So I have made a microhpone amplifier by myself for Arduino like this
When I connect it and start serial record and completely loose potentiometer it registers values that range mostly 400-500 to 1023, so I'm curious how can I atleast roughly calculate decibels? Without actual SPL meter.
This is a mic LD-MC-9765W LOUDITY - Microphone | Body dim: Ø9.7x6.5mm; 2.2kΩ; 0.5mA; 1÷10V; 50÷16000Hz | TME - Elektronički dijelovi
maverick2411:
So I have made a microhpone amplifier by myself for Arduino like this
How to Connect a Microphone to an Arduino
When I connect it and start serial record and completely loose potentiometer it registers values that range mostly 400-500 to 1023, so I'm curious how can I atleast roughly calculate decibels? Without actual SPL meter.
This is a mic LD-MC-9765W LOUDITY - Microphone | Body dim: Ø9.7x6.5mm; 2.2kΩ; 0.5mA; 1÷10V; 50÷16000Hz | TME - Elektronički dijelovi
You really need to read again, the text in the first link you gave. It specifically states "This circuit is only capable of detecting whether there is sound in the environment or not. ". It nowhere states you can measure the sound level or anything else about the sound.
Paul
But these and similar kinds of circuits can be bought in stores, I don't see why couldn't I measure sound levels. When I actually can, and I am using VU meter that shows that. ??
maverick2411:
But these and similar kinds of circuits can be bought in stores, I don't see why couldn't I measure sound levels. When I actually can, and I am using VU meter that shows that. ??
Because DB measurement is logarithmic and the circuit you show is linear. I suppose, with calibration, the Arduino could compute the DB of the relative voltage over a small range.
Paul
Paul_KD7HB:
Because DB measurement is logarithmic and the circuit you show is linear. I suppose, with calibration, the Arduino could compute the DB of the relative voltage over a small range.Paul
How to do that?
This article basically tells you how to connect the output of a power (op)amp to an arduino pin.
I wonder how long the input pin will survive that.
Replace the 100uF output cap for a 10k resistor.
That will give you pin protection, and adds ~2.5volt bias to the pin.
Assuming you power the circuit from Arduino's 5volt rail.
The code in the article is very basic. I would use double (positive and negative) peak detection in my software.
And yes, dynamic range will be very small.
Leo..
maverick2411:
How to do that?
Mr google can help with that.
Paul
Wawa:
This article basically tells you how to connect the output of a power (op)amp to an arduino pin.
I wonder how long the input pin will survive that.Replace the 100uF output cap for a 10k resistor.
That will give you pin protection, and adds ~2.5volt bias to the pin.
Assuming you power the circuit from Arduino's 5volt rail.The code in the article is very basic. I would use double (positive and negative) peak detection in my software.
And yes, dynamic range will be very small.
Leo..
I power it from 6v battery 
Forget the code, I don't use that code. I need somehow calculate atleast roughly as I said dB from what my microphone can read ...
Hello guys I suppose somebody here could tell me, what does it actually mean if my microphone has -38dB sensitivity and if I get some digital values that range 0-1023 (my mic does'nt recognize anything below 400), can I actually calculate decibels change and what is the referent point for my measuremnts? like decibel point where decibels change their amplitude.... I have this amplifier
WARNING - Your microphone amplifier puts-out an AC audio signal (it goes positive and negative). The Arduino can be damaged by negative voltages!
Hello guys I suppose somebody here could tell me, what does it actually mean if my microphone has -38dB sensitivity
It's an incomplete spec and I don't know what it means.
Decibels need a reference. SPL (acoustic Sound Pressure Level) is always positive, and the 0dB SPL reference is (approximately) the quietest sound that can be heard.
dBV is one of the electrical measures where 0dBV is one volt. -38dBV is about 12.6 millivolts. But, without knowing what SPL level gives you an electrical signal of -38dBV, it's useless. dBV can be negative or positive, but it's usually negative.
db VU is another (older) electrical-audio dB reference. Most modern "VU meters" are not true VU meters.
Digital levels are measured in dBFS (decibels full scale) where 0dB is the "biggest number" a 16-bit or 24-bit (etc.) integer can hold, or 0dBFS is 1.0 when using floating-point numbers. In integer formats, dBFS can never go positive. With floating-point it can got positive, but it's usually negative.
and if I get some digital values that range 0-1023 (my mic does'nt recognize anything below 400)
Are you saying you're not getting any readings less than 400? That's because the Arduino's input is "floating". A 1K - 10K resistor between the Arduino's analog input and ground will "pull down" the input to zero when there's no signal from the amplifier.
But WAIT - Replace C4 with a wire, or a ~1K resistor, or just "short out" the capacitor. Without the capacitor the amplifier's output (and the Arduino's input) will be "biased" at about 2.5V (half the amplifier's supply voltage). That will prevent the signal from going negative (and you won't need the other resistor to ground)
With the 2.5V bias, silence should read about 512 and you can subtract that out in software.
can I actually calculate decibels change
dB change is calculated as 20 x log(A/Aref) where A is amplitude (voltage or your ADC reading, etc.).
