Environmental Monitoring · Noise Meters
Digital Sound Level Meter
Class 2 digital sound level meters in five configurations, from a basic instantaneous reading instrument up to an integrating and statistical model with 8000 records of storage.
AWA5636-0 (5 models) ·
Key specifications
- Model range
- AWA5636 in five configurations, numbered 0 to 4
- Accuracy class
- Class 2, stated against GB/T 3785.1-2010 and IEC 61672-1
- Measurement range
- 40-130 dB(A) on the basic configuration; 30-130 dB(A) on configurations 1 to 4
- Self-generated noise
- <30 dB(A) on the basic configuration; <25 dB(A) on the others
- Frequency range
- 20 Hz to 12.5 kHz
- Frequency weighting
- A only on the basic configuration; A, C and Z on the others
- Time weighting
- Fast and slow on the basic configuration; fast, slow and impulse on the others
- Display
- 3.5 digit LCD on the basic configuration; 128 × 64 dot matrix on the others
- Outputs
- AC and DC on all; PWM added on configuration 1, RS232 on configurations 2, 3 and 4
- Power
- Four AAA alkaline cells giving more than 12 h, or an external 4.5-5.5 V supply drawing no more than 69 mA; an optional lithium battery extends this to more than 25 h
A sound level meter converts a variation in air pressure into a number in decibels, and the instrument itself is the least complicated part of the exercise. What decides whether the number means anything is the set of choices made around it: the frequency weighting, the time weighting, the accuracy class, and whether the measurement has to be averaged over a period. Those choices are what separates the five configurations of this range from one another.
What it measures
The instrument reports sound pressure level, which is a logarithmic scale rather than a linear one - a change of a few units represents a substantial change in acoustic energy, and two sources of equal level together raise the total by a small fixed increment rather than doubling the figure. That is why noise control is rarely a matter of a small adjustment and usually a matter of dealing with the dominant source.
On the integrating configurations it also reports the equivalent continuous level, which expresses a varying sound as the steady level that would contain the same energy over the same period. That is the quantity most occupational and environmental criteria are written around, and it is the reason a basic instrument and an integrating one are not interchangeable for assessment work. Configuration 4 adds the percentile levels, which describe how much of the time a level was exceeded rather than only what the average was.
How the measurement works
A pre-polarised condenser microphone converts sound pressure into a voltage. The signal is then weighted across the frequency spectrum to approximate the response of the ear, rectified with a chosen time constant, and converted to a decibel figure by digital signal processing rather than by an analogue detector circuit, which is what the material means by describing the range as digital.
Three consequences follow. The weighting has to be stated with the reading, because the same event gives different numbers under A, C and Z. The time weighting decides how closely the instrument follows a rapidly changing level, and an impulse setting is what captures a short event such as a hammer blow at its true magnitude. And above the top of the measuring range the reading stops being valid rather than merely becoming imprecise - the overload lamp is there to say so, and the instrument is not damaged when it lights.
The five configurations and what separates them
The differences are wider than the model number suggests, which the material’s own note warns about. The basic configuration reads 40 dB(A) upward and carries A weighting only, with a 3.5 digit display and AC and DC outputs. Configurations 1 to 4 reach down to 30 dB(A), carry A, C and Z weighting, and use a 128 × 64 dot matrix display. On top of that, configuration 1 adds PWM output; configurations 2, 3 and 4 add RS232; configurations 2 and above integrate; statistical analysis is standard on 4 and optional on 2 and 3; storage appears only on 4, at 8000 records; and the operating temperature differs between all five, ranging from 0-40 °C on the basic configuration to -20 to 50 °C on configuration 2.
Configuration 3 is the one intended for unattended monitoring, which is why it carries a watchdog and why its description in the material is about remaining in service rather than about being carried.
Choosing a configuration
The first question is whether the measurement has to be averaged. If it does - a workplace exposure assessment, a boundary level, anything written around an equivalent continuous level - the basic configuration cannot produce the figure and configuration 2 is the floor. If the answer only has to describe what is in front of the instrument at the moment of reading, the basic configuration does that and the rest of the range is unnecessary.
