Development of a low cost

Arduino based Sound Meter

A Project Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Award of the
Degree of Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering

Submitted by
Kaushik Mazumder
Roll No. ECB19025
Rajdeep Kumar Das
Roll No. ECB19028

Under the Supervision and Guidance

of Dr. Durlav Sonowal
Assistant Professor
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

School of Engineering
Tezpur University
Tezpur, INDIA
 Declaration

I hereby declare that the project work entitled “Low Cost Arduino Based Sound
Meter ” is an authentic record of my own work carried out in Tezpur University as
requirement of B.Tech Project for the award of Bachelor of Technology in Electronics
and Communication Engineering.

.......................................
.
Kaushik Mazumder
(Roll No. ECB19025 )
Rajdeep Kumar Das
(Roll No. ECB19028)

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 Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
Tezpur University

Durlav Sonowal Phone: 03712 - 275267

Assistant Professor e-mail: dsn@tezu.ernet.in

Certificate
This is to certify that the project entitled “Low Cost Arduino Based Sound Meter”
submitted to the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering under
School of Engineering, Tezpur University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
award of the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication
Engineering is a record of work carried out by Kaushik Mazumder, Roll No
ECB19025, Rajdeep Kumar Das, Roll No ECB19028.

.......................................
.
Durlav Sonowal
(Supervisor)

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 Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
Tezpur University
Prof. Santanu Sharma Phone: 03712-275257
H. O. D. e-mail: sss@tezu.ernet.in

Certificate
This is to certify that the project entitled “Low Cost Arduino Based Sound Meter”
submitted by Kaushik Mazumder, Roll No ECB19025, Rajdeep Kumar Das, Roll
No ECB19028 to the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering under
School of Engineering, Tezpur University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
award of the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication
Engineering embodies work carried out under the guidance and supervision of Durlav
Sonowal, Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics and Communication
Engineering.

.......................................
.
HOD, Department of E.C.E.,
Tezpur University.
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 Certificate of Approval

The forgoing project entitled “Low Cost Arduino Based Sound Meter” submitted
by Kaushik Mazumder, Roll No ECB19025, Rajdeep Kumar Das, Roll No
ECB19028 to the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering under
School of Engineering, Tezpur University is hereby approved as project work carried
out and presented in a manner satisfactory to warrant its acceptance as a prerequisite of
Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering degree for
which it has been submitted. It has been understood that by this approval of the
undersigned do not necessarily endorse or approve every statement made, opinion
expressed or conclusion drawn therein but approve only for the purpose for which it is
being submitted.

.......................................
.
External Examiner

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 Acknowledgement

The success and final outcome of this project required a lot of guidance and
assistance from many people and we are extremely privileged to have got this all along
the comple- tion of our project. All that we have done is only due to such supervision
and assistance and we would not forget to thank them.
First and foremost, we would like to thank our supervisor Dr. Durlav Sonowal sir,
Assistant Professor, Department of ECE, Tezpur University for providing us with this
wonderful opportunity to carry out the project on Low Cost Arduino Based Sound
Meter to meet the requirements of B.tech Project for the award of the degree of the
Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering. It has helped
us a lot to enhance our skills in this field of engineering.
Last but not the least, we would like to thank our parents and our friends for always
supporting us and for pushing us to give our best. Thanking you.

.......................................
.
Kaushik Mazumder
(Roll No. ECB19025 )
Rajdeep Kumar Das
(Roll No. ECB19028)

5
 Abstract

The aim of our mini project is to develop a Low Cost Arduino Based Sound meter.
Unfortunately, all the sound meters available in the market are expensive, that is why we
decided to use an Arduino to develop the said meters. We have used an analog sound
module for the sound measuring setup.

