Buying a meter

[shizzzon 461]

I just tried calling the company that makes the meter and all I got was a home-use answering machine... So far that just makes u guys even more skeptica huh?

[johnecon2001 82]

I was skeptical long before this thread.

That box has been around forever. And the failure for it to gain a foothold in the market... well, I don't really have to say anything else.

[mrray13 30]

so the way this meter measures pressure

Does it? If it's measuring pressure, then where does the voltage reading come into play, or how does it need to?

I'm still shaking my head at the theory behind this, if any...just because it's comparable to a TL for certain readings really means squat, LORAN-C was comparable to GPS in accuracy if you were comparing two known coordinate points, but as soon as you went to a random point on a map the accuracy went out the window. Repeatable accuracy with new values is what's important here, and I'm not getting how they're coming up with a number.

These questions aren't directed at you, more in general...until I read otherwise this one is going in the file with power cords that improve the sound stage and supports that get the interconnects off the floor.

i think this post sums up everyone's feelings quite well, again x10 for sean, lol.

why is it so hard to get ahold of these people? take so long for the box to come in? and again, just how does it work? and if it's so accurate, why hasn't it taken over teh car audio world? especially since getting more for less is the way of the world.

like jim above, i'm not asking you directly shizzon, just out in the air. tell you what, post up the companies phone number, email or something. like sean, or one of the other techies, try and get in contact with them (time permiting) and attempt to get some answers. btw, i'll gladly test it against my TL this summer up at sean's. give the man something to play with, lol.

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[shizzzon 461]

here is their info -

www.makeitlouder.com

Mr. William Hamby

1394 Del Sol Lane

San Diego CA

92154

U.S.A.

1 619 662 3551

help@makeitlouder.com

[johnecon2001 82]

Sean should call when he's sober again. It's probably rough being almost 40.

[shizzzon 461]

Ok, i've been seein this everywhere, who is Sean?

[johnecon2001 82]

///M5

[///M5 2,833]

Sean should call when he's sober again. It's probably rough being almost 40.

I am not almost 40.

Hell, can't you tell from my personal info I was born in 2006.

<--will be in San Diego next week.

[mrray13 30]

2006? but under your avatar it says 2005? what gives????

so you going by their office next week? hmmm? that would be cool.

oh, and, i'm almost 40. so what's your point john?????

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[shizzzon 461]

Oh guess what, Guess What!!!!

I left a message for them to call me yesterday... well, -

I called them again today and no answer... and they Never called me back today either!!!

Isn't that wonderful?!?!

Good thing i didnt order from them and ordered from somewhere else. Hopefully he doesnt go directly through them to get it after i ordered it since it takes him 2 weeks to ship out AFTER payment clears.

[mrray13 30]

things are really looking good, lol...

i hope you don't get screwed with this thing. really. seems like a pretty crabby company. you sure ben milne isn't associated??

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[///M5 2,833]

B M lol, even his initials are shitty.

[mrray13 30]

B M lol, even his initials are shitty.

that's just so worng, yet so fitting..

and funny!!

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[shizzzon 461]

Somebody called me today....

It was MakeitLouder.com that called me.

The guy was talking in XML so i had them transfer me to English, hehe.

Well, got some answers but ///M5, you can still go over there and check it out yourself.

He made references to another mic costing $1999 that is exactly the same as theirs, just not the same model number.

MakeitLouder(i'll just call it mil from now on) states that they also manufacturer meters that go over 220Db for bomb testing. Go on their website to see!

They have a couple of NASA members who use their meters for bomb testing he said.

The meter that he was talkin about.. something 2510 i think he said was the name of it(the $1999 meter), reads both low and over 200db whereas theirs comes in seperate packages. One that goes up to 186 and the other used for bomb testing.

Does mil's need to be recalibrated?

No, unless hit with something hard like a bat, dumped in water over 400ft below level or some other catastrophic event. He says even then, it may only be off by 0.5-1.0 db.

He said they are a small company trying to go big, big big...

So, how exactly does this thing work? Well, he told me!

