 So hello everyone and welcome to our webinar. My name is Tomar Zolanskiy, I'm a product manager with RF Elements and today I will talk about Twistport, the Waveguide connector. Twistport is RF Elements own proprietary Waveguide connector for connecting radio with an antenna. Twistport has two essential advantages. First, because it is a Waveguide connector, Twistport introduces practically zero loss into the system. Now this is very important for achieving excellent RF performance. And second, Twistport combines radio mounting and RF connection into a single easy-to-use interface. It is extremely easy to use and safe to operate. Twistport is not only RF connection between the radio and the antenna, but also mounts the radio on the antenna and at the same time. When you insert and twist the radio, it locks automatically and stays mounted. And unlocking is equally easy. Twisting the outer locking ring, the radio is released and the movement can be reversed. We will first have a look at the RF properties of Twistport to gain the understanding why it performs so well and what are all its advantages. Twistport is based on a Waveguide, which is a structure that guides electromagnetic waves from point A to point B. And pretty much like any cable, it restricts the wave propagation to one dimension, making it an efficient tool for transfer of the radio waves. And it is essentially an air-filled metal tube. Even the Waveguide is a type of transmission line like any other cable. The difference is it only has one conductor. The hollow tube itself guides the harmonic signals, like the one shown on the bottom of the animation. And the signal is called harmonic because of its shape. Cutoff frequency of a Waveguide is a frequency at which the RF signal starts to travel freely through the Waveguide. Now if the frequency of the signal is lower than the cutoff frequency, the wave fully reflects and nothing is traveling through the Waveguide. Now as soon as the frequency of the feeding signal is higher than the cutoff, the wave can travel through the Waveguide freely. The dimensions of Waveguide dictate what the cutoff frequency is going to be. In case of circular Waveguide, it is its diameter. Now when the size of the diameter increases, the cutoff frequency decreases. And vice versa, the smaller the Waveguide diameter is, the higher the cutoff of the Waveguide is. As we've pretty much all the things in the world of RF engineering, the frequency and the physical size are inversely proportional. So if one gets bigger, the other gets smaller. The cutoff frequency can be calculated exactly from the equations that describe how the wave travels inside the Waveguide. We can also calculate how the fields are distributed inside the Waveguide. It all starts with famous Maxwell's equations, which describe how the electric and magnetic fields are created and how they relate to each other. If an electromagnetic wave does not propagate through the space but inside the Waveguide, we say that the Waveguide creates so-called boundary conditions. And these boundary conditions can be transformed into mathematical equations and inserted into Maxwell's equations. Now after some complicated math, we get the solution to Maxwell's equations that describes the distribution of the fields inside the Waveguide and the conditions that have to be fulfilled for these fields to exist. The fields inside the Waveguide can be visualized in many ways, which helps us understand and analyze how the electromagnetic wave travels through the Waveguide. Now in this example, we show the electric field component. Now when we look at the fields in the Waveguide cross-section or in other words, when we're looking from the front, we call this field distribution a mode. Now it is a pattern that is periodically repeated. The color of the field says how strong the fields are at each point. We can also plot the magnetic field component separately. Now with circular Waveguide, they look quite similar, but in general it is not the case with other types of Waveguide. Also the mode looks quite similar to the electric one on the previous slide. At cutoff frequency, the signal starts to travel in the Waveguide and its field only has one mode. So let's call that M1. Now this mode is well understood and we know how the Waveguide behaves when it's operated in the first mode. So the devices based on the Waveguide operating in the mode M1 are also reliable and well understood. As we keep increasing the frequency, we encounter another cutoff frequency and another and so on. Now at each of these cutoffs, a new mode different from the previous one starts to propagate and combines with all the previous ones creating the resulting patterns you can see on the animation. So depending on the frequency of the feeding signal, multiple modes can exist in the Waveguide at the same time and they mix and create particular field distributions. Now any mode above M1 is called higher order mode and besides creating different resulting field pattern they also we could say suck the energy from the first mode. So the total energy of the RF signal is divided between all the existing modes. All the higher order modes are usually undesirable because the devices based on Waveguide work reliably and predictably when only the first mode exists. Because the unwanted higher order modes, the useful bandwidth of a Waveguide is limited. It's called a single mode bandwidth and it is determined by two frequencies. So first is the cutoff frequency FC of the first mode M1 at the lower frequency end and second is the cutoff frequency FC2 of the mode M2 at the higher frequency end. Now because of the unpredictable