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Contents

Acknowledgement …………………………………………… 5

Abstract …………………………………………… 6

Contents …………………………………………… 7

1. Introduction …………………………………………… 8

1.1 Introduction …………………………………………… 8

1.2 Problem Statement …………………………………………… 11

2. Methodology …………………………………………… 12

2.1 Proposed System ……………………………………………..12

2.2 Hardware Setup …………………………………………….13

2.3 Working Principle …………………………………………….13

2.4 Arduino Code ……………………………………………..14

5. Results and Discussions …………………………………………….17

6. Conclusion …………………………………………….18

Bibliography .......................................................................19

Chapter 1 : Introduction
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Introduction

Sound level meters are used to measure and manage noise from a variety of sources,
including industrial plants, road and rail traffic, and construction work. A sound level
meter comprises a microphone, a preamplifier, signal processing, and a display. The
microphone converts the sound signal to an equivalent electrical signal. The most suitable
type of microphone for sound level meters is the condenser microphone, which combines
precision with stability and reliability. The electrical signal produced by the microphone is
at a very low level, so it is made stronger by a preamplifier before it is processed by the
main processor. Signal processing includes applying frequency and time weightings to the
signal as specified by international standards such as IEC 61672 – 1, to which sound level
meters conform.

TIME WEIGHTING

Time weighting specifies how the SLM reacts to changes in sound pressure. It is an
exponential averaging of the fluctuating signal, providing an easy-to-read value. The
analyzer applies Fast, Slow, and Impulse (or ‘F’, ‘S’ and ‘I’) time weightings, which are
the required weightings according to most international and national standards and
guidelines. Environmental assessment standards usually specify which time weighting to
use.

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FREQUENCY WEIGHTING

Frequency weighting adjusts how the sound level meter responds to different sound
frequencies. This is necessary because the human ear’s sensitivity to sound varies
according to the sound’s frequency. IEC 61672-1 defines frequency weightings A, C and
Z, but other frequency weightings are occasionally used in specialized applications.

THE DISPLAY

The display shows the sound level in decibels, typically with a descriptor showing the
selected combination of time and frequency-weighting (eg; LAeq or LCpeak). The signal
may also be available at output sockets, in either AC or DC form, for connection to
external instruments such as a data acquisition system, to provide a record and/or for
further processing.

CALIBRATION

Calibration is an adjustment of your SLM to measure and display correct values. The
sensitivity of the transducer, as well as the response of the electronic circuitry, can vary
slightly over time or could be affected by environmental conditions such as temperature
and humidity.
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While you are unlikely to ever experience a large drift or change in sensitivity with the

SLM, it is nevertheless, good practice to regularly check the calibration of your SLM,
normally before and after each set of measurements. This is best done by placing a portable
acoustic calibrator directly over the microphone. This will provide a precisely defined
sound pressure level to which the sound level meter can be adjusted.

In addition to checking calibration before and after measurements, many regulations and
standards governing sound level measurements often also require that your SLM is
calibrated in a laboratory once every 12 or 24 months.

IEC 61672

“IEC 61672 – Electroacoustics – Sound level meters” is the current international standard
that sound level meters should meet to satisfy most modern regulations. It specifies “three
kinds of sound measuring instruments” - the “conventional” sound level meter, the
integrating-averaging sound level meter, and the integrating sound level meter.

Problem Statement
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Industries expose their employees as well as their neighbouring communities to excessive
noise which are harmful in the long run. A sound meter goes a long way in such situations
to help detect and prevent any hearing damage.
A sound meter has 3 applications –
1. Basic Noise Survey
2. Occupational Noise
3. Environment Noise
In our mini-project we went for a sound meter that does a basic noise survey because the
ones available in the market even for household use is very expensive.

Chapter 2:
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Methodology

Sound Meter using Sound Module and Arduino with LCD Display has been designed
specifically for detecting the level of sound produced from any source and its intensity as
well. The LCD panel directly displays the information about the sound level in numbers.
The sound is distinguished as low, medium and high-level sound on the basis of number.
The set up is absolutely self-contained and requires no other apparatus.

