Single Point Field: Receiver Gains and Losses

Single Point Field: Receiver Gains and Losses

Q: When I use the TAP Single Point Field, how do I translate the predicted field strength at the location to the input to my receiver in dBm?

A: The Required Field utility in TAP can be used for the calculation. In TAP 4.4 and later, receiver gain and loss information can be entered on the TAP Single Point Field Study form after the calculation is done.

The TAP Single Point Field calculation is designed to compute the field strength at a user specified location based on the base station and terrain information specified. The field strength value is computed independently of receiver information, enabling various receiver parameters to be applied to determine which configurations will provide adequate input power or voltage for the available field strength at that location

After you select the path information and base station parameters in the Single Point Field study, the results are displayed on the TAP Single Point Field Study form:

In the RX Gain and RX Loss boxes on the form, you can enter values appropriate to your receiver configurations to see the effect on the receiver input for the computed field strength:

You can change the system Receiver Sensitivity units (in the TAP configuration menu) if you want the values displayed in different units, such as microVolts):

(Note that to change the system configuration sensitivity units, you must first Close the Single Point Field form, then use the Configuration menu to change the units.)