# Power gain and sensitivity

When configuring a node and a network, one important parameter is related with power gain and sensitivity.

## Power level

Power level (dBm) at which the module transmits conducted power.
The possible values are Low ('L'), High ('H') and Max ('M'):
 Parameter SX1272 power level 'L' 0 dBm 'H' 7 dBm 'M' 14 dBm
Figure: Transmission power values
It is also possible to set the conducted power indicating the quantity as a parameter in the function setPower.
Note: dBm is a standard unit to measure power level taking as reference a 1 mW signal.
Values expressed in dBm can be easily converted to mW using the next formula:
$mW = 10^{(value dBm/10)}$
Graphic about transmission power is exposed next:
Figure: SX1272 output power level
Example of use:
{
sx1272.setPower(0); // Set Power Output Level to the minimum value
sx1272.getPower(); // Get Power Output Level
}
Related variables:
sx1272._power → stores the selected power output level
Note: It is the responsibility of the users to know the maximum allowed power level in their country (if any), and use levels below it. Ignoring this could lead to considerable penalties.

It reports the Received Signal Strength of the last received packet and the current value of the Received Signal Strength in the selected channel. The RSSI of the packet is the meaningful one: if its value is greater than the sensitivity the packet sent is going to be successfully detected, otherwise the packet will be lost. The RSSI of the channel reports the signal level detected in every moment, even if it is not signal being transmitted, so it provides also noise level information. In the case the user develops a multi-hop network, this parameters only indicate the signal strength of the last hop, so it does not provide an accurate quality measurement of a multihop link.
Example of use:
{
}
Related variables:
sx1272._RSSIpacket → stores the RSSI of the last received packet
sx1272._RSSI → stores the current RSSI value
sx1272._SNR → stores the SNR of the last received packet