IT'S official Wanderers fans can be as loud as a chainsaw or even a rock concert.

But at their quietest they are no louder than a sewing machine.

Blues' boss John Gorman sent a rallying call to fans before Saturday's game to sing their hearts out for the club, after a lack of noise and atmosphere was partly blamed for them not earning enough victories.

So I was sent to record the volume of the crowd against Shrewsbury, to see if it improved.

With the help of my trusty device, I measured the noise of the fans and compared it to a loudness scale.

Mr Gorman will be pleased to know that at their noisiest, fans reached a massive 116 decibels louder than a car horn and almost equal to a chainsaw or a rock concert.

But his joy might disappear the same way some fans' voices did when he discovers that levels dropped to as low as 60 decibels. This is equal to a sewing machine or even a normal conversation.

Steve Brown, 25, of Hazlemere, helped fans in the Jewson Stand reach their 116 peak by conducting them with a large drum in the Jewson Stand.

Mr Brown, a housing officer, decided to bring his drum out for the first time this season after getting fed up with quiet crowds. He banged it so loud that it cracked.

He said: "There are 12 to 15 fans here that are excited all the time no matter what.

"The whole point of football is to get the atmosphere going. The manager says get behind the team but they don't do it all the time over there.

"You can definitely be a 12th man. I have been bouncing up and down as well to get people going and my voice is going all the time."

In the Jewson Stand, fans started the game in full voice, reaching peaks as high as 106 decibels in the first five minutes.

This was supported by noise in the Frank Adams Stand when on 15 minutes Wanderers scored their first goal. This hit 110 decibels equal to a car horn or a personal stereo.

But their noise waned just as the football did, and sunk to 60 and 70 decibels halfway through the first half. Seventy decibels is only equal to a dishwasher or the sound of an alarm clock.

Dave Holden, 40, of Hazlemere, who took his son, Jordan, seven, to the match, said: "They should be a bit more vocal shouldn't they?

"I have been a life-long Newcastle supporter and when they are under the cosh a bit of support really lifts the team. In the position Wycombe are in they need all the support they can get."

A similar pattern happened in the BCUC Stand when in the second half Wanderers scored again. A whopping 105 decibels was recorded louder than an electric drill.

But again the noise dropped to 65 decibels equal to the sound made by the refreshment stand queue at half time.

Paul Francis, a season ticket holder in BCUC, said it wasn't easy to make people break their silence. Mr Francis, of Hicks Farm Rise, High Wycombe, said: "It is a lot louder down in the standing area but it is normally very quiet here.

"I think on the whole there are a lot of older people in this area and they just want to come and watch the football. People have different ways of enjoying the game."

While some fans claimed the noise had gone up, others blamed the quality of the game itself for silencing the crowd.

The loudest song of the match came before kickoff when fans hit 97 decibels with chants of "Sergio".