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WL1801MOD: WiLink Module Sensitivity PER Testing

David Kearney
Intellectual 590 points
Part Number: WL1801MOD
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: WL1801,

Hi, I wanted to check if there was a recommended way to carry out RX sensitivity testing via PER/FER for the WL1801MOD? Would it be possible for example to get one WL1801 to generate some test packets and feed this via attenuation to a second DUT WL1801, where I could get a PER/FER readout? Or even using a wlan 802.11 signal generator, is it possible to put the module in some kind of test mode to check error data to verify sensitivity?

Apologies if this info is somewhere else, I haven't come across it so far.

Many Thanks,

Dave

  • 0
    TI__Mastermind 41060 points

    Hey Dave,

    I'm not sure of a test mode for this type of application, but let me do some digging to help find the easiest method (or check for feasibility) for this type of testing. I'll get back to you by EOB tomorrow with my findings.

  • 0 in reply to Dylan Hubbard
    TI__Mastermind 41060 points

    Hey Dave,

    You should be able to perform this test by using the Calibrator Tool. Section 4 in this guide will be of use for this process.

    Let me know if you have any further questions.

  • 0 in reply to Dylan Hubbard
    Intellectual 590 points

    Thanks Dylan. I wonder could we get into a bit more detail on this. Since I posted the question, I came across the Wilink wireless tools package: https://www.ti.com/tool/WILINK-BT_WIFI-WIRELESS_TOOLS 

    In particular the WLAN Real time tuning tool (RTTT) looks useful:

    https://www.ti.com/lit/ug/swau085f/swau085f.pdf 

    Section 5.2 describes how to do a sensitivity measurement with an 18xx module. It looks like the tool counts the total packets and error packets and calculates the PER for you. It also allows you in input the number of packets you are sending, so it knows what to expect.

    And it looks like I can use this tool by hooking up a UART-USB converter to pins 26 and 27 (WL_RS232_RX, WL_RS2332_TX) of the module. Could you confirm this sounds correct?

    Now all I need is to be able to control sending a specified number of test packets from a second device. You mentioned the calibrator tool, should I be able to send a specified number of test packets using the start_tx command for example? Would this allow the RTTT tool to receive and count the number of errored packets?

    Thanks for the support,

    Cheers,

    Dave

  • 0 in reply to David Kearney
    Intellectual 590 points

    I notice these params on the set_tx+power command;

    Channel Limitation:

    Gain Calculation

    Does this mean all limitation is disabled when the first metric is 0? What is the purpose of the Gain control? Some more detail on these would be great.

    Many thanks,

    Dave

  • 0 in reply to David Kearney
    TI__Mastermind 41060 points

    Hey Dave,

    The RTTT tool is also great to use for this and has a pretty intuitive GUI. When you set up the device to operating in RX mode, you require a source in order to be the transmitter and you will need to boot the device into debug mode as mentioned in section 9.8 of this guide.  So the connection will be as follows - the U.FL connector connected to the 802.11 signal gen via an attenuator and the WL18xx device connected to the PC running RTTT via the USB-UART converter connected up to the Pins 26 and 27. 

    As for the Channel limitation, this is recommended to be set to 1 to meet or pass regulatory certification requirements and to leverage the modules certification.