Dear AN-SOF Community,

As we kick off 2024, we’d like to reflect on the strides made in 2023 and provide a sneak peek into the exciting developments awaiting you in the year ahead.

Our commitment to enhancing AN-SOF revolves around your needs, and last year, we diligently incorporated several user-requested features, including:

✅️ Transmission Line Models: Now boasting over 160 models meticulously fitted to real cable datasheets, AN-SOF facilitates the seamless modeling of phased arrays and feeding systems with multiple transmission lines.

✅️ Solid Surfaces with Thickness: We’ve expanded our capabilities to include the modeling of solid surfaces, moving beyond wire grids.

✅️ Material Selection: Choose the material of wires and dielectric substrates effortlessly from a curated list of commonly used materials.

✅️ Enhanced Impedance Options: Introducing Fixed Load Impedance, allowing the addition of R+jX impedance alongside RL and RC impedances.

✅️ Efficient Convergence Analysis: The Segments per Wavelength option optimizes convergence analysis by adjusting the number of wire segments based on their lengths measured in wavelengths.

✅️ New Plots Tab: A dedicated tab for quick insights into input impedance, VSWR, gain, Front-to-Rear, and Front-to-Back ratios as a function of frequency.

✅️ EMF Compliance: Evaluate compliance with Average and Peak Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) limits stipulated by regulations.

✅️ Extended Power Budget: Gain valuable insights with the integration of Front-to-Rear (F/R) and Front-To-Back (F/B) ratios into the Power Budget table.

✅️ Axial Ratio: Recognizing the importance of polarization analysis, we’ve introduced Axial Ratio in both dB and dimensionless formats.

✅️ Performance Enhancements: Optimized algorithms for faster results while maintaining the high accuracy AN-SOF is known for.

In addition, we’ve shared valuable models and articles, with the top 5 being:

📰 Accurate Analysis of Solid Wheel Antennas at 2.4 GHz Using Cost-Effective Simulation

📰 Evaluating EMF Compliance – Part 1: A Guide to Far-Field RF Exposure Assessments

📰 Design Guidelines for Skeleton Slot Antennas: A Simulation-Driven Approach

📰 Efficient NOAA Satellite Signal Reception with the Quadrifilar Helix Antenna

📰 The Loop on Ground (LoG): A Compact Receiving Antenna with Directional Capabilities

As we dive into 2024, our commitment to improvement remains unwavering. AN-SOF is evolving, and we’re thrilled to announce a glimpse of what’s to come:

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT:

AN-SOF 9 is on the horizon, featuring a groundbreaking Tuner Calculator. This tool will enable you to incorporate an impedance matching network (L, Pi, T), account for output stray capacitance, and include a balun. Additionally, you can model quality factors in capacitors and inductors, along with balun losses, providing a comprehensive solution for simulating real-case scenarios and accurately representing all components between the transmitter and the antenna.

And this is just the beginning.

If you’re in search of an easy-to-use, accurate, and affordable antenna simulation tool, look no further than AN-SOF.

AN-SOF never stops evolving, and we invite you to stay tuned for more exciting updates.

Best regards,

Tony Golden