18th INTERNATIONAL WROCLAW SYMPOSIUM AND EXHIBITION

EMC 2006 ON ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY, WROCLAW, 28 – 30 JUNE, 2006

www.emc.wroc.pl

Practical Radio Noise Measurements

Erik van Maanen

Radiocommunications Agency Netherlands, The Netherlands, erik.vmaanen@at-ez.nl evanmaanen@xs4all.nl

Abstract: This document describes a frequency at a given measurement location there is no dominance
independent method for measuring radio noise in of single noise sources, the characteristic of the radio
practical radio applications. It is addressed to radio and noise has a normal amplitude distribution and can be
radiomonitoring engineers, frequency planners and regarded as white Gaussian noise. Signals from single
other parties using actual radio noise data. sources like pulses and continuous carriers are outside
the scope of the radio noise measurements described in
Keywords: Spectrum monitoring, Noise measurements, this paper.
ITU recommendations.
2. EQUIPMENT
1. INTRODUCTION
2.2. Receiver
Recommendation ITU-R P.372 is commonly used to
The measurement receiver can be a standard
integrate noise level values in propagation models and transportable measurement receiver or spectrum
planning tools. It is to be expected that noise levels in analyzer with some additional requirements like a low
both the HF and VHF/UHF bands have increased and
equipment noise floor and high frequency and gain
will increase more due to new radio and non radio
stability which are essential for the performance of
applications such as Ulrawideband (UWB) and Power
noise measurements. The following table does not
Line Communications systems (PLC). International
describe all measurement receiver specifications but
measurement campaigns have already started to collect only points out the additional or specific requirements
recent noise data to update Recommendation ITU-R necessary for a receiver used for radio noise
P.372. To harmonize the measurements and make it
measurements.
possible to compare and combine different datasets it
was necessary to develop a uniform frequency Function Frequency range
independent method to produce comparable, accurate Frequency range 9 kHz - 30 MHz 30-500 MHz 0.5-3 GHz
and reproducible results between different measurement Input (Antenna input) 50 Ω, nominal < 1.5
systems. The work on this item started in 2003 in the VSWR
3rd order intercept ≥ 20 dBm ( > 3 MHz) ≥ 10 dBm ≥ 0 dBm
Netherlands where an expert group of seven 2nd order intercept -
≥ 60 dBm ( > 3 MHz) ≥ 50 dBm
government institutions and industrial parties wrote an Preselection Set of suboctave band Tracking or fixed filter
initial measurement protocol. This work was completed filters or tracking Low pass / high pass filter
filter.
in 2005. In 2005 a modified version of the protocol was Noise figure 15 dB ( > 2 MHz)
also accepted by ITU SG-1 as an ITU recommendation Sensitivity (500 Hz bw) –10 dBµV –7 dBµV –7 dBµV
and report named “Radio Noise Measurements”. Most LO-Phase Noise –120 dBc/Hz –100 dBc/Hz –100 dBc/Hz
of the information in this paper is based on these new in 10 kHz offset in 10 kHz offset in 10 kHz offset
IF rejection > 80 dB > 90 dB > 100 dB
ITU publications and ref [1] which describes a set of
Image rejection > 80 dB > 90 dB > 100 dB
processes or steps that can be integrated in a
measurement procedure resulting in the required
AGC Measurement outputs should have no agc applied
comparable results. Electromagnetic All interference produced and received by the set-up should be
compatibility of the >10 dB below the average noise to be measured.
