it seems to me that police cars should have two sirens on them, the high whiny kind and a super low sub woofer kind that could get the attention of people who have their windows closed and are listening to the radio - maybe series of quick beats - like shave and a haircut two cents maybe. I dont know maybe they already do this but I have not noticed it before.
-- JesusHChrist, May 11 2008

Is this loud enough? http://www.youtube....watch?v=MLsrEw4dBT0
[Amos Kito, May 11 2008]

(?) Rumbler Siren http://www.youtube....watch?v=PadKDvXNf9o
I love how I made it sound like I had just thought this up, like - whoops, where did that idea come from? [JesusHChrist, May 11 2008]

It wouldn't work considering the size of the transducer you'd need to produce <20hz tones at any sort of volume. Also, low frequency sounds are highly omnidirectional; you'd shake the cruiser apart before the person in front of you noticed the noise.
-- FlyingToaster, May 11 2008


I think this would work. You can hear the base in alot of cars with big amps.The speaker could be on the roof not inside the car it would alert peaple that aren't paying attention. This could be a lifesaver on an ambulance.+
-- pydor, May 11 2008


//maybe they already do this//
You mean, aside from the sirens, the cruiser's horn, flashing lights and high-beam headlights, and pulling up close with the loudspeaker announcing "Clear the road"?
-- Amos Kito, May 11 2008


I just found this news story about the rumbler siren on youtube. i am now realizing that i must have experineced it by hearing one pass me today, and then convinced myself i had come up with it as an original idea. what a great experiment in self deception. (-)
-- JesusHChrist, May 11 2008


The concept that a speaker could be loud for someone in another car at a distance but not loud in the car containing the speaker (no mater how the speaker is placed) is paradoxical. Admittedly sound behaves in strange ways but I doubt that we are going to start installing giant Bose headphones on our police cruisers. Why not a laser light show?
-- WcW, May 11 2008


It is the public warning systems that need this - tornado sirens and the like. I suspect there is a fair amount of bass already in these, although it is the higher frequencies that make the dogs howl.
-- bungston, May 11 2008



random, halfbakery