Small Gen Opinions ? UPDATE--Should I Switch?
Update- 7 Feb 17 alternative gen maybe? ------------------------- Original OP: Local shop is selling these for $200 (Can) next week. (about $152 US) http://www.powerhouse-products.com/power...
Forum Discussion
The "A" refers to "A-weighted" decibels. This is a standardized way of figuring decibels that attempts to correspond to human perception of loudness at various frequencies (specifically, lower frequencies are weighted less than higher ones, as it takes more low frequency acoustic energy to sound equally as loud). A rating is the most commonly used scheme for noise measurements, and would be what any generator specification would use for this rating.
If one were measuring the power gain of, say, an RF amplifier for a TV antenna, the decibels would not be A weighted but rather unweighted. (In this case, audio frequencies probably would not end up being amplified at all, but that's a different matter entirely!)
It's worth noting that the specification doesn't say anything about how the noise measurement was made, in particular what electrical load was applied and how far away from the generator the noise was measured. Both can have a very big impact on the results.
If one were measuring the power gain of, say, an RF amplifier for a TV antenna, the decibels would not be A weighted but rather unweighted. (In this case, audio frequencies probably would not end up being amplified at all, but that's a different matter entirely!)
It's worth noting that the specification doesn't say anything about how the noise measurement was made, in particular what electrical load was applied and how far away from the generator the noise was measured. Both can have a very big impact on the results.
