A sound level meter, as it might be clear from the name itself, is an electronic device that is used to capture the sound waves and measure their amplitude. In simple terms, the device is used to check the intensity of the sound or noise.
The microphone attached at the top of the device captures the sound waves and converts them into an electrical signal, this electrical signal passes through the circuit placed inside the device to give output on the screen in terms of the intensity. There are other types of device that has a different function. Let’s see that classification.
Types of sound level meters and commonly used sound level meters.
There are commonly two classes of the level meters:
- Exponentially Averaging Sound Level meter
In this type of meter, the AC signal is converted to DC by an RMS circuit. This output is then directed through the logarithmic circuit to obtain the signal in the required units.
- Integrating-Averaging Sound Level Meter
In this type of meter, the frequency weights of the noise are added up and are described in terms of sound exposure level (SEL).
Then there is another type of sound level meter that is a common variant found in the electronic stores. And that is the Personal Noise Dosimeter.
This device is very useful in capturing the sound (noise) exposure of a person over a certain period. It will also help to detect any potential health issues the person might face as a consequence of long exposure to noise.
But to use these devices, you have to calibrate the meters. And for that, you have to follow a certain procedure. As every device has its process of calibration without which it would not work.
Procedure for meter calibration.
There is a need to calibrate the given device because without proper calibration the device will not give out proper values or will provide undesirable units. Sound level meter calibration is necessary to get the output in terms of decibels (dB). Let’s move forward and see how to calibrate the meter.
With your measurement kit, you will be provided with an acoustic calibrator.
- This calibrator should be attached to the microphone.
- It will then send out constant sound waves for the microphone to detect. Then the software will identify the desired output from the sound level meter calibration. As it is programmed with it previously.
These are the simple steps that you need to perform for calibration.
