Receiver sensitivity, typically measured in milliwatts, stands for the weakest power of the signal that can be reliably received and understood.
Purpose:
Receiver sensitivity measurement could be for:
- Receiver characterization
- Receivers benchmrak (comparaison)
- Receiver troubleshooting
- Range communication calculation
- ....
Key Definition:
Sensitivity is a key parameter for communication receivers. It refers to the minimum signal strength that a receiver will be able to detect, identify and extract information from it. Usually, sensitivity is expressed in "dBm", and is measured for a defined data and error rate (Packet, bit...depends on transmitter).
Which ONDUINO to use ?
- Shield reference: RF RANGE
- Functionality: Attenuator
What about test configuration ?
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ONDUINO Shield : RF RANGE. |
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DUT : Receiver to measure its sensitivity. |
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TRANSMITTER : Transmitter used to communicate with tested receiver. |
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RF Cables : Used for connecting receiver and transmitter to concerned ONDUINO Shield. |
Notes :
- DUT stands for Device Under Test
- A good shielded RF cables must be used in this configuration, in order to answer a higher isolation between transmitter and receiver (to avoid radiated communication) than applied attenuation. Other way could be putting transmitter and/or receiver in metallic boxes (Faraday cages), to answer isolation criteria.
How to use it ?
- Plug your shield on one of its compatible Arduino platforms.
- Connect concerned platform to your computer using the appropriate USB cable.
- Download ONDUINO shield Firmware from our website and program your Arduino plateform.
- Download ONDUINO Software from our website and launch it.
- Using ONDUINO Software ( Shield Manual available from conerned menu ), set shield attenuation to zero and check communication between used transmitter and receiver.
- Increase attenuation, till you get the error rate expected. 1% could be a good default value if not specified.
Sensitivity could be then calculated using the simple formula here under:
Sensitivity = P - ATT
Where:
- P: Transmitter power
- ATT: Attenuation applied to get defined error rate
Example: Sensitivity = 14 - 120 = -106 dBm Where P = 14 dBm and ATT = 120 dB.
Notes:
- In case of maximum attenuation is reached before getting wanted error rate, global attenuation could be increased using a second RF RANGE shield in serie, or using any other fixed attenuator allowing to get wanted attenuation.
- In case of transmitter power is not known, take a look to "RF transmitter measurement" use case, to see how it can be measured.
- To get an accurate value of sensitivity, used RF cables attenuation must be taken into account.