Signal Degradation

For any wireless network to work at its best, it is critical to understand the factors that impact the strength and
quality of transmitted RF signals including path loss, reflections, refractions, and absorption.

Free Space Path Loss

Path loss as the signal propagates through space is often referred to as free space path loss. A radio wave that an
AP emits is radiated into the surrounding environment. If the antenna is omnidirectional, the signal is emitted in all
directions. An analogy to this transmission is when a stone is thrown into water, and waves radiate outward from
the point at which the stone enters the water. If the antenna is directional, the beam is more focused, somewhat
like a flashlight, focusing the energy in a specific direction.

• The wave becomes weaker as it spreads away from the emitter.

The quantity of available energy declines as the distance increases because it is spread out over more area.
The quantity of available energy on a line from the center of the circle, passing out through each of the
circles is less as the circles get larger.
The receiver catches only part of this energy.

• Determining the range of a signal can be done by determining the energy loss, which in turn depends on the
distance.

As the signal or wave travels away from the AP, any obstacles that it encounters affect it. The exact effect differs
depending on the type of obstacle that the wave encounters.

Even without encountering any obstacle, the wave signal strength still experiences degradation. This degradation
occurs because as the wave propagates farther from the source, the wave spreads across a larger area, effectively
decreasing a single point’s wave strength.

Continuing with the example of a stone being thrown into water, the generated radio wave circles have
higher crests close to the center than they do farther out. As the distance increases, the circles become
flatter, until they finally seem to disappear completely.
The attenuation of the signal strength on its way between a sender and a receiver is free space path loss. The
words "free space" in the expression refers to the fact that the loss of energy is simply a result of distance, not of
any obstacle. Including these words in the term is important because RF engineers also talk about path loss, which
takes into consideration other sources of loss.

Keep in mind that what causes free space path loss is not the distance itself; there is no physical reason why a
signal is weaker farther away from the source. The cause of the loss is the combination of two phenomena:
• The signal is sent from the emitter in all directions. As the signal propagates away from the source, the wave
front expands. The energy must be distributed over a larger area (a larger circle), but the amount of energy that
 is originally sent does not change. Therefore, the amount of energy that is available on each point of the circle
is higher if the circle radius is small (with fewer points) than if the circle radius is large (with more points among
which the energy must be divided).
• The receiver antenna has a certain physical size, and the amount of energy that is collected depends on this
size. A large antenna collects more points of the circle than a small one. But regardless of size, the antenna
cannot pick up more than a portion of the original signal, especially because this process occurs in three
dimensions (whereas the stone in water example occurs in two dimensions); the rest of the sent energy is lost,
from the perspective of the receiver.

The combination of both factors causes free space path loss. If energy could be emitted in a single direction and if
the receiver could catch 100 percent of the sent signal, there would be no loss at any distance as long as nothing
else along the path absorbs any signal strength.

Some antennas are built to focus the signal as much as possible to try to send a powerful signal far from the AP.
But the focus still expands outward, however tight you try to make it. It cannot be like a laser beam, so receivers
cannot ever capture 100 percent of what is sent.

Absorption
As a signal travels away from the AP, it loses energy through free space path loss and by passing through different
types of material. Each material absorbs part of the energy. Dust and humidity in the air can also negatively affect
the signal.

As the signal propagates from the transmitter, it also encounters other materials or objects, such as walls. As the
energy passes through an object, some of the energy is absorbed. The amount of the absorption depends on the
density of the object. The higher the density, the higher the absorption.

• Absorption takes energy from the wave.

• This energy is dissipated as heat in the obstacle.
• When 100 percent of the energy is taken, the wave stops.
• The effect of absorption is to reduce amplitude.
• The signal is less powerful, but the same wavelength and frequency are maintained.

If the absorption is high—that is, 100 percent—then the whole wave stops inside the obstacle. If the absorption is
less than 100 percent, only part of the original wave reaches the receiver. If the signal or wave is too weak—if its
amplitude is too flat—the receiver might be unable to understand what was sent and will hear only “noise.”

Absorption plays an important role in Wi-Fi networks. All buildings are full of obstacles, but not all obstacles absorb
the signal in the same way: A concrete wall absorbs much of the signal energy, whereas a plasterboard wall
(drywall) absorbs only a portion of it.

