Wireless Channel Emulators for RF Testing

A sophisticated testing tool which replicates real world radio frequency (RF) propagation conditions within controlled lab environment is known as wireless channel emulator. This equipment simulates various channel impairments such as multipath fading, path loss, interference, doppler shifts etc. This page covers wireless channel emulators used for testing WiFi/WLAN, WiMAX, LTE, GSM, CDMA, MIMO, EV-DO, HSPA, RF, and satellite equipment/devices. This is a crucial part of radio conformance testing. Moreover it helps engineers to evaluate and optimize wireless devices and systems without field tests.

Key benefits of Wireless Channel Emulators

Following are some of the advantages of wireless channel emulators.

• Emulates complex RF conditions which enables comprehensive testing of wireless systems under diverse scenarios.
• Provides consistent and repeatable test conditions across different development stages.
• It saves time and resources by avoiding extensive field trials.
• It facilitates testing of complex antenna configurations (e.g. massive MIMO, Beamforming) essential for modern wireless networks such as 5G, 6G, Wi-Fi etc.
• It can be used to test and evaluate wide range of wireless systems from 2G to 6G, satellite communication systems, modern wifi systems (Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi 8), V2X (Vehicle to Everything) etc.

Case Study of Azimuth ACE^TM MX2 MIMO Channel Emulator

Following are technical specifications of Channel Emulator from Azimuth Systems.

• RF Frequency range : 450 to 2700 MHz
• Tuning step : 10 KHz
• Bandwidth : 50 MHz -Input signal level :
• Number of Channels : 4 to 64 (Scalable)
• Channel Models : ITU, 3GPP
• Maximum doppler shift : Up to 2 KHz (>500 Km/Hr @3.6 GHz)
• Antenna configurations : SISO, SIMO, MISO, MIMO
• AWGN : SNR adjustable from -30 to +35 dB
• Propagation Delay : 0 to 1 ms (programmable)

Wireless Channel Emulator Vendors

Here are some popular vendors of wireless channel emulators:

Conclusion

In summary, wireless channel emulators are indispensable tools in the development and testing of wireless communication systems, offering a controlled, repeatable and cost effective means to assess performance under realistic conditions.