For example, if your reference reads 100 and your new reading is 200, that's a +6dB change. And, if you happen to know that 100* corresponds to 70dB SPL, that means 200 is 76dB SPL And, 50 would be 6dB less than the reference or 64dB SPL.
and what is the referent point for my measuremnts? like decibel point where decibels change their amplitude.... I have this amplifier
If you want to read dB SPL, you'll need a real SPL meter to calibrate the one you're building.
COMPLICATIONS - You are sampling an audio waveform and even a constant tone or sine wave will give you "random looking" readings. You'll need to find the peaks, or find the average or RMS. (Note that the average of a sine wave is zero, so you need to average the absolute values.) Normal audio is even more "random like".
SPL measurements are even more complicated and if that's what you're trying to do, search the forum for "SPL".
Thank you finally someone took time and answered me. So I here are full specs of microphone
Ok before anything I use 6V, cause it says I can use 4 AA batteries, so the amplitude would be 6V and 0V of that sin wave and 3V would be zero-point?
So basically if I remove that C4 i SHOULDN'T get reading lower than 512? And when I make some noise my serial reading should go above 512? Or lower than it or both of it? I'm gonna try tommorow i have PCB so I need to dissolve it.
Also found this helpful page
so the amplitude would be 6V and 0V
And would be too much to feed into an Arduino without damaging it.
So basically if I remove that C4 i SHOULDN'T get reading lower than 512?
No he never said that. Please read the post again and ask specifically about things you don't understand about the answer.
i have PCB so I need to dissolve it.
Well that is a solution then. 
So my microphone sensitivity is -38dB +- 2dB at 0dB=1 V/Pa
My unit gain is 200, i put 4.7 k resitor instead C4. I get values from 610-620 to 1023. I use 6 V for amplifier circuit but Arduino only reads 5V , so my working range is 3V to 5V.
How to calculate decibels from that ?
I get values from 610-620 to 1023.
Then the circuit is not working correctly. You should get values above and below the no signal point.
Connect a 10K from pin 2 to ground of your LM386, and also connect another 10K between pin 2 and 5V. This will bias the amplifier in the middle of the rail.
NOTES:
Please search the forum for "SPL". Like I said, there are lots of complications (including averaging and frequency weighting). You can make something like an SPL meter but it's difficult to make an accurate one. And, if you need accuracy your meter has to be calibrated with a known sound level, which means you need an SPL meter to make an SPL meter.
I'm making lots of calculations and I may make a mistake or two. Please double-check all of my calculations! - You might want to set up a spreadsheet.
EDIT - I just found one mistake that propagated to more errors, and I corrected it.... But there could be more...
I get values from 610-620 to 1023.
With silence "biased" at 3V, you should read about 613 (1023 x (3/5) ). So 610-620 is just about perfect with no sound (allowing for some background noise).
Turn-down the amplifier's volume/gain control before reading silence.
I hope you're getting some lower readings too... Ideally with a "loud" signal, the voltage should swing between zero and +6V (covering the full ADC range from 0-1023). The amp probably won't go down to zero but with a 6V supply, you're reading 1023 so you're obviously hitting 5V.
Subtract the bias before making any dB calculations!
So my microphone sensitivity is -38dB +- 2dB at 0dB=1 V/Pa
It's hard to make sense out of that.... 1Pa is 94dB SPL, I'm pretty sure you can't get 1V out of the mic without amplification.
Maybe they are saying -38dBV -(38dB relative to 1V) at 94dB SPL. I already calculated that as 12.6mV. That's an RMS AC voltage, so about 17.5mV peak at 94dB SPL.
A gain of 200 gives you 3.5V which means your amplifier is clipping (maxed out) at 94dB SPL (with the volume/gain control turned-up all the way). But, we can still use 94dB SPL = 3.5V as a reference for our dB calculations.
If the ADC were able to read above 512 (after subtracting the bias), 3.5V, it would read 716 (1023 x 3.5/5). We can use 94dB SPL = 716 as our reference. (You can re-calculate a new reference of 100dB or 0dB if you want to simplify your sketch.)
Just to make things "easy", let's say you get a reading of 100 (after subtracting the bias). 20log (100/716) = -17dB (relative to 94dB SPL) Subtract and we get 77dB SPL.
The formula in your Arduino sketch would be SPL = 94 - (20 * log (x/716)). Where x is the peak analog reading after subtracting the bias.
Corrected - The formula in your Arduino sketch would be SPL = 94 + (20 * log (x/716)).
With the bias reading 613 the maximum 9adjusted) reading is 410 for a maximum SPL of 89dB SPL. (Any louder than that, and you'll just get 89dB.)
Thanks Doug now it works GREAT. I only replaced minus with plus in that equatition. And subtracted 610 from my reading so I get numbers from 5 to 410 which are aqual from 45- 50 to 89 db. Thanks alot, appreciate it!
I'm glad to hear it's working!
I only replaced minus with plus in that equatition.
Good catch! The dB values are already negative, so we're adding a negative instead of subtracting. I corrected the post in case anyone needs it in the future (although that formula will only work with that particular microphone board and depending on the "nature" of the sound, it might not be accurate).