measurement set-up
2. NOISE including computers and
interfaced
2.1. Properties of noise Table 1 receiver specifications
Using the definition given in Recommendation ITU-R
P.372-8, radio noise is the sum of emissions from The IF selectivity between 6 and 60 dB should be
multiple sources that do not originate from radio accurately known to calculate the equivalent noise
communication transmitters. In fact this should read as bandwidth when measurements with different IF filters
“distinguishable radio communication transmitters”. If have to be compared.
 noise power, and the second method uses raw sampling
2.3. Low Noise Amplifiers using a sample detector. The end result of both methods
are the same, but both methods offer different ways of
A low noise amplifier is necessary for frequencies
presenting and processing the data. While the RMS
>20 MHz. To guarantee a reasonable measurement
detector method is more suitable for measurements in
accuracy it is required to keep the measured noise at
the HF bands, the raw sampling method is more suitable
least 10 dB above the equipment noise floor if an RMS
detector is used. A low noise amplifier can assist in this for VHF/UHF measurements.
goal. The requirements for such an amplifier are given
in the following table. 4.1. Selecting a frequency band or frequency
It is possible to perform measurements on one single
Function Frequency range frequency (channel) or in a certain frequency band (e.g.
Frequency range 20-50 MHz 50-500 MHz 0.5-3 GHz 100 kHz). These observations can be made
automatically and the results processed according to a
Input (Antenna input)
VSWR
50 Ω, nominal <1.5 pre defined protocol. In case of a frequency band scan,
Gain <= 18 dB <= 25 dB <= 25 dB
the best quality of results is obtained by measuring a
frequency band with as few strong signals as possible .
Gain stability <=0.1 dB at 10-30°C Data from historical measurements or a test
Noise figure <= 2 dB <= 2 dB <= 2 dB
measurement can be used to make the choice of a band
with low occupancy in which the final measurements
Gain flatness over the
frequency range of
<0.1 dB <0.2 dB <0.5 dB
are made. For a single frequency measurement, the
interest frequency should be only occupied with interfering
Table 2 LNA specifications signals for a low percentage of time during the
registration. Here we can also use historical data.
2.4. Antennas
Although the raw data method can be used in
There is no universal antenna for all types of noise combination with a frequency scan, a single frequency
measurements as well as for all frequency ranges but measurement is more practical.
there are some general requirements. The radiation
pattern of the antenna needs to be optimized for the
propagation mode of the noise to be measured, e.g. sky
wave or direct wave. The gain needs to be as constant as
possible over the relevant receiving aperture. Although
affected by environmental conditions noise in itself is
unpolarized so a polarization independent antenna or a
combination of antennas would be ideal. For antennas
placed in an environment where noise sources are
distributed evenly around the antenna, the antenna
pattern is less relevant than in cases where the noise is
received from a defined angle. In the first case only the
antenna efficiency or average gain over the total antenna
aperture needs to be used as a correction factor. This is
particular the case with measurements in the higher
frequency ranges. The lower the frequency the more
relevant the 3D properties of the antenna diagram are.

