BIG HORN at Portland LOUD Diaphone fog warning

[biggdaddy2001]

golden sound hump sound at the end listening to this makes the hairs stand up lol

[Umpqua1012]

The first blast sounds a little scary!

[Aerozine50]

Great noise mate? Had you been on the curry? Only kidding!!!

Its the backup Diaphone that they test in case the electronic horn which travels about as far but does not have the brute force effect of the Diaphone. Probably called a Diaphone because anybody whoo stands close enough will get instant Diaphonorrea!!!

The antiquated kit used to sound this horn is lovelly. 3 diesel motors and compressors to match. A real work of early 20th century engineering. The days of Empire etc.

[danwat1234]

Not Portland Oregon eh?

[SvenTviking]

Chuck Norris after a night drinking Charrington's Bass ale. I had to say that..

[andyknight1]

This scared the crap out of me when I first heard it. Think I jumped about 10 ft in the air :)

[bobareebop]

@theironfreak - thanks for the correction. I should have Googled up "diaphone" before I posted. I had assumed it was like one of those monster 32' or 64' reed pipe organ pedal stops. The piston thing is fascinating and I'd like to see exactly how it works. It's amazingly LOUD.

[manga12]

not at all, it is a horn that has a powered piston in it where the air blasts over a slotted disk and a secondary supply of air moves the piston as its being blown giving it that high vibreto sound, they are low but the low frequencys travel over the water better then high pitch sounds. The diaphone though was invented by an organ pipe maker and would have the two tone sound hence di a phone, it was invented by the guy that came up with the werletzer organ style.

[Doomsday2060]

They should put one of those out in Dungeness to annoy the FRENCH.

Dungeness is a very scary place I'll have you know - can't put my finger on it. I think it is linked to aliens or a major conspiracy theory that no one knows about yet.

[hellooldchap]

@Doomsday2060 Strange place Dungeness. I made a video (search 'shinglescape') about it. Dungeness already has a loud bleeping type fog horn, and it was once a test site for fog horns. Not sure if Trinity House chose the location to annoy the French though!

[richcampoverde]

this sounds so haunting much better than the silly beeeeep they installed to replace it 

[ZJFFDS]

I ived in Wyke Regis on the mainland for a while, and used to love hearing this horn. What a wonderful in-your-face no-mistaking-this-fella kind of set-up!

[saracenman]

Does the fog horn still sound every Sunday morning? I used to hear it when I was a child - the loudest thing I've EVER heard! I'm hoping to take a friend over there in the next few weeks, but can't find any definite info anywhere on the net :(

[NiallMS]

I think so but not when it's foggy. They then switch off the diaphone and use its crappy replacement. How dumb is that!?

[saracenman]

Thanks. I went down there with a friend last Sunday and no fog horn! It seems there's no specific schedule - just Sundays between 1030 & 1100 when the bloke feels like it LOL.

[Umpqua1012]

@NiallMS The same happened here! The diaphone was switched off and replaced by two nautophones on the harbour. The diaphone now serves as a backup horn!

[joemacn41]

My mobile phone makes this noise when I receive a text message! lol

[fezufo]

its awesome that grunt!

[6V92TA]

gotta love the ending grunt sound.

[MrMercury1959]

this the coldest place in the UK

[Fluvial47]

A wonderful, mournful sound. Thank You.

[wiggertronix]

it is the fn low fart sound that is the intention of the lighhouse...

[Taojac]

i live just down the road from this lighthouse. the noise is absolutely the loudest sound ive ever heared. the last HUMPH noise is the diaphone engine stopping and the last second of the horn just echos for ages you can hear the sound going out to sea. they sound the horn every sunday. every 30 seconds for three point five seconds between 1030 and 11 oclock well worth hearing. the sound can carry for upto 6 miles out to sea if uninterupted.

[Fifi48]

Hi. Thanks for that extra info. Really interesting. We enjoyed our visit.

[ManOfMeans]

LOL That last "humph" that it gives makes it sound like it's seen better days

[crystal0angel]

Windy!!!! The fog horn sounds like my aunt snoring!!!

[NiallMS]

The "whump" at the end carries for miles!

[UncleSqualid]

That is an excellent sound. I love how it's so harsh and graceless.

[AntoPete]

When I lived in Cape Elizabeth as a child in the mid-60s , I was fascinated by the sound of the fog horn(near Two Lights?) I begged my parents to take me to see it close up. They finally did and I just couldn't believe my ears. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever heard. I can still visualize my parents and brother sitting in the car with the windows rolled up and their hands over their ears....

[Cindermakers]

They have these things in pipe organs. Diaphones.

[AltheFolker]

Pity about the wind noise, otherwise, great vid!

[Fifi48]

It was a windy day - what can I say... ? Not very seasonal for May though.

