Rogers never met me.
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I had a problem like that once with a mains connected smoke alarm where the backup battery had died causing the smoke alarm to give out a couple of quick beeps at odd times.
People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs
My smoke detectors are connected to the main, but have no battery backup - no beeps.
Will Rogers never met me.
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I go with Rod on this one - sounds like the batteries in your smoke, or CO alarms(if you have any), may be nearing being flat.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
Nope - no batteries in mine. They're old.
Will Rogers never met me.
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I'd go with losing your mind. It's the only way to stay sane, because if you don't think you're losing your mind, then you're already a goner! :)
- S 50 cups of coffee and you know it's on! Code, follow, or get out of the way.
I'm leaning that way. Thankfully, the beeps in my head are quiet enough that I can still hear the voices.
Will Rogers never met me.
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I'm voting on the smoke detector. I had one that started chirping randomly as its battery died. The noise drove me nuts until I figured out where it was coming from. The chirp was nothing like the banshee screech from hell normal alarm sound. Yank the batteries. See if the noise stops. As for the toilet... has it been windy around your house lately? -- Ian
No batteries in my smoke detectors - they're the old type, with no backup. As for windy, the only time the wind stops here is when it reverses direction. Actually, the wind does stop during the hottest, muggiest part of the summer, but the water still disappears from the bowl. Only randomly, though, as it will go for weeks without losing a drop, then suddenly be empty. I'm thinking that there might be something in the sewer system that causes an occasional vacuum that draws the water out of the trap faster than the roof vent can compensate. This never happened until we were forced to connect to the city sewer.
Will Rogers never met me.
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fire alarm possibly.
///////////////// -Negative, I am a meat popsicle.
Not a chance - no battery backup in these old things...
Will Rogers never met me.
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Roger Wright wrote:
First the baffling toilet that empties itself without leaking
Oh, it leaks alright, you just haven't found out yet where the water goes.
Light moves faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright, until you hear them speak. List of common misconceptions
:laugh: Yeah, but it's going somewhere outside, and that's a good thing.
Will Rogers never met me.
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CO2 detectors can blink off at random intervals when the battery's low on a charge. Haunting isn't a terrible guess, but do you seriously think one of them had an iPhone when met their untimely end? ;P
Something worth reading, albeit it's invincible!
Anything's possible, I suppose. There are nights when things fall inexplicably sideways when I reach for them, so ghosts are definitely a possibility. Maybe they're silently emptying the toilet, too.:suss:
Will Rogers never met me.
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Hmmm... Sounds like a Target Acquisition System locking on. Best to keep moving. Real fast. :laugh:
Not to worry, they usually exhibit a rising pitch as the lock is acquired, and so far it's been an even tone. Although, now that I think about it, those pesky aliens that visit us here in the desert might use an entirely different system. Maybe they're just using it to locate a rest stop; that would explain the emptying toilet.
Will Rogers never met me.
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My smoke detectors are connected to the main, but have no battery backup - no beeps.
Will Rogers never met me.
Roger Wright wrote:
My smoke detectors are connected to the main, but have no battery backup - no beeps
Really? What if a fire occurs and the mains is off for whatever reason, but then systems in the US may be different to here in AUS. If there really is no battery backup the only thing left is the question about your sanity. :rolleyes:
People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs
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Nope - no batteries in mine. They're old.
Will Rogers never met me.
This is a wild guess but is there any chance that there is a bird sitting outside your window making a sound imitating the beep sound? I don't know if birds imitate sounds in your part of the world but in the UK starlings, which are relatively common, are perfectly capable of imitating pretty much any conceivable sound(including car engines starting).
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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Roger Wright wrote:
My smoke detectors are connected to the main, but have no battery backup - no beeps
Really? What if a fire occurs and the mains is off for whatever reason, but then systems in the US may be different to here in AUS. If there really is no battery backup the only thing left is the question about your sanity. :rolleyes:
People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs
When this place was built, standards still had not been established for smoke/fire alarms. Today, I believe, a battery backup is required.
Will Rogers never met me.
