{"id":1221,"date":"2019-03-13T20:57:15","date_gmt":"2019-03-13T20:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/?p=1221"},"modified":"2019-03-13T20:57:15","modified_gmt":"2019-03-13T20:57:15","slug":"understanding-frequency-filters-on-electronic-listening-devices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/understanding-frequency-filters-on-electronic-listening-devices\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Frequency Filters on Electronic Listening Devices"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ever have trouble honing in on an underground pipe leak?\u00a0 Understanding how to use the frequency filters on an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/listening-devices.html\">electronic listening device<\/a> can greatly increase accuracy in underground pipe leak location.\u00a0 Once the correct noise is being made at the leak and the\u00a0volume of the listening device is set properly, adjusting the frequency filters can provide a great advantage in identifying the leak sound and pinpointing the exact location.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1232\" src=\"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/EthanRoofTop-640x480.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/EthanRoofTop-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/EthanRoofTop-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/EthanRoofTop-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/EthanRoofTop-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/EthanRoofTop.jpg 807w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Inducing air into a leaking underground plumbing line will produce a sound right at the leak\u2019s location where the air escapes into water saturated soil. This noise at the leak is\u00a0a distinct\u00a0gurgling noise\u00a0that produces sounds in most of the audible frequency ranges. Understanding those frequencies can help identify the exact location of the pipe leak.\u00a0 To illustrate this idea, think of a leak noise like a choir.\u00a0 In a choir you hear the song being sung as a whole but it is made up of different parts: sopranos (high frequencies), altos, tenors and bases (low frequencies).\u00a0 Manipulating the filters on an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/xlt17-electronic-listening-device.html\">XLT17<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/xlt30h-electronic-listening-device.html\">XLT30H<\/a> can focus in on a specific frequency and which is beneficial for eliminating background noise and zeroing in on the leak.<\/p>\n<p>How to identify which frequency range to choose \u00a0has to do with how sounds travel.\u00a0 Low frequency sounds travel further than high frequencies. This is evident at an outdoor concert.\u00a0 Approaching the concert from a long ways away, the first noise that you\u2019ll hear is the base due to its low frequency. The other higher frequency ranges aren\u2019t heard until getting closer to the stage &#8211; the source of the sound. When listening for a leak noise, starting on a low frequency allows us to hear noises in a broader area. Then, once a leak noise is identified in a broad area, switching to a higher filter blocks out the lower frequencies in order to get closer to the leak.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1222\" src=\"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Frequency-Illustration-640x388.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"287\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Frequency-Illustration-640x388.png 640w, https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Frequency-Illustration-150x91.png 150w, https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Frequency-Illustration-300x182.png 300w, https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Frequency-Illustration-768x466.png 768w, https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Frequency-Illustration.png 1338w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Filtering can also help limit unwanted background noise in order to hear the sound of the leak more distinctly. Often times the hum of an air conditioner, electrical noise, or even cars on a freeway can be distracting when listening for a swimming pool pipe leak.\u00a0 While unfortunately there is no \u201cair conditioner button\u201d, by using the frequency filters to block out the frequency range that is most distracting, the leak noise we\u2019re listening for becomes clearer. \u00a0The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/xlt30h-electronic-listening-device.html\">XLT30H<\/a> even has a specific adjustable notch filter for this purpose.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1231 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/XLT30_Frequencies-640x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"166\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/XLT30_Frequencies-640x224.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/XLT30_Frequencies-150x52.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/XLT30_Frequencies-300x105.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/XLT30_Frequencies-768x268.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/XLT30_Frequencies.jpg 1216w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In general the leak noise should be the loudest right on top of the leak. In addition to being loud the leak noise will also be the most clear or distinct right over the leak.\u00a0 Sound waves will get muffled or disrupted the further they have to travel. \u00a0Like at the outdoor concert, the overall sound may be heard from farther away than the actual words being sung. Listen not just for the loudest noise but the clearest and most distinct sound.<\/p>\n<p>It takes time to play around with the different filtering options in order to understand how they impact leak noise. If you\u2019re just getting started with leak detection, take some extra time during your next sonic location to play around with the filters on your listening device. Every job is also a learning opportunity!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ever have trouble honing in on an underground pipe leak?\u00a0 Understanding how to use the frequency filters on an electronic listening device can greatly increase accuracy in underground pipe leak location.\u00a0 Once the correct noise is being made at the leak and the\u00a0volume of the listening device is set properly, adjusting the frequency filters can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[52],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1221"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1221"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1233,"href":"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1221\/revisions\/1233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leaktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}