In the WF200 or WFM200 datasheet, the current consumption of 294μA in DTIM3 provides the WF(M)200 average current consumption when there is no TX/RX of data frame (only receiving Beacon with the DTIM interval and using the sleep state).
So with this consumption, the WF(M)200 stays associated with the Wi-Fi Access Point ready to transmit or receive data frame and it goes in sleep state between two Rx beacons with a current consumption of only 22 μA.
The 294μA current are measured in DTIM3 when the WF(M)200 receives only one over 3 beacons with a beacon interval of 102ms and a beacon time duration of 1ms.
The customer could reduce the maximum Tx power used by the WF(M)200 using setting in the Platform Data Set (PDS) file.
Thank to this file, the customer could set some specific parameters for his application. This PDS file is loaded with the firmware in the WF(M)200.
The customer could set the maximun Tx power using the field MAX_OUTPUT_POWER_QDBM:
/* Power configuration */
/***********************/
// Tx power-related information
MAX_TX_POWER_CFG: {
// The max Tx power value in Quarter of dBm (QDBM).
// Resultant covered range in dBm: [-32; 31.75]
MAX_OUTPUT_POWER_QDBM: 80,
The MAX_OUTPUT_POWER_QDBM to 80 means a maximum threshold Tx power of 20dBm.
This is a TX power limitation for all channels and all PHY rate. It is not an adaptive setting and it doesn't allow to force higher TX power level than allowed for the regulatory RF certification or in the datasheet.
Wi-Fi Knowledge Base
KBA: WF200 : DTIM3 and sleep current consumption explanation
In the WF200 or WFM200 datasheet, the current consumption of 294μA in DTIM3 provides the WF(M)200 average current consumption when there is no TX/RX of data frame (only receiving Beacon with the DTIM interval and using the sleep state).
So with this consumption, the WF(M)200 stays associated with the Wi-Fi Access Point ready to transmit or receive data frame and it goes in sleep state between two Rx beacons with a current consumption of only 22 μA.
The 294μA current are measured in DTIM3 when the WF(M)200 receives only one over 3 beacons with a beacon interval of 102ms and a beacon time duration of 1ms.
KBA: WF(M)200 : How to reduce the maximum Tx power for all bit rates
The customer could reduce the maximum Tx power used by the WF(M)200 using setting in the Platform Data Set (PDS) file.
Thank to this file, the customer could set some specific parameters for his application. This PDS file is loaded with the firmware in the WF(M)200.
The customer could set the maximun Tx power using the field MAX_OUTPUT_POWER_QDBM:
The MAX_OUTPUT_POWER_QDBM to 80 means a maximum threshold Tx power of 20dBm.
This is a TX power limitation for all channels and all PHY rate. It is not an adaptive setting and it doesn't allow to force higher TX power level than allowed for the regulatory RF certification or in the datasheet.
For regulatory RF certification, it is recommended for Tx power level reduction to use BACKOFF_QDB in the RF_POWER_CFG Section in the PDS file (see section 3.7 of UG404 and KBA https://www.silabs.com/community/wireless/wi-fi/knowledge-base.entry.html/2021/01/11/wf_m_200_rf_certificationtests-wgIT).
In order to get this maximum Tx power limitation in the PDS file taken into account by the WF(M)200, it should be compressed and installed properly and reloaded.
More details on PDS are available in UG404 : https://www.silabs.com/documents/public/user-guides/ug404-wf200-pds-configuration-users-guide.pdf