How to monitor night sleep ? (Recording audio at night/durin

On Sunday, 22 September 2019 21:35:02 UTC+1, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Sun, 22 Sep 2019 03:27:29 -0700 (PDT), tabbypurr wrote:

He doesn't need a ghost box but it might be the same phenomenon at
play.

Ghost do tend to play a little, but most of the time, they just hang
around and try to look intimidating.

I don't think there's much connection between ghost boxes & ghosts

Snippets of sound strung together being interpreted as a voice.

He wanted:

Mostly what you would want is an "audio-recording" device that can:
Monitor/record audio at least for 10 to 12 to 14 hours straight.

a trivial matter for most digital computers with a HDD.

Recording 10 to 14 hrs of near silence is easy enough. Playing it
back, looking for something interesting is tedious, dull, boring, and
a huge waste of time.

no news there

Some kind of silence eliminator or sound
detector might be useful to limit the recording to only genuine ghosts
or whatever.

Getting back to reality would be a more effective solution

He also mentioned:

Just weird stuff or just stuff that might be influencing your sleep.

Oddly, he wrote "your sleep" and not "my sleep" which suggests a
product made for other people, not for the OP. While he might not
need a ghost box to record weird things the go thump in the night, it
would certainly be a concern for potential buyers.

buyers of what? I don't think he's designing a product to sell.

Incidentally, back in the days of 1/4" stereo tape recording, I was
hearing similar strange voices from the dead on some tapes. These
machines would record 2 tracks in one direction, and then an
additional 2 tracks in the other direction, with all 4 track
interleaved. The combination of "print through" and "bleed over" from
the reverse tracks produced the mysterious sounds. Since the "bleed
over" sounds were being playing in the reverse direction, they sound
quite strange.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Print-through

early cassettes occasionally did that too

Another source ghostly voices is ham radio Field Day.
https://www.google.com/search?q=ham+radio+field+day&tbm=isch
That's 24 hrs of extracting call signs and grid squares from under an
audio jumble of simultaneous static, interference, intermod,
heterodynes, generator noise, and electrical buzz. After Field Day
had ended, I was still hearing weak voices and call signs buried under
every day noises for several days.

Of course, the voices might be real. It might be a conspiracy
intended to drive the OP insane:
"Are You Being Manipulated by Subliminal Messages?"
https://visme.co/blog/subliminal-messages/

The insane idea that one is the centre of other's attention is nothing rare. The reality is that strangers could not care less.

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Mon, 23 Sep 2019 06:23:13 -0700 (PDT), tabbypurr@gmail.com wrote:

On Sunday, 22 September 2019 21:35:02 UTC+1, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
Oddly, he wrote "your sleep" and not "my sleep" which suggests a
product made for other people, not for the OP. While he might not
need a ghost box to record weird things the go thump in the night, it
would certainly be a concern for potential buyers.

buyers of what? I don't think he's designing a product to sell.

May I humbly suggest you re-read the OP's original rant. Notice this
section which indicates that he is considering marketing his
contrivance:
In article <03ef4c37-d5d2-4011-9ca9-df6ce28cfc32@googlegroups.com>,
<bobcrazycracker@gmail.com> wrote:
Offer it for sail as:
"Night tracker" or something or
"Sleep monitor" or
"Sleep tracker" or
"Night audio surveillance" or
"Sleep overwatcher" or
Something creative you can come up with.
"Night protector"
Perhaps it will sell.

> early cassettes occasionally did that too

Nope. You couldn't hear much of the crosstalk or print-through buried
under the hiss. Various schemes to reduce the hiss (Dolby B) equally
reduced the recorded voices of the dead.

I do most of my useful work at night. (Some things are best done
under the cover of darkness). I hear plenty of noises. Barking dogs,
raccoons emptying trash cans, the neighborhood owl, rats and mice
under the house, an irritating rooster, my refrigerator, buzz from
some switching power supplies, smartphone notifications, etc. In the
morning, these sounds are augmented by falling acorns, and a battle
between the squirrels, cats, dogs, blue jays, etc for supremacy on my
flat roof. If the proposed device actually worked, the recordings
would be dominated by these noises.



