About 6 months ago, my computer at work started to make a random buzz once in a while. Not often, not a constant buzz, but a particular pattern that only happened occasionally. Sort of a “bzz.. bzz.. bzzz.. bzzzzzzz” pattern.
Last month, my computer at home started making the same buzzing noize. At home, I have 5.1 surround sound speakers, so it’s a little harder to tell where the buzzing is coming from. It sounds like it’s coming from the bottom of my monitor, but there’s a center speaker directly on top of the monitor.
I haven’t heard the buzzing at work lately, though. Was the buzzing gone? On vacation? Saving up for a really large BZZZZZZ one day?
Today I ran across the TechBlog article, “What’s the buzz, Cingular?” The author, Dwight, calls it a “galloping buzz” and notes that it seems to be related to his Cingular GSM phone.
Could there be something to this? Looking back on my own mysterious “galloping buzz” noise, I can fill in some missing blanks –
- I have a Samsung 427 Cingular phone. Until around last November, it mostly sat at home on a bedroom windowsill.
- Last November when I started dating, I decided to start carrying my phone to the office. It sits about 2 feet from my monitor. The buzzing started more or less around the same time, I think. It’s hard to be sure.
- After the recent downstairs remodeling project, my office is now downstairs. I moved the phone charger to the desk, again, about a foot from the monitor. That was about 2 months ago, I think, and I’m pretty sure the computer buzzing started about the same time.
- That galloping buzz happened just now, at my office, while I’m typing this. It was very faint, though.
- A couple of months ago I brought an old pair of earphones to the office. That’s about when the buzzing at the office more or less disappeared. I leave them plugged in all the time. Is it possible the buzzing is so faint because it’s coming out of the earphones?
I’m curious – does anybody here ever get a random, galloping buzzing noise? If you do, do you have a Cingular phone nearby?
Jo, your blackberry makes me buzz.
Chasing the Wind 
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