Not yet. It's coming from Australia, and Canada Post sucks so it'll probably take a couple weeks. Hoping to have them before a tournament I'm doing this weekend. You'll chums on here will be the first to know though.
I have one. Stylishly, it looks really good. It feels good in hand. But it requires a stronger blow than any other whistle I own.
I just bought the Fox 40 Eclipse. Haven't gotten to use it in a game yet, but just blowing it outside it seems to be a lot weaker than the Classic. We'll see how it performs in game.
My Collection: 4x F40 Classic Black 1x F40 Classic Neon, Red, Grey, White, Orange (5) 1x F40 Classic CMG Black, Blue, Red (3) 2x F40 Mini CMG Black 1x F40 Mini Blue, Green (2) 1x F40 Pearl fingergrip 1x F40 Sonic Blast CMG Blue 2x Molten Dolphin Black 1x Molten Dolphin Yellow 1x Acme T2000 Black 1x Acme Cyclone 888 Black 3x Acme T623 + So many pea-whistles..
Just picked up a couple of Soniks. I'm liking them so far, though I killed my ears yesterday at the kick-off.
Try to be careful not to blow it hard right next to some player's head (unless they're doing something you really want them to stop doing).
I have a couple of these, and they are always in my bag, but the pitch is just to low for me. I remain a Classic user.
I love the Sonik, but only as my "I'm not happy" whistle. I pair it on a keyring with my regular whistle, and only use the Sonik when a card of either color is about to appear, or there is a confrontation I want to breakup. IT IS LOUD. Too loud for regular use in my opinion.
How many people use whistles for different purposes in the same game? While I keep two different ones together, I've always done it in case I want to change because there is the same whistle on a nearby field (and, for me, the second whistle makes a nice balance for holding it). But I always stay with the one whistle, though I've heard some, like Campbed, who have an "I'm mad" whistle (which I've neve thought necessary as I've always thought I could "talk" enough with one whistle), and at least one ref who uses a different whistle for KOs (whcih never made sense to me). Curious about who uses more than one whistle in the same game and why.
A young guy I know, who is always up on the latest, puts one finger across one of the slots on his Fox 40 for run of the mill whistles. It sounds kind of weak and pitiful. When needed, the finger comes off and it blows full force. (He probably picked this up at Regionals.)
social, same as you. I keep the sonik with another back up whistle in case we are having whistle conflicts. Haven't had an issue yet, the players usually recognize which whistle is mine..
I believe you intended to place this in the nerd thread. Granted, I could ask my wife to use her tuner to get the notes on my whistles.
This is the nerd thread. I agree with those who think Sonik Blast (120dB+)* is too much for most matches, at least if those matches span a variety of youth games. For most of these, I've gone down from a Fox40 Classic (115dB) to a Fox40 Mini (110dB). I love the feel (in the hand) and sound of this whistle, and it does not conflict with neighboring fields, and when I need to make a point, it's definitely enough for most matches. The Fox40 Classic is still excellent, but most are blowing it. That said, I did a u16b match with the Sonik Blast, and that was definitely a proper whistle to (mostly) keep those guys in line. I am in the process of augmenting my Acme collection. The bent Tornado is very good in my experience. REF EAR SAFETY: * As we should all know, repeated use of loud whistles is bad for one's hearing. This is especially true if it is the same whistle, and therefor the same frequencies, all the time. Switch your whistles from game to game. * Restrict the use of the master blasters to when they are really needed. * Refrain from long blasts except when necessary. Short blasts with sharp attack and sharp cutoff not only limit the total sonic energy, they spread the frequencies out. This comes from the math of the Fourier integral. (Math/scientist/engineering types should be able to explain this to you, and musicians know this implicitly if not explicitly.) * Fox40 spl ratings
I stand corrected.. just tried mine at home and the Sonik Blast is indeed a few half steps lower. It must be the volume difference that makes it seem higher in my memory? Using a completely unscientific free Android app: Hammerhead Mighty w/ Pea and Pealess were both around 2500Hz Fox 40 Pearl was around 2600Hz ACME Tornado was around 2900Hz Fox 40 Sonik Blast was around 3200Hz Fox 40 Classic was around 3600Hz
I am vindicated. I knew the Classic had the highest pitch. I have a couple of Pearls - ugh, way too low. They sound like a foghorn.
I don't like mine much either -- but I always bring it to places with multiple fields to have a distinctive whistle.
Reffed a U11 Boys game today with my new write-on cards and a brand spanking new FOX40 Classic. My ARs, both aren't very experienced and never ref ages over U11, thought my whistle has broken. I guess I should lay on it more? I like it but it doesn't always blow the way I want. But I hate my pea whistle! Any tips on getting the strong, piercing sound more easily? I only had trouble with it about 2 times and still the play stopped, it just wasn't the best sound.
Silly though it may sound, the answer really is practice. The 40 needs a burst of air, but as you play with it, it will sound better -- you want the three separate chambers working together. (Go to the how to be a referee sticky thread, and there are a few recent links about how to blow the whistle.) Being too timid with the whistle -- whatever whistle being used -- is a very common trait that new referees need to overcome.