"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
m...
I have something that is beeping at me exactly every two minutes. I have
ruled out the usual suspects of smoke alarms, the microwave. And even
some stranger ones like my cell phones, oven timers, etc. Sounds to me
like a battery is going dead, but can't figure out what it might be.
Having trouble tracking down where it is because of the long time frame
between beeps. Any suggestions of things to look for?

Get a stopwatch or even better, an automatic resetting digital timer. Set
*it* to beep a second or two *before* the problem device beeps. That will
make you aware of when to listen for the problem beep. Stand sideways in
the doorway of each room, one ear facing in, one facing out, just before the
beep occurs.

It'll take a few tries, but eventually you'll be able to locate the rogue
device. Works for me and I have a house littered with smoke alarms and
gadgets that beep. Electronic devices are usually quite regular in their
intervals, so the stopwatch "trick" usually works quite well but it does
take a little patience because it's so hard to localize an intermittent
noise. Works even better with two people and four ears trying to localize
each beep by listening for it just before it happens.

A timer of some sort is essential to track this down. It usually takes me
under 10 minutes to find the culprit. The trick is to be standing in a
position where you can use your "stereo" hearing to locate the noise source.
That's why standing in a doorway sideways is helpful. Makes it much easier
to tell whether the sound is in or outside a room.

--
Bobby G.