- Joined
- Feb 1, 2015
Ever since I read those articles about using classical music at high volume and infinite loop to chase urban hoodlums and bums out of bus stops and public transit terminals, I have been inspired to install a similar PA/sound system to reduce loitering, drug-dealing, and trespassing in the vicinity of where I have to park my vehicle during the day. But due to lack of electrical conduit wiring, I was stymied in my efforts until two weeks ago, when everything could finally go into motion.
The area is zoned as commercial so nobody can hit me with late night sound complaints and I got the all-clear from the local police department just to be sure, so the system is ok in terms of legal footing.
I have physically installed the first two broadcast units of the system (hopefully I will get total coverage once I can scrounge up some more parts), so in terms of mechanics, it's up and working right now in two areas of roughly 750 sq ft and 350 sq ft respectively. And it has rained a whole lot since I installed the system with no problems, so I think the setup is sufficiently weatherproofed.
I'm using a bunch of old desktop computer speakers bundled together and hooked up to an old MP3 player for a broadcast unit in lieu of purchasing proper outdoor speakers and PA broadcast system, so unfortunately the sound output is not ear-rapingly, deafeningly loud when the music itself is soft.
So I have selected a playlist of music that is consistently loud in volume (no pianissimo, no decrescendos) and also offensive to the ears of the urban youth (ie no strong beat, no English/Spanish vocals). Unfortunately this rules out a lot of classical music because it's too quiet or has a lot of soft/quiet movements and the hoodlums can just bring their boombox and blast their music louder to cover up the speaker output.
So far I have trimmed the playlist down to about 4-5 hours of very loud stuff that the hoodlums can't cover up like military marches, waltzes, polka, and big choral performances, since those types of music don't have any quiet bits and are always at 100% forte/fortissimo volume. It seems to be doing a good job of chasing off the hoodlums so far. Only a few days after installation, they already made one attempt to destroy the louder of the two units, but after some slapdash repairs, this has had the memetastic effect of adding an amusing "ear-rape" type distortion effect to the very high pitch or very loud parts of the music without reducing the volume at all. Since then, they have given up at destroying the units and only made one futile effort to bring all their boomboxes on one night to outspam my system. To my surprise, it's made more of a difference in two weeks than two years of calling the police to remove the junkies and hoodlums.
Because of the success of the initial two broadcast units, I have become something of an overnight folk hero to the people who legitimately work in the area, who so far do not suspect the second stage of the project: surreptitious injection of politically incorrect and offensive meme music into the playlist. So far such classics as "Ain't I Right", "Dixie", and "Erika" have made it onto the playlist, with much more to come. Unfortunately nothing too explicit will be suitable for the playlist, so I can't add songs like "Stand Up and Be Counted" unless there is an instrumental rendition out there. There's a lot of Yugoslav War meme music and the various dank ISIS/Al-Qassam nasheeds that I would like to add on the playlist too, but unfortunately a lot of it has a pseudo-rock type beat that I'm afraid will not be so unpleasant to the ears of the hoodlums.
The area is zoned as commercial so nobody can hit me with late night sound complaints and I got the all-clear from the local police department just to be sure, so the system is ok in terms of legal footing.
I have physically installed the first two broadcast units of the system (hopefully I will get total coverage once I can scrounge up some more parts), so in terms of mechanics, it's up and working right now in two areas of roughly 750 sq ft and 350 sq ft respectively. And it has rained a whole lot since I installed the system with no problems, so I think the setup is sufficiently weatherproofed.
I'm using a bunch of old desktop computer speakers bundled together and hooked up to an old MP3 player for a broadcast unit in lieu of purchasing proper outdoor speakers and PA broadcast system, so unfortunately the sound output is not ear-rapingly, deafeningly loud when the music itself is soft.
So I have selected a playlist of music that is consistently loud in volume (no pianissimo, no decrescendos) and also offensive to the ears of the urban youth (ie no strong beat, no English/Spanish vocals). Unfortunately this rules out a lot of classical music because it's too quiet or has a lot of soft/quiet movements and the hoodlums can just bring their boombox and blast their music louder to cover up the speaker output.
So far I have trimmed the playlist down to about 4-5 hours of very loud stuff that the hoodlums can't cover up like military marches, waltzes, polka, and big choral performances, since those types of music don't have any quiet bits and are always at 100% forte/fortissimo volume. It seems to be doing a good job of chasing off the hoodlums so far. Only a few days after installation, they already made one attempt to destroy the louder of the two units, but after some slapdash repairs, this has had the memetastic effect of adding an amusing "ear-rape" type distortion effect to the very high pitch or very loud parts of the music without reducing the volume at all. Since then, they have given up at destroying the units and only made one futile effort to bring all their boomboxes on one night to outspam my system. To my surprise, it's made more of a difference in two weeks than two years of calling the police to remove the junkies and hoodlums.
Because of the success of the initial two broadcast units, I have become something of an overnight folk hero to the people who legitimately work in the area, who so far do not suspect the second stage of the project: surreptitious injection of politically incorrect and offensive meme music into the playlist. So far such classics as "Ain't I Right", "Dixie", and "Erika" have made it onto the playlist, with much more to come. Unfortunately nothing too explicit will be suitable for the playlist, so I can't add songs like "Stand Up and Be Counted" unless there is an instrumental rendition out there. There's a lot of Yugoslav War meme music and the various dank ISIS/Al-Qassam nasheeds that I would like to add on the playlist too, but unfortunately a lot of it has a pseudo-rock type beat that I'm afraid will not be so unpleasant to the ears of the hoodlums.
NO REQUESTS THIS WEEK"
