High Pitched Whining Whilst Recording

[kozikowski]

It won't remove any old whine, only the whine produced by the particular apparatus you used to make the audio you posted.

We're all working from the same "hello" clip. Audio.wav.

What happens when you try your code under Audacity 2.1.0?

Koz

[flynwill]

If it's shifting pitch, then the notches aren't going to work ...
No shifting-pitch within MrSeeb's audio , but the ratio of the harmonics present changes with time ...

Yes when I listened more closely I realized it was shifting up and down by a full octave.

Still, it doesn't have the character of USB data noise. Is is possible that this device uses one of the higher USB speeds? (as oppose to "full" speed which most USB audio devices use).

[kozikowski]

And just to remind everyone we're solving a broken microphone problem in software, one of the other whine posters got rid of his problem by purchasing a Zoom H2n stand-alone recorder. He has first-hand experience that even when used as a USB microphone, there's no whine, I'm guessing because of the H2n's internal power processing. Or maybe it's always on batteries.

He sent his whiny mic back.

Koz

[Trebor]

What happens when you try your code under Audacity 2.1.0?

Eureka !. The "Legacy Syntax" box on Nyquist prompt on 2.1.0 has to be ticked for the code to work ...

tick the ''Legacy syntax'' box (marked in yellow).png (20.1 KiB) Viewed 1063 times

[MrSeeb]

What happens when you try your code under Audacity 2.1.0?

Eureka !. The "Legacy Syntax" box on Nyquist prompt on 2.1.0 has to be ticked for the code to work ...

tick the ''Legacy syntax'' box (marked in yellow).png

Yeah that has now worked for me! Although what do I do with all the other things I record haha. Tried the mic on my laptop to see if the noise was still there, got the same exact whine even without the power supply being plugged in.

[Trebor]

... Tried the mic on my laptop to see if the noise was still there, got the same exact whine even without the power supply being plugged in.

If it is exactly the same whine, on a battery-powered laptop, then either it is being generated by the USB mic itself, or, if you were in the same location, another nearby device emitting interference [EMI] which the USB mic is picking-up, ( like a radio receiver).

[flynwill]

At this point MrSeeb has reported the same noise from two different headset and two different computers. (Although I don' t know if he tried all four possibilities). From that I would assume the issue is something in the environment. Since he has reproduced it on a laptop I'd suggest going mobile with the laptop and see if you can get away from the noise source. Post the test clips here so we can hear if it really is the same noise or a different but similar noise.

Oh, and try moving your cellphone to another room.

[Trebor]

... one of the other whine posters got rid of his problem by purchasing a Zoom H2n stand-alone recorder. He has first-hand experience that even when used as a USB microphone, there's no whine, I'm guessing because of the H2n's internal power processing. Or maybe it's always on batteries.

That the H2n is better-screened is another possible explanation : blocking the airborne EMI.
It's possible to deliberately pick up the airborne EMI emitted by a computer with a coil instead of a microphone ...

Computer airbourne EMI via coil pick up.png (271.21 KiB) Viewed 1035 times

[/url]http://www.freesound.org/people/holger. ... nds/53580/

Applying conductive-paint to electrically-screen the interior the plastic case of a whiny mic may be worth a try,
such paint can be expensive though, e.g. ... http://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and_Elec ... Paint.html . [ IIRC cheap Iron-Oxide undercoat-paint works as an electrical screen ].

[kozikowski]

We need the poster to tell us that he went to his mum's house (for example) and tried it there. We need to clear environment/room/house problems, and yes, experiment leaving the cellphone in the car. Pieces of a cellphone keep running even if you "turn the power off."

There is an area in my house that electrically free-air hums and I've never been able to run it down.

Koz

[MrSeeb]

We need the poster to tell us that he went to his mum's house (for example) and tried it there. We need to clear environment/room/house problems, and yes, experiment leaving the cellphone in the car. Pieces of a cellphone keep running even if you "turn the power off."

There is an area in my house that electrically free-air hums and I've never been able to run it down.

Koz

The attached audio is from my mum's house in a room where the laptop was the only electrical thing running, with no appliances plugged in. Not an identical hum, but still quite similar. Must be the kind of headset? Just a coincidence it happens on both my headsets as the webcam microphone doesn't pick it up, although it does lack quality.