{"id":581,"date":"2026-06-18T04:55:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T04:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/?p=581"},"modified":"2026-06-18T04:55:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T04:55:21","slug":"audio-techniques-sound-math-help-troubleshooting-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/audio-techniques-sound-math-help-troubleshooting-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Audio Techniques | Sound Math \u2014 Help &amp; Troubleshooting Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Audio Techniques | Sound Math \u2014 Help &amp; Troubleshooting Guide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<!-- Sound Math \u2014 Help & Troubleshooting -->\n<!-- Paste this into a Custom HTML block in WordPress -->\n\n<style>\n.sm-guide { max-width: 800px; margin: 0 auto; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.7; color: inherit; }\n.sm-guide h2 { font-size: 1.4em; margin: 2em 0 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.3em; border-bottom: 1px solid #e0e0e0; }\n.sm-guide h3 { font-size: 1.1em; margin: 1.6em 0 0.4em; }\n.sm-guide p { margin: 0 0 1em; }\n.sm-guide ul, .sm-guide ol { margin: 0 0 1em 1.5em; padding: 0; }\n.sm-guide li { margin-bottom: 0.4em; }\n.sm-guide code { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; background: #f4f4f4; padding: 2px 5px; border-radius: 3px; }\n.sm-guide pre { background: #f4f4f4; border-left: 3px solid #ccc; padding: 1em; overflow-x: auto; border-radius: 3px; margin: 0 0 1em; }\n.sm-guide pre code { background: none; padding: 0; }\n.sm-guide table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0 0 1.5em; font-size: 0.95em; }\n.sm-guide th { background: #f4f4f4; text-align: left; padding: 8px 12px; border: 1px solid #ddd; font-weight: 600; }\n.sm-guide td { padding: 8px 12px; border: 1px solid #ddd; vertical-align: top; }\n.sm-guide blockquote { border-left: 3px solid #ccc; margin: 1em 0; padding: 0.6em 1.2em; background: #fafafa; color: #555; border-radius: 0 3px 3px 0; }\n.sm-guide blockquote p:last-child { margin: 0; }\n.sm-guide a { color: inherit; }\n.sm-guide strong { font-weight: 600; }\n.sm-toc { background: #fafafa; border: 0.5px solid #ddd; border-radius: 4px; padding: 1rem 1.25rem; margin: 0 0 2em; }\n.sm-toc h3 { margin: 0 0 0.6em; }\n.sm-toc ol { margin: 0; }\n<\/style>\n\n<div class=\"sm-guide\">\n\n<p>Sound Math is a quick-reference calculator for audio professionals. It includes three tools accessible from the tab bar at the bottom of the screen:<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Wavelength<\/strong> \u2014 Frequency, period, speed of sound, and phase-angle timing<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Pan<\/strong> \u2014 Panning percentage to decibel conversion<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Timecode<\/strong> \u2014 Timecode\/frames conversion at common film and video frame rates<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<div class=\"sm-toc\">\n  <h3>Table of Contents<\/h3>\n  <ol>\n    <li><a href=\"#wavelength\">Wavelength Tab<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#pan\">Pan Tab<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#timecode\">Timecode Tab<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#general-troubleshooting\">General Troubleshooting<\/a><\/li>\n  <\/ol>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2 id=\"wavelength\">Wavelength Tab<\/h2>\n\n<h3>What it does<\/h3>\n\n<p>Calculates the wavelength, period, and phase-angle timings of a given frequency, accounting for the speed of sound at a specified air temperature.<\/p>\n\n<h3>How to use it<\/h3>\n\n<ol>\n  <li>Tap the Hz field and enter a frequency between 20 Hz and 16,000 Hz, or use the slider to sweep.<\/li>\n  <li>Tap the Temp field and enter the ambient air temperature in \u00b0Fahrenheit. The \u00b0C equivalent is displayed automatically.<\/li>\n  <li>The app instantly displays:\n    <ul>\n      <li>Speed of sound (ft\/s and m\/s)<\/li>\n      <li>Wavelength (feet, yards, meters)<\/li>\n      <li>Period (the time of a single cycle)<\/li>\n      <li>Cycle time at common phase angles (90\u00b0 through 330\u00b0)<\/li>\n    <\/ul>\n  <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<h3>Formulas used<\/h3>\n\n<ul>\n  <li>Speed of sound (ft\/s) = 1052 + 1.106 \u00d7 \u00b0F<\/li>\n  <li>Wavelength = Speed of sound \u00f7 Frequency<\/li>\n  <li>Period = 1 \u00f7 Frequency<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3>Troubleshooting<\/h3>\n\n<p><strong>The values don&#8217;t update after I type a number.<\/strong><br>\nTap somewhere outside the text field, or swipe down on the results area to dismiss the keyboard. The value is committed when the field loses focus.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>My frequency snaps to 20 or 16,000.<\/strong><br>\nThe slider and input are clamped to the audible range (20 Hz \u2013 16 kHz). Type a value within that range.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>The temperature field shows &#8220;0&#8221; after I entered text.<\/strong><br>\nA non-numeric entry will revert to the previous value. Use digits and a decimal point only.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Units of milliseconds \/ microseconds appear automatically \u2014 why?<\/strong><br>\nTime values switch between seconds, milliseconds (ms), and microseconds (\u00b5s) automatically depending on magnitude, so the display stays readable across the full frequency range.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"pan\">Pan Tab<\/h2>\n\n<h3>What it does<\/h3>\n\n<p>Shows the relationship between a stereo pan position and the resulting attenuation in decibels for each channel.