The second question is whether the result has to be defended. A percentile analysis, a stored series of readings, or a record exported over RS232 all change what can be said afterwards about a measurement, and each of them appears further up the range. The third is environmental: the five configurations are not rated to the same temperature, so a site that is cold or hot narrows the list before any measurement question does. The fourth is a procedural one, and it applies to every configuration: a measurement session has no demonstrated validity unless the instrument is checked with a calibrator at both ends of it, so the calibrator is part of the purchase rather than an accessory to it.
Measurement limitations and selection considerations
Several parameters that matter in selection are not stated anywhere in the material: the ingress protection of the enclosure, the storage temperature range, the firmware arrangements, and the full standard accessory list, one item of which the material flags as unreadable in the source. Nothing here is inferred to fill those gaps.
Four points deserve to be stated plainly. The material writes the two reference standards in three different forms across its own sections and flags the character errors; the formal published versions govern, and the accuracy class should be confirmed against the certificate that comes with the instrument. It gives one microphone type number in its configuration table and a different one in its construction section, and one calibrator type in its technical section against another in the accessory list, so both should be confirmed before a calibration regime is planned around either. The basic configuration’s operating range begins at 0 °C, which is narrower than the rest of the range and easy to miss. And the class of the instrument is a Class 2 accuracy class, which is a statement about the instrument’s own uncertainty against a standard, not about the level measured.
Ordering
The items that fix the answer are the quantity the assessment has to produce, whether that quantity is an instantaneous level or an average over a period, whether the results have to be exportable or stored on the instrument, the temperature at the place of measurement, and whether a calibrator is required with the instrument or is already held. State the duty rather than only the model, because the duty is what decides the configuration. Quantity, destination port and required delivery date complete the enquiry.
Features
- Five configurations from one instrument family, so the buying decision is a choice of function set rather than of a different product
- An integrating configuration, which is what an occupational or environmental assessment needs: a varying sound expressed as the steady level that would contain the same energy over the same period
- Three frequency weightings on configurations 1 and above, so the same instrument can produce an A-weighted reading for perceived loudness and a C-weighted or unweighted one for the low-frequency content
- Statistical analysis on configuration 4, producing the percentile levels a boundary assessment is written around rather than a single average
- 8000 records of storage on configuration 4, so a series of measurements can be held on the instrument instead of being written down
- RS232 on configurations 2 and above for connection to a computer, with PWM additionally available for chart recording
Technical specifications
Every value below is taken from source documentation. Where a parameter is not stated in the available material it is marked as information required rather than estimated.
| Accuracy class | Class 2Standard |
|---|---|
| Reference standard | Stated against GB/T 3785.1-2010 and IEC 61672-1. The material writes the standard numbers in three different forms across its sections and flags the character errors in its own note, so the formal published versions governInformation required |
| Measurement range, basic configuration | 40-130 dB(A)Standard |
| Measurement range, configurations 1 to 4 | 30-130 dB(A)Standard |
| Upper limit | Greater than 130 dB(A)Standard |
| Self-generated noise, basic configuration | <30 dB(A)Standard |
| Self-generated noise, configurations 1 to 4 | <25 dB(A)Standard |
| Frequency range | 20 Hz to 12.5 kHzStandard |
| Frequency weighting | A on the basic configuration; A, C and Z on configurations 1 to 4Standard |
| Time weighting | Fast and slow on the basic configuration; fast, slow and impulse on configurations 1 to 4Standard |
| Reference direction | The axis of the condenser microphoneStandard |
| Overload indication | An overload lamp lights when the level exceeds the top of the measuring rangeStandard |
| Display, basic configuration | 3.5 digit LCDStandard |
|---|---|
| Display, configurations 1 to 4 | 128 × 64 dot matrixStandard |
| Outputs, basic configuration | AC and DCStandard |
| Outputs, configuration 1 | AC, DC and PWMStandard |
| Outputs, configurations 2, 3 and 4 | AC, DC, PWM and RS232Standard |
| Front panel | Display, overload lamp, on and reset key, off key, fast and slow display key, function selectionStandard |
| Interfaces | Calibration aperture, AC and DC output sockets, external supply socket, RS232 and PWM output, indicator lamps, dust plugs and capsStandard |
| Body | Battery compartment at the rear and a carry cord, for an instrument held in the hand or hung from the wristStandard |
| Packaging | Cardboard box on the basic configuration and configurations 0 and 3; aluminium case on configurations 1, 2 and 4, with a cased version also offeredStandard |
