| Re: parrot & corvid hearing range & sounds from electronic ballasts - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| Louis Boyd |
Jonathan Higbee wrote:
> I have some questions about the hearing range of parrots &
> corvids (crow family birds), and suitable lighting so as to
> avoid bothering them with flickering and high frequency hum.
> If you can answer any of these questions please reply.
>
> Here is the reason for my wondering:
>
> I am considering switching all my bird room florescent
> lights from magnetic to electronic ballasts. This is because
> I know the birds can detect flicker at a higher rate than I
> can, but I can still detect the flicker as well (from some
> my crappier fixtures).
>
> Electronic ballasts for florescent lights reportedly can
> emit a hum, and presumably that hum would be between 10,000
> and 45,000 hertz (since that's the rate at which they flash
> the lights - as compared to a flicker rate of 30-100Hz for
> magnetic ballasts).
>
> Also I've heard that the flicker fusion rate for parrots is
> around 170Hz. Thus a light flickering between 10,000 and
> 45,000Hz should appear solid & less bothersome for them &
> for me. But high frequency humming could be very bothersome
> to them perhaps.
>
> So...
>
> 1. What is the hearing range of parrots, such as of the
> Quaker Parrot, and of the Timneh African Grey parrot, and
> for corvids? Has anyone tested to see if they can hear or
> are sensitive to any sounds from say 10KHz through 45KHz? I
> have no corvids (crow family birds) right now, but who knows
> about the future (perhaps an African Pied Crow or a smaller
> exotic jay), but I do have parrots.
>
> 2. Which electronic ballasts suitable for use with T12 size
> (ie: fat - normal - common sized) 40 watt (48 inch)
> florescent bulbs are verifiably quiet? A sound rating of "A"
> may not sufficiently address whether the ballasts are
> verifiably quiet. They may be humming outside my hearing
> range, but not outside the range of my birds.
>
> 3. Which electronic ballasts work at about a 15KHz, instead
> of 25 or 45. The reason I ask this is because if I have a
> 15KHz ballast or a 10KHz one, if it hums I could then hear
> it myself & then determine whether the ballast was crap & to
> get another one. This may be a moot point if there's good
> answers for the other two points above.
>
> Note that I have several F40C50 type bulbs (to provide an
> approximation of daylight).
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jonathan Higbee
>
If you're really worried about it use halogen incandescents and run them
on filtered DC. No EMI emissions that way either.
Alternatives would include mounting the ballasts some distance from the
lamps where even if the do emit acoustic noise it won't be in the room
with your birds. Another is to put acoustic insulation around the
ballasts. Stopping sound above 10khz doesn't take much insulation.
Considering how much noise birds make themselvss I can't believe they
really care about low level noises in their envirironment. My macaws
and amazons seem to sleep just as well with a TV on in the room as
without.
--
Lou Boyd
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| Louis Boyd |
Jonathan Higbee wrote:
> I have some questions about the hearing range of parrots &
> corvids (crow family birds), and suitable lighting so as to
> avoid bothering them with flickering and high frequency hum.
> If you can answer any of these questions please reply.
>
> Here is the reason for my wondering:
>
> I am considering switching all my bird room florescent
> lights from magnetic to electronic ballasts. This is because
> I know the birds can detect flicker at a higher rate than I
> can, but I can still detect the flicker as well (from some
> my crappier fixtures).
>
> Electronic ballasts for florescent lights reportedly can
> emit a hum, and presumably that hum would be between 10,000
> and 45,000 hertz (since that's the rate at which they flash
> the lights - as compared to a flicker rate of 30-100Hz for
> magnetic ballasts).
>
> Also I've heard that the flicker fusion rate for parrots is
> around 170Hz. Thus a light flickering between 10,000 and
> 45,000Hz should appear solid & less bothersome for them &
> for me. But high frequency humming could be very bothersome
> to them perhaps.
>
> So...
>
> 1. What is the hearing range of parrots, such as of the
> Quaker Parrot, and of the Timneh African Grey parrot, and
> for corvids? Has anyone tested to see if they can hear or
> are sensitive to any sounds from say 10KHz through 45KHz? I
> have no corvids (crow family birds) right now, but who knows
> about the future (perhaps an African Pied Crow or a smaller
> exotic jay), but I do have parrots.
>
> 2. Which electronic ballasts suitable for use with T12 size
> (ie: fat - normal - common sized) 40 watt (48 inch)
> florescent bulbs are verifiably quiet? A sound rating of "A"
> may not sufficiently address whether the ballasts are
> verifiably quiet. They may be humming outside my hearing
> range, but not outside the range of my birds.
>
> 3. Which electronic ballasts work at about a 15KHz, instead
> of 25 or 45. The reason I ask this is because if I have a
> 15KHz ballast or a 10KHz one, if it hums I could then hear
> it myself & then determine whether the ballast was crap & to
> get another one. This may be a moot point if there's good
> answers for the other two points above.
>
> Note that I have several F40C50 type bulbs (to provide an
> approximation of daylight).
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jonathan Higbee
>
If you're really worried about it use halogen incandescents and run them
on filtered DC. No EMI emissions that way either.
Alternatives would include mounting the ballasts some distance from the
lamps where even if the do emit acoustic noise it won't be in the room
with your birds. Another is to put acoustic insulation around the
ballasts. Stopping sound above 10khz doesn't take much insulation.
Considering how much noise birds make themselvss I can't believe they
really care about low level noises in their envirironment. My macaws
and amazons seem to sleep just as well with a TV on in the room as
without.
--
Lou Boyd
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