ABSTRACT

The title of our project is called Reverberation Time Detector Using myDAQ. The purpose of our study was the application of myDAQ, to be able to make a LabView-Based Reverberation Time Detector Device .The procedure involved the testing of the Hearing Aid Circuitry and the myDAQ device. And with those, they are connected to each other and to a Computer to see if the Sound and/or Echo are detected by the device. The experiment was also tested to detect the echo in a particular room when it is finished. The results of our data resolve that you can make a Reverb time tester using only LabView. In conclusion you can make an improvised Reverberation Time Detector with just the use of myDAQ and LabView.

CHAPTER 1 THE PROBLEM: RATIONAL AND BACKRAOUND

INTRODUCTION Nowadays, there are so many people that are in for home recording or studio recording. With these, people can easily record songs without spending a lot of money. Sound is a vibration that propagates as amechanical wave of pressure and displacement, through some medium (such as air or water). Sometimes sound refers to only those vibrations with frequencies that are within the range of hearing for humans or for a particular animal. Sound propagates through compressible media such as air, water and solids as longitudinal waves and also as a transverse waves in solids. The sound waves are generated by a sound source, such as the vibrating diaphragm of a stereo speaker. The sound source creates vibrations in the surrounding medium. As the source continues to vibrate the medium, the vibrations propagate away from the source at the speed of sound, thus forming the sound wave. Human ears are remarkably sensitive to vibrations in the air. The threshold of human hearing is around 20 microPascals (P), which is an extremely small amount of atmospheric pressure. At the other extreme, the loudest sound a person can withstand without pain or ear damage is about 200,000,000 P: for example, a loud rock concert or a nearby jet airplane taking off. Because the human ear can handle such a large range of intensities, measuring sound pressure levels on a linear scale is inconvenient. For example, if the range of human hearing were measured on a ruler, the scale would go from 1 foot (quietest) to over 3000 miles (loudest)! To make this huge range of numbers easier to work with, a logarithmic unit the decibelis used. Logarithms map exponential values to a linear scale. For example, by taking the base-ten logarithm of 10 (101) and 1,000,000,000 (109), this large range of numbers can be written as 19,

which is a much more convenient scale. Because the ear responds to sound pressure logarithmically, using a logarithmic scale corresponds to the way humans perceive loudness. In audio signal processing andacoustics, an echo (plural echoes) is areflection of sound, arriving at the listener some time after the direct sound. If so many reflections then arrive at a listener that they are unable to distinguish between them, the proper term is reverberation. What is Reverberation? Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is produced. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number ofechoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air. This is most noticeable when the sound source stops but thereflections continue, decreasing in amplitude, until they can no longer be heard. The length of this sound decay, or reverberation time, receives special consideration in the architectural design of large chambers, which need to have specific reverberation times to achieve optimum performance for their intended activity. In comparison to a distinct echo that is 50 to 100 ms after the initial sound, reverberation is many thousands of echoes that arrive in very quick succession (.01 1 ms between echoes). As time passes, the volume of the many echoes is reduced until the echoes cannot be heard at all. The interval between the initial direct arrival of a sound wave and the last audible reflected wave is called reverberation time. RT60 is the time required for reflections of a direct sound to decay 60 dB. Reverberation time is frequently stated as a single value, however, it can be measured as a wide band signal (20 Hz to 20kHz) or more precisely in narrow bands (one octave, 1/3 octave, 1/6 octave, etc.). Typically, the reverb time measured in narrow bands will differ depending on the frequency band being measured. It is usually helpful to know what range of frequencies are being described by a reverberation time measurement.

In the late 19th century, Wallace Clement Sabine started experiments at Harvard University to investigate the impact of absorption on the reverberation time. Using a portable wind chest and organ pipes as a sound source, astopwatch and his ears, he measured the time from interruption of the source to inaudibility (a difference of roughly 60 dB). He found that the reverberation time is proportional to room dimensions and inversely proportional to the amount of absorption present. Originally (as early as 1920) delay was obtained by magnetic recording devices that recorded the audio with one head and reproduced the audio with a different head. The spacing between the heads and the speed of the magnetic medium (the recording tape) determined the delay. Several units were made with one record head and several reproduce heads to give several possible delays simultaneously. The digital reverberation device is based on several digital delay lines. In the modern control room, most of the reverberation comes from the digital reverberation device. At a touch of a button or two, the engineer is able to obtain very realistic effects that simulate real acoustic environments. In addition there are a large variety of unreal effects that have been created and are popularly used.

OBJECTIVES GENERAL OBJECTIVES To develop a myDAQ-Based Reverberation time tester. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES To determine virtual instruments (VI) to be used in LabView using the inputs in myDAQ. To determine the highest and lowest peak-peak value of sound in terms of voltage using LabView. To determine the type of circuit and other components that must be used for detecting sound and/or echo. To be able to measure the Reverberation time of a certain room. To be able to compare the data gathered to the computed data. SCOPE AND LIMITATION The study focuses on developing a Reverberation time detector that is being computed by a myDAQ device. This focuses the use of myDAQ and LabView to detect sounds. The study will only discuss the reverberation time detector as an application of a myDAQ-based device. The Virtual Instrument to be used in LabView is also one of the focuses of this study. The type of VI that must be used for detecting and computing the reverberation time is one of the purposes of this study. The connection of the hearing aid circuit to the myDAQ device is also discussed in this study. The study does not cover the other function of the myDAQ concerning different inputs aside from a voltage input. This study will not include the factors on the room as long as it will not affect the efficiency of the reverberation time detector in detecting the reverberation time. This study will only be limited in expenses so materials that will be used in making the chassis will be the most pratical material that will be used regarding its appearance.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY To the institute, that will help the stockroom department to tell if the room has a good reverberation time, and to help in building the right acoustic boards for improving rooms with bad reverberation time.. To students, that will serve as a basis of reference or guide in developing their project. This will also help the students taking up courses that are related to electronics to identify the use of myDAQ and the circuit for detecting sound. To musicians, that this proposed study can be used as their detector for their studio recording rooms. To home-based Acoustics Business, this proposed study can be an alternative to other material having a much affordable price for a Sound detector and also learning how to use the myDAQ device.