DecibelDockHow to measure decibels with a phone
Practical steps for measuring approximate dB with a phone sound meter app, plus the limits of phone microphones.
Learn
Learn sound measurement with DecibelDock
Practical guides written to answer real search questions — and to send you into the matching feature with the right expectations.
Decibel scale explained
What the decibel scale means in plain language, with rough examples of common sounds. Hedged ranges only — not safety advice.
A-weighting vs C-weighting explained
What A-weighting and C-weighting mean, mapped to DecibelDock's Human Ear, Full Bass and Raw labels.
How well does a phone decibel meter work?
Honest limits of phone sound meters: unknown mic sensitivity, AGC, clipping near ~120 dB, and why apps are for comparison.
What is frequency (Hz) and pitch?
Frequency in hertz vs musical pitch, fundamentals vs harmonics, and how a phone frequency finder uses them.
How to tune a guitar with your phone
Step-by-step guitar tuning with a phone: quiet room, one string at a time, cents needle, standard / Drop D / DADGAD.
Doppler effect explained (vehicle speed)
How the Doppler pitch drop relates to vehicle speed, and how a phone can estimate it roughly from a pass-by.
Flash-to-bang: how far is the lightning?
How flash-to-bang timing estimates lightning distance, including the ~3 s/km and ~5 s/mile rules of thumb — and their limits.
How sound direction works on a phone
How phones approximate sound direction with level sweeps, hot/cold cues, and stereo left/right when two mics are available.
What is a spectrum analyzer?
Spectrum analyzers and RTAs explained in plain language, and what a phone FFT spectrum can and cannot tell you.
Noise levels for home DIY and workshop (comparison only)
How to compare workshop and DIY noise with a phone meter. Comparison guidance only — not health, hearing, or compliance advice.
Glossary
Short definitions for dB, weighting, cents, Doppler, flash-to-bang, FFT and more.