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45-415: Modern car horns are usually electric, driven by a flat circular steel diaphragm that has an electromagnet acting on it in one direction and a spring pulling in the opposite direction. The diaphragm is attached to contact points that repeatedly interrupt the current to that electromagnet causing the diaphragm to spring back the other way, which completes the circuit again. This arrangement opens and closes

90-442: A chord . In Japan , most modern trains like 209 series or E233 series from the first half of the 1990s onwards use electric horns as primary in passenger use. Although electric horns were used by Seibu 2000 series , air horns were primarily used until the 1990s. Modern Japanese trains may still be equipped with both air horns and electric horns. Most modern streetcars, trams and trolley cars including low-floor vehicles around

135-459: A cone , though not all speaker diaphragms are cone-shaped. Diaphragms are also found in headphones . Quality midrange and bass drivers are usually made from paper, paper composites and laminates, plastic materials such as polypropylene , or mineral/fiber-filled polypropylene. Such materials have very high strength/weight ratios (paper being even higher than metals) and tend to be relatively immune from flexing during large excursions. This allows

180-403: A level crossing , federal law requires locomotives to sound their horns in a standard warning sequence. This succession consists of two long, one short, and one long horn sounding repeated as necessary until the locomotive clears the crossing. Exceptions to federal law occur in locations with established quiet zone ordinances that prohibit sounding locomotive horns. In recent years, it has become

225-402: A transducer intended to inter-convert mechanical vibrations to sounds, or vice versa. It is commonly constructed of a thin membrane or sheet of various materials, suspended at its edges. The varying air pressure of sound waves imparts mechanical vibrations to the diaphragm which can then be converted to some other type of signal; examples of this type of diaphragm are found in microphones and

270-399: A cheaper and smaller alternative design, which, despite retaining the name "horn," abandons the actual horn ducting and instead relies on a larger flat diaphragm to reach the required sound level . Sound levels of such horns are approximately 109–112 decibels, and they typically draw 2.5–5 amperes of current. Again, these horns can be either single, or arranged in pairs; typical frequencies for

315-399: A closed cylindrical resonator chamber through a precisely shaped slit directed against a knife edge ( fipple ). The air blowing past the knife edge oscillates , creating sound waves. The oscillations excite standing waves in the resonator chamber, so the length of the chamber determines the pitch of the note produced. In trucks and buses, the air horn is powered with compressed air from

360-505: A diaphragm in the horn's throat, causing it to vibrate. Usually two are used, with varied frequencies generally lower than those of automobile horns, in the 125–180 Hz (approximately C 3 –G 3 ) range. Sound levels are approximately 117–118 decibels. In order to be heard at the longer distances that trains require to warn of danger or stop, their locomotives have pneumatic train horns that are both louder and lower in frequency than motor vehicle horns. Operated by compressed air from

405-451: A driver mistook a train for a truck, the need for a unique-sounding train horn became clear. Consequently, North American trains now have at least two horns with different tones forming the airhorn, that sound simultaneously, creating a harmonic interval or chord . Each individual horn is called a "chime". Three and five-chime configurations are the most common, but two chime horns also exist. Fifteen to twenty seconds before entering

450-487: A fad for bicycle, car, and truck enthusiasts to install large air horns on their vehicles. Some jurisdictions do not allow an airhorn to be attached, whether or not it can be activated. Cyclist Yannick Read attached a train horn to his bicycle and set the Guinness World Record for the world's loudest bicycle horn. Portable air horns are also readily available packaged with a can of compressed gas as

495-430: A horn, including many more leagues. In mixed martial arts , an air horn is commonly used to signal the end of a round as opposed to the bell used in boxing and professional wrestling . However, CZW , GCW, and other independent wrestling companies allow air horns, while major companies such as WWE and IMPACT Wrestling have banned them. The air horn is a popular sample in reggae music . Jamaican dancehall music

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540-464: A pair are 420–440 Hz and 340–370 Hz (approximately G ♯ 4 –A 4 and F 4 –F ♯ 4 ) for this design. A horn grille is a part of some designs of car or other motor vehicle that has an electric horn, such as a motor scooter . Larger, louder air horns , as found on trucks (lorries) and buses , are driven by air compressors , or supplied by reservoirs charged to operate their air brakes . The compressor forces air past

