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DB Make It More Simpler

Training material for Engineers provides an introduction to decibels (dB) and how they can simplify radio frequency calculations compared to using absolute power measurements in milliwatts (mW). dB use a logarithmic scale to transform multiplication into addition, allowing gains and losses to be easily summed. Common examples show that an increase of 10 dB represents a power increase of 10 times, while a decrease of 3 dB halves the power. dBm relates the logarithmic dB scale to absolute mW levels by defining 0 dBm as equivalent to 1 mW. Converting between dBm and mW involves multiplication or taking logarithms of the power values. Overall, using dB simplifies wireless calculations versus working directly in mW.

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Sanjay Yadav
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2K views20 pages

DB Make It More Simpler

Training material for Engineers provides an introduction to decibels (dB) and how they can simplify radio frequency calculations compared to using absolute power measurements in milliwatts (mW). dB use a logarithmic scale to transform multiplication into addition, allowing gains and losses to be easily summed. Common examples show that an increase of 10 dB represents a power increase of 10 times, while a decrease of 3 dB halves the power. dBm relates the logarithmic dB scale to absolute mW levels by defining 0 dBm as equivalent to 1 mW. Converting between dBm and mW involves multiplication or taking logarithms of the power values. Overall, using dB simplifies wireless calculations versus working directly in mW.

Uploaded by

Sanjay Yadav
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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dB

make it more simpler

Training material for Engineers

Goals
! Electromagnetic waves carry power measured in milliwatts. ! Decibels (dB) use a relative logarithmic relationship to reduce multiplication to simple addition. ! You can simplify common radio calculations by using dBm instead of mW, and dB to represent variations of power. ! It is simpler to solve dB calculations in your head by using dB.
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Power
! Any electromagnetic wave carries energy - we can feel that when we enjoy (or suffer from) the warmth of the sun. The amount of energy received in a certain amount of time is called power. ! The electric eld is measured in V/m (volts per meter), the power contained within it is proportional to the square of the electric eld:

P ~

2 E

! The unit of power is the watt (W). For wireless work, the milliwatt (mW) is usually a more convenient unit.
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Gain & Loss


! If the amplitude of an electromagnetic wave increases, its power increases. This increase in power is called a gain. ! If the amplitude decreases, its power decreases. This decrease in power is called a loss. ! When designing communication links, you try to maximize the gains while minimizing any losses.

Intro to dB
! Decibels are a relative measurement unit unlike the absolute measurement of milliwatts. ! The decibel (dB) is 10 times the decimal logarithm of the ratio between two values of a variable. The calculation of decibels uses a logarithm to allow very large or very small relations to be represented with a conveniently small number. ! On the logarithmic scale, the reference cannot be zero because the log of zero does not exist!

Why do we use dB?


square of the distance.

! Power does not fade in a linear manner, but inversely as the

2; hence, the You move by x and the signal decreases by 1/x ! inverse square law.

1 meter away " some amount of power 2 meters away " 1/4 power at one meter 4 meters away " 1/16 power at one meter 8 meters away " 1/64 power at one meter strength measurement is one reason why we use a logarithmic scale.
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! The fact that exponential relationships are involved in signal

A quick review of logarithms


2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5

log(10)=1 log(1)=0

The logarithm of a number in base 10 is the exponent to which ten must be raised in order to produce the number.

log(0)=undefined
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

! If x=10y, then y=log10(x)

it is called the logarithm in base 10 of x

! Logarithms reduce multiplication to simple addition, because log(a!b)=log(a)+log(b)


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Definition of dB
! The denition of the decibel uses a logarithm to allow very large or very small relations to be represented with a conveniently small number. ! Let assume we are interested in the ratio between two values a and b. ! ratio= a/b ! In dB the ratio is dened as: ! ratio[dB]= 10 log10 (a/b) ! It is a dimensionless, relative measure (a relative to b)
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Definition of dB
! ratio = 10 log10(a/b) ! What if we now use a value of a that is 10 times bigger? ! newratio = 10 log10(10a/b)
Remember log(a!b)=log(a)+log(b)

