anechoic chamber

I am into a DYI project and I want to and will build an Anechoic chamber in my house. I tried without success to get into a sensory deprivation tank while on holiday a few months back and then looked at buying or making a tank but the project went into the too hard basket for a heap of reasons.

I hunted the net for sensory deprivation info and then found out about the anechoic chambers and the degree of silence, the fact that most people will start to hallucinate in short time due to lack of sensory input and then got excited at the possibilities of using one.

I have a nice attic space, a lot of building skills and some idea of an noise proof room with an internal chamber suspended on rubber mounts that is the centre piece of the anechoic chamber so will start this project in the coming week by simply cutting a hole in a wall to allow access to the attic space.

I will post as I construct, expect the project to take a month or two depending on sourcing materials and the ups and downs of DYI.

Anyone have any experience in these chambers Any sound engineers out there that can advise on the type of internal foam echo absorbers Any useful tips at all welcome

" build it and they will come, they are already watching..) :lol:

Can't offer you any advice but I'd love to experience an AC myself. Please keep me informed.

Sounds cool! I can't offer any advice either, I have never even heard of this before. But I am jealous, sounds well worth the work!

Sounds like a room that makes you trip naturally, which is very cool haha.

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image

Yes thats the idea to get there naturally and easily. It will be a couple of months in the building and might start a site and keep the links updated. Could be the easiest way to show progress

You talked about this in our Skype Chat. I am all for it, and have day dreamed and conceptualized it before.

You must think of safety. Make sure you have a fan to supply fresh oxygen, and make sure it is far away enough, so you don't hear it. It can be outside your house and have a tube leading in. And then have a way for it to vent out. If it is outside or near outside, the sound should be unhearable from within. And the door should have no knob or latch or anything, so you can simply push it open with no effort. It's better to be safe than sorry. (I am a bit of an engineer myself in my mind and think of all worst possibilities. You'd hate to die in a house fire, or lack of oxygen, and have to explain it to others in the after life :lol: ).

With that aside, I say, "GO FOR IT".

You'll have some very interesting experiences that's for sure!

(As for the professional sound absorbers. The best are those black, conical shaped ones that I have seen on TV, and some sound studios use those. But for a Do It Yourselfer, perhaps some cheap fabric that you can fold and wrinkle will do the trick. And even copy that same structure to the best of your ability. Then you can upgrade if you find a supplier.)

EDIT: I just thought of this and am adding it to this post. The main objective is to create as much surface area of soft fabric as possible. That's why you wrinkle, fold, or make cone shapes out if it. That will deaden the sound most efficiently. Just keep that in mind and you'll do fine. Even if it is not MOST EFFICIENT it should be SUFFICIENT ENOUGH.

Awesome, yes need venting and easy escape route in case of panic of opening the void and being swamped by DC's wanting to invade earth ( cant think why)

I will look at high density closed cell fireproof foam as that is what gets used and the shape will be whatever I can cut or fold. There are pyramid shapes and flat barrers all I think designed to trap and prevent echos.

Peter wrote: easy escape route in case of panic of opening the void and being swamped by DC's wanting to invade earth ( cant think why)

I take it you have experienced the random, nonsensical thoughts that can happen before a dream starts, but you are there with your eyes closed and still thinking. I bet sensory deprivation is similar, but I must admit, I have never tried sensory deprivation. But I know how crazy it can get when we enter a state of mind where we ignore our external senses and start to think random, nonsensical thought! It can get crazy! :mrgreen: (<-- alien DC invasion face)!

Then again, I don't meditate and if I remember correctly neither do you. I don't see a need and find those bizarre thoughts interesting. Meditation must quiet the mind and skips over that. I only speak for myself, but I get very bizarre thoughts sometimes at the onset of sleep, when there is no external stimuli, but I find it interesting and fun.

I bet sensory deprivation is similar, but I must admit, I have never tried sensory deprivation

In a sense any WILD is sensory deprivation as you go from external input to internal and the random thougths are images are the change over. I expect it will be the same but I hope more direct stimulation with body sounds, heart beat, blood flow supplying stimulus and images forming from them.

I dont meditate in any formal sense but do relax and allow whatever to come along so I guess I do in some way meditate just shy away from a world that locks me into a set of protocols

Peter wrote: I dont meditate in any formal sense but do relax

Me too. I WBTB and lay on my back for a bit and simply allow whatever wants to wander in my mind like opening the 'gate' to the wild, untamed subconscious. Whatever it is, just let is loose and get enthralled for a bit and still retain a foot hold on waking rational. OR if not, you sleep un-lucidly. Nothing wrong with that.

