Brilliant: how to de-beep your appliances :-) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2016, 04:40:18 am
content: I found this really entertaining, electronics popping up in an unexpected place, and absolutely justifiable surgery to correct a grievously insulting design:https://youtu.be/cNZ-w5XYVZ8

author: cimmo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2016, 05:21:15 am
content: A big blob of Blu-Tack jammed into the piezo tweeter's hole is very effective at reducing the volume to tolerable levels whilst still keeping the basic functionality.And the blob can and probably should be removed if you need to make a warranty claim.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2016, 09:39:26 am
content: It's not a piezo buzzer. It's a moving iron speaker.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_iron_speakerIf it were a piezo buzzer, then it would need to be removed from the board or one of the wires pulled from the disc.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 20, 2016, 02:34:47 pm
content: Quote from: cimmo on February 20, 2016, 05:21:15 amI used piece of electrical tape over the piezo buzzer in my Hakko FX-951. Went from hugely annoying to barely loud enough to hear. Peals off just as quick as Blu-Tack.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2016, 04:34:35 pm
content: Tape over the sounder is usually a good way to make these less anoying. Our Bosch kettle wakes up the whole household when I use it at 2 in the morning..... The cats think it's breakfast timeThe worst offenders in my house are the UP! Mini 3 D printers.... The beep is very loud on those and they will get the tape treatment.All our new Bosch kitchen appliances use the same beep ! It can make it fun to work out what wants your attention.... Washing machine, tumble dryer, kettle, oven, microwave or dishwasher...... All use the same sound as an action needed indicator for the user.Fraser

author: gnif
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 21, 2016, 02:23:35 am
content: I have a rack mount UPS, and normally I can understand the need for a loud piezo in the thing, noisy environment and what not. But at home, when the lights go out, etc, it is pretty obvious that the power is out. And since it is in the garage, my neighbours can hear the BEEEP every 10 seconds, when there is no power. One day I will pull it down and tweak it afine adjustment tool.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 21, 2016, 02:26:58 am
content: gnif, I feel your pain. I have 3 APC SmartUPS 1500s here in my office. it's pretty funny when power goes out. Even closing the office door to the house doesn't keep the sound from entering the house. Thank God, Florida Power and Light only seems to fall down during the day when SWMBO isn't home. She hates the beep.

author: wblock
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2016, 04:37:12 am
content: There's a button on those APCs to silence the beep. But I think it can be turned off permanently in software, too.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2016, 07:25:01 am
content: Tape, blob of silicone, blue tak or the crunch method are all things I have used.Last was an alarm control panel that was beeping due to it failing it's self testing, and a 2 week delay for a new one. Still in there, just loose and rattling around.BTW why the bleeping kettle? Gas powered one has a whistle, and the electric simply switches itself off anyway. You know the power consumption of that kettle is doubles, simply from the always on power of the electronics. Just like the clock display in a microwave uses more energy over the life of the microwave simply from being on 24/7/365 at 10W or so while the duty cycle of the actual magnetron is around 5 minutes a day.

author: Cubdriver
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 21, 2016, 07:59:55 am
content: Quote from: Fraser on February 20, 2016, 04:34:35 pmThe other great thingabout those damned things is that it can be hard to tell even if you're nearby exactly where it's coming from. Years ago when I worked at National Semi, we had a set of nitride reactors that used Sonalerts as their alarms. One of my co-workers could imitate the pitch and pattern of the beeps (one long followed by two shorts, like a Morse code 'D'), and would occasionally amuse us by going in between the machines and randomly 'sounding the alarm'. I think the funniest was when there was a factory rep there doing training on them. Kevin began making the noise, and the poor guy was about tearing his hair out trying to figure out which tube was alarming. IIRC we eventually let him in on it and he had a good laugh too.-Pat

author: VK5RC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 21, 2016, 09:26:38 am
content: Isn't it just bad design? Going 'beep' or in the old days a soft whistle would tell you the jug has boiled. That to me would be useful but not all the other beeps.

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2016, 04:48:31 pm
content: I'm not sure there's any excuse for a beep that unpleasant in a consumer product, though.The old Tektronix TDS5xx and similar 'scopes make a lovely, polite 'ping' when they need attention. It's generated by a simple analogue circuit on the front panel, and the circuit diagram is in the component level service manual that they produced for one particular model.If I wanted a circuit to make a noise which meant "the kettle has boiled and you're clearly too dumb to work this out for yourself", that's where I'd start.

author: Muxr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2016, 04:56:52 pm
content: This guy is spot on. Bright blue LEDs and beeping electronics are my biggest pet peeve. I have a set of 4 UPSs in my office. When the power goes out, it's impossible to sit in the office. The beeping is so loud it's like a fire alarm. My dogs also get really afraid because of it. I basically have to open every single one of my UPSs and remove the buzzer from them. Which is a pain.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2016, 06:06:19 pm
content: I need to do this for the microwave. At 6am when I need to heat up some food without waking the kids. A simple switch in series with the speaker can let me toggle the sound. And the microwave beeps on every key press and 3 more times when the timer stops (long loud beeps). Very annoying! Then again every minute after if you don't open the door... like I will forget to get my food or not notice that the microwave finished (the fan sound turning off at the end is enough notice I think) !This thread has inspired me to finally do what I have been meaning to modify for years!

