In electronics, motorboating is a type of low frequency parasitic oscillation (unwanted cyclic variation of the output voltage) that sometimes occurs in audio and radio equipment and often manifests itself as a sound similar to an idling motorboat engine, a "put-put-put", in audio output from speakers or earphones.[1][2][3][4] It is a problem encountered particularly in radio transceivers and older vacuum tube audio systems, guitar amplifiers, PA systems and is caused by some type of unwanted feedback in the circuit. The amplifying devices in audio and radio equipment are vulnerable to a variety of feedback problems, which can cause distinctive noise in the output. The term motorboating is applied to oscillations whose frequency is below the range of hearing, from 1 to 10 hertz,[3] so the individual oscillations are heard as pulses. Sometimes the oscillations can even be seen visually as the woofer cones in speakers slowly moving in and out.[2]
Besides sounding annoying, motorboating can cause clipping of the audio output waveform, and thus distortion in the output.
- ^ Amos, S. W.; Roger Amos (2002). Newnes Dictionary of Electronics, 4th Ed. Newnes. p. 205. ISBN 0080524052.
- ^ a b Van der Veen, Menno (1999). Modern High-end Valve Amplifiers: Based on Toroidal Output Transformers. Elektor International Media. p. 15. ISBN 0905705637.
- ^ a b Dailey, Denton J. (2013). Electronics for Guitarists, 2nd Ed. Springer. p. 163. ISBN 978-1461440871.
- ^ Jones, Morgan (2011). Valve Amplifiers, 4th Ed. Elsevier. p. 467. ISBN 978-0080966403.