Site surveys are often conducted to position APs while the building is empty. When furniture is brought into the
building, the Wi-Fi network suddenly is not as efficient as it was before; new obstacles change the pattern.
Crowds can also affect absorption. If, for example, a site survey for a fair is conducted before the fair starts, the
coverage might be reduced when the fair begins and people arrive; the human body is full of water, which absorbs
the signal.

Reflection
Reflection is another major phenomenon that affects Wi-Fi signals and must be considered.

When a signal hits an obstacle, the resulting effect depends on the nature of the obstacle. For example, porous
materials absorb part of the energy. A flat surface reflects some of the signal (at an angle equal to the one at which
the energy arrives) because the wave tends to bounce uniformly on this type of a surface. A more irregular (rough)
texture (relative to the wavelength) partly reflects the signal and partly absorbs it. Some of the signal may still make
it through the object.

• Part of the energy is reflected.

• The angle of reflection is the same as the initial angle of arrival.
• Reflection depends on the roughness of the material, which is relative to the wavelength.

The quantity of energy that is absorbed and either reflected or transmitted through the material to the other side of
the obstacle depends on the angle at which the wave was received and the type of obstacle. For example, metal
cabinets reflect more energy than carpet or plasterboard.

A given obstacle might not be a source of reflection for a signal at one frequency, but it might be a high source of
reflection for the same signal when it is sent at another frequency.

Reflection also depends on the angle at which a signal is received. The intensity of the reflection from a window
differs according to whether the signal is received at an acute angle or an obtuse angle.

Multipath
Another way in which reflections affect Wi-Fi networks is through a phenomenon called multipath.

When a signal is sent as a wave, one portion of the wave travels in a straight line from the sender to the receiver.
This portion is the main signal. Another part of the same wave may hit obstacles and be reflected, some of which is
toward the same receiver. This part of the wave reaches the destination slightly later. This second wave must travel
a longer distance; as a result, the first wave (the main signal) becomes mixed up with its own reflection.
 • Occurs when a signal is reflected.
• Multiple delayed copies of the same signal hit the receiver.
• The effect depends on the wavelength and the position of the receiver.

This effect can cause major problems in Wi-Fi networks. The first problem is that the received signal is distorted
and more difficult to understand. If the interference is too great, the receiving station might be unable to understand
the signal at all, even if the sender is close and the signal strength is good.

The second problem is that the signal might be weaker than it should be. This weakness results in the signal being
out of phase, which results in a "downfade." Phase refers to the relationship between two signals that are at the
same frequency. A wave has particular amplitude, which is the height of the crests. The downfade can start to occur
when the phase difference in the amplitude of two wave signals becomes greater than +/-90 degrees. At 180
degrees of separation, the result can be total signal cancelation.

The Wi-Fi technologies of today use multipath and multiple antennas in a positive way to increase Wi-Fi
transmission. IEEE 802.11ac relies on multipath to receive a better signal.
Multipath: Phase
• Two signals are in phase when the crests of their cycles coincide.
• Being out of phase causes interactions between the two signals. It can be positive from 0 to 90 degrees, but
greater than 90 degrees can cause degradation.

If a signal is received with a reflection in phase, then the secondary wave adds its power to the primary wave. The
receiver gets more energy at the same instant. As a result, both waves add to the amplitude (energy) of a single
wave. Both signals are in phase, resulting in an "upfade" or stronger signal. Although the final received signal level
can never be stronger than the original transmitted signal, it is stronger than it would have been at reception
without the upfade. The upfade occurs when the difference between the primary and secondary wave signal is 0 to
+/–90 degrees.

However, if both signals arrive out of phase, the receiver might simultaneously receive a positive crest from the first
signal and a negative crest from the second signal. Receiving a positive signal to which a negative signal is added
results in a loss.

