# Decibel Values



## SerenityNetworks (Apr 9, 2013)

Does anyone know the decibel values, say at 10 feet or 50 feet, for the various volume settings on some commercial units like the Fox Pro? Or could someone install a decibel meter application on your smartphone, take the readings, and post them?

I have the opportunity to go hunting this weekend, but don't have the budget for a caller. However, I did have enough odds-and-ends in the garage to put one together. Now if I knew the relative settings of my unit versus a commercial unit then I can follow the volume advice given elsewhere on the site.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Andrew

PS. Yes, if it works halfway decent, I'll post the instructions and parts list.


----------



## OHIOOutdoors2 (May 1, 2013)

I'm sure someone can help you out...if you are using a smart phone only hit the post button once, even if it's not loading so you don't have any extra posts. By the way lets see this garage unit, if you would care to share. I might steal your idea!


----------



## SerenityNetworks (Apr 9, 2013)

Coyote_Slayer2 said:


> I'm sure someone can help you out...if you are using a smart phone only hit the post button once, even if it's not loading so you don't have any extra posts. By the way lets see this garage unit, if you would care to share. I might steal your idea!


Yeah, sorry. I just saw I had multiple posts. I was using Tapatalk on my phone and it was saying it 'could not connect to the server. I guess it was fibbing. I'll see if I can lock the other posts, as I can't seem to delete them.

I just made it last night. I'm sure I'll have some down time this weekend. When I do, I'll take some pictures and post the parts list. To me, it sounds good and fairly loud. It's about the same volume or slightly louder than the sounds I can make with a reed caller. It doesn't have any static, hiss, or other background noise when cranked up all the way.


----------



## OHIOOutdoors2 (May 1, 2013)

That's nice! I'm interested to see it. I don't know how good of a caller I am. So I was looking for another alternative. Without breaking bank


----------



## azpredatorhunter (Jul 24, 2012)

I wouldn't worry about the decibels as much as the (quality) of the sounds you put on it. There's a guy in California who does some extensive research into the sounds callers make. If you want to you can pm me, and I could help you get that info...


----------



## SerenityNetworks (Apr 9, 2013)

azpredatorhunter: PM sent. Thank you.

The value of the parts in this one probably add up to about $80. But that's because I used what I had in the garage and some of it is overkill. (For example, I used a nice waterproof project box that cost about $20. It's total overkill, but I had it available and all I had to do was epoxy up some holes from an earlier project.) I'm aware of other parts that might get the total down to around $50 without any loss of quality.

Appleseed Rifleman | NRA Life Member | TSRA Life Member
My personal outdoorsman site: http://www.fshrmen.net


----------



## SerenityNetworks (Apr 9, 2013)

Sorry, my phone and this forum are not getting along today. I swear, I DO know how to post and press the submit button only once


----------



## SerenityNetworks (Apr 9, 2013)

Attached are a couple of pictures of the unit. It was made from:


A waterproof plastic case (about $20)
A T-Class solid state amplifier (about $15)
A small 12VDC battery (about $10)
A Radio Shack Ice-Cream-Truck (50w) speaker (about $25)
A 3.5mm to 3.5mm phono cable (about $2)
Miscellaneous connectors, wire, solder, paint, glue, etc. (about $5)
A MP3 player (I didn't put in a value. Use what you have.)

If this concept works then I'll try making another, but with the following changes.


A circuit board T-Class amplifier. It will be significantly smaller and a few dollars less expensive. As these amps don't put out noice when left at full volume there is no reason not to have something simpler and just leave it cranked to the loudest volume desired. The volume would then be controlled by the input device.
One or two 9 Volt batteries to supply power. There's no need for the weight, size, and expense of a 12 Volt battery. I might consider a LiPo pack, but the 9 Volt batteries are not that expensive and they will power the unit for an amazingly long time. The size (or lack of it) is the main consideration here.
A smaller horn speaker. There are a number available that are less expensive and have just as good a sound. Two would also allow broadcasting in more than one direction.
With the smaller amp and battery pack, a simple plastic 4 D-Size battery case could be used for the case. The resulting final unit could then be quite small and light.
Use either Bluetooth or FM for wireless. I need to check into this more. Bluetooth would be easier and more noise free, but it is more limited in range. I'm not sure if or how much the range of Bluetooth can be expanded with something like a simple can-tenna. FM will have a much greater range, but I'm not sure if static will be a problem or not. I haven't fooled with the newer little FM transmitters.

I'm quite sure I'm not the first to cobble together their own caller. Aside from the main purpose of getting an idea how loud commercial units can be, I'd also be interested in any tips from others that have already done this.

Thanks,

Andrew


----------



## 22magnum (Feb 10, 2013)

Very nice

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk


----------



## 220swift (Mar 2, 2011)

The decibel is a term that is widely used and is very miss leading. The term decibel came out of the Bell Telephone Laboratories to replace the term TU "transmission unit in 1928. The decibel is a measure of a change in level. A 0 decibel is near silence and a the human whisper is 15-dB or 500 times more powerful.

I agree with AZ, worry less about the decibel and more about the quality and remember a coyote can hear many, many times better than us humans. High frequencies and low volumes will serve you best to start out with.


----------



## OHIOOutdoors2 (May 1, 2013)

Very cool, how many wires do you have to solder? Do you need resistors, diodes, etc...or just standard cooper insulated wires?


