So last year I was sound checked at 96 decibels on my own action pulling Sheriff Tim Tilly over. I just figured it was not worth the hassle getting pulled over so I figured I would get a baseline test and comply with the laws. I added some stainless insert type cones I picked up from summit racing and got rechecked a couple weeks later. I checked watching the meter bounce around from 90.8 to 93. Sheriff Tilly was happy and wrote me a sound check sheet at 90.8db and said I was borderline. In response I added Gibson mufflers and made sure to point them out to him for which I got the thumbs up from him. Never got checked with the mufflers and it was obviously much quieter.

Now this year comes around and there is a new Sheriff in town. I decide to get tested so as not be hassled at a later time. I pull the new Sheriff over again, have a not real pleasant conversation with him and get tested. Now I am at 103 decibels? WTF!!! I mentioned something about something has got to be wrong with his meter. He said they are all the same and you must have done something to your boat over the winter. I replied yes...I added the mufflers and there has to be a problem with his meter. Now I could see I wasnt getting anywhere with him. I pulled out my sound check sheet from last year and showed him...he didnt look like he tried to hard to read it and repeated that I did something to the boat.

He looked like he was about 4ft back and 4ft up. I did not see him calibrate his meter and I also did not see it bounce around like I did last year. Does he have the meter set to hold the max level? What the hell is this guy doing wrong?

...just not right!

So I called a friend of mine who plays music. They meter where they play to make sure they are not over-blasting the neon haired patrons!

His statement was to the effect "usually if a meter is not reading correctly, it reads low, not high". He made it a point to say they are electronic, so anything is possible. It could always be the original test was faulty.

He also said if you set a sound level and move the meter a little there will be some change, but that change is minimal.

I just looked for a decibel meter on line and they vary from $40 to the sky, but there seemed to be a number of them in the $70-$100 range.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...uctId=12680845

Have you ever been pulled over at Torch? I have been going there for years and they don't even look at me twice. I sure hope they aren't cracking down there!

Where did they test you? Were there docks, bridges, etc around that could cause the noise waves to bounce off? Was his boat behind you? What was the ambient noise level? All these can affect the reading.

Yes, I was idling back to the sand bar half broken down and Tim Tilly (nice sheriff BTW) warned me that I was loud but didn't have his meter with him. That is when I decided to be proactive.

The lake association bought a meter for the Anterim Co. Sheriff. They are not on every boat and Kalkaska Sheriff does not have one.

Figures. I guess I'll wait and see what happens when I go up. I know I'm over but I don't have a lot of room to work with.

So, what about how he tested you? Boat position, docks, etc?

BTW you can get a db meter app on an Iphone. Probably not super accurate but can be used to test with and without mufflers to see the difference.

I bet my lunch that the new sherriff is using a different "weighting scale"
There are different db scales that relate to how humans can hear sound. A-weighting is most common, and what is usually used when measuring industrial sounds. If he had it on a different scale, or had the weighting turned off, you will get VERY different numbers. It would be important to read the statute, and understand what scale is expected by your governing body. If it does not say, I would collect evidence that OSHA uses A weighting and bring that to the new sherriff...make sure he takes the test again with the correct setting.

Yes, there are also max hold, and response functions on many db meters. If you set your meter to a slower response, it will not bounce around as much, and be more of an average...that would be in your favor, as it would not be showing the much higher spikes an engine can exhibit.

Get yourself a cheap radio-shack db meter...they work great.

Test was in the middle of the lake far away from anything. Ambient sound was like 68db...which seemed high to me. I also read in the law they award supposed to subtract 3db when testing from another boat to counter any reflected sound.

I have a high quality industrial decibel meter if you would like to borrow it
just pay shippiing both ways and I need to make sure I get it back

Kevin

Bingo,

I bet he has the weighting off. The radio shack meters are pretty good,,,, I have a I phone app but haven't tested how accurate it is.

Look up the law, I bet it will say A weighted, and if you are over 100 A weighted that is LOUD.

Read this... http://questtechnologies.com/Support/boatnoise.aspx