Wi-Fi: Radio test

The Wi-Fi Radio test sample demonstrates how to configure the Wi-Fi radio in a specific mode and then test its performance. The sample provides a set of predefined commands that allow you to configure the radio in the following modes:

  • Modulated carrier TX

  • Modulated carrier RX

Requirements

The sample supports the following development kit:

Hardware platforms

PCA

Board name

Build target

nRF7002 DK

PCA10143

nrf7002dk_nrf5340

nrf7002dk_nrf5340_cpuapp

Overview

To run the tests, connect to the development kit through the serial port and send shell commands. Zephyr’s Shell module is used to handle the commands.

You can start running wifi_radio_test subcommands to set up and control the radio. See Wi-Fi radio test subcommands for a list of available subcommands.

In the Modulated carrier RX mode, you can use the get_stats subcommand to display the statistics. See Wi-Fi radio test statistics for a list of available statistics.

User interface

wifi_radio_test is the Wi-Fi radio test command and it supports the following subcommands:

Wi-Fi radio test subcommands

Wi-Fi radio test subcommands

Subcommand

Argument

Description

phy_calib_rxdc
0 – Disable
1 – Enable

Enable/Disable RX DC calibration.

phy_calib_txdc
0 – Disable
1 – Enable

Enable/Disable TX DC calibration.

phy_calib_txpow
0 – Disable
1 – Enable

Enable/Disable TX power calibration.

phy_calib_rxiq
0 – Disable
1 – Enable

Enable/Disable RX IQ calibration.

phy_calib_txiq
0 – Disable
1 – Enable

Enable/Disable TX IQ calibration.

he_ltf
0 – 1x HE LTF
1 – 2x HE LTF
2 – 3x HE LTF

Configure HE long training field (LTF) value while transmitting the packet.

he_gi
0 – 0.8 us
1 – 1.6 us
2 – 3.2 us

Configure HE guard interval (GI) while transmitting the packet.

rf_params

Hex value string

Hexadecimal value string for RF related parameters. See RF parameters for the description.

tx_pkt_tput_mode
0 – Legacy
1 – HT mode
2 – VHT mode
3 – HE (SU) mode
4 – HE (ERSU) mode

Throughput mode to be used for transmitting the packet.

tx_pkt_sgi
0 – Disable
1 – Enable

Enable/Disable Short guard interval (GI) while transmitting the packet.

tx_pkt_preamble
0 – Short Preamble
1 – Long Preamble
2 – Mixed Preamble

Type of preamble to be used for each packet. Short/Long Preamble are applicable only when tx_pkt_tput_mode is set to Legacy and Mixed Preamble is applicable only when tx_pkt_tput_mode is set to HT/VHT.

tx_pkt_mcs
-1 – Not being used
<val> – MCS index to be used

MCS index at which TX packet will be transmitted. Mutually exclusive with tx_pkt_rate.

tx_pkt_rate
-1 – Not being used
<val> – Legacy rate to be used (1, 2, 5.5, 11, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54)

Legacy rate at which packets will be transmitted. Mutually exclusive with tx_pkt_mcs.

tx_pkt_gap

<val> - (Min: 200, Max: 200000, Default: 200)

Interval between TX packets in microseconds.

chnl_primary

<val> - Primary channel number (Default: 1)

Configures the Primary channel to be used.

tx_pkt_num
-1 – Transmit infinite packets
<val> – Number of packets to transmit

Number of packets to transmit before stopping. Applicable only when tx_mode is set to Regular Tx.

tx_pkt_len

<val> – Desired packet length (Default: 1400)

Packet data length to be used for the TX stream.

tx_power

<val> – Transmit power in dBm.

Transmit power for frame transmission.

tx
0 – Disable
1 – Enable

Enable/Disable packet transmission. Transmits configured number of packets (tx_pkt_num) of packet length (tx_pkt_len).

rx
0 – Disable
1 – Enable

Enable/Disable packet reception.

show_config

N/A

Display the current configuration values.

get_stats

N/A

Display statistics.

Wi-Fi radio test statistics

Wi-Fi radio test statistics

Statistic

Description

rssi_avg

Average RSSI value in dBm.

ofdm_crc32_pass_cnt

Number of OFDM frames whose CRC32 check passed.

ofdm_crc32_fail_cnt

Number of OFDM frames whose CRC32 check failed.

dsss_crc32_pass_cnt

Number of DSSS frames whose CRC32 check passed.

dsss_crc32_fail_cnt

Number of DSSS frames whose CRC32 check failed.

RF parameters

RF parameters

Byte(s)

Type

Units

Description

0 - 5

NA

NA

Reserved.

6

Unsigned

NA

XO adjustment.

7 - 10

Signed

0.25 dB

Power detector adjustment for MCS7 for channel 7, 36, 100 and 165.

11 - 14

Signed

0.25 dB

Power detector adjustment for MCS0 for channel 7, 36, 100 and 165.

15

Signed

0.25 dBm

Max output power for 11b for channel 7.

16 - 17

Signed

0.25 dBm

Max output power for MCS7 and MCS0 for channel 7.

