RX Power discrepancy between 16 MHz and 64 MHz PRF on DW1000

Hello,

I am measuring RX power using two DW1000 devices (anchor and tag) placed at a distance of approximately 40 cm. I observed a significant difference in reported RX power depending on the PRF configuration.

Below are my measurements:

Configuration 1:

  • Data rate: 6.8 Mb/s
  • PRF: 16 MHz
  • Preamble length: 1024
  • Channel: 5

RX power:

  • -55.46 dBm
  • -56.07 dBm
  • -54.68 dBm

Configuration 2:

  • Data rate: 6.8 Mb/s
  • PRF: 64 MHz
  • Preamble length: 128
  • Channel: 5

RX power:

  • -86.62 dBm
  • -86.40 dBm
  • -86.46 dBm

Configuration 3:

  • Data rate: 110 kb/s
  • PRF: 16 MHz
  • Preamble length: 2048
  • Channel: 5

RX power:

  • -56.87 dBm
  • -56.33 dBm
  • -56.70 dBm
  • -57.74 dBm

At this short distance (~40 cm), the values around -55 dBm seem physically reasonable. However, when using 64 MHz PRF, the reported RX power drops significantly to around -86 dBm, which appears too low.

From the application note APS011: Sources of Error in DW1000-Based Two-Way Ranging (TWR) Schemes, it is stated that around -77 dBm at 5 m corresponds to zero range bias error. This is why I am investigating RX power behavior for calibration purposes.

My questions:

  1. Why does the RX power appear significantly lower when using 64 MHz PRF compared to 16 MHz PRF at the same distance?
  2. How can I obtain accurate RX power measurements when using 64 MHz PRF?
  3. Is there a recommended correction or calibration method for RX power at different PRFs?

Any insights or references would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.