A preliminary investigation of the UHF properties of LV cable for WiFi over power line communications

In pursuit of a wireless (contactless) power line communications (W-PLC) system for low voltage (LV) power distribution networks, a commonly utilized bundled low voltage electrical cable called Cabtyre, was energized with a range of frequencies up to 3 GHz. The intention was to characterize the cable from a radio frequency radiation perspective for the utilization of standard low voltage distribution cables as antennas in ultra high frequency (UHF) PLC systems. The range of test frequencies extends 550 MHz beyond the present IEEE 802.11g protocol which has a centre frequency of 2.45 GHz and a 80 MHz total bandwidth. The applied tests therefore allow adequately for the maximum bandwidth required with 40 MHz modulation on either side of the 2.45 GHz centre frequency, [1].