An everyday example of this scenario is the noise cancellation that occurs when you use a
noisecancellation headset. This device usually contains an electronic system that detects or captures
surrounding noise as it approaches the ear and dynamically plays the opposite wave with the same
amplitude. The result is canceled noise.
If the signals are completely out of phase, the result is nulling, and occurs at 180 degrees out of phase. A
180degree phase difference means that the high crest of the first signal reaches the endpoint at the same time as
the low crest of the second signal. The signals are exactly opposite, and if both signals have the same amplitude
and wavelength, the receiver gets no signal.
Most of the time, the difference between these signals is not 180 degrees, and the receiver does receive a signal,
but the second signal (or third signal, and so on, depending on how many reflected signals are required to reach
the receiver) can cause a gain or a loss in the actual signal.

Physical position is another important issue. When the source of reflection is a flat metallic ceiling, reflection can
occur in most places. However, when the source of reflection is a smaller obstacle, reflection depends on the
relative positions of the sender and receiver and on the wavelength.

For example, an emitted signal that has a longer wavelength neither hits an obstacle at the same position nor
bounces in the same way as a signal with a shorter wavelength. The result is that a given signal at a given
frequency might be negatively affected by reflections at a given position, but be unaffected at a position a few
centimeters away. (Remember that the Wi-Fi wavelengths are a few centimeters long.)

An example of the effect that physical position can have follows: As a car pulls up to a stop sign, the
driver notices static on the radio, but as the car moves forward a few inches or feet, the station starts to
come in more clearly. By rolling forward, the antenna is moved away, slightly, from the point at which the
multipath signals converge.
Another result is that a signal at a given frequency might be negatively affected by reflections at any given position
but be unaffected when, at the same position, it uses another frequency.

Scattering and Diffusion

Reflection also occurs in the air. If you could see the radio wave and the air particles, you would see that some of
them, such as dust or humidity, affect the wave. These multiple reflections are described as scattering or diffusion.

• Occur when microparticles deviate the wave in multiple directions

• Affect shorter wavelengths more than longer ones
• Can weaken or block the signal

An effect that is like scattering occurs when a light beam is sent to a mirrored disco ball.
Scattering affects signal quality because the received result is weaker (because part of it was reflected in other
directions along the path) and more diffuse.

Dust and humidity are not the only things that cause scattering. Other types of droplets, bubbles, density
fluctuations, roughness of the surface on which a reflection might occur (part of the signal is reflected in one
direction, part of it in many scattered directions), or cells in organisms (such as the human body) can also cause
scattering.

The effect of scattering depends on the frequency. When crossing the same environment, some frequencies are
highly scattered, whereas others are mostly unaffected.
 The effects of scattering can be seen almost every day. When the light from the sun crosses the
atmosphere, the air scatters the higher frequencies, such as blue, much more than the other frequencies.
As a result, the blue frequency is reflected in all directions, and the sky looks blue from the ground. This
effect is called Rayleigh scattering (so-called because the British physicist Lord Rayleigh was the first to
understand it).

But at sunrise and sunset, sunlight enters the atmosphere at a shallow angle and travels a long distance
before reaching your eyes. During this long passage, most of the blue light is deflected, so virtually all that
you see from the sun is the red and orange wavelengths.
Scattering can cause two effects in Wi-Fi networks:
• The first effect is a degradation of the wave strength and quality of the signal at the receiver. This effect is
usually easy to predict because the degradation is relatively consistent in the atmosphere. The effect is more
difficult to determine in non-heterogeneous environments (for example, in long-range radio links that cross
highly polluted urban air).
• The second effect occurs when a wave crosses uneven environments, such as tree leaves, or reflects off
uneven surfaces, such as moving water or rocky terrain. The effect on the wave at the receiver in these
scenarios is more difficult to predict because it depends on how the reflections occur.

Refraction
Refraction is a phenomenon that occurs when a wave changes direction, as it passes from one medium to another
of a different density.

• Occurs when a wave passes from one medium to another, causing the wave to change direction • Has a
minor effect on indoor networks

• Can have a major effect on outdoor long-range links

 This effect can be seen when you look at a spoon or a straw in a glass: It looks as though the spoon or
straw has been cut, or bends instead of being a continuous, straight object. The light goes through the
liquid and the glass is refracted. The change of direction in the light beam creates this illusion.
Refraction generally has only a minor effect on indoor networks. Refraction might have more of an effect on
longrange Wi-Fi links that cross areas of the atmosphere that have different densities and humidity.

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