| Microphone, basic configuration | AWA14421B condenser microphoneStandard |
|---|---|
| Microphone, configurations 1 to 4 | AWA14421 condenser microphoneStandard |
| Microphone in the construction section | The same document describes a pre-polarised condenser microphone of 12.7 mm nominal diameter, a sensitivity of about 15 mV/Pa and a frequency range of 20 Hz to 12.5 kHz, under a different type number. The two designations are not reconciled in the materialInformation required |
| Calibration | A Class 2 sound level calibrator is required. The material names one type in the technical section and a different one in the accessory list, and does not state whether the calibrator is supplied with the instrumentInformation required |
| Windscreen | A windscreen fits over the microphone and is listed among the standard itemsStandard |
| Power, standard | Four AAA alkaline cells, more than 12 h of continuous operationStandard |
|---|---|
| Power, external | 4.5-5.5 V, drawing no more than 69 mAStandard |
| Power, optional | Lithium battery, more than 25 h of continuous operation once chargedOptional |
| Storage, configuration 4 | 8000 recordsStandard |
| Operating temperature, basic configuration | 0-40 °CStandard |
| Operating temperature, configuration 1 | -10 to 50 °CStandard |
| Operating temperature, configuration 2 | -20 to 50 °CStandard |
| Operating temperature, configurations 3 and 4 | -10 to 50 °CStandard |
| Weight | 240 gStandard |
| Dimensions | 210 mm high; microphone assembly 27 mm and 68 mmStandard |
| Ingress protection | Not stated in the materialInformation required |
| Storage temperature | Not stated in the materialInformation required |
| Integration | Absent on configurations 0 and 1; present on configurations 2, 3 and 4Standard |
|---|---|
| Statistical analysis | Absent on configurations 0 and 1; optional on configurations 2 and 3; standard on configuration 4Standard |
| Storage | Only on configuration 4, at 8000 recordsStandard |
| Recording-grade audio | Configuration 4 only, and as an option requiring a software licenceOptional |
| Over-limit indication | Configurations 2, 3 and 4, with a settable limitStandard |
| Watchdog | Built in on configuration 3, which is the configuration intended for unattended monitoringStandard |
| Firmware | Not stated in the materialInformation required |
Available models
| Model | Configuration | Key ranges | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWA5636-0 | Basic configuration. 3.5 digit LCD, A weighting only, fast and slow time weighting, AC and DC outputs, four AAA cells, 0-40 °C. The material also gives it a 1.5 V battery of four cells and a cardboard box | 40-130 dB(A); self-generated noise <30 dB(A); measures Lp and Lmax | The entry configuration. No integration, no statistics and no storage. Stated as replacing an earlier type in the same numbering |
| AWA5636-1 | Three frequency weightings, 128 × 64 dot matrix display, AC, DC and PWM outputs, -10 to 50 °C, aluminium case | 30-130 dB(A); self-generated noise <25 dB(A); measures Lp and Lmax | Adds C and Z weighting over the basic configuration, which is what allows low-frequency content to be read rather than only perceived loudness |
| AWA5636-2 | Integrating configuration with RS232, 128 × 64 dot matrix display, AC, DC, PWM and RS232 outputs, -20 to 50 °C, aluminium case | 30-130 dB(A); self-generated noise <25 dB(A); measures Lp, Lmax, Lmin, SEL and the equivalent continuous level over a period | The first configuration that produces an averaged level, which is the quantity most assessment criteria are written around. Statistical analysis is optional rather than standard |
| AWA5636-3 | Integrating configuration intended for unattended online monitoring, with RS232, a built-in watchdog, 128 × 64 dot matrix display, -10 to 50 °C, aluminium case | 30-130 dB(A); self-generated noise <25 dB(A); measures Lp, Lmax, Lmin with a settable over-limit indication | The configuration for a fixed position that is left running rather than held by an operator. Statistical analysis is optional rather than standard |
| AWA5636-4 | Integrating and statistical configuration with RS232 and a USB data link, 8000 records of storage, 128 × 64 dot matrix display, -10 to 50 °C, aluminium case | 30-130 dB(A); self-generated noise <25 dB(A); measures Lp, the equivalent continuous level, Lmax, Lmin, SEL and the percentile levels L5, L10, L50, L95 among others | The top configuration. Adds statistical analysis as standard and storage on the instrument, with recording-grade audio available as a licensed option |
Customization
- Configuration choice, which is the principal variable: the five configurations differ in frequency weighting, time weighting, display, output interfaces, integration, statistical analysis, storage and operating temperature
- Optional lithium battery in place of the four AAA cells, extending continuous operation from more than 12 h to more than 25 h
- Recording-grade audio on configuration 4, which requires a software licence
- Statistical analysis on configurations 2 and 3, where the material lists it as optional rather than standard
Certification and compliance
Certification documents not yet supplied
Certifications are only published once a certificate copy can be produced, so this section is deliberately empty rather than populated with assumed approvals. Tell us which approvals your application requires and we will confirm what is available for this instrument.
