Foxwave Microwave Link Planner

Radio Frequency (RF) networks are virtually ubiquitous in today's interconnected world. From WiFi to cellular and radio links, these items are the engines that power communication. However, the multiple complex calculations necessary to build such relays are largely kept out of view of casual users. Programs such as Foxwave Microwave Link Planner are the reason for this, as they allow professional engineers to make quick calculations for commonly encountered problems.

The program can be employed for a variety of tasks, from setting up small amateur radios to full blown professional RF networks. Common equations that arise in point-to-point links, broadcast engineering, WiFi setups and cellular transmissions can be solved, although generating accurate results requires some technical know-how on the users' behalf.

The four-tabbed lightweight application is very easy to grasp and employ, as all it requires is valid input parameters. The corresponding main functions are “Path Loss and RSL”, “Antenna Calculations”, “Conversions”, and “Link Budget”.

The first module can be used to solve classic free space path loss issues; determining the received signal level can also be performed, but will require filling in the “Transmitter Power” field. In essence, this is the layout for all the available modules: after specific parameters have been filled in, users receive results upon clicking the “Calculate” button.

As for the other components, they address issues related to gain or half-power beamwidth and null beam width parabolic antenna parameters. Common conversions can be performed with the third module and the “Link Budget” component is useful when estimating the equipment for a given network. Once satisfied with their results, HTML output files can be generated.

Summing up, Foxwave Microwave Link Planner is a powerful and practical tool for anyone involved in designing RF networks. It allows one to improve the workflow significantly by providing quick answers to common problems.