Wi-Fi Channelization

Revised on Nov. 16, 2023

Many PicoScenes users are confused by how to correctly set channel for array_prepare_for_picoscenes and PicoScenes commands. In this page, we first give some examples, then we present a full Wi-Fi channel table for reference.

Examples on How to Specify Wi-Fi Channels for COTS NICs and SDR Devices

For COTS NICs

Some example commands for array_prepare_for_picoscenes are:

1. If you want to set NIC <NIC_ID> to a 20 MHz bandwidth channel, for example 2412 MHz, run the following command in terminal:

   array_prepare_for_picoscenes NIC_ID "2412 HT20" #<- Don't miss the quotation mark (")
   

2. If you want to set NIC <NIC_ID> to a 40 MHz bandwidth channel, for example the 5180 MHz channel centered at 5190 MHz, run the following command in terminal:

   array_prepare_for_picoscenes NIC_ID "5180 HT40+" #<- Don't miss the quotation mark (")
   

3. If you want to set NIC <NIC_ID> to a 80 MHz bandwidth channel, for example the 5180 MHz channel centered at 5210 MHz, run the following command in terminal:

   array_prepare_for_picoscenes NIC_ID "5180 80 5210" #<- Don't miss the quotation mark (")
   

4. If you want to set NIC <NIC_ID> to a 160 MHz bandwidth channel, for example the 5180 MHz channel centered at 5250 MHz, run the following command in terminal:

   array_prepare_for_picoscenes NIC_ID "5180 160 5250" #<- Don't miss the quotation mark (")
   

Hint

See Device Naming for Commercial Wi-Fi NICs for <NIC_ID>.

For SDR Devices

1. If you want to user SDR <SDR_ID> to receive frames at a 20 MHz bandwidth channel, for example 2412 MHz:

   PicoScenes "-d debug -i SDR_ID --freq 2412 -preset RX_CBW_20 --mode logger"
   

2. If you want to user SDR <SDR_ID> to receive frames at a 40 MHz bandwidth channel, for example the 5180 MHz channel centered at 5190 MHz:

   PicoScenes "-d debug -i SDR_ID --freq 5190 -preset RX_CBW_40 --mode logger"
   

3. If you want to user SDR <SDR_ID> to receive frames at a 80 MHz bandwidth channel, for example the 5180 MHz channel centered at 5210 MHz:

   PicoScenes "-d debug -i SDR_ID --freq 5210 -preset RX_CBW_80 --mode logger"
   

4. If you want to user SDR <SDR_ID> to receive frames at a 160 MHz bandwidth channel, for example the 5180 MHz channel centered at 5250 MHz:

   PicoScenes "-d debug -i SDR_ID --freq 5250 -preset RX_CBW_160 --mode logger"
   

Hint

See Device Naming for NI USRP for <SDR_ID>.

The Big Wi-Fi Channelization Table

The following Wi-Fi Channelization table has 9 columns. Their meanings are:

• #: The channel number

• Primary 20 MHz Channel: The center frequency of a 20 MHz bandwidth Wi-Fi channel.

• Center Freq. of 40 MHz Channel: The center frequency of a 40 MHz bandwidth Wi-Fi channel. Wi-Fi 40 MHz bandwidth channel are realized by combining two adjacent 20 MHz channels, thus, the center frequencies of 40 MHz channels are the middles of two 20 MHz channels. One thing worth noting is that the 40 MHz channels are allocated to be non-overlapping, therefore, each 20 MHz channel only belongs to one 40 MHz channel.

• Center Freq. of 80 MHz Channel: The center frequency of a 80 MHz bandwidth Wi-Fi channel. Like 40 MHz bandwidth channel, 80 MHz are realized by combining two adjacent 40 MHz channels, thus, the center frequencies of 80 MHz channels are the middles of two 40 MHz channels. One thing worth noting is that the 80 MHz channels are allocated to be non-overlapping, therefore, each 20 MHz channel only belongs to one 80 MHz channel.

• Center Freq. of 160 MHz Channel: The center frequency of a 160 MHz bandwidth Wi-Fi channel. Like 40 MHz bandwidth channel, 160 MHz are realized by combining two adjacent 80 MHz channels, thus, the center frequencies of 160 MHz channels are the middles of two 80 MHz channels. One thing worth noting is that the 80 MHz channels are allocated to be non-overlapping, therefore, each 20 MHz channel only belongs to one 160 MHz channel.

• Channel String of 20 MHz Channel: The channel string used to denote this 20 MHz channel, used for Linux iw and PicoScenes array_prepare_for_picoscenes commands.

