Hi guys!
I apologize in advance for any bad english since it's not my native language.
I'm currently designing a noise level meter which should be able to measure sound (in dB, C class) at a range of 1 kilometer up to about 50 kilometers. The general idea is to be able to leave it at a specific range a couple of days where it will measure all incoming sound. You should be able to select a certain threshold (gain) and when an incoming sound wave is above that, the device should download the information and save it on a USB flash drive (dB, time etc). The device should also be able to connect to a server, so that you can access a database from home for example where all the information is accessible.
I've talked to some colleagues of mine and they recommended to use a Raspberry Pi to solve the problem and I thought I might as well ask here if it's doable since I've never used "one of 'dem fancy micro-computers" as one of my colleagues called it, before.
My idea is to use a standard noise level meter with a USB-port and connect it to a Raspberry Pi and then design a "simple" program (possibly in Python?) which should download the necessary information from the noise level meter (dB, time etc), create a textfile or something, store the information on that textfile and then save it on an external USB flash drive.
Other than that I will use a power supply which consists of a battery that can last at least 48 hours without charging it and an outer "shell" for the device (You should be able to leave it outside in an acceptable temperature). I will leave that part with "connecting to a server" out for now and come back to it if I have time.
The thing is that when the user pushes the on/off switch for the power supply on the outside of the box the computer should automatically activate itself, log on, run the program and start downloading information from the noise level meter WITHOUT having to connect a keyboard, mouse or a monitor and manually log on and run the program. So it's that problem as well.
The only thing I want to know at the moment though is if it actually is doable.
Any response or comments on the subject is welcome!
Cheers!