Signal strength, range (DW3220>

[marama]

Hi. Noob here.
As far as I understand, there was a recent change in ETSI (EU) regulation increasing the allowed signal strength for UWB. So it went from -41.5 dB to -31.5 dB. AI tells me it’s a 10 fold increase, but what I wonder what would the real world range increase be, in a line of sight environment?
I’m considering designing a prototype for DW3x20 (using some module based on it) and would like to know what to expect of in different regions of the world.

BTW are some go-to antennas that are generally recommended for range and reasonable size?

[akash]

@marama

So it went from -41.5 dB to -31.5 dB.

Small correction, it went from -41.3 dBm/MHz to -31.3 dBm/MHz. I would recommend to also look at this forum post regarding the regulation: Question on Updated UWB Regulation in Europe (-41.3 dBm to -31.3 dBm)

@marama

I wonder what would the real world range increase be, in a line of sight environment?

All other variables being constant, a 10dB increase in TX power, would cause a 3.16x increase in the distance. This is 20log10(x)=10 → x = 10^(10/20) = 3.16

@marama

BTW are some go-to antennas that are generally recommended for range and reasonable size?

We have had customers use antennas from a variety of manufacturers including Abracon, Kyocera, and Taoglas. Others have designed and printed their own antennas on their PCB.