• Channel String of 40 MHz Channel: The channel string used to denote this 40 MHz channel, used for Linux iw and PicoScenes array_prepare_for_picoscenes commands. The “HT40+” means that the extension channel is towards the higher frequency, while “HT40-” means that the extension channel is towards the lower frequency.

• Channel String of 80 MHz Channel: The channel string used to denote this 80 MHz channel, used for Linux iw and PicoScenes array_prepare_for_picoscenes commands. The three numbers are primary channel freq., channel bandwidth, and center channel freq.

• Channel String of 160 MHz Channel: The channel string used to denote this 160 MHz channel, used for Linux iw and PicoScenes array_prepare_for_picoscenes commands. The three numbers are primary channel freq., channel bandwidth, and center channel freq.

Wi-Fi Channelization

#	Primary 20 MHz Channel (MHz)	Center Freq. of 40 MHz Channel (MHz)	Center Freq. of 80 MHz Channel (MHz)	Center Freq. of 160 MHz Channel (MHz)	Channel String of 20 MHz Channel	Channel String of 40 MHz Channel	Channel String of 80 MHz Channel	Channel String of 160 MHz Channel
1	2412	N/A	N/A	N/A	“2412 HT20”	N/A	N/A	N/A
2	2417	N/A	N/A	N/A	“2417 HT20”	N/A	N/A	N/A
3	2422	N/A	N/A	N/A	“2422 HT20”	N/A	N/A	N/A
4	2427	N/A	N/A	N/A	“2427 HT20”	N/A	N/A	N/A
5	2432	N/A	N/A	N/A	“2432 HT20”	N/A	N/A	N/A
6	2437	N/A	N/A	N/A	“2437 HT20”	N/A	N/A	N/A
7	2442	N/A	N/A	N/A	“2442 HT20”	N/A	N/A	N/A
8	2447	N/A	N/A	N/A	“2447 HT20”	N/A	N/A	N/A
9	2452	N/A	N/A	N/A	“2452 HT20”	N/A	N/A	N/A
10	2457	N/A	N/A	N/A	“2457 HT20”	N/A	N/A	N/A
11	2462	N/A	N/A	N/A	“2462 HT20”	N/A	N/A	N/A
12	2467	N/A	N/A	N/A	“2467 HT20”	N/A	N/A	N/A
13	2472	N/A	N/A	N/A	“2472 HT20”	N/A	N/A	N/A
,,,
36	5180	5190	5210	5250	“5180 HT20”	“5180 HT40+”	“5180 80 5210”	“5180 160 5250”
40	5200	5190	5210	5250	“5200 HT20”	“5200 HT40-”	“5200 80 5210”	“5200 160 5250”
44	5220	5230	5210	5250	“5220 HT20”	“5220 HT40+”	“5220 80 5210”	“5220 160 5250”
48	5240	5230	5210	5250	“5240 HT20”	“5240 HT40-”	“5240 80 5210”	“5240 160 5250”
52	5260	5270	5290	5250	“5260 HT20”	“5260 HT40+”	“5260 80 5290”	“5260 160 5250”
56	5280	5270	5290	5250	“5280 HT20”	“5280 HT40-”	“5280 80 5290”	“5280 160 5250”
60	5300	5310	5290	5250	“5300 HT20”	“5300 HT40+”	“5300 80 5290”	“5300 160 5250”
64	5320	5310	5290	5250	“5320 HT20”	“5320 HT40-”	“5320 80 5290”	“5320 160 5250”
,,,
100	5500	5510	5530	5570	“5500 HT20”	“5500 HT40-”	“5500 80 5530”	“5500 160 5570”
104	5520	5510	5530	5570	“5520 HT20”	“5520 HT40+”	“5520 80 5530”	“5520 160 5570”
108	5540	5550	5530	5570	“5540 HT20”	“5540 HT40-”	“5540 80 5530”	“5540 160 5570”
112	5560	5550	5530	5570	“5560 HT20”	“5560 HT40+”	“5560 80 5530”	“5560 160 5570”
116	5580	5590	5610	5570	“5580 HT20”	“5580 HT40-”	“5580 80 5610”	“5580 160 5570”