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No batteries in my smoke detectors - they're the old type, with no backup. As for windy, the only time the wind stops here is when it reverses direction. Actually, the wind does stop during the hottest, muggiest part of the summer, but the water still disappears from the bowl. Only randomly, though, as it will go for weeks without losing a drop, then suddenly be empty. I'm thinking that there might be something in the sewer system that causes an occasional vacuum that draws the water out of the trap faster than the roof vent can compensate. This never happened until we were forced to connect to the city sewer.
Will Rogers never met me.
Could still be the detectors. They have a limited lifetime (10yrs or so). The tiny radioactive bit used in the sensor eventually degrades. Random behavior ensues. If there is any way of turning them off, I'd try it. Think you're right about the sewer. One time I had something similar occur, it turned out my sewer line had a blockage (tree roots). Pipe partially filled with unmentionable & water, then suddenly push through. I'd hear one of my toilets gurgle & partially drain when that happened. Had someone clear the roots, no more gurgles. Sometimes though strong winds causes toilet water to slowly vanish -- at least to my house. Pressure changes on the vent vs the sewer. --Ian
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This house is haunted, I'm beginning to think. First the baffling toilet that empties itself without leaking, now the mysterious beeping noise. Every once in a while, usually but not always at night, I hear a couple of high pitched beeps about a half second apart. It's a sound akin to a cell phone announcing a text or a walkie-talkie page, or even a pager (except that I haven't got a pager). When it happens I always check my two cell phones, but neither shows any indication of activity - no messages, no missed calls, no texts. The TV is off, and none of the appliances are digital except the coffee pot, which isn't set. I have smoke alarms, but they make a racket that will wake the dead, and it's not remotely close to a beep sound. The alarm clocks aren't set, the stereo isn't on, and the PC is muted unless I'm blaring music to study by. The microwave oven is plugged in, but not in use and not set for any cooking time. No doubt the PC could make such a sound, but it's not a POST tone, and the noise usually happens when I'm sitting in front of it, and sounds like it's coming from another room. It's possible that I'm losing my mind, though I doubt that anyone here will notice the difference, but any ideas as to what else it might be would be appreciated.
Will Rogers never met me.
You could try leaving the top down on the loo to see if the alien robot dog beeps less frequently. It may need to decloak in order to drink, and there's usually an alarm associated with that. Alternatively, open the back door when you hear the beep and see if something invisible rushes past you.
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SCraw2855 wrote:
CO2 detectors
I think you may mean CO ;)
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
-
This house is haunted, I'm beginning to think. First the baffling toilet that empties itself without leaking, now the mysterious beeping noise. Every once in a while, usually but not always at night, I hear a couple of high pitched beeps about a half second apart. It's a sound akin to a cell phone announcing a text or a walkie-talkie page, or even a pager (except that I haven't got a pager). When it happens I always check my two cell phones, but neither shows any indication of activity - no messages, no missed calls, no texts. The TV is off, and none of the appliances are digital except the coffee pot, which isn't set. I have smoke alarms, but they make a racket that will wake the dead, and it's not remotely close to a beep sound. The alarm clocks aren't set, the stereo isn't on, and the PC is muted unless I'm blaring music to study by. The microwave oven is plugged in, but not in use and not set for any cooking time. No doubt the PC could make such a sound, but it's not a POST tone, and the noise usually happens when I'm sitting in front of it, and sounds like it's coming from another room. It's possible that I'm losing my mind, though I doubt that anyone here will notice the difference, but any ideas as to what else it might be would be appreciated.
Will Rogers never met me.
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Have you considered attaching a couple of mics to a PC and recording? You can use the phase difference off multiple hits, moving one of the mics, to tdoa the location. Then call in an airstrike.
Opacity, the new Transparency.
Easier still, I have an old beaver trap around here somewhere. I could set it inside the pot and wait for a scream.
Will Rogers never met me.
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You could try leaving the top down on the loo to see if the alien robot dog beeps less frequently. It may need to decloak in order to drink, and there's usually an alarm associated with that. Alternatively, open the back door when you hear the beep and see if something invisible rushes past you.
Usually when I open the door to a beeping sound, something large backs into me.:suss:
Will Rogers never met me.
