I am looking to getting a sensor mic(most likley the rta as we are Iasca biased. i just would like to know if the db drag sensor mic have similar functions. can the db drag sensor work as an rta? can it do a death match?(right out of the box) or is that a special program that comes seperately? can these two mics be interchangable? has anyone tried. aren't they the actually same mic?
i do not have enough exprience to know these answers. Please

Thank you kindly in advance.

no there not, they have to work with there own software...yes I tried.

any idea which is louder and by how much, surely some one has tried this.

Term Lab Sensors are more accurate and read lower than other measuring systems - I have seen a difference as low as 1 DB @140 db compared to a well calibrated "classic" term lab mic system and as much as 15 db compared to the audio control system. IMO only Term Lab Sensors are accurate as you cannot "fake" scores with them.

mike, are you comparing the new audiocontrol sensor? It's not a microphone anymore.

thats what i meant. surely some one has tried the two sensor mics?

Derek, I was commenting on the "classic" system -- I have not encountered the "new" Audiocontrol system my only point of reference is feedback from competitors saying that their "scores" are lower on the Termlab Sensors.

No disrespect Mike, but I feel that your comment on Term Lab being a "more accurate" system is an unfair statement.

For the record, I have spoken many times with Tom Walker and Chris Kane at AudioControl and have asked the same questions about the new AC sensor. I have been told by them that both the AudioControl and the Term Lab sensors are referenced from a B&K meter for calibration, so they are measured from the same source.

The actual difference in measurement from a Term Lab sensor to an AudioControl sensor is about 1 to 1.5 dB in all SPL ranges. The AC sensor reads higher by that amount. Why they are not exactly the same (because they're referenced from the same source) I don't know, but SPL readings in testing show that the AC sensor is as consistent as the Term Lab sensor.

I agree with you that with the "old" or "classic" systems, there was a difference of as much as 15 dB, but that was because you could "trick" the old mikes... that's why they are not being used much anymore.

And by the way Mike, so you know, you CAN fake scores on the Term Lab sensors... it was proven to me at the Steel Valley regionals in Chester, West Virginia last June.Apparently, some competitors found that by building an open "box" directly under where the sensor gets mounted, it would build up additional pressure and increase scores by about 2 to 3 dB. Wayne Harris outlawed these "boxes" in the rules so competitors could not fool the Term Lab sensors.

Four major competitors ran on both the Term Lab and AudioControl sensors that weekend (Jamie Delapaz, Jay Lovelace, Kara Lucius and Mike Bartells) and ALL of their scores on the AC sensor were within 1 dB of what they scored on the Term Lab sensor. We even ran their vehicles with the "box" they had built to see if the AC sensor would be affected by it and it wasn't. Their scores remained the same with the "box" open or closed. One competitor (Mike Bartells) actually went down a 1/2 dB.

I'm not trying to say that the AC sensor is more accurate than the Term Lab sensor, I believe both systems are awesome and have added credibility to SPL competition, and they are equally as good.

So, in answer to your question Team Shadow, you would not do wrong with either system and having both would be the icing on the cake.

Hope this helps,

Moe

^^^ Moe, as I said above -- I do not have experiance with the new AC sensors -- my comments were directed towards the "clasic" system. To my knowledge, no one in BC uses the new AC Sensors -- thus I do not have a point of reference when it comes to the new Sensors.

That being said, I am sure that your comments regarding the new AC Senor are accurate.

If one is to purchase one or the other system, they should consider which sanctioning body they are most likely to hold events under -- if they are entering IASCA/IDBL then AC makes sense -- however DB Drag/USACI/NSPL/MECA use the Term Lab Sensors.

You can use the Term Lab, for IASCA single point events as well