120	5600	5590	5610	5570	“5600 HT20”	“5600 HT40+”	“5600 80 5610”	“5600 160 5570”
124	5620	5630	5610	5570	“5620 HT20”	“5620 HT40-”	“5620 80 5610”	“5620 160 5570”
128	5640	5630	5610	5570	“5640 HT20”	“5640 HT40+”	“5640 80 5610”	“5640 160 5570”
132	5660	5670	5690	N/A	“5660 HT20”	“5660 HT40-”	“5660 80 5690”	N/A
136	5680	5670	5690	N/A	“5680 HT20”	“5680 HT40+”	“5680 80 5690”	N/A
140	5700	5710	5690	N/A	“5700 HT20”	“5700 HT40-”	“5700 80 5690”	N/A
144	5720	5710	5690	N/A	“5720 HT20”	“5720 HT40+”	“5720 80 5690”	N/A
,,,
149	5745	5755	5775	N/A	“5745 HT20”	“5745 HT40+”	“5745 80 5775”	N/A
153	5765	5775	5775	N/A	“5765 HT20”	“5765 HT40-”	“5765 80 5775”	N/A
157	5785	5795	5775	N/A	“5785 HT20”	“5785 HT40+”	“5785 80 5775”	N/A
161	5805	5795	5775	N/A	“5805 HT20”	“5805 HT40-”	“5805 80 5775”	N/A
165	5825	N/A	N/A	N/A	“5825 HT20”	N/A	N/A	N/A
,,,
1	5955	5965	5985	6025	“5955 HT20”	“5955 HT40+”	“5955 80 5985”	“5955 160 6025”
5	5975	5965	5985	6025	“5975 HT20”	“5975 HT40-”	“5975 80 5985”	“5975 160 6025”
9	5995	6005	5985	6025	“5995 HT20”	“5995 HT40+”	“5995 80 5985”	“5995 160 6025”
13	6015	6005	5985	6025	“6015 HT20”	“6015 HT40-”	“6015 80 5985”	“6015 160 6025”
17	6035	6045	6065	6025	“6035 HT20”	“6035 HT40+”	“6035 80 6065”	“6035 160 6025”
21	6055	6045	6065	6025	“6055 HT20”	“6055 HT40-”	“6055 80 6065”	“6055 160 6025”
25	6075	6085	6065	6025	“6075 HT20”	“6075 HT40+”	“6075 80 6065”	“6075 160 6025”
29	6095	6085	6065	6025	“6095 HT20”	“6095 HT40-”	“6095 80 6065”	“6095 160 6025”
33	6115	6125	6145	6185	“6115 HT20”	“6115 HT40+”	“6115 80 6145”	“6115 160 6185”
37	6135	6125	6145	6185	“6135 HT20”	“6135 HT40-”	“6135 80 6145”	“6135 160 6185”
41	6155	6165	6145	6185	“6155 HT20”	“6155 HT40+”	“6155 80 6145”	“6155 160 6185”
45	6175	6165	6145	6185	“6175 HT20”	“6175 HT40-”	“6175 80 6145”	“6175 160 6185”
49	6195	6205	6225	6185	“6195 HT20”	“6195 HT40+”	“6195 80 6225”	“6195 160 6185”
53	6215	6205	6225	6185	“6215 HT20”	“6215 HT40-”	“6215 80 6225”	“6215 160 6185”
57	6235	6245	6225	6185	“6235 HT20”	“6235 HT40+”	“6235 80 6225”	“6235 160 6185”
61	6255	6245	6225	6185	“6255 HT20”	“6255 HT40-”	“6255 80 6225”	“6255 160 6185”
65	6275	6285	6305	6345	“6275 HT20”	“6275 HT40+”	“6275 80 6305”	“6275 160 6345”
69	6295	6485	6305	6345	“6295 HT20”	“6295 HT40-”	“6295 80 6305”	“6295 160 6345”
73	6315	6325	6305	6345	“6315 HT20”	“6315 HT40+”	“6315 80 6305”	“6315 160 6345”
77	6335	6325	6305	6345	“6335 HT20”	“6335 HT40-”	“6335 80 6305”	“6335 160 6345”
81	6355	6365	6385	6345	“6355 HT20”	“6355 HT40+”	“6355 80 6385”	“6355 160 6345”
85	6375	6365	6385	6345	“6375 HT20”	“6375 HT40-”	“6375 80 6385”	“6375 160 6345”
89	6395	6405	6385	6345	“6395 HT20”	“6395 HT40+”	“6395 80 6385”	“6395 160 6345”
93	6415	6405	6385	6345	“6415 HT20”	“6415 HT40-”	“6415 80 6385”	“6415 160 6345”