585-418: A peak-to-peak excursion of 0.5 inches at 60 Hz undergoes a maximum acceleration of 92 "g"s. Paper-based cones account for approximately 85% of the cones sold worldwide. The ability of paper (cellulose) to be easily modified by chemical or mechanical means gives it a practical processing advantage not found in other common cone materials. The purpose of the cone/surround assembly is to accurately reproduce

630-402: A rudimentary microphone, and vice versa.) The diaphragm in a microphone works similarly to the human eardrum . In a phonograph reproducer, the diaphragm is a flat disk of typically mica or isinglass that converts the mechanical vibration imparted on the buttress from the recorded groove into sound. In the case of acoustic recording the reproducer converts the sound into the motion of

675-401: A similar easily recognizable sound. These are typically integrated into the same system as the vehicle's electronic siren, and sound through the same speakers. In the last several decades, electronic sound systems with more widely varying frequencies have been chosen as common supplemental warning systems. Originally, diesel locomotives were equipped with truck horns. After an accident in which

720-401: A specific pitch. The hornophone consists of a set of bulb horns tuned to a chromatic scale and arranged as a musical keyboard on a frame like a xylophone . The klaxophone is a similar musical instrument using a set of klaxons. The song Car Alarm by Too Many Zooz is based on the sound of a honking horn. Diaphragm (acoustics) In the field of acoustics , a diaphragm is

765-475: Is a type of an electromechanical horn or alerting device. Mainly used on cars , trains and ships , it produces an easily identifiable sound, often transcribed onomatopoeiacally in English as "awooga". Like most mechanical horns, it has largely been replaced by solid-state electronic alarms, though the memorable tone has persisted. Klaxon was originally a brand name . The klaxon horn's characteristic sound

810-424: Is produced by a spring-steel diaphragm with a rivet in the center that is repeatedly struck by the teeth of a rotating cogwheel. The diaphragm is attached to a horn that acts as an acoustic transformer and controls the direction of the sound. In the first klaxons, the wheel was driven either by hand or by an electric motor. American inventor Miller Reese Hutchison (later chief engineer of Thomas Edison ) patented

855-690: Is said to have begun in 1974, when Bill Wirtz , then-owner of the Chicago Blackhawks , liked the sound of the Kahlenberg Q-3 on his yacht so much that he had another Q-3 mounted inside of the team's home arena, Chicago Stadium , to be sounded whenever the Blackhawks scored a goal. Since then, every NHL, AHL (with the exception of the Chicago Wolves , who instead use a siren and fireworks), ECHL, SHL, and CHL team has picked up

900-744: The Second World War . The English company Klaxon Signals Ltd. has been based in Oldham , England for the last 80 years, with premises also in Birmingham . The French Klaxon company was acquired by the Italian Fiamm Group in the 1990s. In 2005 Klaxon Signals sold the rights for the hooter or klaxon range to Moflash Signalling Ltd., based in the original Klaxon Factory in Birmingham, England. The Moflash Company discontinued

945-585: The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic , usage of audible warnings is limited, and allowed only in two cases: Various types of vehicle horns are used by percussionists as sound effects , or even melodically, in musical works. For example, George Gershwin 's 1928 orchestral work An American in Paris calls for the use of 4 taxi horns. György Ligeti 's opera Le Grand Macabre features two "Car Horn Preludes" scored for 12 bulb horns, each one tuned to

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990-786: The Klaxet hooter in 2013, but continued to produce the A1 hooter, the only original Klaxon left in production. Several languages have either borrowed or transcribed the name into their lexicons. In Japanese, the word "klaxon" ( クラクション , kurakushon ) refers to car horns in general . This is also true in languages such as French ( klaxon ), Italian ( clacson ), Greek ( κλάξον ), Dutch ( claxon ), Russian ( клаксон ), Polish ( klakson ), Spanish ( claxon ), Romanian ( claxon ), Bulgarian ( клаксон ), Czech ( klakson ), Turkish ( klakson ), Indonesian ( klakson ), some Arabic dialects ( كلاكسون ) and Korean ( 클랙슨 ). In countries applying

1035-790: The air source. These are often sounded by fans at sporting events such as American football , basketball , ice hockey , and association football , and at other events such as graduations , and political conventions . Small versions are sometimes used as bicycle horns , since they yield a louder warning sound than traditional bicycle bells or bulb reed horns. Another use is as a non-lethal weapon for self-defense, mainly as an auditory distraction to get away from an attacker. For outdoor activities like hiking, hunting, cross-country skiing, canoeing, fishing, an air horn can be handy to frighten away unwanted or aggressive wildlife, signalling for help and to announce one's location. Additionally, air horns (especially those that contain fluorocarbons ) have

