Voices heard in disconnected speakers?

Question

I have an old sub with two smaller speakers and a control box on my desktop PC at home, bought around 2001.

Sometimes if it is left plugged in to the mains and switched on, even with the computer totally powered down, voices can be heard coming from the speakers. Spooky eh?

We've only ever heard it at late at night, around midnight and later, possibly because the voices are very quiet and are drowned out by ambient daytime noise.

Neither of us have ever been able to understand any of what is being said, but it is definitely human and seems to be Spanish. Sometimes it is one voice; sometimes two.

We live on the South East coast of England, it's not unusual to get interference, or even a good reception, of Dutch and French TV and radio channels but to my knowledge we don't get anything Spanish and anyway... why would it be coming out of my PC speakers that are not receiving an input from anything?

Can anyone offer an explanation? Anyone had a similar experience?

Answer 1

overboosted CB radios , i used to have that problem too at my old apartment

Answer 2

Sort of like the old "Bed spring" thing where radio stations are heard on old iron bed spring mattresses.



In AM radio the intensity of the signal varies with the voice wave. This in turn is imposed on a much higher frequency Radio (Electromagnetic) wave. If some element of the speakers, like the cable connected to them, is an even multiple of the carrier wave frequency a weak, fast vibrating electric current will be generated in it. In part of the speaker system will be a DIODE, a component that lets electricity flow only one way. This will stop the fast , self canceling, electrical vibration from the radio wave, so all that is left is an electrical signal that varies in strength with the sound of the voice wave---and this is what is heard in the speaker.



In the old bed springs, the mattress, or more properly the box springs, had no cloth covering and the size resonated with the radio carrier wave. Loose contacts where the spring retaining wires were twisted to the frame, served as Diodes. When conditions were right, the entire mattress would vibrate at the voice frequency rate--and became a speaker of sorts.----Letting you hear the near by AM station through the bed springs.

Answer 3

I had a similar experience about 6 years ago with a really decrepit old PC, and yes if the mains were on and the computer powered down, it would sometimes pick up the police radio transmissions.



It was only occasionally, and fairly quiet, but at times it was clear enough to hear what they were saying.



There was no radio equipment in the room or anything. This was in a terraced house in Middlesbrough.



Most strange, perhaps that's what you are picking up? I hope you solve your mystery!

Answer 4

There is an internal speaker that will kick on if there is no other option. It usually only beeps, but yours must be set to be a sound device. Have you tried different speakers?

Answer 5

I know that the metallic mast of ships can pick up radio and because they are large enough can derive enough power from the radio wave to amplify the signal through connected cables such that it can be heard at night in quiet seas. Presumably the electronics of the speaker system are picking up radio and the amps are amplifying it enough to be heard.

Answer 6

I have personally experienced this phenomena and I know of hundreds (more likely in the thousands) of others here in the U.S. and around the world who also experience this voice projection effect.



The thing can be made to "appear" to come out of radio, stereo, and TV speakers even when the device are powered off. I do not believe that this is mere radio signals being picked up from out of the air because, if you listen to the degree of loudness created in a speaker by these sounds, when there is not operating power to it, it would require far more "energy" than radio signals in the air could possibly deliver; additionally, there is nothing in a speaker that can tune to or demodulate radio broadcast signals. For example, if you take a simple crystal radio set (which operates on nothing but the radio signals in the air) and hook it to one of your stereo or computer speakers, do you think that you will hear anything? No, of course not. My guess is that there is a form of energy in the air that the world population (people) are not aware of. I don't know what this energy is but people world wide are sensing it. The only technology that I am aware of that can create this and similar effects are ultrasonic devices that create and project focused sound (just like a light beam) called Sound-Spot-Light. There exists microwave versions (through the wall) of this device as well.



These kinds of projected focused sound effects are generally not limited to "sound" alone. There are other strangness that are associated as well.



See: An Audio Spotlight ...

http://www.mindcontrolforums.com/audio-spotlight-creates-personalwall-sound.htm



Recording Microwave Hearing Effect

http://www.slavery.org.uk/science.htm

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I just looked at Catgirl's links --- In nearly every case, the posters did not know what they were hearing coming out of their speakers, or why. Also, in nearly every case, when voice sounds were heard, the speakers were plugged into a live operating system and the volume was turned way up. That isn't the case with what axe_mupp and others are experiencing.



I just run some tests on a 9" speaker. The speaker, while not connected to anything, leads hanging open, I hooked a RF test generator to the speaker and tuned the RF generator (output modulated 0.5 volts, with 1000 Hz tone) from 100 KHz out to 300 MHz, and heard nothing from the speaker. I then hooked up an audio generator directly to the speaker's input leads. Sound was just detected at an output of 200 millivolts p/p. This is a very large signal voltage when compared to stray RF radio signals in the air.



Now, I have heard coded tone sounds coming out of non-connected speakers loud enough to be heard in a distant room in my apartment. I built an Electrocardiogram ECG Heart Monitor kit from Ramsey Electronics. After completing the kit, I discovered that, for unclear reasons, it would pickup Morse code loudly, perfectly. No interference or atmospheric noise or drift. There are no "tuned" circuits in the ECG device. How could perfect CW code be coming from the powered up operating ECG device (runs on batteries).



No, there's something else going on in this case and in axe-mupp's case as well, I feel.



Having a degree in electronics engineering technology and 20 years of experience in system/circuit design, I sort of know what I'm talking about.

Answer 7

Mine used to pick up police radios too, its fairly common and not anything weird trust me. Its probably as other people have said, you are picking up radio transmissions from somewhere.



Heres a few sites where the people have had the same problems and some ideas how to stop it if it gets annoying.

Answer 8

I too have voices coming from my PC speakers late at night and yes they do sound spanish lol I have a logitec system. im also near the south coast.

Answer 9

wow thars very interesting .... i dont think u should be scared or anything maybe its some kind of massage or simpley its also connected to something else 2 ... i dont know but thats interesting.

Answer 10

Aye, it's the ghosts of long losts sailors, laddy.

Answer 11

thats a great idea for a horror movie...