5/27/2020 WLAN Link Planner

US (slow) | NL (fast) Dielectric Loaded Helix Antenna (Eng)

Wlan Link Planner (Eng) Links WLAN / WiFi
int mirror Dielectrically loaded Helix antenna
Wlan Link Planner (NL) Experiences of others
Connector types (NL)

Link planner for wireless networks (WLAN)

preface
With the information on this page you can check whether the WLAN link you have in mind can actually work.

A radio link will not work until the receiver receives a power that is greater than the minimum required for
proper signal detection.
1) With the transmitter and the transmitting antenna you can optimize the power. There are legal restrictions
on this point.
2) On the way of transmit antenna receive antenna, the signal is getting weaker. You cannot influence this
ether weakening. You can ensure, at least ..., that there is nothing in the way.
3) With the receiving antenna you can optimize the power that comes in to the receiver. You can choose the
receiver itself so that it does well with the smallest possible signal. There are no legal restrictions on the
receiver side.

As long as the receiver has a surplus of power, the radio link can work. You can express all this in numbers,
such a calculation is called a 'link budget' calculation. See below

Link budget calculation

In the link-budget calculation, all powers, amplification and attenuation of the entire transmission chain are
mapped with the aim of checking whether the receiver is receiving enough power to detect the received
signal.

The three basic elements in a transmission chain are:

Effective transmit power, expressed in [dBm] .. This is the transmit power, [dBm] minus the cable and
connector losses, [dB] plus the antenna gain [dBi];
Ether loss (loss that occurs with the propagation of the radio waves through the ether), expressed in
[dB];
Effective receive sensitivity; expressed in dBm. This is the antenna gain (reception side), [dBi] minus
the cable losses [dB], minus the receiver sensitivity (reception threshold) [dBm]

The WLAN link will work if the sum of the three basic elements is greater than zero. For a reliable
connection, some margin is necessary, in practice a minimum of 6 to 10 dB is required.

Note 1): WLAN equipment differs from brand to brand. If you use two different devices, always perform the
calculation for both directions. The connection will not be better than the worst outcome.
Note 2): The calculations are theoretical. It will not get better, usually a bit worse due to malfunctions of other
equipment, humidity, no real clear view, reflections and so on. .

The Link Budget Calculation (click on the links in the table to perform the detailed calculations)

Transmitter Transmit power usually + 15dBm for WLAN equipment)

dBm
Cable losses (Usually -3 to -10 db, see calculation here)
NOTE: Add the connector losses (neg) dB
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Antenna gain (0dB standard, 8 dB ( biquad ) (+15 db, ( helix, yagi,) +24
dB ( parabola ) dBi

Reproduction Ether losses (negative value! See calculation here )

dB
Antenna gain (0dB standard, 8 dB ( biquad ) (+15 db, ( helix, yagi,) +24
Receiver
dB (60 cm parabola ) dBi
Cable losses (Usually -3 to -10 db, see the calculation )
Add the connector losses (neg) dB
Receiver sensitivity (depending on the manufacturer between -78 and -91
dBm @ 11 Mbps) dBm

Total Link margin (aim for +6 dB or more): Calculate

dB

Note

Legal
or not?

Notes:
1) If necessary, check the fresnell zone (the imaginary 'tube' between both stations that should be free from
obstructions.
2) Polarization errors: Helix antennas to a horizontal or vertical antenna give an additional loss of 3dB per
side. So 6 dB in total. Horizontal-to-vertical and left-to-right clockwise always give (more than) 30 dB extra
loss.

Over the maximum range with the maximum legal power ...
In Europe, including the Netherlands, a maximum radiated power of 20Bi is allowed. So never go over
this, but read on if you want to legally optimize the range of your link.
From the above point it follows that, with conventional equipment (15 dBm output), an antenna gain of
up to 5 dB remains legal. If you start calculating, you can bridge about 1 km. Is that then what is
maximally possible in the Netherlands? No, you can - much more - legally. See below!
If you want to use a higher gain antenna, then to stay within legal limits you need to reduce the output
power. Obviously, the reception sensitivity must remain intact, so the transmit power must be reduced
BEFORE the transceiver switch in the WLAN equipment. There is WLAN equipment where this is
possible. After upgrading the firmware of some of the existing equipment, the power can still be set.
See the forum at www.wirelessnederland.nl
Note that the output power varies with different devices less than the reception sensitivity. The latter
can differ by 10 dB. So see if you can increase the sensitivity before you think of 'more power'! Also
realize that 'more power' is a disadvantage for legal links ...
Example 1 : The legal range that can be achieved with standard 15 dBm WLAN equipment is
approximately 1 km .
Example 2 : With older Breezecom equipment the power can be reduced to 4 mW (6dBm). The
antenna amplifier can now be chosen higher, so that a distance of about 2.7 km can be bridged with a
link margin of 10 dB.
Example 3 : With a 24 dB dish, the power needs to be reduced to -4 dBm (that's only 0.4 mW (!)) To
stay within the legal limit of 20 dBm. However, in this case the maximum bridgeable distance is 8.5 km
. This is due to the extremely high antenna gain in the receive path. And this is NOT a joke! Equipment
whose power is adjustable has recently become available: From the current BreezeNET DS.11, the
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power can be set to -4 , -2, 4, 6, 12 and 14 dBm. (thanks to Kees, PA3HAN). Ideal for legal long range
experiments. If you know of other equipment where the power settings can be set, let us know at
pa0hoo at qsl.net if you want.

