Whistle Facts for Newbies

[Capt. Biff]

Whistle Facts for Newbies, Including What The Whistle Companies' Marketing Weasels Won't Tell You
by Capt. Biff Boffko

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FULL DISCLOSURE: No connection with ANY whistle company. And, personally, I don't care if you've got a
pink-and-purple Eddie Van Halen Brand(TM) Titanium Goat-Calling Pipe that you carry in a spring-loaded
shoulder holster. Just make sure WHATEVER you select, you do it based on FACTS, not marketing hype.
Because this IS one of those things that your LIFE --- literally --- COULD depend upon.

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Why (aside from the law) it's a good idea to have one:

The average adult male can scream at about the same output as most survival whistles (about 110dB).
(Most women, counterintuitively, CANNOT scream quite as loudly. Yeah, I know it's hard to believe,
especially if you've ever been divorced.)

BUT... by the time you've reached your THIRD scream, your decibel output is reduced by up to 10dB, which
is only HALF as loud as your first was. (And you can wind up unable to scream at all after a surprisingly few
number of screams.) But your third WHISTLE-blow can be JUST as loud. And your hundredth.

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Type:

There are basically four types of survival whistles: pea-type, pealess, plastic reed and stainless reed. The
pealess whistle is almost always your best bet. Pea-types are NOT recommended in a marine environment!
Reed-type whistles have more parts, and more parts means more potential damage/failure. Reeds and
peas do NOT work well when water is introduced into the mix. GO PEALESS!

Also.....

Forget those tiny "zipper-pull" whistles. They're low-dB, easily overblown, and an ergonomic nightmare.
Have one, sure, but don't DEPEND on it. Same goes for uber-combos that incorporate a "whistle" with
a compass/striker/signaller/carabiner/beltbuckle/spork/tentstake/whatever.

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Perception:

The relationship between decibel level and the human ability to PERCEIVE sound is logarithmic. An increase
of 1dB is barely noticeable, an increase of 10dB is 2x as loud, and an increase of 20dB is 4x as loud. But
choosing a whistle based upon decibel level alone is NOT a good idea. Read on.

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Frequency:

Whistles have a "productive frequency range" of between roughly 2000 and 5000 Hz (cycles per second),
but some effectiveness factors have nothing to do with the whistle itself, but rather with WHO might be
HEARING it. Older people (and there are a lot of them out on the water, especially in Florida) tend to lose
hearing in the higher registers. Generally speaking, though, remember that lower frequencies of sound
can travel MUCH farther. This applies to ALL sound, in ALL compressible media (air/water). So the biggest
number, frequency-wise, is NOT necessarily the best.

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Flowrate:

Flowrate is the volume of air (usually expressed in liters per minute) required to maximize output.
WARNING: Many whistles can be "overblown", which trebles the frequency and reduces the carry (not good!).
WARNING: COPD, shock from immersion, fear, many other factors can severely reduce your "normal" flowrate.

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Tone:

Whistles are single- or multi-tone ("chord"-type). Multi-tones are more likely to be *perceived*, especially
over "white" background noises (engines, surf, etc.).

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Susceptibility to Overblow:

Excessive pressure ("panic blowing") in some whistles can actually drop the amplitude of the fundamental
frequency to ZERO, and what is produced is a "squeak" at triple the frequency. NOT good!

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Now here's a CRITICAL performance factor that DOESN'T get discussed:

ALL closed-end whistles (e.g., just about every survival whistle available) direct most of the sound upwards.
In the absence of structural interference (e.g., out on the water), the PERCEIVED sound is pretty much
omnidirectional, but it is nowhere NEAR as loud as that which goes straight up. In collision-warning situations,
you're best off tilting your head slightly downwards and facing as closely as possible the approaching craft.
Same goes for "help-me" situations. "Aim" your whistle for maximum effect.

And another.....

Published "Test" Results:

There are NO industry standards! Period. None. The vast majority of manufacturers' "tests" are poorly
designed scientifically, and quoted claims are primarily worded to SELL the maximum number of whistles.
Beware of "internet science".

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SO.......

Your best GENERAL bet is a multi-tone pealess whistle with a fairly low fundamental frequency, that is easy to
blow and hard to overblow; is ergonomically forgiving (doesn't require too-precise lip placement, is large
enough to handle well with wet, cold fingers, etc.); and is brightly colored.......

.......and NONE of them works worth a damn if you can't (a) find it and (b) deploy it quickly.

Mugs up,

Capt. Biff Boffko, Certifiable Safety Instructor*

____________________
*I told them my ideas and they said, "Son, you're certifiable!" I didn't know it was that easy,
but I'm still waiting for some kind of certificate in the mail.

[sleighride]

Very useful info on a topic I have not seen covered. Thanks for taking the time to post.

[TRKpoker]

SCREAM? Your on the wrong forum sir. Real men here and we dont scream.

[TK]

2 questions

1) Can you reccomend an apprpriate pealess, neon colored, easy to keep close at hand whistle?

2) What about fish whistles?

[Todd]

#2 got that covered TK. Let's go fishing.

[krash]

That's some serious technical info on whistles..
I never really though about having to use the darn thing, I just carry it cause the lawman says I need one.

[Capt. Biff]

2 questions

1) Can you reccomend an apprpriate pealess, neon colored, easy to keep close at hand whistle?

2) What about fish whistles?

TK, You can find an absolutely superb whistle at:

http://www.bestglide.com/nato_distress_whistle.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What's really cool is that, as an alternative to a neck lanyard, you can clip
it onto the brim of almost any fairly stiff-brimmed cap/hat. (And notice the price.)

You'll notice some little finger-grooves/depressions in the top surface. Be
advised that Chinese knockoffs of this whistle lack the grooves, so that's a
dead giveaway for the counterfeits.

As for recommendations for a fish whistle, my advice is, don't. Even if you
hollow them out, they tend to stink in the sun, and the tone sucks until
you get up to, say, grouper size (and one of those on a lanyard is going to
wear you out).

---------- EDIT ----------

Question(s) for you guys ---

(a) Is there sufficient interest in this type of "technical-side-of-kayakfishing-things"
that posting more might be helpful? .....and.....

(b) Since SOME subjects can be sufficiently covered with an "infographic" (as an image)
versus a long blob of text, would you prefer such a format (where possible) instead?

'Cause I can put up a lot of rigging- and gear-hacking stuff that I'm pretty sure you're
not gonna find anywhere on the internet, just never got around to it. Mea culpa.

____________________
"Capt. Biff is not, never was and never will be a sockpuppet on the internet." -- Teddy Roosevelt

[krash]

Question(s) for you guys ---

(a) Is there sufficient interest in this type of "technical-side-of-kayakfishing-things"
that posting more might be helpful? .....and.....

(b) Since SOME subjects can be sufficiently covered with an "infographic" (as an image)
versus a long blob of text, would you prefer such a format (where possible) instead?

'Cause I can put up a lot of rigging- and gear-hacking stuff that I'm pretty sure you're
not gonna find anywhere on the internet, just never got around to it. Mea culpa.

____________________

Absolutely, bring it on...
a) yes

b) infographic vs blob of text.. your choice which ever seem best to you for the subject

[Rik]

(a) Is there sufficient interest in this type of "technical-side-of-kayakfishing-things"
that posting more might be helpful? ...

Yes

[floating doc]

Great post. I'm a new member, and I'll use this first post to respond to the question: would we like to see more of these technical posts?
Yes, absolutely! I registered for the site due to this!

[poppawheelie]

defintly yes always like info... feed me info!!!!!!