Sound Meter
Measure decibel values of environmental noise
Assessing noise from industrial plants, traffic, construction work, concerts and other scenarios
The app measures sound in decibel (dB) values in various forms: FS (dbFS, Full Scale), SPL (Sound Pressure Level) and RMS (Root Mean Square). Kobi is no professional acoustic turtle so I had no idea what any of these were! Therefore I was happy to find clear, succinct explanations for each of these 3 values in the ‘Help’ section.
The app suggests how to make the measurement of the sound meter more precise, since most phone devices are aligned to the human voice. Under ‘Settings’, click on ‘How to adjust’. Go to a quiet place with as little sound as possible. Measure the Root Mean Square (RMS) level. Input this value in the ‘Quiet Place Level (RMS)’ bar and hit ‘Save’. If you need to reset the value, enter ‘0’.
Not bad but simply a limitation of the app due to the KaiOS device. In the ‘Help’ section, the app tells you that the maximum values are limited by the device. Therefore, very loud sounds (over 90 dB) may not be recognised. If you need a highly accurate dB measurement, the app recommends using an actual sound pressure level meter (SPL meter).