Meditation, with my limited knowledge seems, to dismiss all random thoughts or 'noise' altogether. I am curious and posted a question about it just a few hours ago. I am eager to hear what other meditators say about lucid dreams.

I think there is a huge difference between meditation and lucid dreams and any experiences that a sensory deprivation chamber can provide. I think you are on to something and sensory deprivation is breaking new ground and you gotta try it. And like you said, you'll report back whatever happens. I'll be hear and listening. (it was not a typo, but a bad pun.... )

Very rough site. Just images of progress so far. I will break the site up into pages of each stage soon but for tonight took the lazy way of putting something online

http://www.53x12.co.nz/AnechoicHome.htm

a bit further ahead and starting to feel quite pleased about it all. Its getting pretty dark inside and quiet but discovering that nose is like water and it needs only the slightest gap to get in. The internal chamber will seal it off quite well I think as its getting better and better. Lighting and ventilation are next on the agenda

http://53x12.co.nz/

Peter wrote: discovering that nose is like water and it needs only the slightest gap to get in.

Good analogy. You need to block out all waves, whether light or compression waves. And it is only as good as the smallest crack or opening to let those waves in. It 'seeps' in like water. It's like trying to build a boat, and the smallest pin-sized hole will make it sink. It's quite easy to block out the light, but sound is another thing altogether isn't it?

But you can always upgrade it and fix it up after if there are problems and don't expect it to be perfect right away. But if you're going to do something you should do it right.

I've been thinking about your project and am curious how to have ventilation without sound. There are ways I am sure, but it's a big obstacle in my own vision of it. I too am a Do it Yourselfer and like to imagine blue prints in my mind. The ventilation without sound has me stumped. I am curious to find out how you solve that problem.

I am thinking along the lines that I will put a grid or entrance about 30mm square in one corner of the chamber. This will allow air to come in from the gap between the two rooms and if I put in in the floor it will have a decent area below to feed off. There is a void behind one wall about 3 meters long and close to 1 meter high and this is behind both chambers so allows air to come in and fill the void between the two chambers. A gap of about 1 meter hight and 50mm wide in one external wall feeds to this back void. So far air and there fore any nose will need to come through tighter and tighter gaps and turn 4 right angles and I have read somewhere this is the key.

To get air flow I am looking at what is called a pan pump. these are used to take air from a toilet and get rid of it so there is no smell in there and are an inline pump with a 40mm inlet and outlet. These can be mounted up to 30 meters away so I can put one of these a long way out and hope there is no feedback from this. All a bit of trial and error but never bother with this as I can change anything I want.

This set up should allow air in and a small negative pressure due to the pump that will give air flow. The pump will be directly into the internal chamber.

Have a think and if you got some ideas I am keen to look them

Peter wrote: So far air and there fore any nose will need to come through tighter and tighter gaps and turn 4 right angles and I have read somewhere this is the key.

I agree that is the key. Don't have a straight line but give sound a maze and walls to bounce back on so it doesn't find its way in. Makes sense.

And keeping the ventilation hole small is a good idea too. I was thinking a large vent, but 30mm is all you need.

I wonder though, when air comes in you have to think about how it exists as well and you already mentioned 'negative pressure', and I am sure you have thought of that, but I didn't quite get the full picture in my mind.

Is there a second hole to allow air to escape?

I expect normal air pressure to fill the chamber by way of the vent hole in the bottom and want the 40mm vent, pipe and pump to draw air from the chamber. This should introduce a small amount of air flow by way of extracting air from the chamber and this air being replaced by normal atmospheric pressure. Same way a mine is ventilated, if you pump air in and it stops then gas is able to get back into the shafts but if you draw air out and it stops then there is a positive inflow that hold gas in. Slightly different in a chamber but think its easier to move a little air to get if fresh and if the pump stops I still have air.

LOL - could do a Schrodinger's cat experiment and see what the results are. Soon find out if there is good enough air.

I see. Instead of pumping air in you simply pump it out. That way you won't feel a draft either.

It does remind me of Shrodinger's cat experiment, but in this case it is Shrodinger's Peter. You may suffocate, or you may survive, but nobody will know until they open the chamber and look inside. :lol:

Won't it get hot as hell in there?

yes could do, I have plenty of venting and looking at putting in a small pump at some distance so no noise to get air flow. There will be compromises but that's the interesting stuff and should not detract from the end results as far getting what I want out of it.