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2016, 08:13:54 pm
content: Where I work, there's a loud buzzer on a control panel but it has a volume control, which seems to be added as an after thought when they got annoyed with it.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2016, 08:43:17 pm
content: Done!I will be posting an Instructable on this one for the average Joe. I decided to finally do it today while I had a few minutes. Switch toggles the buzzer so I can decide when I would like silent mode!

author: dakiller
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2016, 01:45:35 am
content: This is one that is just irritating.Our microwave, beeps when it has finished, you want it to beep when it has finished, all fine and good.If you don't open the door, it will beep 3 times again every 2 minutes, forever.

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2016, 02:29:21 am
content: My washing machine plays a little happy song when it's done, but this can be defeated from the controls.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2016, 06:07:45 am
content: Ok, I finished my Video and Instructable on the microwave hack I did this afternoon. Thanks so much to the OP for creating this thread. I have been putting this off for years... Finally you reminded me to get that stupid microwave under control when I read this thread today.The wife is happy!Here is the Instructable:http://www.instructables.com/id/Microwave-Beeper-Silencer-HackAnd here is the video:

author: crispy_tofu
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2016, 06:15:29 am
content: Very cool.

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 22, 2016, 08:55:25 am
content: Quote from: GreyWoolfe on February 21, 2016, 02:26:58 amYou know you can just disable the beep or change when the beep occurs by changing the options right?

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 22, 2016, 10:56:51 am
content: Quote from: gnif on February 21, 2016, 02:23:35 amIt's obviously not an APC? You can silence APC Smart-UPS between the hours of hh:mm and hh:mm (or completely) through software or even via front-panel key combos depending on the model.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 24, 2016, 04:14:18 am
content: I received a note on Instructables from someone and was wondering if anyone here had any thoughts about it. It goes like this:QuoteI am trying to figure out why this would be the case.Isn't this an issue when you have an inductor already with current passing through it and you abruptly open the circuit, causing a "spark" due to the induced magnetic field in the inductor still generating a current until it breaks down? If the circuit is already open, the inductor never has a chance to build up charge. That is assuming there is one already in the circuit.You can see the back and front of the board here and clearly it looks like one of the leads of the buzzer connects to the large transformer. The other side of the buzzer appears to head off to a transistor. Here is the back of the board:Here is the top side (sorry it's at an angle):

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 24, 2016, 04:25:40 am
content: I found the board here... Now I just need schematics:http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Danby-Microwave-Main-Control-Board/1158C17/2098781?ss=a6b356&mr=0So if the inductor drives the piezo (like the diagram below)... I'm trying to understand what is happening here in this diagram and whether adding a switch in series with the piezo is a good idea. My understanding is that under normal circumstances when the base of the transistor is not receiving a current, there is no current through the transistor and nothing happens. When the base of the transistor receives an input, it allows a large amount of current to flow through the inductor. When the transistor turns OFF the piezo activates and produces a sound due to a large voltage induced by the inductor as the magnetic field breaks back down to zero in a short time due to the decreased resistance? If there are wires and a switch in series with the piezo, they can experience a sudden huge rise in voltage and could burn out if they are not rated to handle it, and the switch may "arc" as well if the poles are not far enough apart? What about any damage to the transistor? Do I need to find the driving transistor and put the switch on the base?I've added a couple of JPG attachments which are close-ups of the control board. You can see the piezo buzzer marked at the top. It appears like one lead of the piezo is in common with 3 separate coils, each with it's own flyback diode. Why? Different length of sounds? The other lead on the piezo goes to the middle of a single transistor. You can see the BASE (marked "B" on the PCB) at the top of the transistor heading up to the top of the board and running over to the right... presumably to the microprocessor. There is a cap associated with this as well, I am thinking it is to set up an LC tank to create the oscillations needed for the buzzer?So do I need to move the switch? I'd have to desolder the transistor and implement the switch across the base "B". The rest of the PCB has continuous traces so the only other option would be to SCORE a gap in the trace to break the circuit, then carefully remove the solder mask from the trace on each side of the gap and tie in my the switch wires across it, so it only is exposed to low voltage.