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 dB is referred to 1.0 picowatt. Thus, 0 dBrn = -90 dBm. Use of 144 line, 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. They come in four main pairs of shapes, as given in the box to the right, which also gives their n ...

. 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 in honor o ...

, 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, i ...

, randomly distributed over a 3 kHz band will read approximately +88.5 dBrn, because of the

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio ...

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

{{Decibel Mechanics Units of measurement Logarithmic scales of measurement