QUESTIONS THAT FOLKS HAVE ACTUALLY ASKED
 
What is the effective distance of the BarkstopCD^©?
There are so many factors that determine the effectiveness of the BarkstopCD^©; Distance from the speaker to the offending dog; the power output of your amplifier; the power handling capability of your speaker; the dogs' tolerance to the tones, etc. The idea is to play the sound loud enough so that it is annoying to the barking dog. If you place a speaker near a window, it is important that the speaker be aimed directly at the opening as high frequency sounds are very directional. If it is not aimed toward the window opening, the sound will hit the wall and be absorbed or reflected but it will not go out the window.

I am using a 60 watt amplifier that is turned up about half way. I am using extra speaker wire so that I can put the speaker out in our back yard and as close to the barking dogs as I can. That way I don't have to turn up my stereo as much. In my experience, it seems to be effective up to about 60 ft but I think I could go further if I had to by simply turning it up louder. We are surrounded by neighbors who just let their dogs bark all night and the CD has been very effective at stopping this. The beauty of it is that I am playing these tones pretty loud at 1 AM and nobody knows except me and the dogs.

Also remember though, that it is important to use this as a training device. The tones should be played when the dog barks and you should stop playing the tone when the dog stops barking. This way the dog associates the punishment or correction with the barking behavior. If you just let the tone play the dog will just think something is bugging him and he will bark continuously. Also, some dogs are just more stubborn than others.
 
Can I record the tones onto a cassette tape and play the tape instead?
Unfortunately, The tones on the Barkstop CD cannot be recorded onto a cassette tape. Even if you were to use metal tape, a very high quality cassette deck would only be able to record a tone up to about 16,000 cycles per sec (hertz). The tones on the Barkstop CD start at 17,000 cps. and go higher.

Can I convert the tracks to MP3's and play them on my MP3 Player?

I don't see why not. But you'll still have to hook your MP3 player up to a stereo or amplifier and speakers.
 
Is this noise audible to cats? Would my cat freak out when I play it to deter neighbor dogs?
Yes, a cat can hear these tones and they would probably be just as annoying to your cat. However, remember that these high frequency tones are very directional, so as long as you are not aiming your speakers directly at your cat, it should not bother them. We have two cats that have learned to just stay away from the speaker whenever we have to use it. When we were first testing the CD in our office, the cats' ears would perk up and they would just leave the room.
 
Can you recommend a specific brand of speaker that works best with the Barkstop CD?
I don't really think I can recommend any particular brand or model of speaker. The speaker should be able to reproduce frequencies up to around 18kHz (18,000 hertz), however the important thing to remember is to get the speakers as close to the offending dog as possible. So if you intend to run your speakers outdoors as I'm doing, I wouldn't use very expensive speakers as they would be exposed to the elements. If you plan on buying speakers specifically for this purpose, I would recommend any of the smaller bookshelf type speakers as long as they can reproduce frequencies up to around 18,kHz. Big woofers aren't important as you are not generating any bass frequencies. Also, high power handling capability isn't that important either as super high frequencies don't require as much power to reach a certain volume level as do bass frequencies.
 
Why don't you make this into a simple, self-contained unit that is triggered by a bark and emitted automatically.
It would be nice to make it trigger automatically, however, I guess I just don't have the know how or means to develop a product like you've described.  One of the major advantages of the BarkstopCD^© is that it is an inexpensive, simple solution which uses equipment that most people already have in their homes. I've tried one product that was supposed to work like that but it would false trigger all the time. (Not to mention that it cost almost ten times as much) Also the tone it emitted was not ultra-sonic (above human hearing). It sounded like a smoke detector going off. It's kinda ironic that a dog can bark all night but if I were to use a product like that just once, I'd probably get arrested. Go fig'.
 
I'm bothered by three Yap Poodles, and am curious what frequencies you've found to be most particularly offensive to the canine ear.
I chose 17KHz, 18KHz and 19KHz sine waves. The only reason I chose those is because they are high enough to not be heard by most people, yet low enough to be reproduced by a reasonable quality stereo system. The 17KHz tone seems to have worked the best for me. They are simple sine waves.
 
We have a hamster. How will BARKSTOP affect him?
The BarkstopCD^© is VERY effective at getting even hamsters to stop barking.  Sorry... But seriously, I do not know exactly what the hearing range of a hamster is, but due to the directionality of high frequency sounds, it should not effect a hamster if the speaker is not pointed directly at it. 
 

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