= 10 [log10(10) + log10(a/b)] = 10 log10(10) + 10 log10(a/b) = 10 + ratio ! The new value (in dB) is simply 10 plus the old value, so the multiplication by ten is now expressed by a simple addition of 10 units.
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Using dB
Commonly used (and easy to remember) dB values:
+10 -10 +3 -3 dB dB dB dB = = = = 10 times the power one tenth power double power half the power

For example:
some some some some power power power power + + 10 dB 10 dB 3 dB 3 dB = = = = 10 times the power one tenth power double power half the power
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dBm and mW
! What if we want to measure an absolute power with dB? We have to dene a reference. ! The reference point that relates the logarithmic dB scale to the linear watt scale may be for example this:

1 mW

"

0 dBm

! The new m in dBm refers to the fact that the reference is one mW, and therefore a dBm measurement is a measurement of absolute power with reference to 1 mW.
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dBm and mW
! To convert power in mW to dBm: PdBm = 10 log10 PmW
10 times the logarithm in base 10 of the Power in mW

! To convert power in dBm to mW: PmW = 10


PdBm/10

10 to the power of ( Power in dBm divided by 10 )

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dBm and mW
! Example: mW to dBm Radio power: 100mW PdBm = 10 log10(100) 100mW " 20dBm ! Example: dBm to mW Signal measurement: 17dBm PmW = 10
17/10

17dBm " 50 mW
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Using dB
! When using dB, gains and losses are additive. Remember our previous example:
some some some some power power power power + + 10 dB 10 dB 3 dB 3 dB = = = = 10 times the power one tenth power double power half the power

You can now imagine situations in which:


10 mW + 10 dB of gain = 100 mW = 20 dBm 10 dBm = 10 mW = one tenth of 100mW 20 dBm - 10 dB of loss = 10 dBm = 10mW 50 mW + 3 dB = 100 mW = 20 dBm 17 dBm + 3 dB = 20 dBm = 100 mW 100mW - 3 dB = 50 mW = 17 dBm
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Using dB
-40 dBm -30 dBm -20 dBm -10 dBm 0 dBm +10 dBm +20 dBm +30 dBm +40 dBm

100 nW

1 W

10 W

100 W

1 mW

10 mW

100 mW

1 W

10 W

-12 dBm

-9 dBm

-6 dBm

-3 dBm

0 dBm

+3 dBm

+6 dBm

+9 dBm

+12 dBm

62.5 W

125 W

250 W

500 W

1 mW
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2 mW

4 mW

8 mW

16 mW

dB and milliwatts
It is easy to use dB to simplify the addition of gains and losses, then convert back to milliwatts when you need to refer to the absolute power.
1 2 4 8 10 20 50 100 200 500 1000 mW mW mW mW mW mW mW mW mW mW mW (1W)
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= = = = = = = = = = =

0 3 6 9 10 13 17 20 23 27 30

dBm dBm dBm dBm dBm dBm dBm dBm dBm dBm dBm

Simple dB math
How much power is 43 dBm?

! +43 dBm is 43 dB relative to 1 mW ! 43 dB = 10 dB + 10 dB + 10 dB + 10 dB + 3 dB


1 mW x x x x x 10 10 10 10 2 = = = = = = 10 mW 100 mW 1000 mW 10 000 mW 20 000 mW 20 W

! Therefore, +43 dBm = 20 W


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What about negative values?


Negative doesnt mean bad. ;-) How much power is -26 dBm?

! -26 dBm is 1mW (0dBm) minus 26 dB ! -26 dB = -10 dB - 10 dB - 3 dB - 3 dB


1 mW / / / / 10 10 2 2 = = = = 100 "W 10 "W 5 "W 2.5 "W (2.5*10-6 W)

! Therefore, -26 dBm = 2.5 W


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Conclusions

! Using decibels (dB) provides an easier way to make calculations on wireless links. ! The main advantage of using dB is that gains and losses are additive.

! It is simple to solve dB calculations in your head by using dB instead of using milliwatts.

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Thank You!

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