[Jekwrestler]

They rarely use Diaphone types for a fog horn now as they can be mis lead for something else. They now use a standard U.S naval fog horn which is heard upo to 45-60 miles.

[fireeater999cmcc]

Mis lead for what? Are these only used for special occasions, events or are fog horns still genuinely used? thanks

[Jekwrestler]

Im just saying, they are not common like the U.S aircraft carrier fog horns used now. The diaphone horns are mostly used in other parts of the world.

[Umpqua1012]

@Jekwrestler Where I live, there a lot of diaphones operating!

[rackas321]

When I went to Daytona beach,we went to the light house there,very huge,I was so scared that it was gonna make this sound! LOL

[vegunited06]

lol it looks like it made you jump.

[421mog]

Oh yes!

This puts the hairs up on my neck; as a kid i used to stay on Scilly for a month every year with my gran, and on a foggy night you could hear 2 lighthouses - Round island and Bishop's rock, and the Sevenstones lightship way out in the damp, inky stillness, and Sevendtones especially ( which sounded very like this one) just scared the living s**** out of me, and I'd lie there sweating - it just sounded so bloody sinister!!

I miss them all...

[Fifi48]

Sinister! Thats exactly the right word. Thats the overwhelming feeling they evoked in me too. Particularly as I was not aware they were about to happen, so just about jumped out of my skin. Thanks for the comment and the image of a child daring to be near them.

[sweety3096]

I went there last week :D

[4093979240]

is it suposed to "cough" at the end?(like BLAAAAAAAA-UGH)?

sorry for my ignorance,but it sounds sorta sick to me.

[bobareebop]

@4093979240 Evidently the sound is produced by a reed being driven by high wind pressure. That UGH at the end is probably the sound of the vibrating reed coming to a stop.

[theironfreak]

@bobareebop nope, I'm afraid that's incorrect. diaphones don't use reeds, but some kind of piston assembly thingy. But you are correct in saying that the UGH is due to the vibrating assembly coming to a stop. =)

[DickHBox]

@4093979240 Yes, each signal had it's particular characteristic to aid identification.

[jukingeo]

@4093979240 Actually that is a perfectly fine sound for a Diaphone type horn. They usually have some kind of low frequency "Whumph" at the end. That is what makes them so distinguished in sound. They are tremendously loud. Unfortunately over the years many diaphones were replaced with electronic horns, which don't sound as full or rich. Yeah, they have a more 'perfect' sound, but lack character. Give me a good old diaphone any day.

[Thewoog34]

@4093979240 Yep! That's the result of the piston slowing down. It's almost like the wind-down on a siren, which means the rotor stops spinning.

[jane1975]

This fog signal is now only sounded on Sunday afternoons for prosperity and not when the Electric fog horn which is also in the tower is in use.

[peugteobike]

I have always wanted to hear this up close

[Fifi48]

I was unaware of it before arriving there and certainly didn't know that the once per week it is blown was when we had just arrived - so imagine my shock when it went off! The tone and volume makes your insides rumble. Fascinating and strangely pleasant.

[tripodpie]

i dont, i would jump out of my skin!

[Umpqua1012]

@tripodpie I know how you feel; the diaphone here nearly made jump out of my shoes!

[NJPurling]

This must be one of the last working fog horns left in these days of satellite navigation.

They used to have one of these diaphone horns on Flambrough Head. It is long gone now.

[Happy2bkelsey]

This is in Portland, England?

[Fifi48]

Yes it is England. There is more info in the 'About this video'.

[FreestyleNan]

i have a hut on portland bill and go there every summer holiday, its awesome

[cscars]

Portland is Gota Be Best.. i Live There :D

[knightsofwho]

at qwest field in seattle the crowd noise reached nearly 130 decibels in the NFC championship game against the panthers

[yourmercifuldeath08]

Haha, I see you got frightened when you were calmly filming the view.

[Fifi48]

I tried very hard not to jump, but its obvious from the film that I did! Its SOOOO loud! We didn't know about the fog horn so when it first went off and I'd missed hearing the warning I just about jumped out of my skin!

[gksypher]

Good old porland bill :) been fishing there many a time :D

[Fifi48]

Portland, Dorset, England. A tiny lump of rock sticking out in the English Channel, about as far south in the UK as you can get. And we live about as far north as you can go without falling into Scotland! We had a holiday in Dorset.

[hellooldchap]

Nearly- Lizard is as far south as you can get.

[xraycortina]

Ahhh the great British bank holiday...fog, rain, wind & crap food.

ps i'm from britain

[jane1975]

Yes it is a Diaphone it used to give a 3.5 second blast every 30 seconds, I am not sure if the modern horn is the same.

[Umpqua1012]

@jane1975 Yes it is!

[ridemaster]

Sounds like a diaphone horn.

[hellooldchap]

Thats the old foghorn which gets used on Sunday mornings for half hour. The modern foghorn beeps and is well over 100dB.