The Sonic Hockey Puck
Hockey Pucks!
Left: The "Ball Bearing Puck," used by partially sighted ice hockey,
22-gauge sheet metal, 5.5" diameter, 2" height. Deliberately made 300% larger than regulation so players with limited sight can see it. Also has ball bearings inside that rattle whenever the puck is struck. Doesn't make any sound at all when motionless on the ice.
Right: Regulation, solid rubber ice hockey puck, 3" x 1" in size.
Center: "Babs," the Mooses' original, electronic, continuously-sounding, sonic hockey puck. 14-gauge stainless steel, 3.375" diameter, 1.125 height. Continually sends out 108db of undulating sound, like a smoke alarm, whether in motion, struck, or motionless.
Left: The "Ball Bearing Puck," used by partially sighted ice hockey,
22-gauge sheet metal, 5.5" diameter, 2" height. Deliberately made 300% larger than regulation so players with limited sight can see it. Also has ball bearings inside that rattle whenever the puck is struck. Doesn't make any sound at all when motionless on the ice.
Right: Regulation, solid rubber ice hockey puck, 3" x 1" in size.
Center: "Babs," the Mooses' original, electronic, continuously-sounding, sonic hockey puck. 14-gauge stainless steel, 3.375" diameter, 1.125 height. Continually sends out 108db of undulating sound, like a smoke alarm, whether in motion, struck, or motionless.
We have yet to come across any published set of criteria for the production and performance of a continuously sounding hockey puck to be used by blind players (other than our own). Here are the criteria the El Paso Mooses have used for the past 8 years in designing a continuously sounding hockey puck for Sonic Hockey play:
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1. The hockey puck that blind players use is one that they can hear, at any time, from anywhere on the rink. The sound emanates from the puck, to be heard at least 50 decibels at ten feet away, and emanates whether the puck is moving or stopped motionless on the ice.
2. The puck is no bigger than 4" diameter, 2" high. The puck's size is as close as possible to the regulation puck's dimensions of 3" diameter, 1" high. 3. The puck is no heavier than 16 ounces, as close as possible to a regulation puck's weight of 7 ounces. 4. The puck is produced from component parts readily obtainable and is reasonably easy to construct by any person. Component parts include: a. the outer casing, shaped like a hockey puck; b. the sounding device, electronic or mechanical; c. the power source, electric or mechanical; d. the connective system of the power source to the sounding device. 5. The power source is renewable or rechargeable. All component parts other than the power source should last more than 50 hours of play, and last as long as possible. The puck should be playable in use of more than 50 hours. We now have a hockey puck sounding device, and a goal sounding device that work together as a set on the rink! Both our "siren puck" (oscillating siren, like a smoke alarm, 108 Db)," and our goal beepers (actually, the 97 Db automotive back-up alarm that we previously used as the puck beeper for inline play) can be differentiated one from the other, you can hear both, and they last through an entire one-hour-plus, game play session. The puck sound does not diminish over the course of the hour. The sound can be pinpointed easily by the players. The sound can be heard from anywhere in the rink. The puck and sounding device stand up to hours of battering and being slammed into goal posts and dasher board kick plates. Our reduced weight, metal casing puck is named, "Babs." Beginning April 2019, Babs played over 500 hours of Sonic Hockey and is today none the worse for wear. In August, 2022, Bub, a new, polished stainless steel puck replaced Babs in the lineup. Through April 2024 Bub has performed over 100 hours, with no foreseeable end point to his use. We are able to use the siren sounding device with either an PVC plastic casing, or a stainless steel casing. The plastic puck weighs 8 ounces, the steel weighs 13 ounces. We report that our blind players in unanimity offer that the stainless steel casing material makes it so much easier to feel the puck on the stick, and goalkeepers really like that you can feel it markedly easier when the metal puck strikes your pads. This helps a goalie locate the puck to cover it. So, we got the puck that works "perfectly." Blind players can always find it. Even when it's motionless on the playing surface, it is still making the sound. The puck can be heard and its position discerned whether in motion or still, not moving at all. |
Bub, 3.375" diameter, 1.125" high, 14-gauge stainless steel, continuously sounding hockey puck. The lid bolts on and off, the 108db oscillating siren alarm provides a constant sound, 9-volt battery with battery snap connection provide the power.
Bub works perfectly, sounding 60-90 minutes continuously (before the 9-volt battery wears out). You can hear the puck's general direction at any point on the rink. You can hear specific direction to the puck within twenty feet. You can pinpoint exact location within five feet. The sounding device produces 108db of sound. The puck weighs 13 ounces. It is fabricated of 14-gauge stainless steel, and its dimensions are 1.125" high, 3.375" diameter. The sounding device costs $11.00. We replace the battery every 60-90 minutes of use. This puck model has played hundreds of hours with no predictable end to its performance.