1080-653: The circuit hundreds of times per second, which creates a loud noise like a buzzer or electric bell , which sound enters a horn to be amplified. A traditional style automobile horn includes an expansion chamber cast into its body, once spiral shaped, to better match the acoustical impedance of the diaphragm with open air, and thus more effectively transfer the sound energy. Sound levels of typical car horns are approximately 107–109 decibels , and they typically draw 5–6 amperes of current. Horns can be used singly, but are often arranged in pairs to produce an interval consisting of two notes, sounded together; although this doubles

1125-421: The cone/surround interface, and the "toughness" to withstand long-term vibration-induced fatigue. Sometimes the conical part and the outer surround are molded in one step and are one piece as commonly used for a Guitar speaker . Other types of speakers (such as electrostatic loudspeakers ) may use a thin membrane instead of a cone. Microphones can be thought of as speakers in reverse. The sound waves strike

1170-406: The diaphragm, the column of air in the horn vibrates in standing waves . The length of the horn determines the wavelength of the sound waves generated, and thus the fundamental frequency (pitch) of the note produced by the horn. The longer the horn, the lower the pitch. Larger air horns used on ships and foghorns function similarly to a whistle ; instead of a diaphragm the air escapes from

1215-606: The driver to react quickly during transitions in music (i.e. fast changing transient impulses) and minimizes acoustical output distortion. If properly designed in terms of mass, stiffness, and damping, paper woofer/midrange cones can outperform many exotic drivers made from more expensive materials. Other materials used for diaphragms include polypropylene (PP), polyetheretherketone (PEEK) polycarbonate (PC), Mylar (PET), silk , glassfibre , carbon fibre , titanium , aluminium , aluminium- magnesium alloy, nickel , and beryllium . A 12-inch-diameter (300 mm) paper woofer with

1260-472: The end of the period (or the start of instant replay reviews), and a much louder horn sounded when the home team scores and/or wins a game. Some MLB and NFL stadiums use horns for similar purposes, such as when a member of the home team hits a home run or touchdown . In many places, air horns are used for signaling the end of the period or quarter on scoreboard systems. The idea of a goal horn in NHL ice hockey

1305-470: The horn is actuated by a button on the steering wheel (just like a normal car horn). Some trucks and buses have both electric and air horn, selectable by a switch on the dashboard. This is to prevent the use of the powerful air horn in populated areas. Many fire trucks, ambulances, and other large emergency vehicles operate air horns as a means of warning vehicles to clear the right-of-way . There are also electronic horns for emergency vehicles, which produce

1350-452: The human eardrum . Conversely a diaphragm vibrated by a source of energy beats against the air, creating sound waves. Examples of this type of diaphragm are loudspeaker cones and earphone diaphragms and are found in air horns . In an electrodynamic loudspeaker , a diaphragm is the thin, semi-rigid membrane attached to the voice coil , which moves in a magnetic gap, vibrating the diaphragm, and producing sound . It can also be called

1395-572: The lower the frequency, the larger the ship. The RMS Queen Mary , an ocean liner launched in 1934, had three horns based on 55 Hz (corresponding to A1 ), a frequency chosen because it was low enough that the very loud sound of it would not be painful to the passengers. Modern International Maritime Organization regulations specify that ships' horn frequencies be in the range 70–200 Hz (corresponding to C ♯ 2 -G 3 ) for vessels that are over 200 m (660 ft) in length. For vessels between 200 and 75 m (660 and 250 ft)

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1440-684: The mechanism in 1908. The Lovell-McConnell Manufacturing Company of Newark, New Jersey bought the rights to the device and it became standard equipment on General Motors cars. Franklyn Hallett Lovell Jr., the founder, coined the name klaxon from the Ancient Greek verb klazō , "I shriek". Klaxons were first fitted to automobiles and bicycles in 1908. They were originally powered by six-volt dry cells , and from 1911 by rechargeable batteries . Later hand-powered versions were used as military evacuation alarms and factory sirens. They were also used as submarine dive and surface alarms beginning in

1485-415: The needle that scribes the groove on the recording media. Air horn An air horn is a pneumatic device designed to create an extremely loud noise for signaling purposes. It usually consists of a source which produces compressed air , which passes into a horn through a reed or diaphragm. The stream of air causes the reed or diaphragm to vibrate, creating sound waves, then the horn amplifies

