Introduction
The need to visualize and measure the wireless signal parameters with
the aid of efficient hardware device with software (mobile application)
is important in every enterprise so as to determine what kind of
activities to be done and the quality of service obtained from the
network. It is very rampant in buildings whereby the mobile users tend
to change position from one point to another in other to have a reliable
wireless communication.
However, the density, coverage, signal power and other related metrics
are factors which are needed to be known in various environmental
conditions.
The quality of wireless signal is reduced when they are obstructed by
different materials along the path of propagation. Several researchers
have worked on radio waves propagation in building and statistical
result were obtained from their measurement - .
Wireless signals generated by RF (radio frequency) circuit or device are
affected by various properties, which could be categorized in this
report to be any of the following:
- Intrinsic Properties : This refers to the factors that affect
the wireless signals internally within the sources where they are
generated. This scenario is commonly affected by RF devices, such as:
Router and RF Antenna operating within the following frequency band
(900/1800MHz, 2100MHz, 2400 MHz). Examples of such include: short
noise, thermal noise etc.
- Extrinsic Properties : This refers to the factors that tend to
distort wireless signal externally relative to their environment
immediately after they are directed away from the sources.
There is little awareness in the construction industry regarding the
impact of wireless coverage when it is subjected to different
construction materials. A change in building materials so as to meet the
requirement for building regulation needs to be known, such that it can
improve the efficiency of the signals. Some materials can help to
improve the thermal conductivity properties of houses but can affect the
transmission of wireless signals into and within houses. In the future,
construction practice and materials may change particularly in response
to improve signal transmission within them .Generally, most
signals are affected by these factors depending on the characteristics
of their propagating medium.
The loss experienced by radio waves when subjected to different
materials depends on the frequency and angle of incidence of the waves
as well as the materials properties. An approved recommendation by ITU-R
(P.2014) defines the basic quantities related to the electrical
properties of a building materials and penetration loss which describe
the effect of the material structure, electrical properties and building
loss measurement on radio propagation..
Therefore, it is significant to distinguished different materials such
as bricks, wood and glass when they are subjected to wireless signals.
The figure1 gives the physical model of the study, showing the Base
Transceiver Station (BTS) having 2G Network, for wireless communication.
The enclosure is subjected to the 2G (1800MHz) signal and predictive
measurement is obtained for both indoor and outdoor scenarios.