# Picking up my RS digital meter today .. Just need a checklist confirmation.



## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)

OK guys , Im gonna pick up the meter today but knowing all the different things ppl tend to use , based on what type of computer they are running , I just wanted to check with you guys to make sure I have everything im gonna need to Run REW properly 

RS meter - http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103667

3.5 mm stereo plug to rca adapter - http://www.parts-express.com//pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=090-294 OR something like these http://www.parts-express.com//pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=181-590


And since im just running a new cheap(er) laptop, I would have to order this as well correct?

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-Control-UCA202-Audio-Interface/dp/B000J0IIEQ



Thanks guys let me know if thats it or I need something else too !!


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

If you go with the Behringer UCA-202, you won’t need any 3.5mm to RCA adapters. The UCA-202 uses regular RCA jacks. Don’t forget to load our calibration file for the Radio Shack meter into REW.

Looks like you’re good to go! :T

Regards,
Wayne


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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)

Wayne A. Pflughaupt said:


> If you go with the Behringer UCA-202, you won’t need any 3.5mm to RCA adapters. The UCA-202 uses regular RCA jacks. Don’t forget to load our calibration file for the Radio Shack meter into REW.
> 
> Looks like you’re good to go! :T
> 
> ...


Ahhh good deal, thanks Wayne! 

So just the uca and the meter, and a few sets of rcas, do they need to be anything good? I have a few 6 foot sets of cheap one that came with a few subs I had in the past, will those be ok? 

Last question.. Is this how I setup everything?

-download REW

-Calibrate the RS meter from this page -- Model 33-2055 Digital RS Meter Correction Values - RadioShack-33-2055-4050-CS.cal

- hook up UCA202 to computer

- run one side of the uca to the meter ( by rca Right channel ) 

- run a rca from the "out" side of the UCA to my receiver , Using a Y adapter to plug into both channels of the aux input 

??


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## glaufman (Nov 25, 2007)

Before you connect the RS meter you'll want to calibrate the UCA... run a cable from the out to the in and click Settings->Measure and follow the directions...


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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)

glaufman said:


> Before you connect the RS meter you'll want to calibrate the UCA... run a cable from the out to the in and click Settings->Measure and follow the directions...




so on the uca, just use a standard rca cable and hook both l/r of the input, to both l/r of the output? Basically just a loop from output, going back to the input?


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## glaufman (Nov 25, 2007)

Just a loopback, like you said, except you only need to do the right channel...


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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)

glaufman said:


> Just a loopback, like you said, except you only need to do the right channel...





Gotcha man thank you, Im sure the setup part will be self explanatory once I get to the setup part.. Cant wait to get this running , thanks again!


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## glaufman (Nov 25, 2007)

If not, feel free to ask more...


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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)

:nerd: 

Could someone tell me if there is any differences between these 4 UCA202 models? Number 1,2 and 4 and 6... 


https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=uca202&x=0&y=0


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## moodyman (Feb 10, 2010)

mj79 said:


> :nerd:
> 
> Could someone tell me if there is any differences between these 4 UCA202 models? Number 1,2 and 4 and 6...
> 
> ...


looks like 1,2, and 6 are the same..just different vendors on amazon...

4 has a phono stage which I'm sure is not needed for REW purposes..


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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)

moodyman said:


> looks like 1,2, and 6 are the same..just different vendors on amazon...
> 
> 4 has a phono stage which I'm sure is not needed for REW purposes..


thanks man < I always question something thats the exact same thing at a lower price , on the same site.. Got burned and learned my lesson once :hissyfit:


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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)

ok I got the RS meter, But Im assuming I need to have the uca202 here and calibrated before I hook up the RS meter and calibrate it? Also the RS booklet says the digital meter C weighted responds to frequencies 32-10,000 hz.. which doesnt do a ton of good for HT . So does the mic calibration files in here change it down to 20 hz?


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## glaufman (Nov 25, 2007)

You can go ahead and use the RS meter while you're waiting, you just have no way to hook it into REW. Yes, the cal file extends the usable range, usually considered down to 15 or 10 Hz... but YMMV on that based on your noise floor...
Also you should know it's only reliable up to about 3kHz.


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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)

glaufman said:


> You can go ahead and use the RS meter while you're waiting, you just have no way to hook it into REW. Yes, the cal file extends the usable range, usually considered down to 15 or 10 Hz... but YMMV on that based on your noise floor...
> Also you should know it's only reliable up to about 3kHz.


Thanks again.. Cant wait to get the UCA saturday .. I downloaded REW and am checking it out now .. Looks pretty straight forward, but alot of little things here and there that will take some time to learn.. 

So when I get the UCA just so I know , ( bare with me !! lol ) 

-hook it up thru usb
- loop the right in/out channel
-calibrate it
-hook up the RS meter
-DL the RS meter correction 
-run rca to aux input on receiver..

