diff --git a/mothership/internal/ingestion/frame.go b/mothership/internal/ingestion/frame.go
index 3fb1511..d3fd291 100644
--- a/mothership/internal/ingestion/frame.go
+++ b/mothership/internal/ingestion/frame.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ package ingestion
 import (
 	"encoding/binary"
 	"fmt"
+	"log"
 )
 
 // Frame constants from the plan
@@ -37,10 +38,13 @@ type CSIFrame struct {
 }
 
 // ParseFrame parses a binary WebSocket frame into a CSIFrame
-// Returns nil and an error if the frame is malformed
+// Returns nil and an error if the frame is malformed.
+// Logs at DEBUG level for each validation failure to aid debugging
+// without flooding logs at high frame rates.
 func ParseFrame(data []byte) (*CSIFrame, error) {
 	// Validation rule 1: minimum length
 	if len(data) < MinFrameSize {
+		log.Printf("[DEBUG] CSI frame validation failed: too short (%d bytes < %d minimum)", len(data), MinFrameSize)
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("frame too short: %d bytes (minimum %d)", len(data), MinFrameSize)
 	}
 
@@ -60,16 +64,29 @@ func ParseFrame(data []byte) (*CSIFrame, error) {
 	// Validation rule 3: payload length must match
 	expectedLen := HeaderSize + int(nSub)*2
 	if len(data) != expectedLen {
+		log.Printf("[DEBUG] CSI frame validation failed: payload length mismatch (n_sub=%d, expected %d bytes, got %d)", nSub, expectedLen, len(data))
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("payload length mismatch: expected %d bytes, got %d", expectedLen, len(data))
 	}
 
 	// Validation rule 4: n_sub must not exceed 128
 	if nSub > 128 {
+		log.Printf("[DEBUG] CSI frame validation failed: implausible subcarrier count (n_sub=%d > 128 max)", nSub)
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("implausible subcarrier count: %d (max 128)", nSub)
 	}
 
+	// Validation rule 5: rssi == 0 is allowed but logged at DEBUG (invalid RSSI per firmware spec)
+	// The frame is still processed, but the signal pipeline should skip AGC normalization
+	if frame.RSSI == 0 {
+		log.Printf("[DEBUG] CSI frame has RSSI=0 (invalid/missing); AGC normalization will be skipped")
+	}
+
 	// Validation rule 6: channel must be valid (1-14 for 2.4 GHz)
-	if frame.Channel == 0 || frame.Channel > 14 {
+	if frame.Channel == 0 {
+		log.Printf("[DEBUG] CSI frame validation failed: channel=0 is invalid")
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid channel: %d", frame.Channel)
+	}
+	if frame.Channel > 14 {
+		log.Printf("[DEBUG] CSI frame validation failed: channel=%d > 14 (invalid 2.4 GHz channel)", frame.Channel)
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid channel: %d", frame.Channel)
 	}
 
diff --git a/mothership/internal/ingestion/frame_test.go b/mothership/internal/ingestion/frame_test.go
index e7dd668..a51c48d 100644
--- a/mothership/internal/ingestion/frame_test.go
+++ b/mothership/internal/ingestion/frame_test.go
@@ -165,3 +165,81 @@ func TestParseFrame_HeaderOnly(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("Payload should be empty, got %d bytes", len(frame.Payload))
 	}
 }
+
+// BenchmarkParseFrame_Valid verifies that valid frame parsing completes in < 1 μs.
+// Acceptance criterion: "Valid frame: passes all checks in < 1 μs"
+func BenchmarkParseFrame_Valid(b *testing.B) {
+	// Create a valid frame with 64 subcarriers (typical case)
+	nSub := uint8(64)
+	payloadSize := int(nSub) * 2
+	frameSize := HeaderSize + payloadSize
+
+	data := make([]byte, frameSize)
+	copy(data[0:6], []byte{0xAA, 0xBB, 0xCC, 0xDD, 0xEE, 0xFF})
+	copy(data[6:12], []byte{0x11, 0x22, 0x33, 0x44, 0x55, 0x66})
+	data[12] = 0x4E
+	data[13] = 0x61
+	data[14] = 0xBC
+	data[20] = 0xCC // RSSI: -52 dBm
+	data[21] = 0xA1 // Noise floor: -95 dBm
+	data[22] = 0x06 // Channel: 6
+	data[23] = nSub
+
+	// Fill payload with test data
+	for i := 0; i < payloadSize; i++ {
+		data[HeaderSize+i] = byte(i % 256)
+	}
+
+	b.ResetTimer()
+	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+		_, err := ParseFrame(data)
+		if err != nil {
+			b.Fatalf("ParseFrame failed: %v", err)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// BenchmarkParseFrame_HeaderOnly verifies performance for header-only frames (n_sub=0).
+func BenchmarkParseFrame_HeaderOnly(b *testing.B) {
+	data := make([]byte, HeaderSize)
+	copy(data[0:6], []byte{0xAA, 0xBB, 0xCC, 0xDD, 0xEE, 0xFF})
+	copy(data[6:12], []byte{0x11, 0x22, 0x33, 0x44, 0x55, 0x66})
+	data[20] = 0xCC // RSSI: -52 dBm
+	data[21] = 0xA1 // Noise floor: -95 dBm
+	data[22] = 0x06 // Channel: 6
+	data[23] = 0    // n_sub = 0 (header-only frame)
+
+	b.ResetTimer()
+	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+		_, err := ParseFrame(data)
+		if err != nil {
+			b.Fatalf("ParseFrame failed: %v", err)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TestParseFrame_RSSIZero verifies that RSSI=0 frames are allowed (not an error)
+// but should be flagged for AGC skip in the pipeline.
+func TestParseFrame_RSSIZero(t *testing.T) {
+	data := make([]byte, HeaderSize)
+	copy(data[0:6], []byte{0xAA, 0xBB, 0xCC, 0xDD, 0xEE, 0xFF})
+	copy(data[6:12], []byte{0x11, 0x22, 0x33, 0x44, 0x55, 0x66})
+	data[20] = 0x00 // RSSI: 0 (invalid/missing, but allowed)
+	data[21] = 0xA1 // Noise floor: -95 dBm
+	data[22] = 0x06 // Channel: 6
+	data[23] = 0    // n_sub = 0 (header-only frame)
+
+	frame, err := ParseFrame(data)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ParseFrame with RSSI=0 should succeed, got error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if frame.RSSI != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("RSSI should be 0, got %d", frame.RSSI)
+	}
+
+	// Verify the frame is otherwise valid
+	if frame.Channel != 6 {
+		t.Errorf("Channel should be 6, got %d", frame.Channel)
+	}
+}