Re: [AFMUG] Power Readings on 2.4 GHz airMAX / ePMP
Thanks for this thorough investigation Chris. On Sep 21, 2016 6:18 AM, "Christopher Gray" wrote: > I finally had a chance to figure out the discrepancy between radio power > readings in the 2.4 GHz band. I've often heard about people getting > significantly reduced signal when switching from airMAX to ePMP on 2.4 > GHz.. but other people see no difference. In my case, I found a drop of > about 7 dB going from airMAX to ePMP on a particular PTP link with matched > settings running 5 MHz channels, but an increase in throughput (which > really made me want to figure out what was going on). > > Following some early morning testing, it turns out: ePMP is reporting > received power while airMAX is actually reporting receive spectral density > with units dBm/20MHz. > > As a result, if you swap radios from airMAX to ePMP when running 20 MHz > channels, you should little to no change at all. If you are running 10 MHz > channels, however, you should expect about 3 dB reduction in reported > signal, and if running 5 MHz channels, you should see about 6 dB reduction > in reported signal. [If you are running 40 MHz channels, you should see an > increase of about 3 dB, but please don't run 40 MHz channels in 2.4 GHz.] > These reductions are not the result of weaker performance, but simply > different units in the signal bar. > > On a side note relative to poor ePMP performance... ePMP has had a > firmware issue with calculating output power in FCC areas resulting in > lower than allowed power output. I've been questioning them about this, and > they tell me the correct output power calculations should be in the "next > firmware". Once this is fixed, weaker customers should have a better chance > of linking up. > > [Also, I should note the AF-2X radios also report received power like the > ePMP.] > > -Chris >
Re: [AFMUG] Power Readings on 2.4 GHz airMAX / ePMP
Good information. Thanks for sharing. -- Original Message -- From: "Christopher Gray" To: af@afmug.com Sent: 9/21/2016 7:17:59 AM Subject: [AFMUG] Power Readings on 2.4 GHz airMAX / ePMP I finally had a chance to figure out the discrepancy between radio power readings in the 2.4 GHz band. I've often heard about people getting significantly reduced signal when switching from airMAX to ePMP on 2.4 GHz.. but other people see no difference. In my case, I found a drop of about 7 dB going from airMAX to ePMP on a particular PTP link with matched settings running 5 MHz channels, but an increase in throughput (which really made me want to figure out what was going on). Following some early morning testing, it turns out: ePMP is reporting received power while airMAX is actually reporting receive spectral density with units dBm/20MHz. As a result, if you swap radios from airMAX to ePMP when running 20 MHz channels, you should little to no change at all. If you are running 10 MHz channels, however, you should expect about 3 dB reduction in reported signal, and if running 5 MHz channels, you should see about 6 dB reduction in reported signal. [If you are running 40 MHz channels, you should see an increase of about 3 dB, but please don't run 40 MHz channels in 2.4 GHz.] These reductions are not the result of weaker performance, but simply different units in the signal bar. On a side note relative to poor ePMP performance... ePMP has had a firmware issue with calculating output power in FCC areas resulting in lower than allowed power output. I've been questioning them about this, and they tell me the correct output power calculations should be in the "next firmware". Once this is fixed, weaker customers should have a better chance of linking up. [Also, I should note the AF-2X radios also report received power like the ePMP.] -Chris
