Analysing performance of Sub-1 GHz 433 Band

RF

I am required to analyse the performance of my 6LOWpan network working on Sub-1 400MHz band for criteria such as throughput, range, packet delay, PER etc.

My system uses CC1125 (Sub-1 modulator) + CC1190 amplifier by TI.

I intend to produce graphical content from analysis results, however I do not know tools I can sue to analyze this network.

I do not mind buying support equipment such as spectrum analyzer to look into range and received power etc. But I cannot afford one that are beyond 300$.

My network consists about 100 Sub-1 nodes working in the 400 MHz band. Application is deployed in a rural/ foresty area.

I would appreciate your help a lot.

Best Answer

For the actual Radio Frequency measurements, I would strongly recommend using the device itself to measure signal strength. It already has all the features you need, it's available, and it's representative of the system you will deploy in the end.

Have a special mode in the firmware that sends and receives and reports the signal strength back to you. Using a spectrum analyser will be more difficult, and much more than $300.

You can also use the test system to investigate BER vs signal strength etc.

Once you have a measurement of the RF paths you can work on the networking questions, in simulation not in hardware. This is far outside my area...