Anyone have experience with decibel meters?

[97prizm]

Hi All,

I figured this forum is the closest as I'm wondering if anyone on here has experience using decibel level meters. Hopefully ones that can be calibrated, and aren't hundreds of dollars. I'm looking for something to use to record road traffic db and hopefully local air traffic db's. Cell phones aren't able to be calibrated from my understanding and vary widely from make and model. It's for a project. All suggestions especially if you have experience with decibel meters would be helpful. If anyone has used one point me in the right direction.

 

[JohnnyG]

I'm pretty sure that there's an app for that. I had one years ago that could be "calibrated" to a degree. What you had to do is set the "quiet" level so it read zero, that was the extent of it though.
Other than that you would also need a calibrated sound source.
Now if you're looking for something that will hold up in court, you might need something else.

 

[KJSmith]

I have one I bought from Grainger many years ago.
Extech 407703A...it's been discontinued, I don't think its user calibrated.

Amazon has some other brands.... they can go from cheap to really expensive depending on your exact need.

In my case, there was an employee complaining about the sound level in a room.
We needed to make sure we were within OSHA standards.
We were.
We also offered hearing protection if the individual so desired.

 

[hrv]

Speak up...I cant hear you.......

 

[eljefino]

I got a cheezy one from amazon a while back, $20 or so, claimed to meet whatever standard the things meet. Has a 1/4-20 tripod socket so it can be mounted wherever.

 

[AZjeff]

Are you talking about calibrating yourself as described above or sending it out for an official calibration? There's a difference. You can buy one with a calibration certificate that's good for a length of time.

If your project is meant to be taken seriously by others it probably needs to be officially calibrated.

 

[KJSmith]

If your project is meant to be taken seriously by others it probably needs to be officially calibrated.

Yep.
Either calibrated and certified or not able to be calibrated.
If you can't calibrate it, it can be checked against another.

User calibrated leaves room for abuse.

 

[Trav]

UNI-T makes a lot of inexpensive meter type tools, the quality is not too shabby, it may be worth a look. Check Amazon.

 

[ecotourist]

We bought one at the office about 10 years ago. Seems to me it was a pretty good one and only cost about $50.

What scale do you want to use? Human hearing approximates the "a" scale.

 

[97prizm]

We bought one at the office about 10 years ago. Seems to me it was a pretty good one and only cost about $50.

What scale do you want to use? Human hearing approximates the "a" scale.

I'm planning on using it to see what the traffic decibel levels are and what air traffic decibel levels are.

 

[bobdoo]

I have a BAFX 3370, that I use occasionally. I usually use a USB mic and a PC app called REW, to measure my stereo speakers, and EQ them.

It sounds like you want to find support for too-noisy areas? Get a lawyer. Your measurements won't hold water...

 

[TPK]

I bought a Realistic, (Radio Shack), cat. no. 42-3019 many years ago when I work as a sound engineer for a local band, and I still have it and it works great. I recently used it to prove to an anti-pickleballer that the sound level was lower than expected and quieter than the local traffic. Anyway, try EBay maybe for this unit as it was not expensive even in 1975 when I bought it.

 

[97prizm]

Yep.
Either calibrated and certified or not able to be calibrated.
If you can't calibrate it, it can be checked against another.

User calibrated leaves room for abuse.

I saw some that were "OSHA APPROVED " but were in the $500-$600 range. I may put off my project depending on what my cohorts suggest.

 

[AndyB]

+1 on the Realistic db meter. Have several and they are surprisingly accurate when checked against a professional db meter. Should be able to find one used pretty easily.

 

[AZjeff]

I may put off my project depending on what my cohorts suggest.

Don't put it off. Maybe it will take your mind off of your Musk/Tesla obsession for a bit.

 

[97prizm]

+1 on the Realistic db meter. Have several and they are surprisingly accurate when checked against a professional db meter. Should be able to find one used pretty easily.

Cool I might have to check it out. The osha ones are serious money.

 

[DuckRyder]

I have a realistic we used years ago on a now gone motorcycle website to test exhaust. It worked well for that.

 

[NYEngineer]

About thirty years ago, Con Ed called us and asked if we were able to make a generator on their roof quieter. My dad bought a decibel meter and sent me in there. I don't remember all of the particulars but I got a reading on the machine as it was and measured all of the louvered openings on the enclosure. A few days later, we returned and installed panels with standoffs and foam lining over all of the openings. We directed the exhaust and the radiator air straight up. It was like 5 decibels quieter which if I remember correctly, was cutting the volume in half twice. When we walked to the edge of the roof, sixty feet away, you couldn't even hear it. Problem solved. Or so we thought. They called two weeks later. Lady across the street still called and complained when they tested the generator. Turns out she NEVER could hear it. She noticed the rain cap open. She only called because they used to send a guy over to talk to her. She liked the company.