<\/p>\n\n<h3>How to use it<\/h3>\n\n<ul>\n  <li>Slide the L &#x2194; R slider. The Left and Right channel boxes update to show:\n    <ul>\n      <li>The percentage of signal sent to each side<\/li>\n      <li>The equivalent dB attenuation<\/li>\n    <\/ul>\n  <\/li>\n  <li>The formula at the bottom shows the math being applied in real time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3>Formula used<\/h3>\n\n<ul>\n  <li>dB = 20 \u00d7 log\u2081\u2080(percentage \u00f7 100)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3>Troubleshooting<\/h3>\n\n<p><strong>One channel shows &#8220;\u2212\u221e dB&#8221;.<\/strong><br>\nThis is correct. When the pan slider is fully hard-panned to one side, the opposite channel receives no signal \u2014 mathematically, that&#8217;s negative infinity decibels.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>The dB values don&#8217;t match my DAW&#8217;s pan law.<\/strong><br>\nSound Math uses a simple linear-percentage to dB conversion, not a specific pan law (\u22123 dB, \u22124.5 dB, \u22126 dB center, etc.). Use it as a general reference; your DAW or console may apply additional compensation at the center position.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"timecode\">Timecode Tab<\/h2>\n\n<h3>What it does<\/h3>\n\n<p>Converts between SMPTE timecode (HH:MM:SS:FF) and total frame counts at common film and video frame rates.<\/p>\n\n<h3>How to use it<\/h3>\n\n<h4>Timecode \u2192 Frames (top section)<\/h4>\n\n<ol>\n  <li>Enter values in the Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Frames fields. Leave blank for zero.<\/li>\n  <li>Tap a frame rate: 24, 25, 30, 23.98, 24.97, 29.97.<\/li>\n  <li>The total frame count appears below.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<h4>Frames \u2192 Timecode (bottom section)<\/h4>\n\n<ol>\n  <li>Enter a total number of frames.<\/li>\n  <li>Tap a frame rate.<\/li>\n  <li>The equivalent timecode appears below.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<h3>Troubleshooting<\/h3>\n\n<p><strong>The result shows 0.<\/strong><br>\nMake sure at least one field has a numeric value, and that a frame rate is selected. Empty fields are treated as zero.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>My drop-frame timecode doesn&#8217;t match.<\/strong><br>\nSound Math calculates non-drop-frame timecode. For broadcast workflows using 29.97 DF or 23.98 DF, the displayed timecode will drift from a drop-frame timeline by a small amount over long durations.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>The frames field accepts values higher than the frame rate.<\/strong><br>\nThis is intentional \u2014 the calculator rolls extra frames into seconds when totaling. For example, entering 30 frames at 24 fps will be treated as 1 second + 6 frames in the total count.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>The keyboard won&#8217;t go away.<\/strong><br>\nSwipe down on the results area to dismiss it, or tap outside the input field.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"general-troubleshooting\">General Troubleshooting<\/h2>\n\n<h3>The app crashes or freezes<\/h3>\n\n<ol>\n  <li>Force-quit the app: swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or double-press Home on older devices) and swipe the app card up.<\/li>\n  <li>Reopen the app.<\/li>\n  <li>If the issue persists, restart your device.<\/li>\n  <li>Make sure you&#8217;re running the latest version of iOS\/iPadOS and the latest version of Sound Math from the App Store.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<h3>Numbers look cut off or the layout is cramped<\/h3>\n\n<ul>\n  <li>Rotate the device, or try a smaller Dynamic Type setting in Settings \u2192 Display &amp; Brightness \u2192 Text Size.<\/li>\n  <li>On iPad, the app supports both orientations and Split View.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3>I can&#8217;t see the tab bar<\/h3>\n\n<p>Scroll up to the top of the screen. The tab bar is at the bottom of the window \u2014 if a software keyboard is open, dismiss it by swiping down on the content area.<\/p>\n\n<h3>How do I reset values to defaults?<\/h3>\n\n<p>Close and reopen the app. Sound Math does not save values between sessions \u2014 every launch starts fresh with the default frequency (1000 Hz), temperature (72 \u00b0F), and center pan position.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Does Sound Math collect any data?<\/h3>\n\n<p>No. The app performs all calculations on-device, does not connect to the internet, and does not collect, store, or transmit any personal information.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Audio Techniques | Sound Math \u2014 Help &amp; Troubleshooting Guide Sound Math is a quick-reference calculator for audio professionals. It includes three tools accessible from the tab bar at the bottom of the screen: Wavelength \u2014 Frequency, period, speed of sound, and phase-angle timing Pan \u2014 Panning percentage to decibel conversion Timecode \u2014 Timecode\/frames conversion &#8230; <a title=\"Audio Techniques | Sound Math \u2014 Help &amp; Troubleshooting Guide\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/audio-techniques-sound-math-help-troubleshooting-guide\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Audio Techniques | Sound Math \u2014 Help &amp; Troubleshooting Guide\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":463,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-help"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":582,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581\/revisions\/582"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}