What is a Psophometer

[mhilton2013]

Hi there,

I recently came across a piece of test equipment I had not come across before, the Psophometer. After a little reading it seems to me that these rare items are basically distortion analysers. Is this the case or am I missing something? And if they are not, why are they so rare?

[ebastler]

Rather a noise meter, in my understanding. The psophometer does not measure distortion (i.e. share of harmonics, relative to a desired sinusoidal signal), but r.m.s. values of noise or other unwanted (additive) voltages. For use in telecommunications, the ITU has defined specific spectral weighting curves: https://www.itu.int/rec/dologin_pub.asp?lang=e&id=T-REC-O.41-199303-S!!PDF-E&type=items

[CJay]

Very interested to know this too, I've got a Farnell/Sayrosa/Wayne Kerr automatic modulation meter and to say the instruction manual is scant on information would be an understatement.

The best I can come up with is that it's for use with CCITT standards but nothing on why/what/how etc.

It's not that I *need* it, I have no idea if I do or not 

[mhilton2013]

I think you're right eblaster. I got hold of a manual for one and this one was used for measuring interference on post office telephone lines. I do find it strange how these things are so rare though...