
1
AN9624.6
http://www.intersil.com or 407-727-9207
|
Copyright
Intersil Corporation 1999
PRISM and PRISM logo are trademarks of Intersil Corporation.
Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
PRISM1KIT-EVAL DSSS PC Card
Wireless LAN Description
Introduction
The PRISM1KIT-EVAL wireless LAN
PC card is a complete wireless high
speed modem utilizing the Intersil
PRISM Direct Sequence Spread
Spectrum (DSSS) wireless transceiver
chip set. The card is packaged in an open frame PCMCIA
Type II extended coverset for evaluation access and a
connector output for use in the laboratory. Evaluation kits
include two cards, Microsoft Windows 95 software and
documentation to get your WLAN evaluation started quickly.
The PRISM1KIT-EVAL is not FCC approved as an
intentional radiator and is intended for use with cabled
connections only (30dB antenna port to antenna port
attenuation recommended). An FCC experimental license is
required while transmitting over the air with unapproved
equipment. Please refer to the WLANKITPR1-KIT for an
FCC-approved radio kit for wireless LAN evaluations. This
application note details the RF and analog design of these
cards. The physical layer (PHY) sections of these PC Cards
are described in detail. The medium access control (MAC)
section of the PC Cards will be described in detail in the
pending AMD application note titled “Wireless LAN DSSS
PC Card Reference Design” [1].
Figure 1 shows a block diagram of the reference radio
design. This radio has been designed to conform to the draft
IEEE 802.11 specification but does not include the antenna
diversity selection.
The specifications of the PC Card Wireless LAN are as follows:
General Specifications
Targeted Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IEEE 802.11 (Draft)
Data Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1Mbps DBPSK
2Mbps DQPSK
Range. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400ft Indoor (Typ) (Note 1)
3700ft Outdoor (Typ) (Note 1)
Frequency Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2412MHz to 2484MHz
Step Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1MHz
IF Frequency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280MHz
IF Bandwidth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17MHz
RX/TX Switching Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
μ
s (Typ)
Operating Voltage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5V
DC
- 5.5V
DC
Standby Current . . . . . . .190mA at 1
μ
s Recovery (Note 4)
70mA at 25
μ
s Recovery (Note 4)
60mA at 2ms Recovery (Note 4)
30mA at 15ms Recovery (Note 4)
Operating Temperature Range. . . . .0
o
C to 70
o
C (Note 2)
Storage Temperature Range . . . . . . . . . . -55
o
C to 125
o
C
Mechanical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Type II PCMCIA Card,
with Antenna Extension
Antenna Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SMA, 50
Receive Specifications
Sensitivity. . . . .-91dBm (Typ), 1Mbps, 8E-2 FER (Note 3)
-88dBm (Typ), 2Mbps, 8E-2 FER (Note 3)
Input Third Order Intercept Point . . . . . . . . . -20dBm (Typ)
Image Rejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65dB (Typ)
IF Rejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80dB (Typ)
Adjacent Channel Rejection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63dB (Typ)
at 25MHz Offset
Supply Current . . . 287mA (Typ), 2Mbps, 100% Duty Cycle
Transmit Specifications
Output Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +17.5dBm (Typ)
Transmit Spectral Mask. . . .-32dBc (Typ) at First Side-Lobe
Supply Current . . . . 488mA (Typ), 2Mbps, 100% Duty Cycle
NOTES:
1. Using M/A-COM AND-C-107 omnidirectional antenna.
2. AM79C930 limited to 0
o
C to 70
o
C.
3. FER = Frame Error Rate or Packet Error Rate.
4. Recovery times do not include MAC recovery.
Receive Processing
Referring to the block diagram in Figure 1, the schematic on
our web site [2], and the bill of materials in Appendix A, a
single antenna is used. Up to two antennas are supported in
the HFA3824A [3] Baseband Processor to implement
diversity, countering the adverse effects of multipath fading.
As space is at a premium in a PC Card environment, only
one antenna is used. In an actual system implementation, if
one can achieve diversity in at least one end of a link, such
as at the access point where it is possible to achieve
physical separation between diversity antennas, multipath
performance will be improved.
Ordering Information
PART NUMBER
DESCRIPTION
CARDS PER KIT
PRISM1KIT-EVAL
Evaluation Kit
2
Application Note
August 1999
Authors: Carl Andren, Mike Paljug, and Doug Schultz (Integrated RF Solutions, Inc.)