Then an interesting idea, which is perhaps very feasible. As you know, a lot of equipment has two
antennas. One is for transmit / receive, the other is for diversity reception. So only for reception. If the
signal on this antenna is stronger, it is used. As it turns out, we have measured on our equipment that a
small signal comes from this antenna connection during transmission, this is about 20 dB weaker than
the real transmission signal that is fed to the other antenna. Let that be just 0.4 mW from the previous
point! So, if we connected our 24 dBi dish to this antenna input, we could legally bridge a large
distance. It sounds crazy, but it could be. Who will pick up this glove?
Check it outhttp://seattlewireless.net/index.cgi/HardwareComparison and locate the equipment with the
best reception sensitivity and adjustable output power.
And, finally, if you still have the idea of going illegal, with standard equipment and a 24 dBi 60 cm dish,
then you can ideally bridge about 100 km (!). That will not work in our flat country, because the
curvature of the earth and the fresnell demands then really throw a spanner in the works. Practically
you are out of sight on 'house height-with-mast' after 10 to 15 km, whatever you do.

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Power
Power is expressed in watts or milliwatts. Power may also be as a relative value compared to the 1mW are
given, (in (dBm, d eci B ell compared to 1 m illiwatt ') The output power is then expressed as a.:

dBm = 10 * log10 (P / 0.001))

(P in watts) "

To check the effect of antenna gain (dBi), pre- and power amplifiers (dB) and cable losses (dB) you have to
add (subtract) the values of these to the initial power because of the logarithmic scale.

You add 3 dB per factor 2. 2 mW is therefore 3dBm, and 16 mW is 2 * 2 * 2 * 2 * 1 mW or 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12

dBm

Below a handy table:

0.1 mW -10 dBm

1 mW 0 dBm
10 mW 10 dBm
100 mW 20 dBm
1000 mW 30 dBm
1 W. 30 dBm
10 W. 40 dBm

WLAN equipment usually has about 15 dBm output. (about 30 mW)

Some equipment has 100mW as standard. And that can be a disadvantage if you want to legally bridge
a large distance. See: About the maximum range with the maximum legal power ...

Below you can convert exactly from Watts (W) to decibels ("milliwatts" to (dBm)) or vice versa.

dBm: dBm -> W dBm <- W Watt:

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Cable losses at 2.45 GHz

Below is a list of common cables with their losses:

RG 58 (general black 50 Ohm cable, used for coax ethernet, 'bakies' etc.: 1 dB per meter. No TV coax
!!
RG 213 (black thick cable, often used by radio amateurs): 0.6 dB per meter.
RG 174 (thin (Teflon) coaxial cable, often used in 'pigtail' adapter cables): 2 dB or more per meter.
Aircom: 0.21 dB / m.
Aircell: 0.38 dB / m.
LMR-400: 0.22 dB / m
IEEE 802.3 (thick yellow cable that used to be used in professional ethernet backbones) 0.3 dB / m

You can easily calculate how much attenuation (cable loss) you have. Multiply the number of meters of cable
by the attenuation in dB / m. For the sloths among us you will find a calculator below

Cable type: Aircom (0.21 dB / m)

Length meter): m -> dB m <- dB Attenuation in dB in dB (negative value!):

(top)

Antenna
Antenna gain is usually specified in dB relative to an isotropic (spherical) radiating antenna [dBi]. In
effect, this gives the gain relative to an imaginary spherical radiant antenna.
Sometimes the gain is specified in dBd. In that case, the gain is compared to that of a dipole. You have
to add 2.14 dB (some say 3 dB) to get the gain in dBi.
As the antenna gain increases, the opening angle decreases. This has advantages if you want to have
a point-to-point connection. After all, all signals outside the imaginary line between the two stations are
less amplified, so these signals will cause less interference. In a crowded ISM band, where the Wifi
IEEE802.11b (future -g (54 Mb / s) is, that is a big advantage. Also look at signal-to-noise ratio .
Also check out the link page for some interesting antenna construction projects.

