Link Budget

Calculation
Training materials for wireless trainers
 Goals
‣ To be able to calculate
how far we can go with
the equipment we have
‣ To understand why we
need high masts for
long links
‣ To learn about software
that helps to automate
the process of planning
radio links

2
 Free space loss
‣ Signal power is diminished by geometric spreading of
the wavefront, commonly known as Free Space Loss.
‣ Geometric spreading happens because the wavefront
radiated signal energy expands as a function of the
distance from the transmitter.

Figure from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverse_square 3

 Free Space Loss (long distance)

‣ Using decibels to express the loss and using 2.45 GHz

as the signal frequency, the equation for the Free
Space Loss is:

Lfsl = 100 + 20*log(D)

‣ ...where Lfsl is expressed in dB and D is in

kilometers.

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 Free Space Loss (short distance)

‣ Using decibels to express the loss and using 2.4 GHz

as the signal frequency, the equation for the Free
Space Loss is:

Lfsl = 40 + 20*log(d)

‣ ...where Lfsl is expressed in dB and d is in meters.

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Power in a wireless system

Rx
Sensitivity

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 Link budget
‣ The performance of any communication link depends on the
quality of the equipment being used.
‣ Link budget is a way of quantifying the link performance.
‣ The received power in an 802.11 link is determined by three
factors: transmit power, transmitting antenna gain, and
receiving antenna gain.
‣ If that power, minus the free space loss of the link path, is
greater than the minimum received signal level of the
receiving radio, then a link is possible.
‣ The difference between the minimum received signal level and
the actual received power is called the link margin.
‣ The link margin must be positive, and should be maximized
(should be at least 10dB or more for reliable links).
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9
 Example link budget calculation
Let’s estimate the feasibility of a 5 km link, with one
access point and one client radio.

The access point is connected to an antenna with 10

dBi gain, with a transmitting power of 20 dBm and a
receive sensitivity of -89 dBm.

The client is connected to an antenna with 14 dBi gain,

with a transmitting power of 15 dBm and a receive
sensitivity of -82 dBm.

The cables in both systems are short, with a loss of 2dB

at each side at the 2.4 GHz frequency of operation.
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 AP to Client link
+10 dBi +14 dBi

-2 dB -2 dB

+20 dBm

??
-113 dB @ 5 km ?

-82 dBm
Rx
Sensitivity

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Link budget: AP to Client link

20 dBm (TX Power AP)

+ 10 dBi (Antenna Gain AP)
- 2 dB (Cable Losses AP)
+ 14 dBi (Antenna Gain Client)
- 2 dB (Cable Losses Client)

40 dB Total Gain
-113 dB (free space loss @5 km)

-73 dB (expected received signal level)

--82 dBm (sensitivity of Client)

9 dB (link margin)

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Opposite direction: Client to AP

+14 dBi +10 dBi

-2 dB -2 dB

+15 dBm

??
-113 dB @ 5 km ?

-89 dBm
Rx
Sensitivity

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Link budget: Client to AP link

15 dBm (TX Power Client)

+ 14 dBi (Antenna Gain Client)
- 2 dB (Cable Losses Client)
+ 10 dBi (Antenna Gain AP)
- 2 dB (Cable Losses AP)

35 dB Total Gain
-113 dB (free space loss @5 km)

-78 dB (expected received signal level)

--89 dBm (sensitivity of AP)

11 dB (link margin)

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 Fresnel Zone
 In optics and radio communications (indeed,
 In any situation that involves the radiation of waves including
optics and radio communications, a Fresnel zone named from
physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel, is one of a (theoretically
infinite) number of concentric ellipsoids which define volumes
in the radiation pattern of a (usually) circular aperture.
 The cross section of the first (innermost) Fresnel zone is
circular. Subsequent Fresnel zones are annular (doughnut-
shaped) in cross section, and concentric with the first.

