Kitz Forum

Broadband Related => Router Monitoring Software => Topic started by: NewtronStar on April 17, 2014, 08:02:05 PM

Title: Power (dBm) or (dBmV) explanation
Post by: NewtronStar on April 17, 2014, 08:02:05 PM
Hello Guys & Girls and happy Easter  ;D

I would like to understand how the Power dBm / dBmV works on BroadBand and as it's shown on most monitering programs it must be very important

All I know at the moment from research is it's decibels and millivolts (power ratio) and SNR seem to be part of this equation.

So lets give you my Power dBmV > 11.1 Downstream and 0.6 Upstream, and please could you put this in laymans terms  ;)

Cheers 
Title: Re: Power (dBm) or (dBmV) explanation
Post by: kitz on April 17, 2014, 08:40:09 PM
I wrote a little bit about it here (http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/linestats_explanation.htm).   

It is important, because the more power supplied, then the higher your SNR(m) will be, thus a higher sync speed.    Our routers have the ability to up the power slightly if its struggling after say bitswap or errors.  On adsl2+ its not uncommon to see 18dB upon sync but after time it may ramp up to 20dB.

However.....  it should be bourne in mind that PSD masks play a huge part in this process too and will cut back power on shorter lines.   The PSD masks are much an undisclosed feature..  all I know is there are supposed to be 5 different profiles depending upon line length (for adsl/adsl2+), but I dont know any actual parameters or what tones are masked.  At one time I searched to find out more information but drew complete blanks on this subject.

When it comes to VDSL  the PSD masks are different again.. and further complicated by multiple sub-channels, each having what appear to be their own parameters.
Title: Re: Power (dBm) or (dBmV) explanation
Post by: roseway on April 17, 2014, 10:46:13 PM
The units for measuring power are dBmW (normally just referred to as dBm), not dBmV. I wrote a short explanation here: http://wiki.kitz.co.uk/index.php/Decibels#Decibels_used_as_power_measurement


Title: Re: Power (dBm) or (dBmV) explanation
Post by: burakkucat on April 18, 2014, 12:59:15 AM
N*Star -- You might like to take a look at the last few posts to this thread (http://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php?topic=13306.msg253206#msg253206), where 4c and b*cat were wittering on about this & that and the relationship between power (expressed as dBmW) & voltage (expressed as mV) of an audio circuit.
Title: Re: Power (dBm) or (dBmV) explanation
Post by: NewtronStar on April 18, 2014, 01:03:57 AM
Many thanks Kitz and Eric & my big Black cat BC for responding back, I am finding it hard to get my head around dBm and I am reading both your links it may take a few nights for it to sink into the grey matter, it's something I look at in the stats but don't really understand what it meens and how to interpret those figures from one line to another  ???
Title: Re: Power (dBm) or (dBmV) explanation
Post by: burakkucat on April 18, 2014, 01:41:19 AM
Hesitantly, I offer a link to a Wikipedia page on dBmW (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DBmW) . . .

That page provides links to other related topics and, as a result of following them, etc, etc, one will eventually end up reading about stendec (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stendec).  ::)

(As with any foray into Wikipedia, the result is a rapid deviation which ultimately homes into Mornington Crescent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mornington_Crescent_%28game%29).  :-X  )
Title: Re: Power (dBm) or (dBmV) explanation
Post by: NewtronStar on April 18, 2014, 06:46:44 PM
Hesitantly, I offer a link to a Wikipedia page on dBmW (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DBmW) . . .

That page provides links to other related topics and, as a result of following them, etc, etc, one will eventually end up reading about stendec (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stendec).  ::)


I have to say BC thats was a good read  ;D