Terms to Know

Gain (in dBi)

This describes the efficiency of converting input power into radio waves going in a particular direction. This ranges from about 1.5-3.0 dBi for omnidirectionals, while anything greater than 5 dbi is considered a directional antenna. For dishes: operating in higher-frequency bands (S, X, K) and having a larger diameter both improve gain while decreasing beamwidth (angle).

Transmitter power

This depends wholly on the selected "Transmit Power (dBm)" slider, and represents how much signal is actually going into space. Whether another antenna is in theoretical range of you depends on gain, transmitter power, and possibly receiver temperature (currently not implemented).

Power (Idle)

This is your idling power consumption: the antenna always draws this much power for electronics and the receiver, etc.

Power (Active)

This is your active power consumption, which is the power when actively transmitting data. This linearly scales with transmitter power, and goes down as tech level improves. Active power consumption minus transmitter power tells you how much electricity is being wasted by inefficiencies in antenna design.

Planning Result

Gives bandwidth in the selected conditions. This is how many bytes of data can be downlinked to a ground station at ideal alignment, and is the same concept as your Internet bandwidth. For Earth, you get to select a planning altitude (in Mm); the Moon is at about 400 Mm. For other planets, you just see a max and min, referring to bandwidth at closest Earth-body approach, and bandwidth at their most distant. This is going to vary most substantially for Mars and Venus.