Source: Wikipedia
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 Fresnel Zone
The general equation for calculating the Fresnel zone radius at any point P in
between the endpoints of the link is the following:

where,
Fn = The nth Fresnel Zone radius in metres
d1 = The distance of P from one end in metres
d2 = The distance of P from the other end in metres
= The wavelength of the transmitted signal in metres
For practical applications, it is often useful to know the maximum radius of the first
Fresnel zone. From the above formula, the following formulas can be derived,
using , and

Source: Wikipedia
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 Fresnel Zone
Now we have an easy way to calculate the radius of the first Fresnel zone (F1 in
the above equation), knowing the distance between the two antennas and the
frequency of the transmitted signal.
In SI:

where
• r = radius in metres
• D = total distance in kilometres
• f = frequency transmitted in gigahertz.
Or in imperial units:

where
• r = radius in feet
• D = total distance in miles
• f = frequency transmitted in Gigahertz.
Source: Wikipedia
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 Fresnel Zone

‣ The First Fresnel Zone is an ellipsoid-shaped volume

around the Line-of-Sight path between transmitter and
receiver.
‣ The Fresnel Zone is important to the integrity of the RF
link because it defines a volume around the LOS that
must be clear of any obstacle for the the maximum power
to reach the receiving antenna.
‣ Objects in the Fresnel Zone as trees, hilltops and
buildings can block the main signal away from the
receiver.

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 Line of Sight and Fresnel Zones

a free line-of-sight IS NOT EQUAL TO a free Fresnel Zone

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 Fresnel Zone

‣ The radius of the first Fresnel Zone at a given point

between the transmitter and the receiver can be
calculated as:
r = 17.31 * sqrt((d1*d2)/(f*d))
‣ ...where r is the radius of the zone in meters, d1 and d2
are distances from the obstacle to the link end points in
meters, d is the total link distance in meters, and f is the
frequency in MHz.
‣ Note that this gives you the radius of the zone, not the
height above ground. To calculate the height above
ground, you need to subtract the result from a line drawn
directly between the tops of the two towers.
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Line of Sight and Fresnel Zones

d1 d2

r = 17.31 * sqrt((d1 * d2) / (f * d))

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 Fresnel Zone
This table shows the height above ground required to clear 70%
of the first Fresnel zone for various link distances at 2.4 GHz.

Notice that earth curvature plays a small role at short distances,

but becomes more important as the distance increases.

Distance 1st zone 70% Required

Earth curvature (m)
(km) (m) (m) height (m)

1 5.5 3.9 0.0 3.9

5 12.4 8.7 1.0 9.7
10 17.5 12.2 4.2 16.4
15 21.4 15.0 9.4 24.4
20 24.7 17.3 16.7 34.0
25 27.7 19.4 26.0 45.4
30 30.3 21.2 37.5 58.7

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 Fresnel Zone

‣ Considering the importance of the Fresnel Zone, it is

important to quantify the degree to which it can be
blocked.

‣ Typically, 20% - 40% Fresnel Zone blockage introduces

little to no interference into the link.

‣ It is better to err to the conservative side allowing no

more than 20% blockage of the Fresnel Zone.

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 Fresnel Zone: online tools

‣ http://www.terabeam.com/support/calculations/fresnel-
zone.php

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 Radio Mobile

‣ Radio Mobile is a free tool to aid in the design and

simulation of wireless systems.
‣ It can automatically calculate the power budget of
a radio link, calculating the Fresnel zone
clearance. It can use digital maps, GIS
(Geographical Information Systems), or any other
digital map, including maps provided by yourself.
‣ Runs on Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 and XP.

http://www.cplus.org/rmw/english1.html

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 Radio Mobile
‣ Uses Digital terrain Elevation Model for the calculation of
coverage, indicating received signal strength at various point
along the path.
‣ Radio Mobile automatically builds a profile between two
points in the digital map showing the coverage area and 1st
Fresnel zone.
‣ Different antenna heights can be tried to achieve optimum
performance.

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Radio Mobile

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 Thank you for your attention

For more details about the topics presented

in this lecture, please see the book Wireless
Networking in the Developing World,
available as free download in many
languages at:
http://wndw.net/