RattleScope: Vibration Meter

Something in your car has started to rattle, or the washer sounds louder on spin than it did last spring, and you cannot say whether that is real or just your ears. RattleScope gives you a figure for it, from your phone's own motion sensor. Lay your phone on the thing that shakes, and this vibration meter shows how strong the shaking is and which frequency is strongest.

THEN IT COMPARES
Save today's reading as a baseline. Next month, read it again from the same spot. RattleScope lays the two traces over each other and says what changed in plain words, for example: strength is up 38% since 3 October, and the strongest frequency moved from 23.1 Hz to 26.0 Hz.

READ IT LIVE
A big strength figure in m/s² or g, a moving trace, and a vibration frequency chart with the strongest peak marked in Hz and per minute. It waits a few seconds after you press Start so your hand is off the phone, and the screen stays on while it reads.

CHECK IT AGAINST A SPEED
Type the RPM of whatever turns: a washer's spin speed, a motor's plate, an engine's rev counter. RattleScope shows whether the peak lines up with once per turn, twice per turn and so on. That is a clue about where to look, not a diagnosis.

KEEP WHAT YOU READ
Save a reading with a name, a tag (car, washer, fan or other) and a photo of where the phone sat, so next month's reading starts from the same place.

WHAT A PHONE CAN SEE
A phone reads its motion sensor about 50 to 200 times a second, depending on the model. RattleScope measures the real rate on your phone and tells you the highest frequency that lets it read, which is half that rate. Faster shaking can show up at a lower frequency.

WHAT IT IS NOT
These are readings from your phone's own sensor. They are not calibrated or certified, and RattleScope never says that a machine, a vehicle or a structure is safe or faulty. If something worries you, ask a qualified person.

STANDARD AND UNLOCKED
The live meter, the RPM check, three saved readings and opening anything you saved are in the standard version, with one small banner. A one-time unlock adds Baseline Compare, a saved reading laid under the live one, a PDF report with both traces, a CSV file and as many saved readings as you like, and removes the banner. There is no subscription and no account.

YOUR READINGS STAY ON YOUR PHONE
Readings and photos are kept on your phone and are not uploaded.

Questions? Write to support@clearstackapps.com