behavior for most practical applications the bandwidth of the Waveguide is limited to these two frequencies or between these two frequencies to be more precise. Now both of these frequencies can be precisely calculated so it's quite easy to determine the single mode bandwidth. If we take an example of twist port with radius of 18.3 millimeters the cutoff frequency of the first mode is at 4.8 gigahertz. As we increase the frequency additional modes start to exist in the Waveguide and note that in general the cutoff frequencies of the modes are not equally distant. So even though the cutoff frequency is 4.8 gigahertz there is a certain transition bandwidth so in result the Waveguide behaves well approximately above 5.1 gigahertz so there is this almost 300 megahertz bandwidth in which the Waveguide is in so-called transition. The second mode starts to propagate at 6.3 gigahertz so the bandwidth of operation of the twist port Waveguide is therefore around 1.5 gigahertz. Waveguides can have various shapes as you can see from the sketches of the Waveguide cross sections. The most common are the rectangular ones and circular. Now each of the different shapes has certain advantage like increased single mode bandwidth or better power handling capability but obviously at the expense of increased complexity and price the shapes of the Waveguides get more intricate. Simplest of the Waveguides is a straight section Waveguide. This one is for very high frequencies which you can see from comparing the size of the screw holes at the edge of the flange to the sides of the Waveguide hole in the middle. And here is a straight section of a rectangular Waveguide which is one of the most common types of Waveguides you can find in the practice. Because Waveguide is made of solid metal the number of connecting and interconnecting parts is limited. So here is an example of a 90 degree bend to help routing the Waveguide in complex environments. All the Waveguide is completely rigid structure. More complex networks are still feasible as well. Here you can see a fitting network for an antenna array as an example of more complicated Waveguide structures. And this is how a device based on Waveguide technology looks like. There is quite a few rectangular Waveguide sections ending with a small horn antennas and in between these there are parts of the device such as amplifier filters and so on. You can see that they hear these devices between the grey pipes which are the Waveguides. Coaxial cable or pigtail is also a structure that guides electromagnetic waves. Now since this type of transmission line is the one that wasps use the most often it makes sense to do a little comparison of the coaxial and Waveguide technology. The main difference between coaxial cable and Waveguide is that coaxial cable works from zero frequency so it has no cut off like the Waveguide and it has two conductors so the center and the outer conductor which fundamentally changes the way the transmission line behaves. Here is a last comparison of different types of coaxial cables and Waveguides. So the red lines represent different types of coaxial cable and the black lines represent types of Waveguides. The smallest loss of the coaxial cable starts somewhere at 1 decibel per 100 feet and that is at the lowest frequency of 0.1 gigahertz. So when we compare Waveguide and coaxial cable at let's say 10 gigahertz for example it is obvious that there is a huge difference in loss between the coaxial cable and the Waveguide. Overall we can tell that Waveguide has orders of magnitude smaller loss than coaxial cable. For example looking at the WC281 at 10 gigahertz it has approximately 0.2 decibels per 100 feet loss where the best coaxial cable has around 30 decibels per 100 feet loss. So whenever you need extremely low loss Waveguide is simply a must. Coaxial cable is most commonly pretty flexible which is its advantage and gives users the freedom not to worry too much when setting up a site because you can always bend the cable as you need or wrap it into a bundle and attach to a tower. But there is also something called semi-rigid coaxial cable which is somewhat rigid but you can still bend the cable in a few times as you need when you're installing it. The reward for the rigidity is more reliable, stable performance and lower loss compared to the flexible option. But it definitely doesn't last as long. You can't keep bending it forever over and over. The manufacturers usually recommend like one or two bends at most and then you should just leave it as is otherwise but the outer shell will start breaking and that will deteriorate the cable altogether. Also Waveguide can be flexible in a similar fashion as the semi-rigid coaxial cable but it is more expensive than the rigid Waveguide. The flexible Waveguide only makes economical sense with frequencies approximately above 5 GHz because below this frequency the size of the Waveguide just makes it too expensive for a common everyday application. The flexible Waveguide has a few disadvantages compared to the rigid one. So like higher loss for example and it's also relatively fragile. It has a lower power handling capability but overall in the case there is no way around it and you need that bit of flexibility. It's a very good option. For more practical applications the rigid Waveguide is preferred because of the price and better properties altogether. At frequencies below 1 GHz the coaxial cable is more practical. Its size is still easily manageable and it performs fairly well. So Waveguide on the other hand is enormous at low frequencies as you can see from the example shown. Also its single mode bandwidth is rather small. In