Ginu wrote:
On Dec 9, 12:24 pm, Jim Lux wrote:
Richard Harrison wrote:
Jeff wrote:
"- 96 db seems about right for "free space" path loss."
96 seems abour the right number for a path loss at 2400 MHz at a
distance of 500 meters. To nit pick, -96 db loss is a gain.
I worked a few years with Pete Saveskie who wrote a book he called
"Propagation". It contains a formula for free space loss: 23 db is lost
in the first wavelength from the transmitter and after that 6 db loss is
added every time the distance is doubled.
With Pete`s formula, you would lose the 23 db at a distance of 0.125
meter, and at a distance of 512 meters you would lose a total of 95 db.
That`s close enough agreement for me.
Best regards, Richard Harrison, KB5WZI
Also, a lot of published descriptions of various communications schemes
(e.g. Zigbee, 802.16e) might give a maximum data rate and a maximum
range, but that doesn't mean you get both at the same time. The former
is often related to the system bandwidth, the latter to the minimum data
rate and transmitter power.

I think you can get a ballpark feel pretty quick.. use the free space
path loss (in whatever form you like). Calculate required receiver
power as
-174 dBm + 10log(datarate in bps)+ 3 + receiver NF. (use 2dB for NF if
you like)

Add path loss to required receiver power, and that's what you'll need
for EIRP from the transmitter.

Yes, assumes isotropes, and ignores coding gains, etc. But you'll be
within 10dB or so, and that's enough to know if you're even in the ballpark.

If you do the calculations and you come up with a required transmit
power of +50dBm (100W), and you're thinking small battery powered, you
know it ain't gonna work. If you come up with +10dBm, and battery
powered is the goal, you're in the ballpark, and THEN you can start
thrashing through the more detailed modeling.

I'm within 27.5 dBm

As in, the back of the envelope shows you've got 28 dB of positive
margin, or the uncertainty of your estimate is 28dB, or you're 28dB
under? It's inverse square law, after all, so 10 times the distance is
a 20dB change in power.

Zigbee is IEEE 802.15.4 at the PHY.. 250kbps at ranges of 10-100 meters
for the 2.4 GHz band.

Let's see.. -174 + 3 + 54 + 2 = -114 dBm received signal level needed,
bare minimum. Real receivers are probably more like -100 or -95.
Chipcon's CC2420 is -94dBm

The 802.15.4 only requires a sensitivity of -85dBm

Zigbee transmitters are -3dBm transmit power (minimum).. typically, 0dBm
might be more common.

So, let's look at a link budget for 10 meters
32.44 + 20log(2500)+20log(0.01) = 32.44+ 68 -40 -- about 60dB path loss
between isotropes 10m apart at 2.5GHz.

-60dBm receive power vs -100dBm sensitivity.. So, it should work ok at
250kbps and 10m (assuming no interference, multipath, etc.)

Now, bump to 100m.. That's a 20dB hit.
500m another 14dB.. now you're on the ragged edge. 6dB margin with a
-100dBm receiver and a 0dBm transmitter. And that's assuming isotropic
antennas, which may or may not be reasonable.