3. ACCURACY
The end result of the measurement should reflect a
real value that can be reproduced even when another
measurement set-up is used. Not only the average
accuracy but also the limits in which the values can
change are required. An uncertainty budget containing
all contributors to the total uncertainty should be made
for each measurement. Information about this can for
example be found in ref [7],[8] and [9].

4. MEASUREMENT METHOD / ALGORITHM

Noise can basically be measured in two different
ways, one method uses a RMS detector to determine the Figure 1 selecting a frequency band
 In the example in Figure 1, the upper picture shows
the band segment 4 500–5 500 kHz which is measured
over 24 hours and a part of it, in this case 5 250-5 350
kHz, is selected for further measurements. The lower
picture of Figure 1 shows the result of a 24 hour
measurement in this band which is used to determine
the noise level.
4.2. Analyzer receiver settings
As a guideline some practical receiver settings are
suggested. It is practical to produce a result every 10 or
20 seconds, so a sweep time, scan time or raw data
processing time of 10 to 20 seconds is useful when a 24
hour period is used as observation period. The
observation frequency range depends fully on the use of
the chosen frequency band. This frequency band can
even be split in sub bands or frequencies. If the
frequency scan method is used the bandwidth of the
applied filter depends on the frequency span divided by
the required resolution. The raw sampling method
dictates a RBW of at least twice the sampling
frequency. The shape factor of the filter should be
determined to make it possible to compare measurement
results from different receivers. For noise power
measurements, a true RMS detector is necessary, any
other detector is unsuitable. When the measured values
are less then 10 dB below the equipment noise floor this
detector requires a custom calibration. The raw data
method has to use a sample detector because the more
detailed way of processing, which includes RMS
calculations, is done afterwards. An attenuator is
required to set a defined receiver input impedance to
guarantee a low measurement uncertainty, a 3dB
attenuator provides a good compromise between
accuracy of the end result and sensitivity of the
measurement system. Preselectors are sometimes
needed to avoid blocking and intermod when wideband
antennas are used. Make sure, especially when an
external preselector is used, that it has a flat frequency
response, is stable and has a proper calibration.
4.3. Measuring period
The measuring period should be chosen with the time in
which significant changes in the measured noise can be
expected in mind. For example to include day and night
differences normally each HF frequency band should be
measured over a 24 hour period. To take into account
the variation due to seasons, the measurements should
be repeated a number of times each year. There are also
reasons to measure 24 hour periods for non propagation
related reasons. For example locally produced noise can
change over a 24 hour period due to equipment
switched on during working hours.
5. POST PROCESSING
A spectrum analyzer scans a frequency band in a
number of steps (frequency bins) and a normal
measurement receiver measures with a fixed
measurement time. Within a certain measurement
period these devices produce a block of measurements.
For the spectrum analyzer this block consists of a 2
dimensional matrix with a frequency axis (the columns)
and a time axis. For the receiver this block consist of
only one frequency column and a time axis. A common
number of frequency points of a modern spectrum
analyzers is about 500-10000. When the scan time of
the analyzer for instance is 10 seconds, the result of the
measurements is a matrix of 500 x 8 600 to 10 000 x
8 600 field strength values. For a single frequency
measurement the matrix has only one column. Storing
data in a common format without processing makes it
not only possible to exclude certain parts of the
measurement but also to apply different statistical
processing methods.
5.1. Correcting for antenna factor (K factor)
Each measured frequency point should be corrected
with the right K factor, especially for narrow-band
antennas used in semi wideband measurements. Keep in
mind that narrow-band antennas should not be operated
outside their frequency range because of two reasons.
The antenna diagram is undefined and the antenna
impedance can be very unstable resulting in an
additional measurement uncertainty. As stated in 2.4
the application of correction factors depends on the
measurement situation. The K-factor depends on the
used frequency and impedance of the antenna (in this
case 50 Ω. In linear form:
9.73
K = 4π /(G ⋅ λ2 ) ⋅ (377Ω / 50Ω) =
λ. G
where:
K = Antenna factor in dB(1/m)
G = Antenna gain in dBi
λ = wavelength in m
5.2. Correcting for equipment noise
The signals we measure with a measurement receiver
or spectrum analyzer are in fact signals superimposed
on the equipment noise. For normal measurements the
error caused by this noise can be neglected but not for
low level noise measurements. The way for correction is
as follows. Measure for a short period without
connected source (passive antenna) but with connected
and properly terminated Low Noise Amplifiers and the
same settings as the original measurement. Now select
the samples with the lowest value using the same
method and same percentage as during the original
measurement and subtract this value linearly from the
measured average level value.
NOTE: If the antenna is active, this procedure should
be performed with connected antenna in an anechoic
chamber (Faraday cage with wall-absorbers).

