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Power Measurements

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61 views

Power Measurements

Uploaded by

Jess David Doria
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 2

POWER
MEASUREMENTS

Course : ECE141 (Communications 1)


Overview of Power Measurements

§ Most circuits in electronic communication are used to manipulate signals to


produce a desired result.

§ All signal processing circuits involve:


ü Gain
ü Attenuation
Transmission Gain / Loss and Decibels

§ Decibel measurement was based on a comparison of two power levels.

§ Transmission systems utilize amplifiers, devices that provide an increase in power


level (gain). Also, passive devices are present, such as attenuator networks (cables,
connectors, etc.) and filters, devices that lower the power level (loss).

§ It is therefore necessary to perform transmission power calculation on several


points of a transmission system
Gain

§ Gain means amplification. It is the ratio of a circuit’s output to its input.

output Vout
AV = =
input Vin
Gain
§ Most amplifiers are also power amplifiers, so the same procedure can be used to
calculate power gain AP where Pin is the power input and Pout is the power
output.

Power gain (Ap) = Pout / Pin

Example:
The power output of an amplifier is 6 watts (W). The power gain is 80. What is the input power?

Ap = Pout / Pin therefore Pin = Pout / Ap


Pin = 6 / 80 = 0.075 W = 75 mW
Gain
§ An amplifier is cascaded when two or more stages are connected together.
§ The overall gain is the product of the individual circuit gains.

Example:
Three cascaded amplifiers have power gains of 5, 2, and 17. The input power is 40 mW.
What is the output power?

Ap = A1 × A2 × A3 = 5 × 2 × 17 = 170
Ap = Pout / Pin therefore Pout = ApPin
Pout = 170 (40 × 10-3) = 6.8W
Attenuation
§ Attenuation refers to a loss introduced by a circuit or component. If the output
signal is lower in amplitude than the input, the circuit has loss or attenuation.
§ The letter A is used to represent attenuation
§ Attenuation A = output/input = Vout/Vin
§ Circuits that introduce attenuation have a gain that is less than 1.
§ With cascaded circuits, the total attenuation is the product of the individual
attenuations.
Attenuation

A voltage divider introduces attenuation.


Attenuation

Total attenuation is the product of individual attenuations of each cascaded circuit.


Decibel

§ The decibel (dB) is a unit of measure used to express the gain or loss of a circuit.
o The decibel was originally created to express hearing response.
o A decibel is one-tenth of a bel.

§ When gain and attenuation are both converted into decibels, the overall gain or attenuation of a
circuit can be computed by adding individual gains or attenuations, expressed in decibels.

§ Neper is a transmission unit used in Northern Europe countries originally used to express the
attenuation of current along a transmission line, using natural logarithm.
Decibel Calculations

Voltage Gain or Attenuation dB = 20 log Vout/ Vin


Current Gain or Attenuation dB = 20 log Iout/ Iin
Power Gain or Attenuation dB = 10 log Pout/ Pin
Decibel Calculations

Example: An amplifier has an input of 3 mV and an output of 5 V. What is the


gain in decibels?

dB = 20 log 5/0.003
= 20 log 1666.67
= 20 (3.22)
= 64.4
Decibel Calculations

Example: A filter has a power input of 50 mW and an output of 2 mW. What is


the gain or attenuation?
dB = 10 log (2/50)
= 10 log (0.04)
= 10 (−1.398)
= −13.98

Note: If the decibel figure is positive, that denotes a gain.


Antilogs

§ The antilog is the number obtained when the base is raised to the logarithm
which is the exponent.
§ Antilogs are used to calculate input or output voltage or power, given the
decibel gain or attenuation and the output or input.
§ The antilog is the base 10 raised to the dB/10 power.
§ The antilog is readily calculated on a scientific calculator.
Noise Measurement Level and Units

1. Relative Level Point (RLP)


a. For two-wire switching systems, the sending end terminals of a long distance
have been long considered to be a point of 0 RLP.
b. For four-wire switching, these are theoretical points; the CCITT adopted a relative level
of -3.5 dBr (0dBr) for the sending end of a four-wire circuit. In American system, -2 dBd
(0 dBr) is widely used.

2. Transmission Level Point (TLP) – the American term for RLP.


3. 0 dBr – any point in a circuit with the same relative level as the sending terminal is a point
of zero relative level 0 dBr.
4. 0 TLP – the point at which the test tone level should be 0 dBm.
Noise Measurement Level and Units

5. dBm – the dB in reference to 1 mW. A useful reference value.


6. dBc – is a decibel gain attenuation figure where the reference is the carrier.
7. dBrn – corresponds to the dB above reference noise.
8. dBa – corresponds to the dB adjusted.
9. dBrnC – corresponds to the dB above reference noise using C-message line
weighting.
10. dBmp – corresponds to dB psophometrically weighted.
11. pWp – corresponds to picowatts psophometrically weighted.
FIN

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