RF resources
NetPoint knowledge base
RF fundamentals to help you understand wireless backhaul. What causes interference on a PtP link? Why use slant polarization? How do you keep water out of your antennas?
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RF articles
RF blog
Practical guides for WISPs, integrators, and backhaul operators
4 min read
How to properly align a NetPoint antenna
Installation — Understand the main lobe, null signal and secondary lobes to align NetPoint antennas without losing signal. To correctly align a NetPoint…
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Why We Use a 45° Slant Installation for NetPoint CPEs in PMP Networks
Why 45° in PMP?
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How can I optimize my Fresnel zone in a radio link?
Planning — Correct antenna height, obstacles and orientation are essential to minimize problems in the Fresnel zone. Check the height of the antennas: at…
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What are the best parameters for a good radio link?
Operations — Speed, latency, reliability and signal are the key parameters to evaluate the quality of an Internet radio link. The parameters that are…
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Why is it difficult to make a radio link at sea level?
Planning — Reflection on water, climate, obstacles and access complicate maritime links; Height and radome help mitigate them. There are several factors…
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How can I prevent water from getting into my antennas?
Installation — Radome, sealing of connectors from the feeder and periodic maintenance prevent water failures in antennas. Regarding antenna maintenance: one…
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What is beam width?
RF Concepts — Beamwidth is the angle at which a satellite dish emits or receives RF; A narrower beam concentrates energy and reduces interference. The…
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What is the slant used for in antennas?
Installation — The slant describes the inclination of the feed with respect to the dish and allows adjustment of gain, direction and quality of the RF…
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What are the causes of interference in a backhaul link?
Operations — Close links, obstacles, EMI, equipment failures, and even wildlife can degrade a backhaul; The climate also affects. There are always many…
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Can shielded antennas reduce electromagnetic interference?
RF Concepts — Yes: Shielded antennas like NPXGEN3 use conductive material around the dish to block external EMI. Yes, shielded antennas like the NPXGEN3 can…
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What influences the gain of an antenna?
RF Concepts — Geometry, frequency, polarization, wavelength and efficiency determine how much energy an antenna concentrates. The gain of an antenna refers…
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How do NetPoint antennas work?
RF Concepts — A reflecting parabola and feed horn at the focus concentrate the RF into a point-to-point directional beam. A satellite dish antenna is a type…
Read moreWhy optimize an NPGEN2 or NPTR antenna with armor or shield?
Installation — Installation — A conductive shield reduces external EMI/RFI, but must be well calculated to avoid losing gain. Yes, it is possible to…
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What is front to back?
RF Concepts — The front-to-back ratio (dB) indicates how much gain there is in the front versus the rear; a high F/B rejects subsequent interference.…
Read moreWhat is TDMA?
RF Concepts — TDMA divides transmission time into segments so that multiple users share the same spectrum, such as Mimosa radios. That is why the engineer…
Read moreWhat are the steps to become a WISP?
Planning — Business plan, license, equipment, design, installation, testing, marketing and support: the path to operating a WISP. Becoming a wireless…
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Why is link availability measured on a radio link?
Operations — Signal strength, SNR, SQI, BER and latency allow you to evaluate availability and detect performance problems. Link availability on a radio…
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What are the most common antenna alignment techniques?
Installation — From visual alignment to automated software: methods for correctly pointing a point-to-point link. There are several antenna alignment…
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How to make a hybrid wireless and fiber backhaul link?
Planning — Combine wireless NetPoint (e.g. NPXGEN3) with fiber: selection, installation and coordinated configuration of both sections. A hybrid wireless…
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What are DFS frequencies?
Operations — DFS avoids interfering with radars on 5 GHz by detecting signals and emptying the channel; DFS channels vary by country. DFS (Dynamic Frequency…
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Why should a robust telecom installation be made?
Installation — Durability, reliability, security, efficiency and scalability: a robust installation reduces failures and costs. There are several reasons…
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Factors and losses without adequate equipment or maintenance
Operations — Inadequate equipment and lack of preventive maintenance cause EMI, signal loss, failures and unsafety. A radio link that is not equipped with…
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How is a jumper damaged?
Installation — Heat, repeated bending and chemicals degrade an RF jumper's conductor, insulation and connectors. A jumper can be damaged in several ways,…
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What is the MCS index?
RF Concepts — MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) indicates the data rate and modulation/coding complexity in a channel. The MCS index, or Modulation and…
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What is CINR (dB)?
Operations — Operations — CINR measures the ratio of useful signal to noise plus interference; in Mimosa adjusts the transmission rate. CINR stands for……
Read morePTP vs PtMP in WISP networks: when to use each architecture
Planning — Practical differences between point-to-point backhaul and point-to-multipoint access, and how to choose NetPoint antennas for each case. In a…
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5 GHz and 6 GHz bands for WISP: noise, DFS, and migration
RF Concepts — How to think about saturated 5 GHz vs 6 GHz (UNII-5/7 and related) when planning backhaul, and which NetPoint families fit each band. 5 GHz…
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NetPoint antenna compatibility with Ubiquiti and MikroTik
Installation — What “compatible” means in practice: mounting, slant polarization, pigtails, and performance expectations with Ubiquiti or MikroTik radios.…
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Rain fade and basic link budget for WISP links
Planning — How to leave margin for rain, cable loss, and availability without magic formulas: steps every operator should review. A simple link budget adds:…
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Choosing dish vs sector in a WISP deployment
Planning — Clear criteria: distance, customer density, interference, and link role (backhaul vs access). Dish (high-gain parabolic): for PTP or distant…
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WISP backhaul in high noise: shielding and discrimination
Operations — Why F/B, shielding, and alignment matter more than “more dBi” when spectrum is saturated. On shared towers, more dBi without discrimination can…
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