5.2. Correcting for 20% or x% values
The unwanted noise components, e.g. carriers, are
filtered out by the 20% method. However the wanted
noise is also filtered by this method. A correction factor
needs to be applied to compensate for the introduced
error. This error can be determined with a Gaussian
noise source and the actual settings to be used in the
measurements, both IF filter, video filter and wanted x%
percentage. For a specific noise type alternative noise
sources can be used.
NOTE 1: In fact the correction factor is not a constant
but dependent on the actual number of filtered noise
samples, however when the x% percentage is chosen
correctly and the number of noise samples does not
change more than 50%, the factor can be assumed to be
correct for the whole registration period.
NOTE 2: To prevent errors caused by the non
linearity of the receiver, the inband generated power of
the noise source needs to be equal to the total received
noise power during the measurements.
NOTE 3: Make sure to use a stable noise source,
many commercial noise sources exhibit warming up
effects resulting in differences in noise power output of
sometimes tenths of dB’s. Noise sources designed for
high frequency applications sometimes produce
spurious carriers at the lower frequencies. Do not use a
source outside its specifications or examine the output
with a sufficiently sensitive spectrum analyzer.
5.3. Correcting for filter shape bandwidth
Although, in spectrum monitoring, we like to speak
about noise levels, noise is almost always expressed as
power/bandwidth. For such an expression the filter
bandwidth need to be integrated and basically presented
in a rectangular form. In Figure 2 this is presented in a
schematic way where the blue measurement filter curve
equals the same area as the ideal red rectangular filter
curve.
Power
Noise Bandwidth
Ideal rectangular filter
Measurement filter
Frequency
Figure 2 normalisation of filter
If we want to compare measurements made with two
different RBWs, we have to apply a correction factor to
one of the results that is equal to the ratio of the two
RBWs. So, to convert measurements made with RBW1
into measurements made with RBW2, a correction of
10 * log(RBW2/ RBW1)
has to be applied to the measured values (in dB). In
order to get bandwidth-independent results, the
measured values are normalized to the thermal noise
level which can be calculated as follows:
P0 = K*T0*B
where:
K = Boltzmann constant 1.38*10-23 W/Hz
T0 = Ambient temperature in K
B = Noise equivalent BW of the measurement filter.
5.4. Plot APD of raw samples
This part only applies to the raw sampling method. In
the VHF/UHF range, the radio noise level is rather
constant during the day but mainly depends on the
measurement location category (e.g. city/business,
residential, rural). A way to present all raw samples in a
plot is the amplitude histogram. This plot of which an
example is given in Figure 3 gives some insight in the
presence of constant carriers and different types of
noise but a better way to present the data and to
2000
1800
number of measurement samples
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
-78
-84
-89
-95
-100
-105
-111
-116
-121
-127
level [dBm]
Figure 3 amplitude histogram of raw samples
condense all samples to one characteristic value, the
so-called APD (Amplitude Probability Distribution)
graph should be preferred. This graph shows the
percentage of measurement samples that exceeds a
certain amplitude. The example in Figure 4 shows the
results of a measurement at 410 MHz in a residential
surrounding. In this plot all three types of noise are
recognizable. When the measurement system is
sufficiently separated from single carrier noise sources,
the WGN (white Gaussian noise) part of the graph
continues up to the 99% point. The steep rising part of
the curve towards the left indicates impulse noise that is
high in level but very low in probability. The example
above indicates impulse noise being present for less
than 0.1 percent of the time.

Figure 5: 10%, 50% and 90% values

Figure 4 Amplitude Probability Distribution of raw samples
The x-axis of the APD graph has a Raleigh scaling.
With this scaling, it is easy to separate the different
types of noise: White noise shows up as a straight
sloping line (in the middle of the graph). The rising
edge to the left indicates impulse noise from single
sources, the leveling out towards the right side is due to
single carriers from nearby sources. The overall RMS
level is the 37% value.
5.5. Calculate RMS value for each block of raw
samples
In addition to an APD we can convert the raw
samples to RMS values. In a true RMS detector the
sampling time Ts is based on the measurement filter
bandwidth BWm where the sampling time Ts = 1/2*
BWm This should be kept in mind when external
samplers are used.
As said for HF, 20% of the lowest values is a practical
value to determine the noise level. For other frequency
ranges it should be checked whether this 20% value is
correct or should be changed to another value. It is
assumed that X% values contain noise samples only. In
that case the median and mean value should be the
same. A practical test is the difference between the
mean and median value. The distribution of the values
changes from normal to asymmetric. This is normally
the case when non noise samples are present. As an
example the next graph shows the difference between
mean and median values with a fixed percentage of 20%
for all scans. The observation period is 24 hours (00:00
to 23:59). During the hours 07:00 till 20:00,
thunderstorms cause the distribution of the 20%
selection to have large slopes and thus large differences
between the median and mean power values.

5.5. Select noise containing samples

This part does not apply to the raw sampling method.
The next step in the process is to select the noise
containing samples. Every block of samples in the
matrix should be sorted in ascending order. The 20%
lowest values in case of most HF measurements are
considered real noise. This percentage can be adjusted if
the actual non noise interference is different from
expected. This (also called x% value) can be validated
and even adjusted for every block of data in the matrix.

