The symbol dBrn or dB(rn) is an abbreviation for

decibels The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a ...

above reference noise. Weighted

noise power In telecommunication, the term noise power has the following meanings: # The measured total noise in a given bandwidth at the input or output of a device when the signal is not present; the integral of noise spectral density over the bandwidth # T ...

in dB is referred to 1.0

picowatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...

. Thus, 0 dBrn = -90 dBm. Use of 144

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Art ...

, 144-receiver, or C-message weighting, or flat weighting, can be indicated in

parentheses A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...

. With C-message weighting, a one-

milliwatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wat ...

, 1000 Hz tone will read +90 dBrn, but the same power as

white noise In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used, with this or similar meanings, in many scientific and technical disciplines ...

, randomly distributed over a 3 kHz

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

will read approximately +88.5 dBrn, because of the

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

weighting. With 144 weightings, a one milliwatt, 1000 Hz white noise tone will also read +90 dBrn, but the same 3 kHz power will only read +82 dBrn, because of the different frequency weighting. Note: In telecommunications, ''dBrn adjusted'' also called dBa denotes "decibels adjusted", i.e. weighted absolute noise power. This is totally unrelated to and not a synonym for dB(A).

References

{{lowercase Mechanics Units of measurement Logarithmic scales of measurement