1530-480: The potential to be abused as a substitute for recreational drugs since many such refrigerants can be inhaled for a quick and dangerous intoxication . The air horn is used for signaling goals, home runs, touchdowns, and other points in various sports: NHL arenas normally employ two horns—a high-pitched horn (or a siren, as in the home arenas of the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens ) that announces

1575-433: The range is 130–350 Hz and for vessels under 75 m (250 ft) it is 70–700 Hz. Smaller craft typically use electric diaphragm horns. Portable air horns driven by canned compressed air are also used, as well as for officiating sports events and recreational activities. Small battery -operated electric horns, as well as the traditional single-reed bulb horn , are typically used on bicycles . A klaxon

1620-400: The sound making it louder. Air horns are widely employed as vehicle horns , installed on large buses , semi-trailer trucks , fire trucks , trains , and some ambulances as a warning device, and on ships as a signaling device. An air horn consists of a flaring metal or plastic horn or trumpet (called the "bell") attached to a small air chamber containing a metal reed or diaphragm in

1665-421: The sound volume, the use of two differing frequencies is more perceptible to the human ear than two horns of the same frequency, particularly in an environment with a high ambient noise level . Typical frequencies of a pair of horns of this design are 500 Hz and 405–420 Hz (approximately B 4 and G ♯ 4 , minor third ). Most cars, motorcycles , and motor scooters have for some time used

1710-425: The surround's linearity/damping play a crucial role in accuracy of the reproduced voice coil signal waveform. This is the crux of high-fidelity stereo. The surround may be resin-treated cloth, resin-treated non-wovens, polymeric foams, or thermoplastic elastomers over-molded onto the cone body. An ideal surround has a linear force-deflection curve with sufficient damping to fully absorb vibrational transmissions from

1755-423: The thin diaphragm, causing it to vibrate. Microphone diaphragms, unlike speaker diaphragms, tend to be thin and flexible, since they need to absorb as much sound as possible. In a condenser microphone, the diaphragm is placed in front of a plate and is charged . In a dynamic microphone, the diaphragm is glued to a magnetic coil, similar to the one in a dynamic loudspeaker. (In fact, a dynamic speaker can be used as

1800-410: The throat of the horn. Compressed air flows from an inlet line through a narrow opening past the reed or diaphragm, causing it to vibrate, which creates sound waves . The flaring horn serves as an acoustic impedance transformer to improve the transfer of sound energy from the diaphragm to the open air, making the sound louder. In most horns it also determines the pitch of the sound. When vibrated by

1845-509: The train's air brake system, their sound level is 146–175 dB. In the United States , train horns are required to have a minimum sound level of 96 dB and a maximum sound level of 110 dB at 100 ft (30 m) in front of the train. To distinguish their sound from truck and bus air horns, train horns in the U.S. consist of groups of two to five horns (called "chimes") which have different notes, sounded together to form

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1890-419: The vehicle's air brake system. In trucks, a cord mounted on the ceiling of the operator's cab is pulled or in buses, a valve lever on the side of the dashboard is pushed down or pulled up to open the valve, supplying varying amounts of air to the horn. Thus, an outstretched hand reaching upward and pumping is a signal to the driver of an air horn equipped vehicle, requesting a toot. In modern trucks and buses,

1935-420: The voice coil signal waveform. Inaccurate reproduction of the voice coil signal results in acoustical distortion. The ideal for a cone/surround assembly is an extended range of linearity or "pistonic" motion characterized by i) minimal acoustical breakup of the cone material, ii) minimal standing wave patterns in the cone, and iii) linearity of the surrounds force-deflection curve. The cone stiffness/damping plus

1980-520: The world also employ horns or whistles as a secondary auditory warning signal in addition to the gong /bell which either use the sound of air horns or electric automobile car horns. Ships signal to each other and to the shore with air horns , sometimes called whistles, that are driven with compressed air or from steam tapped from the power plant. Low frequencies are used, because they travel further than high frequencies; horns from ships have been heard as far as fifteen kilometres (ten miles). Traditionally,

2025-605: Was the first musical genre to use the effect, and has been using the airhorn sample for over 26 years, in live shows as well as on mixtape recordings, and in Puerto Rican reggaeton , a reggae hybrid genre since the late '80s and '90s. The sound effect has recently been used in hip hop music as well. The "Air Horn Orchestra" gathered at the North Carolina Governor's Mansion every Wednesday for 30 weeks from April 13, 2016, until November 2, 2016, to protest

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