--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Mon, 23 Sep 2019 16:57:24 -0700 (PDT), tabbypurr@gmail.com wrote:

On Monday, 23 September 2019 16:50:27 UTC+1, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Mon, 23 Sep 2019 06:23:13 -0700 (PDT), tabbypurr wrote:

I didn't think he was being serious on that point. I still don't.

It doesn't matter what you or I think. He thinks that he is serious.

Nope. You couldn't hear much of the crosstalk or print-through buried
under the hiss.

occasionally cassettes did produce a lot of print-through, but
not often. That issue disappeared by the early 80s

Yep. It was noticeable with very thin C-90 (0.4 mils thick) and C-120
(0.24 mils thick). Wikipedia claims that there were C-180 tapes, but
I never saw any of those:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassette_tape#Tape_length>

Various schemes to reduce the hiss (Dolby B) equally
reduced the recorded voices of the dead.

I never liked DNR, dolby B or C.

Dolby Labs is projecting for fiscal year 2019:
<http://investor.dolby.com/news-releases/news-release-details/dolby-laboratories-reports-third-quarter-fiscal-2019-financial>
"Total revenue will range from $1.23 billion to $1.25 billion."
"Gross margin percentages will be approximately 87 percent on a GAAP
basis."
One might suspect that the GUM (great unwashed masses) are quite
willing to purchase products with Dolby noise reduction technology.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

On Tuesday, 24 September 2019 00:57:27 UTC+1, tabby wrote:

On Monday, 23 September 2019 16:50:27 UTC+1, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Mon, 23 Sep 2019 06:23:13 -0700 (PDT), tabbypurr wrote:
On Sunday, 22 September 2019 21:35:02 UTC+1, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

Perhaps it will sell.

I didn't think he was being serious on that point. I still don't.

I wonder if something similar could be used to self diagnose sleep apnea

early cassettes occasionally did that too

Nope. You couldn't hear much of the crosstalk or print-through buried
under the hiss.

occasionally cassettes did produce a lot of print-through, but not often. That issue disappeared by the early 80s


Various schemes to reduce the hiss (Dolby B) equally
reduced the recorded voices of the dead.

dolby only reduced hf, and print-through had reduced hf due to the tape thickness


> I never liked DNR, dolby B or C.

thankfully Dynamic Noise Reduction was Not Resuscitated once dolby came along.


NT

 

On Monday, 23 September 2019 16:50:27 UTC+1, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Mon, 23 Sep 2019 06:23:13 -0700 (PDT), tabbypurr wrote:
On Sunday, 22 September 2019 21:35:02 UTC+1, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

Oddly, he wrote "your sleep" and not "my sleep" which suggests a
product made for other people, not for the OP. While he might not
need a ghost box to record weird things the go thump in the night, it
would certainly be a concern for potential buyers.

buyers of what? I don't think he's designing a product to sell.

May I humbly suggest you re-read the OP's original rant. Notice this
section which indicates that he is considering marketing his
contrivance:
In article <03ef4c37-d5d2-4011-9ca9-df6ce28cfc32@googlegroups.com>,
bobcrazycracker@gmail.com> wrote:
Offer it for sail as:
"Night tracker" or something or
"Sleep monitor" or
"Sleep tracker" or
"Night audio surveillance" or
"Sleep overwatcher" or
Something creative you can come up with.
"Night protector"
Perhaps it will sell.

I didn't think he was being serious on that point. I still don't.

early cassettes occasionally did that too

Nope. You couldn't hear much of the crosstalk or print-through buried
under the hiss.

occasionally cassettes did produce a lot of print-through, but not often. That issue disappeared by the early 80s

Various schemes to reduce the hiss (Dolby B) equally
reduced the recorded voices of the dead.

I never liked DNR, dolby B or C.


NT

 

[Carl]

wrote in message
news:304a87cc-95ec-4deb-a8d8-da2adbefbec9@googlegroups.com...