this case 130 MHz compared to coaxial and its price is much higher. The only applications where this size Waveguide is justifiable are high power radars where every bit of the energy is important for successful operation of the device. As the frequency increases the dimensions of the Waveguide are shrinking. As shown at this example at 18 GHz the size of the Waveguide is already comparable to the coaxial working in the similar band. Regarding the bandwidth they perform similarly but Waveguide has 7 times smaller loss than coaxial cable. So for applications at very high frequencies Waveguide is pretty much the only option because coaxial cable is just too lossy. In terms of power handling the difference between coaxial and Waveguide is even bigger. So while Waveguide can handle hundreds to thousands of megawatts of power coaxial cable can handle 0.01 megawatt at best. So that is 4 orders of magnitude difference. So now you understand that Waveguide is simply a must for high power applications since it just can take so much more than any coaxial cable out there. In terms of parts availability coaxial technology is very accessible because many mass consumption devices are built on coaxial technology. Various interconnects and simple devices became widely available. At low frequencies approximately below 1 GHz the parts are cheap and abundant but the higher in frequency you go the loss is increasingly limiting the application of coaxial technology. Because Waveguide is a solid metal and therefore takes more material to manufacture the available parts are usually more expensive below 1 GHz because of its sheer size of the Waveguide. As the frequency grows though the size of the Waveguide is becoming more manageable and manageable so there are many interconnects and parts to work with. Although traditionally Waveguide was restricted to military, industrial or scientific applications mainly because of the price it is possible to develop manufacturing processes such that the Waveguide can also be inexpensive. Now here is a summary of the comparison of the Waveguide and coaxial technology. Waveguide is superior to coaxial in pretty much all aspects except the mechanical flexibility obviously because most of the Waveguides are solid metal and the traditionally higher price but again as we at RF Elements are proving the price of the Waveguide can be also made reasonable. So coaxial technology is suitable mainly for low frequencies. Let's have a look at the mechanical properties of Twistport connector to get the full understanding of what makes it exceptional. The mechanics of Twistport are very easy to grasp. Now those of you who already use our antennas know that firsthand. Simple insert and twist movement and the radio is connected. As any other connector also Twistport has male and the female part so the male part is on the side of the radio and the female part is on the side of the antenna. The core of the simplicity of installation is in a way the male and the female part lock together so let's have a detailed look at exactly that. The locking mechanism of Twistport is a true quick locking mechanism so when the male part is inserted the plastic wings are pushed out of their default position and as you progressively twist the male part the wings gradually flex back into the default position which locks the male part in place. So the radio is installed and mounted at the same time. Now the outer ring is shaped to push the plastic wings up again as it rotates counterclockwise so the reverse movement releases the male part from the locked position and you can reverse the installation movement and disconnect the radio very easily. There is also a security screw which if used it ensures that you cannot uninstall the radio without a screwdriver needed to release the screw. Twistport connection is very secure thanks to a four-point locking mechanism. Now this ensures that there is no chance of accidental releasing or any uncertainty about a connection. It is very firm and stable with absolutely zero chance of disconnecting under normal conditions. Mechanical stability of the Twistport is incredibly high. Now even after many repetitions of connecting and disconnecting the Twistport stays fully functional with no sign of change to the security of the connection so Twistport lifecycle is simply extremely long. For stable and reliable operation of Wisp networks it is important to have gear that can withstand the environmental influences but not only that it also needs to have stable performance at the same time. So precise manufacturing and high quality materials the Twistport is made of perfectly isolate the R of environment from the outside world. So Twistport resists any climate and weather related conditions while it maintains reliable and stable near-zero loss operation. So it doesn't really matter whether you're in hot, cold, rainy, dust or humid conditions. Now Twistport connector is made to last. Thanks to the circular shape of the waveguide Twistport connector is rotationally symmetric. So if situation demands it you can rotate the male Twistport part in 90 degree steps to any position that works best for you. So if there is a structural obstruction at the site you have three other positions to choose from. As we said, Twistport as any other connector has male and female part. So let's now have a closer look at the male part on the side of a radio. In our reference radio design from 2014 we completely removed the coaxial cables between the radio and an antenna and integrated the transition between them directly into the PCB of the radio. Now this change enabled near-zero loss of power when it travels from the