----------



## SerenityNetworks (Apr 9, 2013)

I just soldered the connectors to the ends of the wire that connect to the battery and to the plug at the other end for connecting to the amp. I did tin the ends of the speaker wire. I just used cheap speaker wire for everything. There were no other electrical components used. The amp can be powered with anything from 9 to 15 volts and will handle any speaker from 2 to 8 ohms. It is pretty much idiot proof - the way I like it.

I'm sure I'll have some down time over the weekend. I do have a little work, church work, and CEU stuff to do, but I'll try and take a few more pictures and post them soon - along with more detail on the parts, construction, and alternative parts.

I really want to check out one of the short range FM transmitters. They will broadcast 1/4 mile. Most inexpensive MP3 players have FM radio, so I could use one for the receiver. Then I just transmit the call from any other MP3 player.


----------



## azpredatorhunter (Jul 24, 2012)

Looking good...


----------



## fulch (Apr 2, 2013)

That's much much nicer than the one I put together. Looks good. I was shooting for a small profile, 9" x 4.5".

Sound quality is decent, it definitely works. Issue I have is finding decent sound clips to download that are around 15 minutes long. I've done any sound editing.


----------



## fulch (Apr 2, 2013)

How much wire length do you have between your MP3 player and the amp? Does the distance decrease sound quality? I put mine inside the caller therefore have no control after I hit play, this has proven to be problematic.


----------



## dwtrees (Mar 5, 2012)

fulch, all you have to do is download the free program audacity. (not sue the spelling is correct) That program will let you make your own sound tracks. You can add different sounds and put in what ever lenght of silence between the sounds you want. Best of all it is easy to use.


----------



## fulch (Apr 2, 2013)

Dwtrees - thanks for the tip, I'll give it a go. Haven't had much use for it since I moved but eventually.


----------



## 220swift (Mar 2, 2011)

here you go............

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/​


----------



## fulch (Apr 2, 2013)

Thanks 220


----------



## OHIOOutdoors2 (May 1, 2013)

My buddy is letting me borrow his electronic call and if it works I will make my own.


----------



## OHIOOutdoors2 (May 1, 2013)

I kinda borrowed your idea, how did you attach the speaker to the amp? Thanks


----------



## SerenityNetworks (Apr 9, 2013)

Audacity is a great program. But I use MediaCope to clip (and join if needed) the sound files. I just find it easier. I also created various sound files of silence (15 sec, 1 min, 5 min, & 10 min) that I can join together to make any length of silence I need.

I use my little Sansa MP3 player to play the calls. I made up play lists to join the files into 30 minute segments (starting with 10 minutes of silence).

The cord from the Sansa to the player is about 4' long. With it I can sit nearby and control the sounds or I can launch a playlist and crawl away. I noticed no drop in quality between the 4' cord and a 9" cord I tried. Longer I haven't tried.

I still need to take some time and build up my parts list, assembly instructions, lessons learned, and instructions for use. As soon as I get that done then I'll post them here. Hopefully that can be this weekend.

I also would still like to compare the volume of my unit to a commercial unit (or have someone post the values of a commercial unit). Having never heard a commercial unit, I have no idea if my highest volume is too loud, just right, or not even as loud as the low setting on a commercial unit. I have no idea if when the volume is set low am I wasting my time or what. I have no basis of comparison. I may see about going to Cabela's and seeing if I can turn on one of their units for a moment. And/or I might try blowing one of my reed calls softly, mid volume, and then as loud as possible. I could then compare my unit's output to the reed call. Right now, I just feel like I'm operating in total ignorance.

I also need to make sure that I'm using quality sounds. I need to chase down and assure that what I'm using works. There's no point in volume control if the call quality stinks.

Anyway, I'd better quit posting, get back to work, so I can follow up on the above items later this weekend.


----------



## hassell (Feb 9, 2010)

Thanks for the update,various sound files of silence ---- is that a file with nothing on it !!!


----------



## SerenityNetworks (Apr 9, 2013)

hassell said:


> Thanks for the update,various sound files of silence ---- is that a file with nothing on it !!!


Yes. For example, I'll create a 30 playlist as follows:


10 minutes silence
Piglet distress calls 6 minutes
3 minutes silence
Piglet distress calls 3 minutes
4 minutes silence
Piglet distress calls 4 minutes
Coyote Bark (let's me know the playlist is over)

I can set the caller, start the playlist, and sneak to my spot. I'll have 10 minutes of silence before the calls start. The playlist will run for (in this case) 30 minutes. I have the player set to repeat the playlist, so I can stay on the set if I want. I put a single coyote bark at the end of each of my playlists, so I know when the playlist is over.

===========================

===========================

Well finally!!!

I promised to post the instructions and parts list. I finally got them put together. Here is a link to the documents (in both PDF and Word).

FSHRmen.net DIY Electronic Caller Post

It's a work in progress, as I'm always thinking of something to be enhanced. I'll post more as I do it and confirm it works.

Regards,

Andrew


----------



## Bait washer (Feb 26, 2013)

What kind of luck have you had with the piglet distress?

Bought a new card with the piglet distress on it and have yet to try it.

And how did you arrive at the play and pause lengths ?

Cool caller you have put together.


----------

