A note on the limitations in the use of the impulse precision sound level meter

The limitations in the use of the Impulse Precision Sound Level Meter for the assessment of the sound energy of recurrent impact noise have been investigated. For repetition rates above 30 impacts per second the meter reading and level predicted by an energy law agree to within ±2 dB. Below 30 impacts per second, for pulses with decay times in the range 2 to 28 msec, a simple empirical correction applied to the meter reading will produce results that follow the energy law. For decay times in excess of 28 msec simple corrections are not adequate and therefore the Impulse Sound Level Meter cannot be used in practice.