I wonder if something similar could be used to self diagnose sleep apnea
NT

You could definitely monitor snoring and gasping by listening, but when I
was diagnosed with sleep apnea five years ago the best device I found to
monitor my progress was the CMS 50D Plus fingertip pulse oximeter. Logs
pulse and O2 saturation once a second as long as the batteries last (up to
48 hrs for 2 AAA cells), then you download it to a PC and process it there.
It may be discontinued, I only found one seller on amazon
(https://www.amazon.com/CMS50D-Plus-24-hour-Uploaded-Computers/dp/B07KWY9KZQ/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=cms+50d%2B&qid=1569289589&s=gateway&sr=8-2,
$39). I even logged a couple of other people, one of whom clearly had
issues but didn't believe it until I showed her the logs, then she went to a
sleep doctor and now has a CPAP.

--
Regards,
Carl Ijames

 

On Mon, 23 Sep 2019 21:56:43 -0400, "Carl"
<carl.ijamesXYZ@ZYXverizon.net> wrote:

wrote in message
news:304a87cc-95ec-4deb-a8d8-da2adbefbec9@googlegroups.com...

I wonder if something similar could be used to self diagnose sleep apnea
NT

You could definitely monitor snoring and gasping by listening, but when I
was diagnosed with sleep apnea five years ago the best device I found to
monitor my progress was the CMS 50D Plus fingertip pulse oximeter. Logs
pulse and O2 saturation once a second as long as the batteries last (up to
48 hrs for 2 AAA cells), then you download it to a PC and process it there.
It may be discontinued, I only found one seller on amazon
(https://www.amazon.com/CMS50D-Plus-24-hour-Uploaded-Computers/dp/B07KWY9KZQ/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=cms+50d%2B&qid=1569289589&s=gateway&sr=8-2,
$39). I even logged a couple of other people, one of whom clearly had
issues but didn't believe it until I showed her the logs, then she went to a
sleep doctor and now has a CPAP.

I didn't read the thread far enough.
<https://www.washington.edu/news/2015/04/27/new-uw-app-can-detect-sleep-apnea-events-via-smartphone/>

 

On Mon, 23 Sep 2019 08:50:16 -0700, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
wrote:

On Mon, 23 Sep 2019 06:23:13 -0700 (PDT), tabbypurr@gmail.com wrote:

On Sunday, 22 September 2019 21:35:02 UTC+1, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
Oddly, he wrote "your sleep" and not "my sleep" which suggests a
product made for other people, not for the OP. While he might not
need a ghost box to record weird things the go thump in the night, it
would certainly be a concern for potential buyers.

buyers of what? I don't think he's designing a product to sell.

May I humbly suggest you re-read the OP's original rant. Notice this
section which indicates that he is considering marketing his
contrivance:
In article <03ef4c37-d5d2-4011-9ca9-df6ce28cfc32@googlegroups.com>,
bobcrazycracker@gmail.com> wrote:
Offer it for sail as:
"Night tracker" or something or
"Sleep monitor" or
"Sleep tracker" or
"Night audio surveillance" or
"Sleep overwatcher" or
Something creative you can come up with.
"Night protector"
Perhaps it will sell.

It does. It's called a "Smart Phone". They're sometimes used to
diagnose sleep apnea.

early cassettes occasionally did that too

Nope. You couldn't hear much of the crosstalk or print-through buried
under the hiss. Various schemes to reduce the hiss (Dolby B) equally
reduced the recorded voices of the dead.

I do most of my useful work at night. (Some things are best done
under the cover of darkness). I hear plenty of noises. Barking dogs,
raccoons emptying trash cans, the neighborhood owl, rats and mice
under the house, an irritating rooster, my refrigerator, buzz from
some switching power supplies, smartphone notifications, etc. In the
morning, these sounds are augmented by falling acorns, and a battle
between the squirrels, cats, dogs, blue jays, etc for supremacy on my
flat roof. If the proposed device actually worked, the recordings
would be dominated by these noises.

 

On Tuesday, 24 September 2019 01:32:55 UTC+1, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Mon, 23 Sep 2019 16:57:24 -0700 (PDT), tabbypurr wrote:
On Monday, 23 September 2019 16:50:27 UTC+1, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Mon, 23 Sep 2019 06:23:13 -0700 (PDT), tabbypurr wrote:

I didn't think he was being serious on that point. I still don't.

It doesn't matter what you or I think. He thinks that he is serious.