5.5. Validation of the chosen x% percentage

In Figure 5 we can see the drastic changes in the
result as the consequence of the chosen percentage. The
registration contains a number of periods where heavy
thunderstorms and impulse noise were present. Curves Figure 6 difference between mean and median values
with 10%, 50% and 90% selections are plotted. In this
case only the 10% selection gives usable results over 5.7. Plot the results
most of the registration period.
The last step is to calculate the average noise power
over a certain measurement period. During our
experiments we used an averaging period of 100
seconds, this is about 10 scans/blocks of data.
In frequency ranges below 30 MHz, radio noise
significantly changes over the time of day. Therefore it
is useful to present the results over a 24 hours period.
To improve the presentation of the data we can also
determine the minimum and maximum noise within the
100 seconds period and plot this an additional graph.
Figure 7 is an example of measurement results at 5 MHz
(4.9-5.1 MHz). The maximum, average and minimum
values over 24 hours can be seen here. The spectrogram,
containing all the scans over 24 hours in shown in
Figure 8. In most cases observations will have a time
span of 24 hours.
Figure 7 Maximum, Average and Minimum values
Figure 8 difference between mean and median values
Depending on the frequency band and application the
measured noise values can change within periods of
more than 24 hours. For example on the VHF/UHF
bands the measured noise depends on the day of the
week and if the day is a weekday or weekend day. A
way to compare or correlate the measurements is to
calculate an hour minimum, hour maximum and an hour
standard deviation of 10% and 90% values. This way it
is possible to plot comparable curves for each hour.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author would like to thank:
Henk Stel (Radiocommunications Agency Netherlands):
for chairing the expert group on noise measurements
leading to the report ref [1] and finally to the ITU
recommendation ref [2] and ITU report ref [3]. Thomas
Hasenpusch from the BundesNetzAgentur (BNetzA)
Germany: for his constructive discussions on the subject
and his work on the VHF/UHF raw sampling
measurement method.
REFERENCES
[1] Expert group on noise measurements, Radio noise measurements
[European harmonization of measurement methods], Radio
communication Agency Netherlands, 2003 available on request
from the author free of charge.
[2] ITU, ITU-R. SM (nr not assigned yet) - Radio noise
measurements, ITU Geneva, 2006
[3] ITU, ITU-rep (nr not assigned yet) - Radio noise measurements,
ITU Geneva, 2006
[4] ITU, ITU/CCIR-REP 258-5 - Man made noise reports of the
CCIR annex to volume X, CCIR Geneva, 1990
[5] ITU, ITU/CCIR-REP 258-5 - Man made noise, CCIR Geneva,
1990
[6] ITU, ITU/CCIR-REP322 - World Distribution and Characteristics
of Atmospheric Radio noise, CCIR Geneva, 1964
[7] ISO, Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurements,
ISO ISBN 92-67-10188-9, 1995
[8] UKAS, document M3003 - The expression of uncertainty and
confidence in measurement, UKAS, 1997
[9] EA European co-operation for accreditation, EA-4/02 -
Expression of the uncertainty of measurement in calibration,
European co-operation for accreditation, 1999
[10] Hewlett Packard, Measurement of White Noise Power Density -
HP application note 63C, Hewlett Packard, 1972
[11] Morris Engelson, Modern Spectrum Analyzer Measurements,
JMS Portland, 1991
[12] Rohde & Schwarz, Fundamentals of Spectrum Analysis using
Spectrum Analyzer FSA, Rohde & Schwarz, 2001
[13] J.D Kraus, Antennas, 2nd edition Mc Graw hill, 1988
[14] Hewlett Packard, Spectrum Analysis (noise measurements) - HP
application note 150-4, Hewlett Packard, 1974
[15] Manfred Stecher, A detailed analysis of EMI test receiver
measurement accuracy, Rohde & Schwarz, 1999
Erik van Maanen: Was born in 1963
and studied electronics in Leiden where
he graduated in 1985. He worked for the
Delft University of technology for 5
years and for the Radio communications
Agency Netherlands for 13 years. His
areas of expertise are antenna
technology, digital signal processing,
measurements, instrument control and
simulation and scenario tools.