At 10:09 AM +0000 11/23/10, Pratap Singh wrote:
>Hello,
>
>I am looking for a sound level meter for measuring ambient sound
>levels in forests along Himalayas. I have heard of a sound meter by
>Radioshack that costs about $50, but I do not know about the quality
>of the equipment. I request for any ideas for a small hand held
>sound level meter costing not much more than $200.
>
>Pratap Singh
>Wildlife Institute of India
>Dehradun
>
Hi Pratap--
I assume you want to measure very low sound levels. The Radioshack
unit probably won't be of use for these. I hope someone knows of a
<$200 solution!
Mike Rooke has made a modified iPod unit that he reports can measure
levels under 30 dB. <>. I'm not sure if this is within
your budget. I think the stock iPod package effectively measures the
mic self-noise-- not location levels-- when sound levels get very
low. Maybe some one knows how effectively low a stock iPod can
measure,.. ~35-40dB?
If you have very low-noise mics and a recorder with low input noise,
another budget solution is to establish some recorder gain
settings/meter references to extrapolate from with reasonable
accuracy. A Radioshack or similar unit is helpful at first to
establish this calibration. Rob D.
=3D =3D =3D
--
|