97	6435	6445	6465	6505	“6435 HT20”	“6435 HT40+”	“6435 80 6465”	“6435 160 6505”
101	6455	6445	6465	6505	“6455 HT20”	“6455 HT40-”	“6455 80 6465”	“6455 160 6505”
105	6475	6485	6465	6505	“6475 HT20”	“6475 HT40+”	“6475 80 6465”	“6475 160 6505”
109	6495	6485	6465	6505	“6495 HT20”	“6495 HT40-”	“6495 80 6465”	“6495 160 6505”
113	6515	6525	6545	6505	“6515 HT20”	“6515 HT40+”	“6515 80 6545”	“6515 160 6505”
117	6535	6525	6545	6505	“6535 HT20”	“6535 HT40-”	“6535 80 6545”	“6535 160 6505”
121	6555	6565	6545	6505	“6555 HT20”	“6555 HT40+”	“6555 80 6545”	“6555 160 6505”
125	6575	6565	6545	6505	“6575 HT20”	“6575 HT40-”	“6575 80 6545”	“6575 160 6505”
129	6595	6605	6625	6665	“6595 HT20”	“6595 HT40+”	“6595 80 6625”	“6595 160 6665”
133	6615	6606	6625	6665	“6615 HT20”	“6615 HT40-”	“6615 80 6625”	“6615 160 6665”
137	6635	6645	6625	6665	“6635 HT20”	“6635 HT40+”	“6635 80 6625”	“6635 160 6665”
141	6655	6645	6625	6665	“6655 HT20”	“6655 HT40-”	“6655 80 6625”	“6655 160 6665”
145	6675	6685	6705	6665	“6675 HT20”	“6675 HT40+”	“6675 80 6705”	“6675 160 6665”
149	6695	6685	6705	6665	“6695 HT20”	“6695 HT40-”	“6695 80 6705”	“6695 160 6665”
153	6715	6725	6705	6665	“6715 HT20”	“6715 HT40+”	“6715 80 6705”	“6715 160 6665”
157	6735	6725	6705	6665	“6735 HT20”	“6735 HT40-”	“6735 80 6705”	“6735 160 6665”
161	6755	6765	6785	6825	“6755 HT20”	“6755 HT40+”	“6755 80 6785”	“6755 160 6825”
165	6775	6765	6785	6825	“6775 HT20”	“6775 HT40-”	“6775 80 6785”	“6775 160 6825”
169	6795	6805	6785	6825	“6795 HT20”	“6795 HT40+”	“6795 80 6785”	“6795 160 6825”
173	6815	6805	6785	6825	“6815 HT20”	“6815 HT40-”	“6815 80 6785”	“6815 160 6825”
177	6835	6845	6865	6825	“6835 HT20”	“6835 HT40+”	“6835 80 6865”	“6835 160 6825”
181	6855	6845	6865	6825	“6855 HT20”	“6855 HT40-”	“6855 80 6865”	“6855 160 6825”
185	6875	6885	6865	6825	“6875 HT20”	“6875 HT40+”	“6875 80 6865”	“6875 160 6825”
189	6895	6885	6865	6825	“6895 HT20”	“6895 HT40-”	“6895 80 6865”	“6895 160 6825”
193	6915	6925	6945	6985	“6915 HT20”	“6915 HT40+”	“6915 80 6945”	“6915 160 6985”
197	6935	6925	6945	6985	“6935 HT20”	“6935 HT40-”	“6935 80 6945”	“6935 160 6985”
201	6955	6965	6945	6985	“6955 HT20”	“6955 HT40+”	“6955 80 6945”	“6955 160 6985”
205	6975	6965	6945	6985	“6975 HT20”	“6975 HT40-”	“6975 80 6945”	“6975 160 6985”
209	6995	7005	7025	6985	“6995 HT20”	“6995 HT40+”	“6995 80 7025”	“6995 160 6985”
213	7015	7005	7025	6985	“7015 HT20”	“7015 HT40-”	“7015 80 7025”	“7015 160 6985”
217	7035	7045	7025	6985	“7035 HT20”	“7035 HT40+”	“7035 80 7025”	“7035 160 6985”
221	7055	7045	7025	6985	“7055 HT20”	“7055 HT40-”	“7055 80 7025”	“7055 160 6985”
225	7075	7085	N/A	N/A	“7075 HT20”	“7075 HT40+”	N/A	N/A
229	7095	7085	N/A	N/A	“7095 HT20”	“7095 HT40-”	N/A	N/A
233	7115	N/A	N/A	N/A	“7115 HT20”	N/A	N/A	N/A