18 - 20

Signed

0.25 dBm

Max output power for MCS7 for channel 36, 100 and 165.

21 - 23

Signed

0.25 dBm

Max output power for MCS0 for channel 36, 100 and 165.

24 - 27

Signed

0.25 dBm

Rx-Gain offset for channel 7, 36, 100 and 165.

28

Signed

degree Celsius

Maximum chip temperature.

29

Signed

degree Celsius

Minimum chip temperature.

30

Signed

0.25 dB

TX Power backoff at high temperature (+80 degree Celsius) in 2.4G.

31

Signed

0.25 dB

TX Power backoff at low temperature (-20 degree Celsius) in 2.4G.

32

Signed

0.25 dB

TX Power backoff at high temperature (+80 degree Celsius) in 5G.

33

Signed

0.25 dB

TX Power backoff at low temperature (-20 degree Celsius) in 5G.

34 - 41

Signed

0.25 dBm

Voltage related power backoff.

Building and running

This sample can be found under samples/wifi/radio_test in the nRF Connect SDK folder structure.

To build the sample with Visual Studio Code, follow the steps listed on the Building nRF Connect SDK application quick guide page in the nRF Connect for VS Code extension documentation. See Building and programming an application for other building and programming scenarios and Testing and debugging an application for general information about testing and debugging in the nRF Connect SDK.

Currently, the following configurations are supported:

  • 7002 DK + QSPI

  • 7002 EK + SPIM

To build for the nRF7002 DK, use the nrf7002dk_nrf5340_cpuapp build target. The following is an example of the CLI command:

west build -b nrf7002dk_nrf5340_cpuapp

To build for the nRF7002 EK and nRF5340 DK, use the nrf5340dk_nrf5340_cpuapp build target with the SHIELD CMake option set to nrf7002_ek. The following is an example of the CLI command:

west build -b nrf5340dk_nrf5340_cpuapp -- -DSHIELD=nrf7002_ek

See also Providing CMake options for instructions on how to provide CMake options.

Testing

After programming the sample to your development kit, complete the following steps to test it:

  1. Connect the kit to the computer using a USB cable. The kit is assigned a COM port (Windows) or ttyACM device (Linux), which is visible in the Device Manager.

  2. Connect to the kit with a terminal emulator (for example, PuTTY). See How to connect with PuTTY for the required settings.

  3. Test the sample by running the following commands:

    1. To display the current configuration, use the following command:

      wifi_radio_test show_config

      The sample shows the following output:

      ************* Configured Parameters ***********
rf_params = 00 00 00 00 00 00 2C 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 30 20 30 20 20 20 30 30 30 00 00 00 00 50 EC 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
tx_pkt_tput_mode = 0
tx_pkt_sgi = 0
tx_pkt_preamble = 0
tx_pkt_mcs = -1
tx_pkt_rate = -1
tx_pkt_gap = 200
phy_calib_rxdc = 1
phy_calib_txdc = 1
phy_calib_txpow = 1
phy_calib_rxiq = 1
phy_calib_txiq = 1
chnl_primary = 1
tx_pkt_num = -1
tx_pkt_len = 1400
tx_power = 0
he_ltf = 0
he_gi = 0
tx = 0
rx = 0

    2. To run a continuous Orthogonal frequency-division mulitplexing (OFDM) TX traffic sequence with the following configuration:

      • Channel: 14

      • Frame duration: 5484 us

      • Inter-frame gap: 4200 us

      Execute the following sequence of commands:

      wifi_radio_test rx 0
wifi_radio_test tx 0
wifi_radio_test tx_pkt_tput_mode 0
wifi_radio_test tx_pkt_len 4095
wifi_radio_test chnl_primary 14
wifi_radio_test tx_pkt_rate 6
wifi_radio_test tx_power 0
wifi_radio_test tx_pkt_gap 4200
wifi_radio_test tx 1

    3. To run a continuous Direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) TX traffic sequence with the following configuration:

      • Channel: 1

      • Frame duration: 8500 us

      • Inter-frame gap: 8600 us

      Execute the following sequence of commands:

      wifi_radio_test rx 0
wifi_radio_test tx 0
wifi_radio_test tx_pkt_tput_mode 0
wifi_radio_test tx_pkt_len 1024
wifi_radio_test chnl_primary 1
wifi_radio_test tx_pkt_rate 1
wifi_radio_test tx_power 0
wifi_radio_test tx_pkt_gap 8600
wifi_radio_test tx 1

Note

  • For regulatory certification, it is advisable to run the TX streams in Legacy OFDM or DSSS modes only (wifi_radio_test tx_pkt_tput_mode 0).

  • The frame duration can be calculated using the formula:

       D = ((L * 8) / R ) + P

where::

   D : Frame duration (us)
   L : Frame length (bytes)
   R : Data rate (Mbps)
   P : PHY overhead duration (us) (Values: 24us - Legacy OFDM, 192us - DSSS)

Dependencies

This sample uses the following Zephyr library:

  • Shell:

    • include/shell/shell.h