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I turned on a crt recently and it was so noisy I could hear it outside, through the walls. My cat ran and hid. Did we really all collectively just tolerate that

I turned on a crt recently and it was so noisy I could hear it outside, through the walls. My cat ran and hid. Did we really all collectively just tolerate that noise back then, or do these things decay over time somehow and get louder?

didntcheck 3y ago
It it was that loud then I'd expect something was wrong with it. I can no longer hear those frequencies, but I could when I was a kid, and I don't remember it being annoying at all. Just one of those things you only really notice after it stops, like when the fridge stops humming. Our cat also didn't react at all from my memory
- EvanAnderson 3y ago
  I tried to show off an Apple II to my then 5 y/o daughter using a CRT monitor. She the sound (presumably somewhere around 15Khz) and was really annoyed by it and clasped her hands to her ears. My wife and I were completely oblivious. We didn't see if she could acclimate to it. The monitor works okay but it's early 1990s stock so, presumably, something might be wrong w/ it, too. I definitely remember hearing CRTs as a kid and adults telling me I was making it up.
  - vikingerik 3y ago
    The horizontal refresh rate (scanlines per second, how often the beam retraces horizontally) of NTSC video is indeed 15750 Hz, and PAL is 15625. Just about every CRT will emit some amount of audio at that frequency, and yes that's just at the upper end of the audible range for some (mostly young) humans.
  - colanderman 3y ago
    My family's Apple //e monitor has always emitted a high pitched whine, since I was a kid. (I can't hear it anymore but my niece tells me otherwise.) What worked for us has always been to wedge a folded up piece of paper underneath the bezel of the screen. Don't know why this stopped the sound but it does.
c22 3y ago
You couldn't hear it over the sound of your PC fans and hard drive seeking...
HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
Slap it on the side. Coils may be loose due to age and glue drying out.
dbttdft 3y ago
CRTs have some slight noise when you provide certain video signals, as others said it will usually be quieter than a CPU fan. Many LCDs will make the same kinds of sounds.

didntcheck 3y ago

It it was that loud then I'd expect something was wrong with it. I can no longer hear those frequencies, but I could when I was a kid, and I don't remember it being annoying at all. Just one of those things you only really notice after it stops, like when the fridge stops humming. Our cat also didn't react at all from my memory

EvanAnderson 3y ago
I tried to show off an Apple II to my then 5 y/o daughter using a CRT monitor. She the sound (presumably somewhere around 15Khz) and was really annoyed by it and clasped her hands to her ears. My wife and I were completely oblivious. We didn't see if she could acclimate to it. The monitor works okay but it's early 1990s stock so, presumably, something might be wrong w/ it, too. I definitely remember hearing CRTs as a kid and adults telling me I was making it up.
- vikingerik 3y ago
  The horizontal refresh rate (scanlines per second, how often the beam retraces horizontally) of NTSC video is indeed 15750 Hz, and PAL is 15625. Just about every CRT will emit some amount of audio at that frequency, and yes that's just at the upper end of the audible range for some (mostly young) humans.
- colanderman 3y ago
  My family's Apple //e monitor has always emitted a high pitched whine, since I was a kid. (I can't hear it anymore but my niece tells me otherwise.) What worked for us has always been to wedge a folded up piece of paper underneath the bezel of the screen. Don't know why this stopped the sound but it does.

c22 3y ago

You couldn't hear it over the sound of your PC fans and hard drive seeking...

HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago

Slap it on the side. Coils may be loose due to age and glue drying out.

dbttdft 3y ago

CRTs have some slight noise when you provide certain video signals, as others said it will usually be quieter than a CPU fan. Many LCDs will make the same kinds of sounds.