Free online tool to optimise antenna placement on a PCB

Antenova, a UK-based manufacturer of antennas and RF antenna modules for M2M and the Internet of Things, has created a new software tool to help product designers place antennas in a wireless design, to assist those who do not have access to antenna skills in-house.

Antenna placement becomes more complex when there is more than one antenna in the design, as each antenna needs to be able to radiate correctly without causing interference to the others. With this in mind, Antenova has created the tool to position up to three antennas from different categories or a pair of antennas in a diversity configuration.

The tool displays the optimum position for embedded antennas on the PCB, depending on the dimensions of the PCB and the specifications of the antennas, placing each individual antenna on the PCB in the best location for signal strength. The tool should help designers to place the antenna in the best position early in the design process and achieve a working wireless design more easily.

The placement tool will be valuable for designers creating layouts for the small PCBs within some of the latest trackers and mobile devices. As well as showing the best position for the antenna, the tool displays the ‘keep out’ area adjacent to the antenna, which must be kept free of other components. It should therefore help designers to pack components as closely as possible and save space in the design.

“RF engineering skills are in short supply, and not all designers have access to antenna specialists, so we are offering our antenna placement tool to help designers start their wireless design and achieve a successful layout first time round,” said Michael Castle, Product Marketing Manager at Antenova.

To access the free online tool, visit https://blog.antenova.com/intelligent-antenna-selection-and-placement-tool-antenova.

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