Parameters still to be confirmed
The following are required for a complete specification but are not stated in the documentation supplied to us. They are listed rather than estimated:
- What the model prefix denotes. The supplied photograph carries a third-party manufacturer name alongside the model number, and the prefix in the model number matches that maker, so the prefix appears to identify the maker rather than the product. Raised with the client because it affects the model field and the primary keyword
- The formal published versions of the two standards the material cites, since it writes GB/T 3785.1-2010 and IEC 61672-1 in three different forms across its sections and flags its own character errors
- Which microphone type number applies, since the material gives one in its configuration table and a different one in its construction section
- Which calibrator applies and whether it is supplied with the instrument, since the material names one type in the technical section and another in the accessory list
- The full standard accessory list, one item of which the material flags as garbled in the source image and could not be read
- Ingress protection of the enclosure
- Storage temperature range
- Warranty period and the terms that apply
- Validity period of the metrology certificate, where the instrument is used for statutory assessment
- Calibration interval and the certificate that accompanies the instrument
- An English-language datasheet and a single table comparing all five configurations
- Packaging dimensions and gross weight for freight calculation
Frequently asked questions
Which configuration do I need for a workplace noise assessment?
One that integrates, so configuration 2 or above. An assessment covering a working day asks how much sound a person was exposed to over that period, and the quantity that answers it is the equivalent continuous level - the steady level that would contain the same energy over the same period. Taking instantaneous readings at intervals and averaging those numbers is a different calculation and gives a different answer. The basic configuration measures the level in front of it, which is useful for locating a source or checking a machine, but it does not produce the averaged figure an assessment is written around.
What is the difference between A, C and Z weighting?
Each applies a different correction across the frequency spectrum before the single figure is produced. A-weighting approximates the response of the ear, which is why it is the weighting most occupational and environmental criteria are written in. C-weighting reduces the low-frequency content much less, so it shows what is present below the range the ear is most sensitive to. Z is unweighted, giving the raw level. A reading quoted without its weighting cannot be interpreted, because the same event produces different numbers under each - which is the practical reason configurations 1 and above offer all three.
How do I know whether a reading can be relied on?
Two things have to be true. The instrument has to be within its measuring range, and it has to have been checked against a calibrator before and after the session. The material provides an overload lamp for the first: when it lights, the level has exceeded the top of the range and the reading is not valid, though the instrument itself is not damaged and the lamp goes out once the level falls back. The second is a procedural matter rather than an instrument feature - a measurement session with no calibration check at either end has no demonstrated validity, which is why the calibrator and the instrument are bought as a pair.
How long does it run on batteries, and does that matter for a survey?
The material gives more than 12 h on four AAA alkaline cells, and more than 25 h on the optional lithium battery, with an external supply of 4.5-5.5 V available as an alternative. For a hand survey that is normally enough for a day. For configuration 3, which is intended for unattended online monitoring, the runtime is a different question because the instrument is expected to keep running while nobody is standing next to it, and a mains or external supply becomes the normal arrangement rather than the battery. Either way, the working temperature of the configuration chosen should be checked against the site, since the five configurations are not rated the same.
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Send the technical detail and we will confirm availability, lead time and terms. In-stock items ship within 48 hours; customized specifications typically take 2-10 days. Minimum order quantity is 1 pc.