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Connector losses
Connector losses can be very low (less than 0.1 dB), but don't neglect them. If you use less good
connectors, the losses at 2.45 GHz can rise to 0.5 dB or more per connector. Use as few connectors
as possible. Use N connectors or SMA connectors. BNC connectors can only be used if they are of
very good quality.
Gradient cables ( pig tails ) can dampen considerably. Our 30 cm long pig tail had a loss of 1.5 dB! And
that's a lot when you consider how many meters of good cable that could be. It is better to use an
adapter plug.
If you expect connector losses, add them to the cable losses in the link budget calculation (negative
number)

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Radiated power
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The radiated power is the transmission power in Watt times the antenna gain.
If expressed in dB's you add the dB's, see the formula below:
This transmitted power is called (EiRP) 'Effective Isotropic Radiated Power'.

Radiated power [dBm] = transmit power [dBm] cable and connector losses [dB] + antenna gain [dBi]

Note: the limit in Europe, including the Netherlands and Belgium, is 100 mW, so 20 dBm. In France
there is a limit of 5mW, (7 dBm), with some ifs and buts, but that goes too far for this story.

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Ether losses at 2.45 GHz

On the road through the free space, the power per m2 continues to decrease. As the receiving antenna is
further away, it will be able to receive less power. We call this effect the ether losses. The ether losses can
be calculated with the
( Friis formula )

Lp (dB) = 92.45 + 20log10 F + 20 LOG10d Lp = path loss F = frequency in GHz dB = decibel d = distance in kilometers
Example: a distance of 6 kilometers results in an ether loss of –116 dB.

Below you can calculate the losses for a given distance or, conversely, determine the distance for a given
loss:

Attenuation in dB (negative value!): dB -> km dB <- km kilometer:

This calculation only applies to 2.45 GHz!

Below you can perform the same calculation for any desired frequency, including the 5 GHz 802.11a band.

Frequency Distance Attenuation

2450 Km calculate dB
MHz OR
Miles

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Reception sensitivity
The word speaks for itself. Under a certain signal strength, the receiver will no longer recognize the signal
and no more data can be transferred. The receiver sensitivity depends on the bandwidth; For this reason, a
radio path with low signals can still function at a lower transmission speed. Below you will find some factory
data of commercially available equipment. Note: on this site you will find a much more extensive and up-to-
date overview.

Orinocco PCMCIA Silver / Gold: 11Mbps => -82 dBm ; 5.5Mbps => -87 dBm; 2Mbps => -91 dBm;
1Mbps => -94 dBm.
CISCO Aironet 350: 11Mbps => -85 dBm ; 5.5 Mbps => -89 dBm; 2 Mbps => -91 dBm; 1 Mbps => -94
dBm.

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Edimax USB client: 11Mbps => -81 dBm ;

Belkin router / AP: 11 Mbps => -78 dBm

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Signal to noise ratio

In addition to the receiver sensitivity, the signal-to-noise ratio on site is also an important factor. You can
compare this to having a conversation in a quiet library (no noise) or at a busy reception (a lot of noise). As
the noise becomes stronger than the desired signal, no data transfer is possible above a certain limit.
Especially in urban areas, but also near a computer (!!), the interference from external signals (noise) can be
so high that this noticeably affects reception. Some receivers are better able to pick up the desired signal
from a disturbed environment than others. For most receivers, this number is not given by the manufacturer.
The best thing to do is not to use your WLAN equipment too close to the computer and be alert to
interference sources.

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Signal transmission: The Fresnell ellipse

For good signal transmission, there must be an

imaginary space between the transmitter (A) and
receiver (C) without obstacles. This is the forbidden
space. Such a space has an elliptical shape. You can
roughly calculate below how many meters you have
to keep free at a given distance from the antenna.
The distance 'r' at distance D1 from the figure on the
right is calculated

Distance between transmitter (A) and receiver (C) (d1 + d2) [meter]:

Distance d1 between transmitter and obstacle [meter]:

Calculate radius r

Result: Radius "r" of the prohibited area at a distance d1: [meter]:

These values only apply to 2.45 GHz!

(back)

Signal transmission: Bending

If there is an obstacle between transmitter and
receiver, some signal can still come through thanks to

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the effect of bending (refraction). The signal bends,

as it were, around the corner of the object. as the
frequency is higher, the effect is less and therefore
less is received by the receiving antenna. (2.45 GHz
is a high frequency, so do not count too much on this
phenomenon).