radio to the antenna because as we know by now the waveguide technology has very low loss which is practically not measurable. This reference radio design is a solution with integrated waveguide technology and Twistport connector for simple and effortless connection. Since there are many popular third-party radios which use coaxial connectors at the radio output we developed a solution which enables them to be used with our Twistport antennas. So the Twistport adapter converts the coaxial interface on the side of the radio into a male interface which... male Twistport interface which you can easily use with any of our antennas. So looking under the hood of the Twistport adapter you can see that there is a pair of semi-rigid coaxial cables feeding the male waveguide part of the Twistport connector. All this is fixed in a plastic body that fits the form factor of a given radio. Since the semi-rigid cables are of high quality and we have full control over the manufacturing process of the adapters, the loss they might introduce is minimized and their performance does not deteriorate with time simply because under normal conditions users do not need to handle the cables at all. So there is no need to screw anything in and out repeatedly over and over. So these cables do not go through your normal wear and tear process and last much longer than your common pigtail. The radio is installed by simply being pushed into the adapter until you hear a distinct click sound. Undeniably one of the big advantages of the Twistport environment is the simplicity of installation. So insert, twist and that's it. Done with one hand. Radio is installed in a matter of few seconds with absolutely no tools required. This is especially important for the tower techs. The less time they spend climbing the tower the safer they are. This is exactly the requirement we had in mind when designing Twistport. By minimizing the time needed to install the radio we helped improve the safety conditions for the tower techs. Sometimes it is unclear to our customers whether they need to buy a new adapter for every new or different RF elements antenna working at 5 GHz. The answer is no in both cases. So the size of the Twistport is the same among all antennas we already have and all the future antennas we might come up with as well. This very fact protects your investment into the Twistport antennas. The backward and forward compatibility ensures you can use our antennas with different radio platforms. So if you decide you need to switch to a different radio vendor you do not need to throw the antennas away. Simply change the adapter to fit the radio you want to use and keep using the antennas you already have. No need to buy new ones as you migrate your network to a different radio platform. Here is a list of our Twistport enabled antennas just to give you a complete information. So the top row shows all symmetrical horn sectors with gain ranging between 10 and 18.5 dBi and the beam widths from 90 to 30° respectively and that's going from left to right. The second row shows the asymmetrical horn sectors with gain between 16 and 20.5 dBi and the beam widths of 90, 60, 30 and 20° again from left to right. And the same row is ultra horn for point to point or narrow sector applications with 15° beam width and 24° dBi gain and ultra dish series with 24 and 27 dBi gain and 11 and 8° beam width. On the bottom are Twistport adapters for ubiquity, microtik, cambium and mimosa radios. If you're not using any of these popular radio platforms we have a Twistport adapter SMA in the right lower corner. So the Twistport adapter, the TPA SMA has a pair of RP-SMA connectors so you can connect any radio you have. Whenever we believe that something makes sense because it's good for our customers we are not afraid to introduce completely new ideas to the Wisp industry which is the case with the Twistport as well. This is why we are open to collaboration with other vendors and manufacturers and are happy to support them with integration of Twistport interface if they're interested. At our developments we address the problem of RF noise by changing the paradigm of fixed wireless. We are setting new industry standard for RF performance, noise rejection and system scalability. If you visit our YouTube channel you can find a playlist called Wisp Traveler where there's a bunch of videos where we interview our customers and we are asking them what are their experiences with our technology. So of course I can be talking for a long time about how great our technology is but the testimonial from your colleagues from your peers is probably more convincing than anything else so I invite you to check these testimonials by yourselves. On our YouTube channel you can also find Inside Wireless playlist and that's a series of short educational videos where we talk about all things RF to help our customers to understand the concepts and ideas in the world of RF to be able to make better decisions for themselves and for their business. We also have rfelab.com which is an online forum where you can register and you can ask any questions so that's its primary function and secondary you can also find a lot of recordings of webinars such as this one and other customer testimonials we also announce any events that we're taking part in or you can simply search through the questions which are already there if there is something that's unclear about our products. Thank you for your attention and with this last slide I would just conclude that you can find us on all the major social media networks and we're looking forward to getting in touch with you whenever you want. Thank you and have a nice day.