Chapter 1 Decibel Lecture 2

1.
4 Power Measurements
The decibel (dB) is a logarithmic unit that can be
used to measure ratios of virtually anything. In
the electronic communications, the decibel
defined a power ratios, however, as a common
usage voltage and current ratios can also been
expressed.
Decibel permits an enormous range of power
ratios without using excessively large or
extremely small numbers.
If two power are expressed in the same units (watts or
microwatts) their ratio is a dimensionless quantity that can
be expressed in decibel form as follows:
 p1 
dB  10 log (10)   (1-2)
 P2 
P1 is power level 1 (watts)
P2 is power level 2 (watts)
When used in electronic circuit to measure a power gain or

loss, the previous equation can be written as:
 pout 
Ap ( dB)  10 log (10)   (1-3)
 Pin 
(1-4A)
(1-4B)
(1-4C)
(1-4D)
Equation 1-4B can be used to determine the power gains in dB only when the
input and output resistances are equal. However, equation 1-4d can be used to
represent the voltage gain regardless of whether the input and output resistance
are equal or not. Voltage gain can be expressed mathematically as:
E 
AV ( dB)  20 log (10)  O 
 Ei 
Decibel Milliwatt - dBm
A dBm is a unit of measurement used to indicate the ratio of a power level

with respect to a fixed reference level. With dBm, the reference level is 1
mW or in other words, dBm means decibel relative to 1 milliwatt. The dBm
is expressed mathematically as:
p
dBm  10 log
0.001W
0.001 is the reference power of 1 mW

P is power in watts.
Example 1-3
Convert a power level of 200mW to dBm.
Solution:
 200mW 
dBm  10 log  
 1mW 
 10 log 200
 23dBm
Example 1-4
Convert a power level of 23 dBm to an absolute power.
Solution:
 p 
23 dBm  10 log  
 0.001W 
 p 
10 2.3    P  0.2 watts or 200 mW
 0.001W 
Power levels, gains and losses
When power levels are given in watts and power gains are given as absolute
values, the output power is determined by simply multiplying the input
power times the power gains.
Example 1-5:
A three-stage system comprised of two amplifiers and one filter. The input
power Pin = 0.1 mW. The absolute power gains are Ap1 = 100, Ap2 = 40 and
Ap3 = 0.25. Determine: (a) The input power in dBm, (b) output power in
watts and dBm, (c) The dB gain of each of the three stages and (d) The
overall gain in dB.
Input
Filter 3
Output
Amplifier 1 Amplifier 2
Solution:
(a) The input power in dBm can be calculated as follows:
 0.0001W 
Pin( dBm)  10 log    - 10 dBm
 0. 001W 
(b) The output power is simply the input power multiplied by the three
power gains:
Pout  (0.1 mW)(100)(4 0)(0.25)  100 mW
(c) Since stages one and two have gains greater than 1, they provide
amplifications. Stage three has a gain less than one therefore represents
a loss to the signal. The decibel value for the three gain can be
determined as follows:
AP1dB   10 log( 100)  20 dB
AP 2dB   10 log( 40)  16 dB
AP 3dB   10 log( 0.25)  6 dB
Solution:
(d) The overall or total power gain in dB can be determined by simply
adding the individual dB power gains:
APT dB   20 dB  16 dB  (-6 dB)  30 dB

Or by taking the log of product of the three absolute power gains then
multiply by 10:
APT dB   10 log (100)( 40)(0.25)  30 dB
The output power in dBm is the input power in dBm plus the sum of
the gains of the three stages:
Pout( dBm)  Pin( dBm)  A p1(dBm)  A p2(dBm)  A p3(dBm)
 10dBm  20 dB  16dB  (6 dB)  20 dBm

Pout  (1mW)(10 0.3 )  2mW
POP QUIZ
0 dB +0 dB = 0 dB
0 dBm + 0dBm = ?
POP QUIZ - Answer
0 dBm + 0dBm = ?
To combine two or more power levels in dBm, the dBm units must be
converted to watts, added together and then converted back to dBm units.
0 dBm in watts is 1 mW. So adding together we have 2 mW. Converted to

dBm its become 3 dBm.

Chapter 1 Decibel Lecture 2

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Chapter 1 Decibel Lecture 2

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How is power measured in decibels?

How do you convert between power levels in watts and dBm?

1.

When used in electronic circuit to measure a power gain or

A dBm is a unit of measurement used to indicate the ratio of a power level

0.001 is the reference power of 1 mW

Pout  (0.1 mW)(100)(4 0)(0.25)  100 mW

APT dB   20 dB  16 dB  (-6 dB)  30 dB

Pout( dBm)  Pin( dBm)  A p1(dBm)  A p2(dBm)  A p3(dBm)

 10dBm  20 dB  16dB  (6 dB)  20 dBm

0 dBm in watts is 1 mW. So adding together we have 2 mW. Converted to

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