Lowering speaker volume automatically over time

[Jay Czerwinski]

I have outdoor speakers playing the music and I lower the volume manually at the amplifier as the night goes on.  Sometimes I get distracted by my wife, baby and/or toddler and I forget I am at a high volume late in the night before my silent animations begin.   My neighbors are really cool, but I don't want to be abusive!   

 

I would like to automate my volume reduction process.   

 

One thing that comes to mind is to make complete duplicate musical sequences with MP3 files that have had the volume reduced and just have different volume leveled shows.   It's just a lot of work and a lot of duplicate files cluttering my computer.  And, I wouldn't want to lower the volume I am transmitting at at the same time -- just the amplified speakers.

 

I can imagine other methods, but don't know if the hardware or software feature might exist.  (e.g. An amplifier that has a timer built in, or an inline resistor in the speaker wire that is time driven, etc.)

 

I would enjoy hearing your thoughts and suggestions!   Thank you in advance for sharing your creativity!!!

[BryanZ]

I'd just set the show cut off time and not worry about it. Say 9:30 during the week and 10 - 10:30 on weekends. Could also go outside and test it with a decibel meter and keep it under 60DBs or so. Other option would be an FM transmitter and frequency sign. For the most part, I'd say as long as you kill the outside music at a reasonable time you will be fine.

[dgtlpro]

What licence level do you have? If you have advanced you could probably write/find a script to lower your computer's volume and then make different startup sequences for different volume levels and then run the windows shell command.

Edited October 23, 2014 by dgtlpro

[Mega Arch]

+1 on Bryan - just cut if off at reasonable hour and not worry about it.

I have mine set to be pleasantly heard in the direct area of my display, if you are standing outside.

If visitors want to hear it from inside their car, they need to tune in on their radio.

If you soften your output on the song, your FM broadcast may fall out.

So either keep manually softening at your speakers or

PLAY IT LOUD & BE PROUD!

[Jay Czerwinski]

Bryan and Mega Arch -

Thank you!  That is what I currently do.  The problem is that the street has a lot of traffic that dies down as the night goes on.  At 6pm you can't really hear it over the cars and by 9pm you can hear it down the street.   I also transmit on FM and that works for the cars, but a large number of my viewers are people that walk to the sidewalk and stand out front.  (I'm rather proud that I am part of dozens of families' bedtime routines for their kids.  They tell me that it is a bargaining chip for them - "Finish dinner/bath/etc. or no light show tonight."  It is a real treat to see all of the families and kids dancing every night. )   Also, the gathering families like to talk several Dbs above the music.  Since my little ones go down at 7:30, lowering the volume also lowers the volume of the people on the sidewalk.    "PLAY IT LOUD & BE PROUD!"  <--- That's what I told the officers on my first night out this season!  You know how that conversation went...   LOL!

 

dgtlpro - 

I have V 3.11.2 Advanced Edition.  That sounds like an interesting solution.   I have zero experience with writing scripts.  I'll look in to that and certainly take any tips on how to learn or where to look!

[Mega Arch]

Ouch. Officer, hang on a minute. I need to turn it down to hear you. Ok. Now, what's up?

Yeah - that didn't go so well.

[TonyD]

Check out this software to programatically change the volume on the computer. You could then schedule tasks to lower and raise the volume output of the computer.

 

http://blog.nirsoft.net/2013/09/10/new-utility-to-control-the-sound-volume-on-windows-vista782008/

[LORisAwesome]

I hooked my amplfier up to an insteon switch.  It shuts the amplifier off at 10:00pm, but the show continues to run and people can still listen on their car radio's.   

[BryanZ]

A secondary solution to help solve the noise problem with the additional pedestrians around your house would be to add a second set of outdoor speakers closer to where they are. Perhaps something from Outdoor Speaker Depot, for example. Perhaps connect those up to an inexpensive older receiver which has A & B main speakers settings such as a Yamaha RX-V496. You can run both the A & B speakers together for however long then with a quick push of a button you can turn off the set closest to the street. The music automatically will become softer. Just a thought. That software recommendation looks very interesting.

 

These may also work but buyer beware and I have no experience whatsoever with either one of these products so am unable to tell you if they work and how well they may or may not work:

 

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/System-Tweak/GreenNatureSoft-Auto-Volume-Control.shtml

http://dottech.org/82103/windows-dont-wake-the-kids-lower-your-computers-volume-automatically-with-volume-concierge/

Edited October 25, 2014 by BryanZ

[hilltop]

You could simply add some event to Windows Event Manager that do it.  Or Just write a script  (batch file) that you run at showtime.

Edited October 27, 2014 by hilltop

[hilltop]

Sorry... Task Manager.

 

Use Task Manager to run a script.

 

Here is a quick volume down buy 10%.  Works in Win8. Havent tested in 7.

 

_______________________________

 

@if (@a==@b) @end /*

:: batch portion

@ECHO OFF

cscript /e:jscript "%~f0"


:: JScript portion */

var shl = new ActiveXObject("WScript.Shell");
for (var i=0; i<5; i++) {
shl.SendKeys(String.fromCharCode(0xAE));
}

[Steven]

A secondary solution to help solve the noise problem with the additional pedestrians around your house would be to add a second set of outdoor speakers closer to where they are.

 

That's what I do. I have the 2nd set of "loud" speakers (with bass) connected to a regular timer that turns them on from 6 to 9. The show continues to run until 10:00 with the quieter speakers. After the show, it turns all the speakers of and plays Christmas music over the radio with voiceovers that say: "The show is over for this evening, but will start again at 5:30 tomorrow."

[grump010]

Hilltop,

I'm trying to wrap my head around the windows shell commands, would it be possible for you to explain what each of these commands lines actually do or perhaps some tutorial reading that you can recommend. Hopefully next year I will use shell commands to control my Benq projector during the show and I will definitely need to brush up on how to write a script.

 

Sorry to the OP for going so far off topic, back to automated volume control ;^}

 

Cheers

Daryl B.

[Steven]

I'm trying to wrap my head around the windows shell commands, would it be possible for you to explain what each of these commands lines actually do or perhaps some tutorial reading that you can recommend.

@if (@a==@ @end /*

That line is just magic :-)

To the windows shell, the '@' at the beginning of the line makes the shell not echo the line on the screen as it runs it. The if command does nothing, because @a will never be equal to @b.  However, the magic comes in later, with the command:

cscript /e:jscript "%~f0"

This invokes a script, and the "/e:jscript" says to use jscript as the engine. The last argument "%~f0" is the name of the batch file, so this makes the jscript interpreter execute the same file. The magic @if line is also a "do nothing" command for jscript, but the /* at the end starts a jscript comment, so it will skip the windows shell stuff until it reads the */. The last 4 lines seem to be jscript code that simulates pressing the 0xae key 5 times, which is the "volume down" key.

[Old Sarge]

I do not have the problem where I live as I am outside the Palmdale Ca. city limits but the city code in Palmdale California says that if someone complains about your noise or music being to loud they will or can ticket you.

 

There is no specific noise level or time of day or night for noise or  playing music.

 

It is just if someone complains saying it is annoying to them..  A rather unwarranted city ordinance because anyone can complain at any time even if they hear, tv, music or you talking etc. that you are annoying them.

[hilltop]

As stated before,

 

essentially some "magic" to keep it all clean in windows. Then wscript shell fr the bolume commands.  No sure why it says jscript.