I was wondering through the isles of the communist empire.... errr I mean wal-mart, and I saw this Scosche SPL1000 "Boom Stick" meter. It is marketed as a product (toy?) for kids and their boom-mobiles to see how loud "they be bangin".
This meter claims to do 35-130db and you can find them for around $15. The digital display says dbC, so I'm guessing its C weighted.
Has anyone else seen or heard of this? I'm wondering if it has any potential or if its just junk. I would be willing to buy one to test it out, but I have nothing to compare it to.
Here's a link to the thingy on the red empires site.......
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4694329
This meter claims to do 35-130db and you can find them for around $15. The digital display says dbC, so I'm guessing its C weighted.
Has anyone else seen or heard of this? I'm wondering if it has any potential or if its just junk. I would be willing to buy one to test it out, but I have nothing to compare it to.
Here's a link to the thingy on the red empires site.......
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4694329
Hi,
Might be worth a try.Never look down on such product as they are probably a copy of some competitor design.PCB is likely to be smt but can be modified to expand both low and high frequency audio band for speaker building?Don't know if the mic is capable or not.You can search the net for similar mods on SPL meter;most notably the Radioshack analog spl meter.They say analog type easier/better to use than a similar digital one.But seriously most people would use software based measurememt mic setup,of course it costs more;much more.
Does it have a tripod adapter mount if you really want to use as such?
Might be worth a try.Never look down on such product as they are probably a copy of some competitor design.PCB is likely to be smt but can be modified to expand both low and high frequency audio band for speaker building?Don't know if the mic is capable or not.You can search the net for similar mods on SPL meter;most notably the Radioshack analog spl meter.They say analog type easier/better to use than a similar digital one.But seriously most people would use software based measurememt mic setup,of course it costs more;much more.
Does it have a tripod adapter mount if you really want to use as such?
Theres no tripod mount, but a roll of duck tape is cheap.
I know there are much better options than this gadget, but you won't find any of them for $15. You can't even get a RS meter for that price.
I think I'll buy one just to play with it. I don't have any other type of SPL meter so I'm sure its better than nothing and at least usefull for some general SPL measurements.
If I had access to good equiptment to test it against I would run it through the mill and post some results.
I know there are much better options than this gadget, but you won't find any of them for $15. You can't even get a RS meter for that price.
I think I'll buy one just to play with it. I don't have any other type of SPL meter so I'm sure its better than nothing and at least usefull for some general SPL measurements.
If I had access to good equiptment to test it against I would run it through the mill and post some results.
Save your money 'til you got ~$80 and get a ECM8000 mic and UB-802 mixer from Behringer. Add another $10 for some cords and you can make Speaker Workshop measurements.
SPL meter measurements are really, REALLY, frustrating and not very accurate or repeatable in the best of circumstances. Trust me, you are wasting your time buying one of these for measurement of anything but noise/music SPL.
SPL meter measurements are really, REALLY, frustrating and not very accurate or repeatable in the best of circumstances. Trust me, you are wasting your time buying one of these for measurement of anything but noise/music SPL.
Its more like over $100 for both the mic and the mixer by the time its all shipped.
I agree thats the way to go, but my original interest was in whether this $15 spl meter could be used for something other than its intended use of measuring the "loudness factor" of kids cars.
I'm willing to waste the $15 on it to find out, I know plenty of young kids who would buy it off me if I no longer wanted it. I'm just interested in general SPL measurement and not the the bells and whistles Speaker Workshop gives you.
I agree thats the way to go, but my original interest was in whether this $15 spl meter could be used for something other than its intended use of measuring the "loudness factor" of kids cars.
I'm willing to waste the $15 on it to find out, I know plenty of young kids who would buy it off me if I no longer wanted it. I'm just interested in general SPL measurement and not the the bells and whistles Speaker Workshop gives you.
The LCD display has an "A" as well as "C". Maybe there's an unpopulated switch location to select between A & C weighting on the board. I haven't pulled it apart yet to look.
I'd disable the backlighting while I was inside it, since it turns on far too readily. (or maybe just swap in a dimmer bulb or LED)
It might be useful as a dB meter for electrical measurements if you added a line input. It can't be all that precise, but should be fine for setting gains or recording levels.
I'd disable the backlighting while I was inside it, since it turns on far too readily. (or maybe just swap in a dimmer bulb or LED)
It might be useful as a dB meter for electrical measurements if you added a line input. It can't be all that precise, but should be fine for setting gains or recording levels.
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