I would put it the other way round

Dolby Labs is projecting for fiscal year 2019:
http://investor.dolby.com/news-releases/news-release-details/dolby-laboratories-reports-third-quarter-fiscal-2019-financial
"Total revenue will range from $1.23 billion to $1.25 billion."
"Gross margin percentages will be approximately 87 percent on a GAAP
basis."
One might suspect that the GUM (great unwashed masses) are quite
willing to purchase products with Dolby noise reduction technology.

Multiband noise gating is the way to go now. Dolby must be into something else these days.


NT

 

[Cursitor Doom]

On Tue, 24 Sep 2019 02:03:39 -0700, tabbypurr wrote:

Multiband noise gating is the way to go now. Dolby must be into
something else these days.


NT

Recording tapes with Dolby 'on' and replaying them with it 'off' gives a
worthwhile boost to the highest frequencies for gentlemen over a certain
age.



--
This message may be freely reproduced without limit or charge only via
the Usenet protocol. Reproduction in whole or part through other
protocols, whether for profit or not, is conditional upon a charge of
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protocols constitutes acceptance of this condition.

 

On Wednesday, 25 September 2019 00:50:32 UTC+1, Cursitor Doom wrote:

On Tue, 24 Sep 2019 02:03:39 -0700, tabbypurr wrote:

Multiband noise gating is the way to go now. Dolby must be into
something else these days.


NT

Recording tapes with Dolby 'on' and replaying them with it 'off' gives a
worthwhile boost to the highest frequencies for gentlemen over a certain
age.

I did that for many years. It means hf is lost at higher volumes. Dolby B&C are history now with multichannel noisegating, there's just no comparison.


NT

 

On Saturday, September 21, 2019 at 4:08:07 PM UTC-4, Dave Platt wrote:

In article <535ed1bb-f946-4866-b8b5-ca6cd8c3a10d@googlegroups.com>,
skybuck2000@hotmail.com> wrote:

I see the price range is massive. You asked for price point, I do want to have something quality. I might re-use it for
gaming later =D If I wanna give away my voice... or maybe even youtube commentary.

You're talking about two different (acoustic) situations and problems
there. A single microphone isn't likely to give you good results for both.

For recording ambient sound, you want one or more omni microphones.
Quite honestly I think the little electret mics build into those
portable digital recorders would work fine for that.

For voice use (either YouTube or gaming) you probably do *not* want an
omni mic. The mic will pick up both your "direct" voice, and echoes
from within the room, giving your voice an echo-y or "space-y" sound.

For better results with voice, you'll probably want a mic with a
cardioid pattern (heart-shaped - "ignores" most sound coming from the
back) or a close-to-the-mouth "noise canceling" mic such as you'll
find on a good gaming headset (these are less sensitive to sound from
more than a few inches away). Either of these will give you a clearer
voice signal than an omni is likely to.

It's possible to buy professional mics with a switchable pattern (omni
or cardioid) but my recollection is that they're quite expensive.

Start simply. Use a good portable digital recorder, run it for a few
nights, and see if its built-in mics are giving you a good enough
signal. If not, you can always spend more money later on better omni
mics, cardiods, or others that you can plug into the recorder.

Sampson CR-3 is about $120 USD and is switchable between cardioid/omni and has a 3 position (IIRC) filter switch to change roll-off characteristics. Shock mounts are available for it.

 

On Thursday, September 12, 2019 at 9:57:34 PM UTC-4, Winfield Hill wrote:

Dave Platt wrote...

I haven't used either of these specific models, but
looks as if either of these would probably be capable
of recording every sound in your room, from the time
you go to sleep until the moment you wake up screaming
with an alien face-hugger attached to your nostrils.

Or, just use a recording app on a smartphone.

There are lots of devices to help track your sleep.
A friend just gave me a Fitbit Charge 3 wrist sensor,
which advertises saving details on when your sleep is
disturbed, etc. That would you where to look in the
sound file for clues. "Automatically record time spent
in Light, Deep and REM sleep stages and see activity
trends, health insights and personalized guidance..."

Also, we have a weather-clock that projects dim red
digits onto the ceiling. If you are awakened, you can
glance up and make a note of the time, before going
back to sleep. But best advice is, ignore all that
stuff, to improve your chances to get back to sleep.


--
Thanks,
- Win

For quality of sleep statistics try the SnoreLab app for the iphone. Identifies snoring, apnea, REM sleep, etc.