Parameter settings for 2.4GHz ISM spectrum measurements

Spectrum sensing is an important consideration in the future cognitive radio networks. In order to protect communicating users, it is essential to make a reliable and correct occupancy decision. A possible way in providing a more accurate sensing measurement is to adapt measurement parameters to the inspected band and inspected signal. Parameters settings for resolution bandwidth and sweep time are technology dependent and should be different for detecting various signal types in the frequency domain. This paper presents a practical measurement setup using two types of spectrum sensing equipment: a high precision spectrum analyzer and a medium precision USRP2 software defined radio. Different parameter sets are used for the both devices, and results are compared in terms of duty cycle of the occupancy in the measured bands. All the measurements are performed in the Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM) band.