A municipal vendor datasheet lists an AP's EIRP in dBm. How should a city WLAN technician interpret that value?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
dBm is the absolute 'how many milliwatts, in log clothes' number — not a cartoon bar meter. When the sheet says EIRP in dBm, compare power to power, not to somebody's percent widget. Bars are a story; dBm is a measurement.
Full Explanation
dBm expresses absolute RF power relative to 1 mW on a logarithmic scale and is the standard unit for EIRP and received-signal reporting in WLAN work. Percentage or bar displays are vendor UI mappings and are not interchangeable absolute power figures. SNR is a relative ratio of signal to noise and is a different measurement than the absolute EIRP value on a datasheet. Technicians should keep absolute dBm readings distinct from relative UI scales when documenting or comparing transmit levels.