Wall wart beeping?

[mm]

Starting yesterday, there has been a beeping sound in my home office, one half-second, every four seconds. What is it?

If you don't know, maybe you know if an AC adapter, a wall wart can beep? It seems to stop when I squeeze it, but not always, and I can only reach it with one hand, where it's attached to an extension cord, so I can't unplug it. Anyhow, anyone can unplug it (except it seems me) and I'm curious regardless if anyone has ever had a beeping wall wart.

It's got full air access, so if it's overheating, it's internal. It's the wall wart for the DISH brand digital-to-analog tv converter set-top box.

[John Grabowski]

*The most common that I find are smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms. Most of the time replacing the battery will correct the problem. If it doesn't, replace the unit.

[mm]

Thanks.

Well I couldn't take it any longer, so I struggled and unplugged the adapter, but the beeping didn't stop. It's not the smoke alarm, wich is AC only and out in the hall anyhow. I can't hear the noise much in the hall.

So I plugged the adapter back in and then looked at a pile of junk in the corner and pulled it apart a little. A new telephone/phone machine/intercom I thought might somehow be beeping, although I don't know how. There was also a USB keyboard and 3 uSB mice in the pile, but I don't know how they could beep. I just moved a couple things, and it stopped. .....That was 20 minutes ago. But what... I still hear it but much less loud, and it depends which way my head is pointing. I'd think an insect had moved, but it's too loud for an insect, and entirely one pitch.

Well maybe I'll figure it out before this thread disaappears way up in the list. But at least it doesn't bother me now.

It's hard to tell where high-freq. noises come from. They should make a law that instead of beeping, it should say, smoke alarm, smoke alarm, somke alarm.... :-) or in my case, whatever the heck is beeping.

[ShadowTek]

Are you sure it isn't a type buzzing sound?

Capacitors and whatnot can make all kinds of odd vibration noises.

[Clot]

Beep. .... Beep. .... Beep. ...

Sorry, I couldn't help it. ;)

[mm]

What is type buzzing? (I can't use my browser now.)

It makes the beeping, even when the computer and tv are off.

Clot, I'm going to get you.

I'll have to get back to you all. The noise is there but much quieter and not heard at all if I move a few feet or turn my head the wrong direcction.

[Clot]

I couldn't help it.

If I understand you right, could it be an alarm on a wrist watch?

[mm]

It was silly of me to ask you guys that part of the question in the first place. I did consider it a possibility that the wall wart had a heat detector that beeped, maybe to prevent fires, so that question was worth asking. But the beeping continued when the adapter was finally unplugged.

I do have a watch I can't find, but this is too loud for the watch and it's not in this room and it doesn't have a 6-month alarm (it would have beeped within a day after I mislaid it.)

Really, the beeping was so loud, it's surprising to me that it could be so small now. I'm going to have to allocate an hour and find some place to put everything in the whole pile. That corner is a mess. Somewhere in there I'll find it and maybe find why it started beeping yesterday.

[Clot]

Good luck. I appreciate the issue!

[clare]

Or UPS units - battery backup power.

[mm]

Hey! You're right. I bought one at a hamfest months ago, figured the battery needed replacing, was going to take it apart and check, but hadn't gotten around to it. I guess it wasn't that dead until now. (It's intended for the DVDR, which can't rememember anything more than

10 seconds.)

Two points is not enoough for you. I'm awarding you 20 points.,

It was on the other side of the pile from where i was digging, and barely got covered any more than it was when I dug, but maybe it got tilted differently. Tesing now, I see that makes a bigg difference in how loud it is.

Maybe it wasn't silly to ask!

[Clot]

Wot a silly so and so! I'm glad it's resolved, things like that drive me nuts!

[aemeijers]

I'll second that- most of us on here have BTDT, with some poor electronic cricket crying for attention. I'm half-deaf in one ear, and have tinnitus besides, so it is Really Hard for me to track down intermittent beeps. Glad you found it, of such things have berserker rage episodes been triggered.

[Clot]

Too true! ;)

[clare]

I deal with those critters every day. The grid drops a few volts and I have a chorus of 25 of them chirping away. Or a battery gets weak and I have one chirping away in a corner asking for help.

Generally replace ALL the batteries at once after the first 2 or 3 start complaining (about every 2 years) That's something like 80 batteries. A real beggar when the builder puts UPS protection on the automatic doors and hides the UPS units up in the suspended ceiling!!!!!!!!!!

[mm]

I remember now that I had it plugged in for a few weeks but brought it to my desk to look for a manual. It a famous brand but a very small model and has no lights to indicate anything is happening.

It only beeped those 24 hours and then stopped, so I'm glad you all but especially you helped me find it before it stopped beeping.

Dang!!!!!!!!!

[zimpzampzormp]

Do the voices sometimes drown it out?

[Mark Lloyd]

[snip]

I like to have UPSes on video and computer equipment. Too many of these devices suffer from "power amnesia" and forget they're supposed to be on (and other settings on some, but 'power' is most common).