text: how far can the signals of a rf transmitter go?   there are essentially two parameters to look at when trying to determine the range of an rf transmitter:  transmit power      transmit power refers to the amount of rf power that comes out of the antenna port of the radio. transmit power is usually measured in watts, milliwatts or dbm. (for conversion between watts and db see below.)  receiver sensitivity      receiver sensitivity refers to the minimum level signal the radio can demodulate. it is convenient to use an example with sound waves; transmit power is how loud someone is yelling and receive sensitivity would be how soft a voice someone can hear. transmit power and receive sensitivity together constitute what is know as “link budget”. the link budget is the total amount of signal attenuation you can have between the transmitter and receiver and still have communication occur.