The Proposed System

Figure 2.1: Capacitor Meter

Hardware Setup
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 Components Required
 Arduino UNO
 Arduino Sound Module
 16 x 2 LCD Display
 Breadboard
 Connecting Wires
 Power Supply

Working Principle
The sound sensor module has a perfect condenser mic that detects the level of sound from
the sound-producing medium. The sound sensor is a small board that combines a
microphone (50Hz-10kHz) and some circuit connections to convert sound waves into
electrical pulses. This electrical pulse is fed to the LM393which is a comparator IC.
LM393 IC helps to digitize the signal and is available at the OUT pin. The module detects
whether the sound has exceeded a threshold value. The sound level set point is adjusted via
an onboard potentiometer. When the sound level exceeds the set point, the output is sent as
low. This Sound sensor has a potentiometer that is used to adjust the Sensitivity of the
OUT signal. It has 3 pins that are OUT, VCC and GND.
The sound sensor generally, reads the analog value of sound which is then converted into
the decibel using some mathematical formula.

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Arduino Code
#include <LiquidCrystal.h>
LiquidCrystal lcd(7,8,10,11,12,13);

int num_Measure = 128 ; // Set the number of measurements

int pinSignal = A0; // pin connected to pin O module sound sensor
int redLed = 5;
long Sound_signal; // Store the value read Sound Sensor
long sum = 0 ; // Store the total value of n measurements
long level = 0 ; // Store the average value
int soundlow = 40;

int soundmedium = 500;

void setup ()
{
pinMode (pinSignal, INPUT); // Set the signal pin as input
Serial.begin (9600);
lcd.begin(16,2);
}

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void loop ()
{
// Performs 128 signal readings
for ( int i = 0 ; i <num_Measure; i ++)
{
Sound_signal = analogRead (pinSignal);
sum =sum + Sound_signal;
}

level = sum / num_Measure; // Calculate the average value

Serial.print("Sound Level: ");
lcd.print("Sound Level= ");

Serial.println (level-33);
lcd.print(level-33);
if(level-33<soundlow)
{
lcd.setCursor(0,2);
lcd.print("Intensity= Low");
digitalWrite(redLed,LOW);
}
if(level-33>soundlow && level-33<soundmedium)
{
lcd.setCursor(0,2);
lcd.print("Intensity=Medium");
digitalWrite(redLed,LOW);
}
if(level-33>soundmedium)
{
lcd.setCursor(0,2);
lcd.print("Intensity= High");
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 digitalWrite(redLed,HIGH);
}
sum = 0 ; // Reset the sum of the measurement values
delay(200);
lcd.clear();
}

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Chapter 3: Results and Discussions

Results

 Initially when everything is silent number 0 or 1 will be displayed on LCD

indication LOW.
 Turn on the music player and bring the module near to the speaker source, we will
observe the change in number and also level shifting from low to medium or high.
 Similarly, we can turn the volume up or down and check the level of sound.

Discussions
The sound meter does a good job in analyzing the sound levels in confined space but
there arises some complications when more than one kind of sound are intermixed. The
limitations observed are as follows:

 Need a skilled resource to conduct a noise assessment using sound level meter
 Sound level meter is difficult to use in controlled environments such as working at
heights and confined space
 The assessor needs to convert the data to 8 hours’ average.
 There will be a minimum disruption to operational activity when sound level meters
are used
 Influence or other sounds nearby such as forklift rumbling, public announcement
system, working operator, conversation with others can affect the results.

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 Chapter 4: Conclusion
A simple Arduino based Sound Meter with very less hardware requirements is made which
can be used in future with easy and in cost effective manner.

Testing of the Circuit

The Circuit for Decibel Meter using Sound Module & Arduino should be tested

as below:

1. Switch on the power supply of the training board so that LCD will light up.
2. Initially when everything is silent number 0 or 1 will be displayed on LCD
indication LOW.
3. Turn on the music player and bring the module near to the speaker source,
you will observe the change in number and also level shifting from low to
medium or high.
4. Similarly, turn the volume up or down and check the level of sound. When
extremely high volume is detected red led will glow indicating alert.

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Bibliography
1. Reference Data for Engineers (Ninth Edition), 2002

2. "What Is A Sound Level Meter?". Brüel & Kjær. Retrieved 24 February 2021.

3. Nonlinear Electronics 1, 2018

4. Y. A. Badamasi, "The working principle of an Arduino," 2014 11th

International Conference on Electronics, Computer and Computation
(ICECCO), 2014, pp. 1-4, doi: 10.1109/ICECCO.2014.6997578.

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