(a) A sound level meter or alternate sound level measurement system that meets, as a minimum, all the requirements of American National Standard S1.4-1971 \1\ for a Type 1 (or S1A) instrument must be used with the ``fast'' or ``slow'' meter response chacteristic as specified in Subpart B. To insure Type 1 response, the manufacturer's instructions regarding mounting or orienting of the microphone, and positioning of the observer must be observed. In the event that a Type 1 (or S1A) instrument is not available for determining non-compliance with this regulation, the measurements may be made with a Type 2 (or S2A), but with the measured levels reduced by the following amount to account for possible measurement instrument errors pertaining to specific measurements and sources:---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ American National Standards are available from the American National Standards Institute, Inc., 1430 Broadway, New York, NY 10018. Table 1--Sound Level Corrections When Using a Type 2 (or S2A) Instrument------------------------------------------------------------------------
Decibels
Measurement section Source \1\------------------------------------------------------------------------201.24........................ Locomotives................... 0
Rail cars..................... 0
Locomotive load cell test 0
stand.201.26........................ Retarder...................... 4
Car coupling.................. 2201.27........................ Locomotive load cell test 0
stand.
Stationary locomotive......... 0------------------------------------------------------------------------\1\ Amount of correction to be subtracted from measured level (dB).
(b) A microphone windscreen and an acoustic calibrator of the coupler type must be used as recommended by: (1) the manufacturer of the sound level meter or (2) the manufacturer of the microphone. The choice of both devices must be based on ensuring that Type 1 or 2 performance, as appropriate, is maintained for frequencies below 10,000 Hz.