PCE Instruments PCE-322A User manual

Decibel Meter
PCE-322A
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
PCE Americas Inc.
711 Commerce Way
Suite 8
Jupiter
FL-33458
USA
From outside US: +1
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[email protected]
www.pce-instruments.com/english
www.pce-instruments.com
PCE Instruments UK Ltd.
Units 12/13
Southpoint Business Park
Ensign way
Hampshire / Southampton
United Kingdom, SO31 4RF
From outside UK: +44
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[email protected]

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1. SAFETY INFORMATION
Read the following safety information carefully before
attempting to operate or service the meter.
Use the meter only as specified in this manual:
Environment conditions
①Altitude lower than 2000 meters
②Relatively humidity ≤90％RH
③Operation Ambient 0 ~ 40°C
Maintenance & Clearing
①Repair or servicing not covered in this manual
should be performed by qualified personnel.
②Periodically wipe the case with a dry cloth. Do not
use solvents or eradicator on this instrument.
 Safety symbols
Comply with EMC
2. FUNCTIONS DESCRIPTION
This Sound Level Meter is designed for noise project;
quality control; illness prevention and cure and all kinds of
environmental sounds measurement. It is applied to the
sounds measurement at factory; school; office; traffic
access and household, etc.
This unit confirms to the IEC61672-1 CLASS2 for
Sound Level Meters.
MAX & MIN measurements
Over range display

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Under range display
A & C Weighting
FAST & SLOW response
Analog AC/DC outputs for connection to frequency
analyzer or X-Y shaft recorder
3. SPECIFICATION
Standard applied: IEC61672 -1 CLASS2
Accuracy:±1.4dB
Frequency range:31.5HZ ~ 8KHZ
Dynamic range:50dB
Memory:32700
Level ranges: LO:30dB~80dB
Med:50dB~100dB
Hi:80dB~130dB
Auto:30dB~130dB
Frequency weighting: A/C
Time weighting: FAST ( 125ms ), SLOW ( 1s )
Microphone: 1/2 inch electret condenser microphone
Display: 4 digits LCD display with a resolution of 0.1dB
Display Update: 2 times/sec.
MAX hold: Hold the Maximum reading
MIN hold: Hold the Minimum reading
HOLD: Hold the readings
Alarm function: “OVER”is when input is more than upper
limit of range.“UNDER”is when input is
less than lower limit of range.
Analog output: AC/DC outputs from earphone outlet
AC=1Vrms ,DC=10mV/dB

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Data output: USB data traffic
Auto power off:Meter automatically shuts down after
approx. 15 minutes of inactivity.
Power supply: One 9V battery, 006P or NEDA1604 or
IEC 6F22.
Power life: About 30hours
Operation temperature and humidity:
0°C~40°C,10％RH~90％RH
Storage temperature and temperature:
-10°C ~+60°C，10％RH~75％RH
Dimension: 278 (L) x 76 (W) x 50(H) mm
Weight : 350g
Accessories : Instruction manual, battery, screwdriver,
￠3.5mm earphone plug, windscreen,
USB cable.

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4. NAME AND FUNCTIONS
When you measure at wind velocities of >10m/ s, use the
wind protection on the microphone.
1. Rec
2. Setup
3. Backlight
4. Fast/Slow
5. A / C
6. Max / Min
7. Hold
8. Level
9. Power

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MAX: Maximum indication
MIN: Minimum indication
OVER: Out of range indication (value too high)
UNDER: Out of range indication (value too low)
FAST: Fast response
SLOW: Slow response
dBA: A-weighting
dBC: C-weighting
88 –188 : Range selection
Battery indication:Battery low
FULL: Memory full
REC: Data are recorded
Auto Power Off
„Setup“ key activated / deactivated

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„REC“ button
DATALOGGER function
Press “REC”button after it power on, the display will show
“REC”to start Data Recording，press the button again to exit
the record (Note: In order to avoid data error, please don’t
power it off under REC condition, when the REC function is
deleted then it can power off).
Adjusting DATALOGGER response
Press the button continuously before power it on，then
press ,it will be displayed as following: Press ’LEVEL’
button to adjust memory time,press ‘HOLD’button to hold
the setup；
Data zero function
Press the “REC” button continuously before power it on，
loosen the
button when the display showing’CLR’after the meter
power on,which indicates that the data in DATALOGGER
has been deleted.

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“SETUP” button
The time chip adjustment
Press‘SETUP’button and then power it on，when‘TIME’
symbol displays then loosen‘SETUP’， the meter will be
under time adjustment mode，at the time the display will
show the date as following:
Press the‘SETUP’button second time, the display showing：
The display showing “minute”adjustment mode, press
‘LEVEL’to make the adjustment，press ‘HOLD’to keep the
setup；
Press the‘SETUP’button third time, the display showing：

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The display showing “hour”adjustment mode, press
(h-P=P.M,h-A=A.M)
‘LEVEL’to make the adjustment，press‘HOLD’to keep the
setup；
Press the‘SETUP’button fourth time, the display showing
The display showing “date”adjustment mode, press
‘LEVEL’to make the adjustment，press’HOLD’to keep the
setup；
Press the ‘SETUP’button fifth time, the display showing：
The display showing “month”adjustment mode, press
‘LEVEL’to make the adjustment，press ‘HOLD’to keep
the setup；
Press the ‘SETUP’button sixth time, the display showing：
The display showing “year”adjustment mode, press
‘LEVEL’to make the adjustment，press ‘HOLD’to keep the
setup；

