music in cpap machine

[lin]

Hi everyone, just needed to know if anyone hears music in their machine or am I just going crazy? I can faintly hear the beat of the music and I can tell whether a male or female is singing but I can't make out the words.There isn't a radio on in my room at night so what am I hearing? As soon as I take the mask off, the music ends. This is starting to annoy me to the point that I don't want to wear the mask anymore and I know that will only make things worse for me. I am writing this message at 12:52 am because the music woke me up again I would just mostly like to know if anyone else is hearing music and if so what did you do about it? Thanks!

[blarg]

Is it always the same song?

[Ric]

Can you give us a few more clues? Are you picking up a radio station somehow? (are there commercial breaks, etc?) I have picked up my neighbor's CB station on my TV, my stereo, and probably everything else electrical (microwave, toothbrush, razor, etc.) when he was next door and broadcasting 1000 watts on a high-gain antenna aimed approximately my living room. (I found that a good time to do some arc-welding, not sure it actually gives off enough EMP to spoil the fun ?? but something to do.)

Do you have a wireless stereo that broadcasts in your house? Or does your neighbor nearby have one? I have not heard of an xPAP doubling as a receiver, exactly. But given enough RF power in the right direction, i suppose even a broom can become a boom-box. well probably not THAT extreme, but who knows. BTW, the CB next door DID make the fluorescent light bulbs glow in the dark, in the OFF position.

Alternate hypothesis would be subtle acoustical vibrations from the floor, again coming from noisy neighbors, maybe the HH resonates just right to pick those up and transmit them up the hose. that would suggest setting the blower on a pillow or something that won't transmit sound.

OK, I admit I am groping for answers. Have you tried the foil pajamas ?

-Ric

[kteague]

I know that's irritating to have to listen to something even when you don't want to. I experienced something similar to Ric. I lived near a radio tower, and every time I used the phone I had to talk over the radio station. Hard to have a conversation. Used to wonder if there was a way to interfere with their signal or block it, but didn't know where to even start searching. Good luck with taking care of this nuisance.
Kathy

[Wolfmarsh]

You could try and get a computer UPS (battery backup), can be a really cheap/small one, and plug your xPAP machine into it. Its possible you are getting some RF leak into your house wiring and it is causing what sounds like music due to the fan pulsing with the RF.

Sounds way out there, but i am an EE, and its not that uncommon for there to be an RF leak, especially if your machine doesnt have a really highly filtered power supply.

Then again, you could just be hearing voices

[tangents]

Also an EE, I second Wolfmarsh's idea. Good luck, and let us know if it works!

[NightHawkeye]

Hi everyone, just needed to know if anyone hears music in their machine or am I just going crazy?

I don't think you're crazy at all. A CPAP machine has all the right components in it to be a fine "crystal radio". Usually, the RF interference pickup which Ric referred to happens with stereos, TV's, amplifiers, and stuff which has speakers in it, but that's not really a requirement. A simple crystal radio can be made with nothing more than wire, razor blade and a pressure tranducer. Usually the part of the pressure transducer for a crystal radio is played by a headset, a speaker, a microphone, or even telephone receiver.

Your CPAP machine has a fine pressure transducer already in it though. Technically, all that the transducer in your CPAP machine needs is a little rectified RF for it to serve as a speaker. And, as Ric correctly pointed out, you can find many examples of unwanted rectified RF getting into all sorts of electronic gear.

You didn't say whether the machine is new or not, but if it's new, then if I were you, I'd try swapping that machine with another, particularly a different model or brand. Trying to fix the one you have could prove to be an exercise in futility. You can get RF filter boxes to clean up any potential RF coming in on the power lines (at least that's the first thing I'd try).

Regards,
Bill (who some folks think is crazy . . . )

[Guest]

Is the music drowning out the voices in your head? If so, it's a problem. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it. Probably just the government and their mind-control program.

Yes, I'm kidding. Seriously, could be RF interference or something. I'm not qualified to discuss such things. Interesting problem though! I hope you can get it fixed.

[Janine]

Hmm, lots of interesting ideas above and I am too new to this to comment on the machine. It is, however, a human trait to make patterns out of noise, and some people have brains that are quite creative in how they interpret such noise. So that might be happening.

When you take the mask off and the music stops, is your machine still running?

I hope you figure it out - it would be driving me batty!

[Wulfman]

Is it always the same song?

Or, is it "Pop", "Country-Western" or Heaven forbid......"Elevator music"?

Have you tried tuning a radio to whatever channel it may match?

Good luck,

Den

[Goofproof]

Try wearing glasses to bed, you may be getting free HBO. Jim

[Wulfman]

Try wearing glasses to bed, you may be getting free HBO. Jim

You may not be too far off......
Could also be feed to/from a satellite dish system.

Den

[Linda3032]

I would be concerned if I was listening to "The Twilight Zone". do-do-do-do.

[dudley_doright]

Plug the CPAP to a receptacle that is properly grounded. I have a feeling that the one you are using have issues with ground loops.
Remember you have a transformer that convert the voltage from 120V to 12V and that transformer could be picking up the signal somewhere.
If that didn't work I suggest getting an ear plug like I did to drown out the music you are hearing. It will be sad if the music is Freddie Fender classic "wasted days and wasted nights".

[dsm]

Hmmmm

I recall some TV star complaining that a filling in her teeth was picking up a local radio station every time she drove past their transmission tower.

Seeing the mask doesn't go over your ears, is there some other aspect to this.

Do you react to particular metals on your skin ?

The ability to detect and demodulate radio transmissions often only requires the effects of a diode. A diode is a device that allows current to pass in one direction & not the other & the story about the filling was because of an electrical reaction where the filling became a diode & was demodulating the radio signal the person nerve endings then detected this demodulated signal as the broadcast.

Very amusing situation

DSM