Height top antenna and top obstacle [meter]:

Distance between transmitter and obstacle [meters]:

Distance between receiver and obstacle [meters]:

Power loss

Power loss at 2.45 Ghz [dB]:

Note: the calculation only applies if the object height is small relative to the distance between antennas
and object.
Add the value found to the ether losses found
The calculated power loss applies to both directions.
Reference: S. Saunders: Antenna and propagation for wireless communication systems .

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Signal transmission: Polarization

Radio waves always have a certain polarization. This depends on the antenna used. The polarization can be
horizontal or vertical, left-handed or right-handed. The antenna shape almost always shows what the
associated polarization is. A vertical boom, a horizontal dipole, and a Helix antenna wound in a left or right
direction speak for themselves.
A yagi antenna can be mounted horizontally or vertically.
Note: an 'instinker' is the slotted waveguide omni directional antenna. You might be inclined to think that it is
vertically polarized, but it produces a horizontally polarized field.

Why all this is so important? Because in principle you have to use antennas with the same polarization for
both stations.
At horizontal to vertical you lose 20 to 30 dB (sometimes more). Actually this is not possible.
When horizontal or vertical to circular (left or right turning) you lose 3dB signal strength over the entire radio
path. However, this can work well if there is sufficient reserve in the system. Add that 3dB to the lost ether
loss.

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Reflections and wavefront spread

If radio waves reflected from objects mix with the original radio waves, the wave fronts will not arrive at the
receiver simultaneously. With fast pulse-shaped modulation, and this applies to IEE802.11b, the received
pulses will be 'spread out' over time, so that a good recognition is no longer (properly) possible. Additional
errors will occur, if this becomes too much, the WLAN equipment will switch to a lower speed. (This effect is
also known from the double images that can be observed in TV reception with poorly positioned antennas.)
To some extent, WLAN equipment can deal with this error, many specifications indicate the maximum
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permitted time errors.

Indoors, a wavefront spread of up to 50 ns is assumed (ref) , while WLAN equipment still handles a
wavefront spread of 65 ns @ 11Mbps. So that fits.

Almost every 802.11b device has the following specifications:

11 Mbit / s: 65 ns, 5.5 Mbit / s: 225 ns, 2 Mbit / s: 400 ns, 1 Mbit / s: 500 ns

What does this mean in practice? For high speed, you already have problems with short reflection times. The
wavefront spread is easy to calculate by converting the road difference in the radio path into a time
difference. Radio waves also travel through the ether at the speed of light (300,000 km / s):

The time difference between the wave fronts is now calculated by dividing the length difference in meters
between the direct path and the reflected path by 300,000,000 (m / s)

A time difference of 50 nanosecond corresponds to a path length difference of 15 meters. If you know
where the reflections come from, you can quickly see whether, even with a strong signal, you can still expect
transfer problems. Applying a little trigonometry, though. Or just draw to scale and use a ruler.

To avoid the effect of reflections, it is best to use a good directional antenna. The first choice for a point-to-
point connection should be a circularly polarized antenna. In addition to good aiming properties, this has the
additional property that it is insensitive reflected radio waves. After all, reflected circularly polarized signals
reverse direction (counterclockwise rotation becomes clockwise rotation) and the antenna is extra insensitive
to these directionally inverse signals. A helix antenna is therefore the first choice for a not too far 'point-
to-point connection'.

Reflections can also occur in antenna cables if the antenna has an incorrect impedance or if there are many
or wrong adapter plugs in the system. From a cable length of about 5 meters, problems can be expected
with bad antennas and / or connectors.

(top)

Left
(see also the link page )

Radio wave propagation by VE3JF (radio amateur): VHF / UHF / Microwave Radio Propagation: A
Primer for Digital Experimenters
SR Saunders: Antennas and propagation for wireless communication systems, Wiley 1999
http://www.s3.kth.se/radio/COURSES/RKBASIC_2E1511_2001/lecture_3.pdf
http://seattlewireless.net/index.cgi/HardwareComparison
Pioneers in the Netherlands in the field of WLAN www.wirelessleiden.nl
General Dutch forum on wireless networks with lots of interesting information and links to local
initiatives: www.wirelessnederland.nl
Portal (new) portal.wirelessnederland.nl

Comments, additions and personal experiences can be sent to Gerard, [pa0hoo at qsl.net]. Thanks in
advance!

I-Mining Real-time Marketing Analysis and Statistics Updated / Updated: 2005-01-23

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