firstly, here's my rig: Bear Lights Out @ 74lbs. Beman ICS Hunter Pro 340's @ 27" w/ 100g tips Trophy Ridge - Revolution rest Limbsaver Camo Split Limb Super Quad Dampeners TR/Limbsaver Wind Jammer stablizer Limbsavers on both cable and string decelerator rods. 2 string leeches this is easily the quietest bow i've ever owned, but silence is still always on my mind... and shopping list last week I grabbed a used 6" Doinker from ebay to test against the Windjammer. upon arrival I was satisfied the design would absorb more shock and noise than the Windjammer, seeing as how it has a heavier weight, and that actually moves to abosorb shock. today I got around to testing it out, but how would i know for sure ? then I had a brain fart......what if there's an android app to record decibal levels sure enuf there is, quite a few. and that should tell me which is quieter ? so I download the simplest decibel meter app that had good reveiws, skeptical as to how it would perform. here's the app i used: sitting here with the news on pretty sure the baseline was off ? it was saying 30 decibels in my garage w/ big door open, in a fairly quite neighborhood but still close enough to hear the city traffic in the distance. shooting with the phone on a shelf 1 foot from my bow, the identical results of 3 shots each of both stabilizers....... windjammer = 61db doinker = 66db. does that mean my bow is shooting @ 60+ db, or just that above the baseline @ 30+ db ? it appears the lighter weight Windjammer actually quiets my bow more than the heavier Doinker ? thoughts ? good or bad, lets hear 'em. anyone else ever test any accessories/bows with decibel meters or db app ?
I used a decibel meter for my bow. I started a thread here, where I discuss comparing the noise levels of my bow with others at the archery range I shoot at. The app I use is the Sound Meter by Smart Tools. I downloaded several apps and compared the noise level to standard sound approximations and thought this one was closest. I also noticed the one you used gave high numbers. It was very informative, especially purely for comparison purposes, that is comparing the numbers then to other bows at the same time gave me an indication of quieter or not, the numbers only giving meaning within that context. Another thing you might look into are the apps for sound spectrum analyzer. This will tell you where at in the sound frequency range the loudness of the bow is coming from. So, if your bow registers 70 dB at 1 foot from the brace height, and the guy (with who you have received permission from to analyze the sound from) is also 70 dB, BUT your frequency range is primarily in the middle at say the 1000 hz, but his is higher pitched closer to 5000 hz, you can say your bow is quieter because higher frequency sound travels further than lower frequency. According to a University of Georgia (I think that was the institutions name), deer hear only a little better than people, but here much better at lower frequencies than people can. That would seem to imply you do not want a lot of your bows noise coming from the bass end, say less than 100 hz. It is a very interesting subject. The app I use is FrequenSee by Daniel Bach. It is also interesting to see the differences in both the sound level (dB) and the frequencies from which that sound arises as stuff is put on the bow. The difference adding a stabilizer was lowering my sound level about 2-5 dB and shifting the frequency slightly more base. The difference between an arrow shooting at IBO and one 100 gr. heavier was...a lot. 10-15 db and the frequency shifted from about 400-6k hz with the mean about at the 1750 hz, to 400-4.5k hz with a mean at about 1250 hz. I am currently getting a new Zebra string installed and am interested to see what a properly tuned bow gives me.
Measuring sound is a funny thing. For instance measuring the intensity of the sound wave (dB) is a logarithmic function of base 10, meaning every 10 db increase in a reading is a 10 fold increase in power ratio (for every whole number unit dB increase the calculation is more challenging) or an amplitude ratio of sq rt of the power ratio. However, the way we actually hear sounds corresponds roughly to the dB. Bottom line is don't worry so much about what the dB reading is, but how the dB reading on your bow from a consistent distance and consistent background noise compares to other bows at the same time. I have been thinking about measuring the sound intensity from the target just to see how the sound attenuates across various distances. When I measure a bows sound intensity I will hold the mic 1 foot away from where the string at rest (brace height) and try to get the shot when the level of the range is consistent (no other shots, a/c fans are off, the archery staff are not banging away on targets, etc...). This means I inevitably take my readings early in the morning.
the new db app you suggested does indeed record the shot (peak db)as a red line, so tests from shooting distances is possible, now entering my 38th archery season, i can tell this is a very quiet shooting rig versus the 15 or so i've owned over the years, unless thats my hearing following my eyesight down the toilet a new bow isn't in the cards until next year. for now i'm going to continue testing the "dampening" effects of different accessories. just re-installed my string deccerator w/ new rubber end compliments of bear achery, so i'm going to do a with and without soon. next up is some bowjax stabilizer slip-on's to my current windjammer, and possibly different string silencers. i'll post up my results
By far, not even close, the most effective way of eliminating noise in a bow is to use higher mass arrows. From looking at your arrow in your signature I am guessing your arrow has a mass of somewhere around 360-370 gr. If you were to increase your arrow to 440ish you would get a much quieter bow, deeper penetration, albeit at the expense of velocity. Personally, I figure velocity doesn't kill deer penetration does. This is a topic (is penetration a function of ke or momentum) of great controversy. I like that particular app because it records the sound for a period of time as well as giving the high, low, and instantaneous on the dial. Much easier than trying to pick out the number that is fluctuating.
absolutely agree, heavier arrows reduce noise, so would turning this bow down into the 60's but i hunt tight, thick areas, and need the flatter trajectory a faster arrow provides, especially with this slow azz lights out. (i'm used to the speed of my old matthews and onieda bows) i'll deal with the added noise thru dampening accessories.
