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Author
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Topic: Sound inside the Apollo lunar module
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paul.i.w
Member Posts: 65
From: UK
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 03-18-2006 04:32 PM
   
I have just finished Andrew Chaikin's book on the Apollo missions, a great read. There is one brief mention of a crew in the LM simulator using tapes of "live" LM sounds (the noise of pumps, thrusters, etc.) to add a little "ambience" to their training. I can't find the spot at the moment, but I think it was a J mission crew. Anyway, I wondered if anyone knew if tapes of this sort of thing exist anywhere? I just can't conjure up the sound inside an LM (or a suit for that matter). I gather the Apollo CM was a pretty quiet place, but it would be interesting to hear the "authentic" sound of an LM "in action." |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 03-18-2006 05:14 PM
The CM wasn't all that quiet. Mike Collins once told me that there were always whirring pumps or banging thrusters. At least the LM's thrusters were off when it was on the moon! |
Scott
Member Posts: 3307
From: Houston, TX
Registered: May 2001
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posted 03-18-2006 06:42 PM
The EagleLander3D game replicates the LM sounds very well, from what I understand. You hear the background roar of the main descent engine as well as the "spraying" noises of the attitude thrusters. You can hear them here. When I play the game I don't have the background music on (which you hear in the above movie) and so it is much easier to hear the LM sounds. |
paul.i.w
Member Posts: 65
From: UK
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 03-20-2006 07:58 AM
Thanks for the replies. The movie was pretty good and one of the more exuberant landing audios! (Shame about the music, though!) |
Foxtrottoscar
New Member Posts: 8
From: Hamburg
Registered: Dec 2004
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posted 03-20-2006 12:42 PM
A few years ago I bought a sounding Apollo spare part. The horn of the Apollo master alarm. If you ad some electricity it comes to life. Believe me, you definitely have to turn it off.
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kyra
Member Posts: 583
From: Louisville CO US
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 03-20-2006 10:12 PM
While we're on a closely related topic, there must be freeware files out there to get the appropriate Klaxon type alarms and other spacecraft sounds. If not they could be made fairly easily. There is also the tone heard at the beginning and end of audio transmissions. I feel ignorant here not knowing what they are called, but a simple tone generator could make these sounds. They all must be fairly exact and controlled by Mil Spec. Thruster and engine sounds are all variations of white noise. Fans run at exact speeds and would be a frequency. |
edmk5000
Member Posts: 49
From: Homestead, FL USA
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 03-25-2006 12:32 PM
Kyra, these tones are called, "Quindar Tones" and are used to switch communications equipment on and off. There is a good article regarding these tones here.Specifically, when CAPCOM pressed his "talk" button, a 2.525KHz tone switched the ground transmitters on and when the button was released, a 2.475KHz tone switched the transmitters off. Each tone was a sine wave lasting 250ms. To generate these and other tones on a PC, I recommend a nifty tone generator program called NCH Tone Generator. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 43576
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 03-25-2006 06:46 PM
Fred Haise told a story that pertains to this thread during our panel discussion for Apollo Moon Missions: The Unsung Heroes.During Apollo 13, after the accident, Fred and Jim were busy powering up the LM while Jack was shutting down the CM. At some point, Fred noticed in his peripheral vision that someone was floating behind him. It was Jack. Jack had never been in a powered-up, flying LM before. The LM, unlike the CM which is a "battleship" designed to survive launch and reentry, has very thin skin and no walls. Netting took the place of metal to prevent the astronauts from bumping into wiring and other electronics. As a result, the LM when running had a steady hum of pumps and other devices. "It sounded very tinny," said Fred. Fred, now turning around to see Jack, notices he has this look of concern on his face and asked what was wrong. "Do you think this thing will make it?" Jack responded. The audience broke into laughter... |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 03-31-2006 10:12 PM
Have just been reading Buzz Aldrin's "Men from Earth". On page 212 he says, "The LM was noisy, with chattering fans and strange, gonglike rumbles." |
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