High-frequency engineers involved in communications systems design may find useful reading in a new white paper announced by Applied Wave Research . The white paper explains how the firm's Visual System Simulator (VSS) software suite is ideal for the design and optimization of communications systems. The software helps save prototyping steps by using accurate models to predict the performance of a system based on components with assigned parameter values. The software suite can also directly import data from spreadsheets to make the most efficient use of design information already developed for a communications system. The white paper is available for free download in PDF form at the AWR web site.