Here is the answer-

Inside of the black box is a Termlab sensor... NO, just playin, haha, ok here it is-

Inside of the black box is a chunk of metal basically. Not just a box with metal obviously but basically it is. He said it's a Zirconium Metal Alloy. This metal is not affected by sea levels or anything else that other meters may be affected by however your stereo equipment is affected so a change in Db will be seen if it happens when tested at different sea levels.

When air pressure reaches this metal, the alloy gives off a quick spurt of electricity which is how a DMM can measure voltage.

He said the refresh time is solely dependent upon the equipment used.

Typical DMMs refresh 3 times a second, Oscilloscopes refresh instantly which are preferred. My Velleman, he said, is perfect for this meter.

He said this meter is hella accurate all the way up to 179Db. After 179, Pressures 179.1 - 182.0 were calibrated under a small frequency range and so were 182.1 - 186.0.

He started to compare their's with Termpro's Meter-

He states that any Db comparison to their's that is under 175Db should be exactly the same if not lower. Their meter(mil) is a LOT more strict when it comes to measuring pressure. After 175Db, he said Tlab's meter tend sto read about 1db higher than theirs.

Anything read over 180Db(tlab meter) he states the meter starts to become very inaccurate(thats a fact according to termpro).

He also states that these competitions where people are doing over 180db has got to be inaccurate as well. He said due to the pressure involved, he believes his meter wouldnt even see 171 or close to that range in the loudest of vehicles.

The meter NEVER needs to be recalibrated regardless of how long you use it due to the metal alloy's aging characteristics lasting longer than humans themselves unless you severely damage it.

he said i can hold the meter in my hand when setting up daily driver to be loudest at driver's head rest and it will not affect the reading at all.

He says manufacturers buy these exact meters to test their proto guns on to print out Db curves to determine strength's of discharge.

He offered me a discount but as you know i already bought one so yea!, let's Git R Dun!

[mrray13 30]

what kind of discount? i might buy one, use it with my oscope, compaer it h2h with the TL and see what's up.

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[shizzzon 461]

his is $249 before any discount. Go to ebay and get one for $80, i know he cant compete with that price. I dont know what price he was gonna quote but that's what i payed.

[jonbearsmt 919]

very nice........ you get a tracking number yet on the one you bought?

[shizzzon 461]

in his auction, it states he will not email anyone unless there is a very necessary reason too.

I'm just gonna wait til the end of the month.

If you look at his feedback, everybody is happy. Only 1 negative and that happened over 6 months ago.

[jonbearsmt 919]

if i were a member of many fourms i would ask around and see if any one has used one... but SSa is my only bitch.

[///M5 2,833]

By definition all electronic measurement gear needs calibration, there is no "metal" that gives off electricity when exposed to pressure, and selling to certain people for gun testing is not a testament of accuracy or precision.

[shizzzon 461]

i have done some research over on CA.com and one person actually posted results. They showed that this meter was actually reading lower than the Tlab pro meter by about 1-1.5db! It was actually right on with the tlab meter when the same peak frequency of their car was measured... odd but true.

I think their Tlab sensor needs to be recalibrated, i think that right there is pretty sweet.

[jonbearsmt 919]

lol why not!..... ha ha i mean its a peice of metel that sends off a spark when sound pressure is presented thats so middle school didnt bill nye cover that?

[shizzzon 461]

all i know is it's very consistent according to what he was saying and will never not be consistent unless damaged by extreme pressure.

I told him i was planning on reaching 150 someway or another. He said 150 is like babying this meter.

I still expect about 2 more weeks before i see anything.

[ANeonRider 3]

this thread made me lol.

Using any research conducted on CA.com as reliable & scientific is also a lol.

I'm in with Sean here. Hell, he even stated why their "theory" doesn't work.

[mrray13 30]

By definition all electronic measurement gear needs calibration, there is no "metal" that gives off electricity when exposed to pressure, and selling to certain people for gun testing is not a testament of accuracy or precision.

^^^^ really knows his shit about measuring stuff, lol..

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee