3.1.4 Test Procedure for Output Power Level
This test procedure defines the basic method for measuring the transmit power of the EUT. A WLAN
tester is used to establish the connection and generate traffic to and from the EUT. A calibrated
WLAN tester or other applicable power measurement device (e.g., signal analyzer) is used to provide
traceable power measurements.
With the PING based packet generation method, the WLAN tester will generate ICMP echo request
packets with configurable transmit interval, payload size and payload type. The ICMP echo request
packets are targeted at the EUT's IP stack. The EUT is expected to answer with a well-defined echo
reply packet whose payload is identical to the payload of the corresponding request.
If the ACK based packet generation method is used, the power is measured across multiple ACK
control frames from the EUT rather than full data packets. The ACK control frames are sent in
response to unicast data packets generated by the WLAN tester. The measurement is taken across
multiple packets and a mean value calculated.
For client devices, the tester is typically configured as an AP, although the tester may alternatively
be configured as a non-AP STA (networking station) operating in ad-hoc mode to perform the
measurement. The tester shall be configured to the channel (frequency) and data rate to be tested
as specified in Section 3.1.3. Additional tester settings may also be needed to ensure that the EUT
responds at the target data rate.
For access points and devices acting as mobile access points, the tester is configured as a client. In
this case, the EUT shall typically be configured for the channel to be tested as specified in Section
3.1.3. The tester shall be configured for the data rate to be tested as specified in Table 3.1-1.
Additional tester settings may also be needed to ensure that the EUT responds at the target data
rate.
The EUT shall be configured to transmit at maximum power.
To generate the traffic for power measurement using the PING based method, the WLAN tester will
generate ICMP echo request packets with configurable transmit interval and payload size and
payload type as specified in Table 3.1-3. The reported result is determined from the power measured