Good news! The Rat Shack analog SPL meter is back

[Woochifer]

Those of you who slept at the wheel while the Shack quietly discontinued its oft-recommended analog SPL meter can now rest easy. RS has reintroduced the analog SPL meter, and aside from some cosmetic changes (the new control dial looks like a nice improvement, as does the new curvy shape) it looks the same as before. I guess the only question is whether its accuracy is similar to older models, so that purchasers of the new model can still use one of the many correction charts posted around the web.

For $40, this is an essential tool for any home theater system. Setting up a multichannel sytem "by ear" will not give you the type of performance possible when the system calibrations are done with a SPL meter. And don't even think about installing a subwoofer without a SPL meter!

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cookie%5Ftest=1&catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=33-4050

[mtrycraft]

Good catch :)
Looks like modernized:)
I doubt the response changed but who knows. There was a DIY mod to it that made is very accurate. Maybe they installed it :)

[Woochifer]

DIY mod? Sounds intriguing, know where to find a link to it? Otherwise, I guess those correction charts will have to suffice.

[poneal]

Well darn, I just got a digital model for christmas. Oh well, the digital model worked well too. IMO that my receivers choice of settings was very close to what the rat shack said. I always wondered if those reciever generated tones and built in mic on remote worked well. Guess that answers my question. You go radio shack.

[Willow]

wish there was a cheaper way or a place I could rent one for a day they are 89.99CAD...thats for the digital one...almost 100$ yikes !!

[meyer]

I am in the market for one and noticed that they where back. However they are only on radioshack.com and not radioshack.ca for Canada. I phoned a store yesterday and gave them the product number
(33-4050). They told me it was not in their system and weren't sure if or when they would get them. Has anyone seen them in Canada yet?

[bikehikefish]

Hmmm....should I use the correction chart or not? A month or so ago, I posted a question about subwoofer adjustment and posted my spl values along with the adjusted values (i.e. the correction values added to the original values). Richard Greene replied and suggested that I not use the correction values, as they were not specific to my meter.

Can anyone shed some light on this? Do all Rat Shack meters use the same correction values or did I misunderstand Dr. Greene?

[Willow]

I am in the market for one and noticed that they where back. However they are only on radioshack.com and not radioshack.ca for Canada. I phoned a store yesterday and gave them the product number
(33-4050). They told me it was not in their system and weren't sure if or when they would get them. Has anyone seen them in Canada yet?

I have seen the digital ones here in Ottawa....but like I said its 89.99CAD they are around just call a whole bunch of Ratshacks

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Hmmm....should I use the correction chart or not? A month or so ago, I posted a question about subwoofer adjustment and posted my spl values along with the adjusted values (i.e. the correction values added to the original values). Richard Greene replied and suggested that I not use the correction values, as they were not specific to my meter.

Can anyone shed some light on this? Do all Rat Shack meters use the same correction values or did I misunderstand Dr. Greene?

No, Dr. Greene is correct. The values that have been posted over the internet are specific to a single radio shack meter. Your meter could be more or less insensitive. I have found that I had to recalibrate just about every one of the engineers that use radio shack meters that I have worked with over the past two to three years. They seem to be accurate in some frequencies, and inaccurate in others. There are some modifications on the internet to correct such irregularities on these meters.

[bikehikefish]

No, Dr. Greene is correct. The values that have been posted over the internet are specific to a single radio shack meter. Your meter could be more or less insensitive. I have found that I had to recalibrate just about every one of the engineers that use radio shack meters that I have worked with over the past two to three years. They seem to be accurate in some frequencies, and inaccurate in others. There are some modifications on the internet to correct such irregularities on these meters.

Thanks for reducing my state of confusion.

Guess I'll just use the raw values.