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Press the ’SETUP’button seventh time, the display showing:
The display showing initialization of the time chip，press
‘HOLD’to keep the setup；time and date have returned to
factory setup. When the battery is exhausted or replaced, if
the time can’t be adjusted then please initialize the time chip
first.
USB communications setting:
Turn on the meter, connect the meter with the computer
correctly, choose the software COM3（COM4）,then press
‘SETUP’, ‘‘disappears from the display to indicate and
disable auto power off, that the USB data is transmitting.
“FAST/SLOW” button:
Time weighting selection
FAST: st sampling measurement, 1 time per 125mS.
SLOW:Slow sampling measurement, 1 time per second.

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“MAX/MIN” button:
Maximum and Minimum hold Press this button for one time
to enter MAX/MIN measurement, ‘MAX’will appear on LCD,
maximum sound level will be captured and held until higher
sound level is captured. Press the button again, ‘MIN’will
appear on LCD and minimum sound level will be captured
and held until new lower sound level is captured. Press the
button one more time to exit MAX/MIN measurement.
“LEVEL” button: Level range selection
Each time you press “LEVEL” button, the level range will
change between ‘Lo’ level, ‘Med’ level, ‘Hi’ level and ‘Auto’
level in the circular.
Backlight button
8.0．Turn the backlight on/off
8.1．DATALOGGERresponse setting;
press the button continuously until‘INT’symbol appears
after the meter turn on, press‘LEVEL’to set up the data
memory response, then press‘HOLD’to keep the setting.

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“A/C” Frequency weighting select button
A：A-Weighting
C：C-Weighting
“HOLD” button:
Press “HOLD”button, The hold function freezes the
reading in the display.
Power button
Turn the meter power ON/OFF
External DC 9V power supply terminal
For connection with DC 9V power supply.
Aperture size: external diameter: 3.5mm, internal
diameter: 1.35mm
USB interface
USB signal output is a 9600 bps serial interface.

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5. Software
Driver
Download the software via the following website:
https://www.pce-instruments.com/english/download-win_4.ht
m
1. Start your computer.
2. Run the file „CP210xVCPInstaller.exe“ in
the directory..\driver\Windows[YOUR
VERSION OF THE OPERATING
SYSTEM]\ with a double click.
3. Hit „Install“.
4. Restart your computer after the installation
is made.
Install the driver first and connect the device afterwards to the
computer using the USB interface.

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5. The device can be switched on after the
computer has restarted.
6. Connect the device to a USB serial port.
The driver will then be installed automatically
and can then be found in the device manager
of your computer.
7. If the driver is installed completely, the
computer will show “CP2101 USB to UART
Bridge Controller (COMX).“ in the submenu
COM and LPT. Note the COM-connection
(COM 3 in the picture above) This has to be
set within the software.
8. Hit setup and follow the instructions on the
computer screen. After the software is
installed, start the application “Sound Level
Meter“.

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Software operation
Symbols
Open file
Save data as .txt-file
Save data as .xls-file
Start real time measurement
End real time measurement
Print measurement data
Information on the software version
Real time measurement

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Start Time
Beginning of the measurement
series
MIN
Lowest measured volume of the
measurement series with the
exact time
MAX
Lowest measured volume of the
measurement series with the
exact time
DataNo.
Amount of measurement points
Sample Rate
Sampling rate
Average
Average sound level of the
measurement series
Graph
Visualization as a graph
Data List
Visualization as a data list
UnDo Zoom
Zoom out

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In order to compare two measurement points you can set
two different cursors. The data can then be analyzed.

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Cursor A
Wert CursorA
Max. Between A and B
Maximal ermittelter Wert zwischen A
und B
Min. Between A and B
Minimal ermittelter Wert zwischenA
und B
Cursor B
Wert Cursor B
Average. Between Aand B
Gemessener Durchschnittswert
zwischen A und B
Quantity. Between A and B
Gemessene Messpunkte zwischenA
und B
You can zoom certain part of the graph. Klick with the left
mouse button, hold it and adjust the area that has to be
zoomed. Release the mouse button again and the software
will zoom in.

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Function tabs
The function tabs can perform more actions in addition to the
functions that are described above. They help you to analyze
the data:
Open: open file
Save as: save data in .txt-format
Export To Excel: save data in .xls.-format
Print Graph: print graph
Print Data: print table
Exit: close software
Run: start real time measurement
Stop: end real time measurement
Clear Data: delete data

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Setup: set sampling rate and maximum measurement
value
Read out internal data logger
Manual: Choose communication interface manually
Auto: Choose communication interface automatically
ToolBar: activate / deactivate symbol bar
StatusBar: activate / deactivate status bar
Color Setting: Change the colour of the graph,
background or grid
Contents: Run help function
About: Show information on the software version.
AC/DC signal output earphone outlet
OUTPUT
GROUND
OUTPUT
AC
DC