MY COLLECTION: Fox 40 Fox 40 Classic (Yellow, Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, White) Fox 40 Sonik Blast: Black (2) Black CMG Fox 40 Sharx - Black Acme Acme Tornado 635 - Black Molten Dolfin Pro-Black My favorite, by a WIDE margin, is the Sonik Blast CMG. The ACME Tornado is a complete waste of a few bucks...sounds like a wounded duck....but it IS great as a fingergrip. LOL! I like the Sharx, but its kind of big, bulky and awkward. I would love to get in on the Valkeen and Noda. Very hard to find in my parts. If anyone can forward any info on a possible purchase it would be greatly appreciated.
A ref at my local indoor soccer center has an unusual whistle that almost sounds like a train whistle; it has two harmonics. (To be clear, it doesn't actually sound like a train whistle, it's just the closest thing I can think of to describe it). I asked him about it, and he said he got it from a relative who worked as a sheriff. I've looked all over, and haven't been able to find anything like it. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
sure- here you go... [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Wooden-Whistle-Childrens-Conductor-Thomas/dp/B000ID1E0O"]Amazon.com: Wooden Train Whistle Kids Childrens TOY Conductor Play Thomas: Toys & Games[/ame] not sure that it would look that professional, tho!
Not sure what you mean by harmonics, but I'm guessing frequencies and chords. All whistles produce multiple frequencies - otherwise they'd sound like tone generators. Pea and turbine (Devastator) whistles generate multiple frequencies because of the turbulence caused by the object in the chamber. Pea-less whistles have multiple ports which generate specific frequencies. Without these designs, your whistle would sound much like a bosun's pipe. What you likely heard was a whistle with multiple ports which made a chord. Which is what most people are refering to when they liken something to a train whistle. A common train whistle example (in the United States) is a G-major 6th chord (GBDEG), for example. Not your ordinary whistle.
It's all about the Fox 40 CMG. Nothing else. If it's good enough for Collina, De Bleeckere, and Busacca it's good enough for me.
My Dolfin has two chambers (one on top one on bottom) and (to judge by the reactions of nearby players when I use it) causes the most ear discomfort.
Is it this one: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/All-Weather-Safety-Whistle-Co/dp/B001H8FJIW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321671632&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: Storm Safety Whistle: Sports & Outdoors[/ame] A local ref uses something like this - wonder if it's the same guy, if you're in SoCal. Is his name Pete?
Bought one. Used it in one game. Not even the whole game. Really crappy pitch. Slipped and fell and injured myself. Whistle got wet. Wouldn't work. Luckily had it clipped to a Fox 40 classic. Spun it around and finished the game. Put the whistle away to never see the light of day again. Piece of crap. My unbiased review.
I bought a regular Sonik Blast, and the pitch is too low for me. Is this the same pitch as the regular version? I got a couple of Fox 40 classics, and I don't see why I would need anything else.
Too low? Like Fox Pearl low? Maybe it's defective? My Sonik Blasts are a much higher pitch than the Fox 40 Classic.
Was going to see about asking for a Noda or Valkeen for a holiday present, but apparently neither is available in the US right now. But on a related topic: I usually use a wrist lanyard. However, a few times I've just held the whistles and like being able switch hands occasionally. However, I don't know what to do with loose whistles when I'm writing in my notebook. For those who just hold the whistles without a fingergrip or lanyard, what do you do with them when you need your hands to write?
Put it in your pocket or clip it in the waist band... Although I have a valkeen now and it stays in my palm with the new finger hold. But for years I just put it in the pocket I took the pen out of. Every time you need to write is a full stoppage that requires a whistle to restart so not an issue to take your time there...
Depends. Sometimes hold them in my teeth. If I'm needing to write, something has just happened someone is not happy with, i.e. goal or card. Having the whistle there is convenient if something happens and I need to blow it again, without fumbling with my book or write on cards (depending on which I feel like using that day.) Alternatively, since I usually have two clipped together with a key ring, I just hold the in between part of the set between two fingers underneath the book or card. I've never had a problem.
Not a fan of this method personally. If I've just given a card and now my whistle is in my pocket, and there's a retaliation, I'm wasting time reaching for my whistle. If a goal has been scored, and defenders run over to dissent to the AR, that's time wasted. In youth games, this isn't as big of a deal. But I do a lot of adult and high level youth games, and I don't want my whistle that far from easy use.
