These are all the files in the
RFWB_DOSBox [unzip into Program Files (x86) folder].zip
file. Unzip the entire folder into your "Windows\Program Files (x86)" folder.
Double-click on the RFWB-DOSBox-Launch shortcut link (.lnk) shown highlighted
above.
Here is the
DOSBox webpage.
Quick Tips:
* Close menus and dialog boxes with ESC or right-click mouse.
*
Close RFWB using the "Misc/Exit" menu selection.
* Leave
DOSBox window without closing it by pressing the Windows keyboard key.
*
Close the DOSBox window by typing "Exit" and then hitting the Enter key.
I created RF Workbench back in
the early 1990s, before Windows dominated personal computers. Over about two years
of coding every night and weekend, I alone wrote every line of Turbo Pascal code.
It included features not found in the vast majority of DOS programs, including a
fully graphical user interface, drop-down menus, movable windows, extensive error
trapping, 3-D graphs, and detailed Help screens. I even wrote the mouse and printer
drivers because none were available to me at the time (dial-up bulletin boards were
the only resources then - no Internet). My printer driver created true pixel-type
outputs even on an old non-graphical pin printer.
Please download the new combination
RF Workbook + DOSBox file set to see how far in front of the technology
I was back in the day.
Alas, Windows became the standard by around 1995, and even though 16-bit programs
would run in 32-bit Windows, people had moved on from DOS software. Now, the 64-bit
version of Windows won't even run a 16-bit program - except within a DOS emulator.
That is exactly what DOSBox is, and it does a fine job.
Many times over the succeeding decades I have started work on porting the DOS code
into Windows, but just don't have the time. Teaching an old dog new tricks is famously
hard, and now this old dog is 65 years old, so it will probably never get done.
That's why I have been looking for a way to resurrect RF Workbench so its unique
features can be enjoyed by everyone. A list of capabilities
is shown below.
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Click an icon to download RF Workbench only after you have read and
agreed to the Shareware terms.
Please be sure you are ordering the correct software:
Refunds Will Not Be Issued
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RF Workbench
Shareware Contribution
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| NOTE: If you have Microsoft Excel, then you might be better
off using RF
Cascade Workbook for the cascade calculations and the filter responses. The
results are the same, but the convenient spreadsheet format allows you to use an
infinite number or stages all in one file. It does not, however, have the Spur Web
feature for calculating mixer spurious products - for that, use RF Workbench. |
System Requirements:
80386, 2 MB RAM, 1 MB Hard Disk, VGA Color Monitor, Mouse,
Ability to run native 16-bit source code OR you can
use DOSBox emulator (see below - very simple) in 64-bit Windows 10.
System Screen Spur Web© Screen Planning Screen
Here is an announcement for Tx/Rx Designer (the
original for-sale name of the RF Workbench Shareware) in the August
1995 issue of the ARRL's QST magazine. RF Workbench was originally
copyrighted with the USPTO under the name Tx/Rx Designer on 11/28/1994.
The "Spur Web" moniker is part of the copyright.
Click here for
FAQ about RF Workbench
Click here
if you are experiencing installation problems
Click here for example files
referenced in the Manual
| Component Models |
- Gain Blocks: Gain/Loss, NF, IP2, IP3, P1dB, TC.
- Mixers: Conv Loss/Gain, NF, IP2, IP3, P1dB, TC, LO Pwr, RF Pwr, Single-Tone
9x9 Spur Table (loadable from file).
- Filters: fC, BW, fU, fL, N, IL/Gain, Ripple, NF, IP2, IP3, P1dB, TC; {Ideal,
Butter, Cheby, Bessel}. Calculates effective noise BW. Calculates 3dB BW for Cheby.
- Input: Linear sweep or data file.
- LO: Fund Pwr, 2nd Harm Pwr, fC, BW, fU, fL, Fixed/Tracking.
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| Graph Screen |
- Plots of amplitude and group delay versus frequency.
- Dynamic cursor readout.
- Absolute and relative cursor readout modes.
- Auto or manual scaling of axis limits.
- Scale zoom with mouse.
- Customize plot colors and which plots to view.
- View a table of calculated values in a window.
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| Spur Web Screen |
- Unique graphical search method for simple frequency plan determination.
- Tracking and fixed LO models accommodated.
- Specify harmonic range to search.
- Customize in-band and out-of-band colors.
- In-band spur products listed in table with labels placed on plot.
- Open spur level calculation window for exact frequency and amplitude.
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| Planning Screen |
- Up to five stages on one screen.
- 3-dimensional frequency plan graph with dynamic cursor readout.
- Two modes: (1) You enter stage parameters and let RF Workbench calculate input/output
results or (2) You enter the stage inputs/outputs and let RF Workbench calculate
the worst case requirements for each stage that will ensure meeting system specifications.
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| Auxiliary Windows |
- Cascade Parameter Graph: A 3-D view of how the gain, NF, etc., propagate through
the system at each component output.
- TX/RX Path Budget: Enter transmitter, antenna, free space path, and receiver
parameters to calculate power level, SNR, NF, etc. at receiver output.
- Dynamic Range: Calculate SNR, dynamic range, spurious-free DR, noise power,
etc.
- I/O Conversion: Convert component parameters from input to output, and vice
versa.
- Spur Calculation: Calculate amplitude and frequency values for spur products
that include mixer suppression, system gains/losses, and filter responses.
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Note: RF Workbench WILL
NOT run in any 64-bit version of Windows without an emulator! If you do not use
the above method for launching the program, you can still do it the hard way.
Fortunately, DOSBox (free) will allow a DOS screen
capture of any RF Workbench screen! It also fixes "The NTVDM CPU has encountered
an illegal instruction," errors.
When unzipping "rfwb40b.zip", be sure to select the option to re-create the subdirectories.;
Thanks to Mr. Ted Bruce for discovering this method!
RF Workbench is included in many collections of engineering software, including
the Engineering 2000 CD
See where RF Workbench (formerly TxRx Designer) is credited
here
in an article by Harold H. Kinley, C.E.T.
Posted September 25, 2023
(updated from original
post on 5/22/2002)
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