Noise meters

[sled_mack]

I'm looking for any information, recommendations, thoughts, etc on noise meters. I don't need MIL spec quality, I'm not trying to rate the performance of a suppressor. Is there a decent unit that can be rented? Does anyone even rent them? Is there an inexpensive unit that can be purchased?

Situation - we live in a rural village zoned area. Family bought the 10 acre farm across the street. Only "farming" that had been done in the last 25 years was someone planting corn in the 3 acre field in the back. New owner wants to make this into a barn wedding/outdoor banquet facility. The barn is officially 5 feet off the road (no shoulder on the road either, that is 5 feet from the driving lane). We are directly across the street, up a steep bank such that we look down on the barn roof. It is 220 ft from our front door to the barn. His first zoning attempt failed. He plans to appeal.

But, in the mean time, his daughter is going to have her wedding here. And that is fine, I don't have a problem with having a family function on anyone's property. However, what I would like to do is record the sound levels for a few days before, then the day of the wedding. In PA it is illegal to record a conversation without consent, so I can't just record everything - that would get me busted for a felony. But I can record the sound levels. And if possible, have a few neighbors do the same - they all showed up to oppose the zoning hearing, so I'm sure they would go along with this.

Thanks!

 

[Lowlight]

amazon has them

 

[Alphatreedog]

Pa is single party consent . If you are party to the conversation only you need to consent . Cop gave me shit for not recording a scumbag talking about nefarious deeds that I was witness to .

 

[12Bravo]

Capturing the sound levels is a very good idea for a zoning hearing. I don't know how accurate they are, but you can get Apple or Android sound level meter apps.

 

[sled_mack]

Pa is single party consent . If you are party to the conversation only you need to consent . Cop gave me shit for not recording a scumbag talking about nefarious deeds that I was witness to .

Our attorney, a local police, and a state trooper (both of whom live in the affected area) told me it is 2 party consent. I'll do some more digging on this. But how well do you know/trust this cop? After all, he doesn't get a felony record if you illegally record something because he said you should?

 

[Alphatreedog]

I just googled it and it seems the Commie fucks changed it in 2016 .

 

[Spblademaker]

Pennsylvania Recording Law | Digital Media Law Project

www.dmlp.org

Being that the conversations would be loud enough to be heard across the street and onto someone else’s property, the "expectation that such communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying such expectation”, shouldn’t come into play. But I am not a lawyer.

 

[cornhusker86]

I have a Galaxy Audio CM-130. $58.00. It would work fine for your needs.

https://www.amazon.com/Galaxy-Audio...=galaxy+audio&qid=1560718172&s=gateway&sr=8-4

 

[Clearlight]

It would be useful to find out the regs for ‘noise pollution’ in your area first, and particularly the
DB limits and distances to be measured at. There will be a spec something like “ C weighting
on fast response at X distance for Y amount of time’ Anything amplified ( music) often has a different
spec to general noise. Local County admin should be able to supply info.

There is a spec here for amplified music in some outdoor cafes: 95 DB at 5 meters on fast C weighting
for eg. A decent fart or a Harley riding past can go over 95.

 

[Snipe260]

I have a Galaxy Audio CM-130. $58.00. It would work fine for your needs.

https://www.amazon.com/Galaxy-Audio...=galaxy+audio&qid=1560718172&s=gateway&sr=8-4

View attachment 7096231

Doubles as a sound meter!

 

[acudaowner]

maybe renting rather buying would be a better option you would not have to pay to make sure the equipment was calibrated .

 

[Maser]

The sound meter apps work pretty good for picking up normal sounds, but you have to keep in mind that the mics inside your phone are designed for human voices and not for things like gunshots or dirtbikes. If you're planning on using it to measure noises that are well over 130db, just spend the 30-50 bucks and get an actual sound meter.

 

[deersniper]

I just googled it and it seems the Commie fucks changed it in 2016 .

Don't want their corruption recorded.

Maryland law got passed in the 70s after the Feds jammed a pile of the state olihharchy on corruption charges.