Does anyone use a stethoscope (or something similar) to detect noise?

[Muse]

I've had this idea a while that it would be nice to have a stethoscope to help determine where (and how much) noise is coming from what component. I'm trying to quiet down my PC's, and a stethoscope would help me do that. I assume they are pretty expensive if you get them from a medical supply company. Does anyone have a take on this?

(I just reposted this in Cases and Cooling, where I think it maybe better belongs. Sorry for the redundancy.)

 

[Blain]

Something like this would work great and it's fairly cheap.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Blain
Something like this would work great and it's fairly cheap.

Hmm, that's $8 and another $8 shipping. Thanks. Poking around I see that Walgreen's online sells one for $10 or so. I bet my local Walgreen's would have them. Or maybe my local autoparts supply store (Kragen).

At Walgreens online:

Model HSS-490.
A professional product for use in the home.
Professional quality stethoscope.
Monitor your body's vital signs.
This professional quality single head stethoscope allows you to determine your heart rate and monitor your body's other vital signs.
Features an adjustable binaural for a comfortable fit, one-piece molded vinyl tubing for good sound transmission, and a color-coordinated chestpiece.

 

[Blain]

Here... Now go buy one.

When I said "something like this", I meant that you could use "something like this" for what you wanted to do. Not that you had to order that exact model.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Blain
Here... Now go buy one.

When I said "something like this", I meant that you could use "something like this" for what you wanted to do. Not that you had to order that exact model.

Yeah, thanks! The finder there says they have it in stock at my local Kragen, under $10.

 

[TwoBills]

Thumb over the handle of a long screwdriver always worked for me. Just stick your thumbknuckle in your ear and the business end on the part you want to listen to. A little electrical tape on the metal blade might be a good idea.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: TwoBills
Thumb over the handle of a long screwdriver always worked for me. Just stick your thumbknuckle in your ear and the business end on the part you want to listen to. A little electrical tape on the metal blade might be a good idea.

Hmm. It's a little crude but better than nothing. Hahahahaha! It's pretty shocking, though, when you stop a fan with the business end! :Q

 

[MDE]

I just use a toilet paper or paper towel tube.

 

[TwoBills]

Put that thing into a car fan and you could lose your thumbknuckle! Knew a guy once......

Couple other ideas: Dr. kit for kids would have a steth (my daughter has a nice pink one) or a steth from an old blood pressure checker. Bet there's lots of them around if you look. Ask the +50 crowd, we've all got them laying around.

 

[erikiksaz]

Originally posted by: MDE
I just use a toilet paper or paper towel tube.

Same here. Just use any long, hollow cylindrical object. I usually use a long pipe when i'm looking for a specific noise in my car's engine bay. Put one end to wherever you think the noise might be coming from, and the other end to your ear.

 

[ndee]

Why don't you disconnect every device, and then only let one device connected at a time, to determine how loud it is? Let's say, you just let the harddisk run and everything else unplugged, you can then hear how loud your harddisk is, etc.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: erikiksaz

Originally posted by: MDE
I just use a toilet paper or paper towel tube.

Same here. Just use any long, hollow cylindrical object. I usually use a long pipe when i'm looking for a specific noise in my car's engine bay. Put one end to wherever you think the noise might be coming from, and the other end to your ear.

At first I thought you folks were kidding but now realize you weren't. Yes, that would work, or something like a vacuum cleaner tube, too. A stethoscope will probably work a lot better, though. There's probably electronic ones, too, that really do the job well.

 

[CSMR]

Just stop the different and listen. That will tell you how much noise each fan is making; the remainder is the HD.

 

[Muse]

Checked out my local Walgreen's and Kragen's:

Walgreen's had one as part of a blood pressure checking kit for $17. My blood pressure's fine, so I went on to Kragen's. The mechanic's stethoscope they had for $10 seems like it would work fine for a HD, but not good for fans - it has a long steel probe you are evidently supposed to press against a surface, typically part of the engine block of a car, to pick up sound. That won't work with a fan, I figure. So, I'm going to see if I can find a stethoscope not part of a kit at another drug store.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: CSMR
Just stop the different and listen. That will tell you how much noise each fan is making; the remainder is the HD.

I've tried something like that. Stop the video card fan and see how much quieter things get. Did the same with the CPU fan. That gives you some idea. You can do that with pretty much any of the fans. That doesn't work with HDs. Sometimes I get sounds in my PC. For instance, something will start whining. I think a stethoscope will allow me to pinpoint where that's coming from, especially if it's a HD. If one of my HD's is a lot louder than the others I think a stethoscope's just the thing to find out which one it is. I haven't tried it yet so I don't know if this is really right. That's part of the reason I started the thread.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: ndee
Why don't you disconnect every device, and then only let one device connected at a time, to determine how loud it is? Let's say, you just let the harddisk run and everything else unplugged, you can then hear how loud your harddisk is, etc.

That seems pretty hard to do. And it's generally not a good idea, I figure, to connect and disconnet devices (at least certain devices) while the machine is fired up. Not sure. Has anybody done this?