Or something along those lines.. Did I just completely miss a guide on how to do this? Cuz I cant imagine someone else asking so many questions lol


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## glaufman (Nov 25, 2007)

Yep... among other things, once you have the soundcard calibrated, run a measurement sweep to make sure you get a flat 0dB response... this confirms the soundcard calibration worked correctly...
Then you hook up the meter as you said...
Then you run the "check levels" routine to set your gains... then you calibrate the SPL... you can find this all in the help files in REW itself or available here:
http://www.hometheatershack.com/roomeq/wizardhelp/help_en-GB/html/index.html


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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)

how do i know for sure that the calibration setting for the RS meter were sent to REW.. When I first DL the mic correction link it said it could not be opened, then I tried again, and when it asked what program I would like to open it with , I chose REW.. and now whenever open the correctipon file it opens REW, Is that good? Or is there a way to tell that it was sent to REW successfully ?

Ok nevermind that.. I went into the mic/meter settings and opened the file , ( its 10 hz -1000 hz ) so its available for when I need to calibrate the meter , i think lol



Now the part that confused me.. more.. When the uca / meter are all setup and calibrated and you have a rca running to the Aux inputs on the receiver ( im going to use a Y adapter at the receiver to add both channels ) But why do You need to be hooked up to the receiver If all your doing is getting sound from the meter which is hooked up to my laptop running into REW? 

Also if that is the case do I need to run a test tone or sweep disk through my pc ?


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

> When the uca / meter are all setup and calibrated and you have a rca running to the Aux inputs on the receiver... But why do You need to be hooked up to the receiver If all your doing is getting sound from the meter which is hooked up to my laptop running into REW?


Well, the mic (meter) has to have something to measure, doesn’t it? REW (not the mic/meter) generates the signal that’s needed to measure and plot the frequency response. If the sound card isn’t connected to your receiver, the speakers won’t be able to play that signal. Make sense? :T

Regards,
Wayne


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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)

Wayne A. Pflughaupt said:


> Well, the mic (meter) has to have something to measure, doesn’t it? REW (not the mic/meter) generates the signal that’s needed to measure and plot the frequency response. If the sound card isn’t connected to your receiver, the speakers won’t be able to play that signal. Make sense? :T
> 
> Regards,
> Wayne


yes, But the only thin gI was wondering is when the UCA is hooked up to the receiver I was thinking that I had to have the receiver on "aux". So if I wanted to play a sweep or get some testings watching a blu ray, I would be on aux, instead of BR/CD input on the receiver. Hope that made sense


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## glaufman (Nov 25, 2007)

There are two ways to go. You can use REW to generate test signals to feed into the AVR and use REW to read the audio that results, or you can use a test disc to generate test signals to feed into the AVr and use REW to read the audio that results.
If you want to just use pink noise or real world material, you'll be using REW in RTA mode. This is a good mode to use when you want to make quick changes on the fly and see the FR results rather quickly. But there are some very useful measurements that REW cannot take that way.
the way to get the most detail out of REW is to let REW generate a swept sine wave that's fed into the AVR, and REW measures the resultant audio. From this, REW can generate all sorts of calculations including Impulse Response and Spectral Decay plots. This is also the way to use REW if you want REW to suggest EQ filters to use to improve the room's response.


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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)

glaufman said:


> There are two ways to go. You can use REW to generate test signals to feed into the AVR and use REW to read the audio that results, or you can use a test disc to generate test signals to feed into the AVr and use REW to read the audio that results.
> If you want to just use pink noise or real world material, you'll be using REW in RTA mode. This is a good mode to use when you want to make quick changes on the fly and see the FR results rather quickly. But there are some very useful measurements that REW cannot take that way.
> the way to get the most detail out of REW is to let REW generate a swept sine wave that's fed into the AVR, and REW measures the resultant audio. From this, REW can generate all sorts of calculations including Impulse Response and Spectral Decay plots. This is also the way to use REW if you want REW to suggest EQ filters to use to improve the room's response.


great , thank you much!!. UCA just got here .. So Im gonna hook it all up and see what I can get .. Just running through the UCA calibration settings quick


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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)

In the first step of clibrating the UCA . Im getting measurements of voume, Im assuming from the Mic on my laptop, is this ok?


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## glaufman (Nov 25, 2007)

I don't understand "measurements of volume"...
When calibrating the soundcard, you should be getting "measurements"... it's this signal that REW is measuring...
If you're getting sound coming in on the laptop mic, no, this is not good, and will corrupt all your measurements. You need to mute the built in mic.


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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)

glaufman said:


> I don't understand "measurements of volume"...
> When calibrating the soundcard, you should be getting "measurements"... it's this signal that REW is measuring...
> If you're getting sound coming in on the laptop mic, no, this is not good, and will corrupt all your measurements. You need to mute the built in mic.


that is done now, and on the screen of the uca calibration it says to adjust the input and output volume to match each other .. Ill post um screen shots from start to finish .. Should have them up in a few minutes


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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)

screen 1











Screen 2














screen 3 - 












final screen


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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)




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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)




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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)

i have no idea whats going on or what Im not doing right.. Man this is frustrating!!! I have followed the help guide of calibrating the soundcard202 slowly 15 times , and dont get whats going on..


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## mj79 (Sep 2, 2009)

new thread.. This one can get tossed if need be .. Im just lost.. period

http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...ready-give-up-rew-whole-calibration-deal.html


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## glaufman (Nov 25, 2007)

Well, screen 3 doesn't look good to me. You have input detected in both channels, where it should be in only one, and the level is down too far. did you get that fixed before running the measurement? Because I'm not sure why REW would detect clipping if the levels are so low.
Try selecting the UCA in the input and output device dropdown menus.


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