Fundamentals of DB, Watt, DBM and Dbi
Fundamentals of DB, Watt, DBM and Dbi
Fundamentals of DB, Watt, DBM and Dbi
Decibel (dB) A unit used to measure the power of a signal, such as an electrical signal or power, relative to some reference level. An increase of ten decibels in the power of a signal is equivalent to increasing its power by a factor of ten. We used logarithmic value with base 10 to represent decibel.
dBm dBm is almost exactly the same as dB. The only difference is that there is a reference of 1 Watt = 0 dB, and 1 mW = 0 dBm. So 1 Watt is equal to 30 dBm.
So the power conversion of dBm to watts is given by the formula: P(W) = 10(P(dBm) / 10) / 1000 = 10((P(dBm) - 30) / 10)
Example Convert 43dBm to watts: = 10(43dBm / 10) / 1000 = 19.9526W
P(W)
Watts Electrical power is measured in watts. In an electrical system power (P) is equal to the voltage (V) multiplied by the current (I). In short its like decreasing the resistance in an electrical system, by increases the current flow. P=VxI
A picture tells a thousand words: Basic concept of Electrical engineering in simple funny cartoon:)
dBi Signal strength relative to an isotropic radiator. Antenna gain is a comparison of the power/field characteristics of a device under test (DUT) to a specified gain standard.
Gain can be associated with coverage distance and/or obstacle penetration (buildings, foliage, etc).
An isotropic antenna is a single point in space radiating in a perfect sphere (not physically possible). A dipole antenna is one radiating element (physically possible). A gain antenna is two or more radiating elements phased together.