I guess it's a management thing. The card is given when the player has been isolated and the writing is done when everyone is calm(er). The whistle is in the pocket when the writing occurs, not the card is displayed. Likewise, the goal isn't recorded until after the teams have begun moving back up field and any AR dissent has been admonished. If managed correctly, there will be few, if any whistle is needed while recording. But it's important to remind yourself when to record and not be looking from flash points to record goals/cards. Of course your milage may very but it has been effective for me in the past.
I agree that most of the time it's not an issue. But I was doing a men's ethnic league game this past spring, my first center for this league, although I'd done lines in the league for 2 1/2 years. With about 6 minutes left in the game, bad reckless foul which leads to only caution of the game. Fouled player comes after the guy, but I get him separated, and get the card out quickly, as this was definitely a quick card situation. I caution the fouling player and check to make sure the aggrieved player is done. I remove my book and start to record, when all of the sudden I hear yelling and swearing going on behind me. I turn and 2 players are now running their mouths at each other telling each other to "shut the f--- up" and all that fun stuff. (ARs made no attempt to get to the scene and help out, as several of these "conversations" sprang up.) I hit the whistle again and got in between those guys, and told them to shut up or I'd just skip the yellow. I managed to keep it all to just the caution for the initial foul. But it was one of those times where I'm glad my whistle was close at hand and I didn't have to worry about it.
I thought this method was silly,tried it, and have never gone back to a wrist lanyard. I use two whistled connected together, and the connection includes a ring (like a key ring), so that I can slip it onto a finger if needed or hold the strap between two fingers while using the rest of my hand for something.
Its exactly what I do. If youre doing mens ethnic league games, you DO NOT want your whistle in a pocket. All hell may break loose at any point in time, without much notice.
The Noda can be purchased via Rakuten just like the Valkeen. See my prior posts. The Noda has a lovely tone, if you can get past the feel of metal on your teeth. I have a buddy who wraps his Noda with tape and that seems to work. The Valkeen hold is now my favorite by far, and since the whistle comes with three holds and a few friends gave me their extra holds, I'm using it with several whistles. I've also done this for several years: Put two whistles on either end of a very short lanyard. I have Fox-40s in every color, and each is setup with a Devastator on the other end. This makes it easy to stash in your waistband, slip between your fingers to free up your hands, etc. I signal ambidextrously, which means the whistle goes to my mouth with either hand. This setup is easy to switch between hands - you can flick it between hands and it's impossible to miss the catch.
Here's a photo of my whistle collection I've put together over the years. At this point, I only really use the ones in the bottom left corner, the 4 sets with the Fox 40 CMG. It's become my favorite by far.
I have a lot of whistles that I have collected over the years and no longer plan to use. What I did was wash them and then start giving them away to new referees or referees with the cheap whistles. I like working with new referees. Before the game I'll take a look at their whistle. I'll offer to let them "borrow" one of mine. I keep them in a baggie. If they like the whistle and use it well, I'll offer to let then keep it. I'll give them some encouraging words.
Well, technically yes, if you want to go through all the hoops. Heck, I even speak some Japanese and it seemed like too much trouble at the moment. If US distribution of the Valkeen is coming soon, I'll just wait.
Hmmm...I don't see this one http://www.officialsports.com/3-Tone-Electronic-Whistle/dp/B005Z4QIPM?ie=UTF8&id=3%20Tone%20Electronic%20Whistle&field_product_site_launch_date_utc=-1y&field_availability=-2&field_browse=3301127011&searchSize=12&searchNodeID=3301127011&searchPage=9&refinementHistory=brandtextbin%2Csubjectbin%2Ccolor_map%2Cprice%2Csize_name%2Cpart_number%2Cstyle_name%2Citem_type_keyword&searchRank=salesrank
And in my collection, you never will. Anything they have to advertise as being able to be used "even if you are out of breath" is not something I need to have in my collection. Also, there's something psychologically fulfilling about the standard whistles. Besides, what if you have that electronic one and the battery dies? Not for me. I have quite the extensive whistle collection, but this one will NEVER be a part of it.