base station - high-frequency squealing sound

Zeman · 14 Dec 2023 at 13:27

I have second base station (HTC VIVE Pro) and this one and previous generate high-frequency squealing sound.
So question is: all base stations generate high-pitched whining noise, is it normal?
I need steamVR base station compatible for pimax 8kx and swords and knuckles controllers.
So question is also about Valve Index base station.

Important - the question is whether the stations generate high sound, not whether it bothers you, because everyone's hearing is different and mine is exceptionally sensitive to high tones, what most people can barely hear, I can hear very clearly from several meters away.

drakulton · 14 Dec 2023 at 14:47

Zeman said:
I have second base station (HTC VIVE Pro) and this one and previous generate high-frequency squealing sound.
So question is: all base stations generate high-pitched whining noise, is it normal?
I need steamVR base station compatible for pimax 8kx and swords and knuckles controllers.
So question is also about Valve Index base station.

Important - the question is whether the stations generate high sound, not whether it bothers you, because everyone's hearing is different and mine is exceptionally sensitive to high tones, what most people can barely hear, I can hear very clearly from several meters away.

It seems like a normal issue for base stations. There are some fixes in the link.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ValveIndex/comments/luo8k4/high_pitch_noise_and_buzzing_from_base_station/?rdt=47620

glenimp617 · 14 Dec 2023 at 14:58

Yes they squeal

...... And it does bother me, but nothing a decent pair of headphones can't fix

Ravenger · 14 Dec 2023 at 15:07

Try changing the channel. That solved it for me.

Zeman · 14 Dec 2023 at 19:46

ok thanx so i guess changing to valve index base station not make sense.

Jim99 · 14 Dec 2023 at 19:51

Yeah I find this quite annoying as well, to a degree learned to live with it and to a degree use headphones to lessen the impact.

Ravenger · 14 Dec 2023 at 21:38

As I said, you can mitigate this by just changing the channel in the Steam VR app. Some channels make more noise than others.

BigBANGtheory · 15 Dec 2023 at 09:14

or you just wait until you get older and your hearing frequency response just naturally dies off

why do you think 70% of all 4090 owners don't hear coil whine

Zeman · 15 Dec 2023 at 12:51

BigBANGtheory said:
or you just wait until you get older and your hearing frequency response just naturally dies off why do you think 70% of all 4090 owners don't hear coil whine

i will try to set channel today. base station generate noise just when i turned on only station, pc and headset is off so i understand BT communication in station is on but not connected with devices.

LOL

rtx4090 will be archaic gpu when i stop hear base station

i am "not young" now

RTX 4090 coil whine.... more than 20xx, 30xx... not good. but i guess that depends on GPU load so maybe undervolting reduce it very good.. no?
i dont hear my rtx 3070 aorus but i use undervolting and voltage limit to 1.1v, temperature is allways less than 60. my sons 3070 suprim is silent too. are you suggesting that the rtx4090 will have squeaky coils?

wickfut · 15 Dec 2023 at 13:01

I'm old, can confirm 4090 is dead silent and my base stations don't whine.

Tykey · 15 Dec 2023 at 13:28

wickfut said:
I'm old, can confirm 4090 is dead silent and my base stations don't whine.

I'm nearly 50 and my hearing is still really good. can't say the same for my eyesight, back, etc. the base station whine is typical and it annoys me a bit at 1st then i tune out. another reason why i prefer inside-out tracking.

Zeman · 16 Dec 2023 at 14:25

Ravenger said:
As I said, you can mitigate this by just changing the channel in the Steam VR app. Some channels make more noise than others.

SteamVR -> devices -> base station settings
is disabled with message "Please enable bluetooth to access wireless features such as base station power management and updates" like here (not my screen)

pimax 8kx enabled, htc vive pro base station 2.0 is enabled, bluetooth on PC is enabled. Windows 10 Home.
When i use "add bluetooth device" in "Bluetooth & other devices" in PC, new device found "LHB-DE7E7B64" and this is base station. when i want to connect, pin is required.
i have not vr controllers yet. i ordered pair almost month ago on pimax with delivery time 3-7 days and they hasn't shipped yet so maybe I'll get them in six months... anyway no VR controllers.

so... idk how to change channel, i guess controllers are not required for that?
@Ravenger what heaset you have? maybe settings not enabled for pimax? i am searching info right now

Ravenger · 16 Dec 2023 at 14:33

Zeman said:
SteamVR -> devices -> base station settings
is disabled with message "Please enable bluetooth to access wireless features such as base station power management and updates" like here (not my screen)

pimax 8kx enabled, htc vive pro base station 2.0 is enabled, bluetooth on PC is enabled. Windows 10 Home.
When i use "add bluetooth device" in "Bluetooth & other devices" in PC, new device found "LHB-DE7E7B64" and this is base station. when i want to connect, pin is required.
i have not vr controllers yet. i ordered pair almost month ago on pimax with delivery time 3-7 days and they hasn't shipped yet so maybe I'll get them in six months... anyway no VR controllers.

so... idk how to change channel, i guess controllers are not required for that?
@Ravenger what heaset you have? maybe settings not enabled for pimax? i am searching info right now

It's in the Steam VR base station settings, but possibly it used the Index Headset Bluetooth to use that. You might need dongles for the controllers to do it.

Zeman · 16 Dec 2023 at 15:01

tyke_ said:
I'm nearly 50 and my hearing is still really good. can't say the same for my eyesight, back, etc. the base station whine is typical and it annoys me a bit at 1st then i tune out. another reason why i prefer inside-out tracking.

ye i am nearly 50 too and this base station noise make me crazy in 5 minutes

sometimes i can hear some of the light bulbs too, phone chargers and other devices so some people already have it and will continue to do so until really old age. this is such a human flaw, because it bothers us.
I also have sometimes problem returning purchased equipment to the shop because the person who checking cannot hear anything

so ye... ith not only young ppl problem.

Digit · 20 Dec 2023 at 10:33

Zeman said:
ye i am nearly 50 too and this base station noise make me crazy in 5 minutes sometimes i can hear some of the light bulbs too, phone chargers and other devices so some people already have it and will continue to do so until really old age. this is such a human flaw, because it bothers us.
I also have sometimes problem returning purchased equipment to the shop because the person who checking cannot hear anything
so ye... ith not only young ppl problem.

I can confirm this. I'm 51 and still very sensitive to high pitched noises. Although I have got used to my base stations. I have learned to block them out, and they aren't all that bad anyway.
But has someone else mentioned. Headphones on, means I hear nothing on the outside.