What is this sound?
June 27, 2021 3:05 PM   Subscribe

I’m looking for the tch-tch sound an intercom makes when it’s shut off after someone makes an announcement. I associate this sound with the PA system on Amtrak trains. I’ve listened to a bunch of YouTube videos of ambient train noise and have not been able to locate it. Does this sound have a name? If so, what is it and where can I find a recording of it?
posted by pxe2000 to Travel & Transportation (2 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: You may be describing a squelch tail, the sound(mostly white noise ) is from the open mic before the operator releases the PTT button and the circuit is squelched.
something like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LblpPh3WXGg
posted by radio other at 5:12 PM on June 27, 2021 [7 favorites]


Best answer: Soundsnap has some various intercom sounds.

The closest I found to what you're looking for is in the "prison officer radio communications" series that has a lot of those little squelch bleeps and clicks that happen at the end of a communication when the send button is released. Examples: 1 2 3

I don't know if this is exactly the sound you are looking for. The "intercom" or "PA announcement" type sound I remember hearing is different. I believe, for example in our high school, the PA announcement is often made using a telephone handset. The sound you hear at the end is often the sound of the phone being set back down in the cradle (ie, hung up--the old fashioned way). And not just hung up with a clatter--but amplified.

You can find some of those sound effects at soundfishing.eu under "telephone handset". Look for the "hang up" type sound effects. However, note that they sound quite different--louder and more echoey--when amplified over a PA or intercom system.
posted by flug at 5:46 PM on June 27, 2021


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