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Friday 30
 "Today, together with its industry partners, the
Government of Canada and the provincial governments of Ontario and Quebec, Thales Canada
announced its $25M investment in
ENCQOR, a $400M public-private partnership in ultra-high-speed communications
infrastructure that will focus on research and innovation. ENCQOR brings together governments,
small and medium businesses, and academia to link research facilities and laboratories
across Eastern Canada to collaborate on 5G technology ..."
 "The
semiconductor industry closed out 2017 in blockbuster fashion, posting
the highest year-over-year growth in 14 years, reports IHS Markit. Semiconductor revenue
grew 21.7%, reaching $429.1 billion. Recording year-over-year growth of 53.6%, and its
highest semiconductor revenue ever, Samsung replaced Intel as the new market leader of
the semiconductor industry in 2017. Intel was followed by Hynix, in third position. Among
the top 20 semiconductor suppliers, Hynix and Micron enjoyed the largest year-over-year
revenue growth ..."
 If you think the title of this piece has anything
to do with the story, think again, or at least as far as I can reckon. Keeping in mind
that this mini-novel appeared in the
April 1933
issue of QST magazine, wherewith the past couple days of Fools' pieces accompanied
it, I read with caution. The image of Queen Elizabeth cradling a vacuum valve (not tube!)
under her arm like a rugby football (to continue the Eurocentric theme) in the comic
certainly grabs one's attention, as do the "250-watter lights" on the the royal bathroom
wall. You need to switch into a early twentieth ...
 Skyworks Solutions is pleased to announce that
it has become a member of
ETSI, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute - an independent,
non-profit organization that establishes global standards for telecommunications, broadcasting
and other electronic communication networks and services. ETSI is a key channel through
which the 3GPP organization submits contributions for 5G requirements. Membership is
comprised of over 800 organizations from more than 60 countries across five continents ...
 "Out-of-control Chinese space station,
Tiangong-1, is predicted to reenter Earth's atmosphere at 6:33 am
ET on Easter Sunday. The space craft is carrying highly toxic chemicals and could crash
into a number of highly populated areas, researchers claim. Areas that could be hit include
New York, Barcelona, Beijing, Chicago, Istanbul, Rome and Toronto. When the station does
eventually enter the atmosphere it could unleash a 'series of fireballs' that will be
seen by observers. Scientists still do not yet know where the satellite fragments are
likely to land ..."
 "A new experimental proton battery is capable
of achieving a promising energy density on par with commercially available lithium ion
batteries. A traditional
proton exchange membrane (PEM) hydrogen fuel cells uses platinum
catalysts to combine gaseous hydrogen and oxygen from the atmosphere to produce electricity,
water vapor, and heat. Producing, transporting, and storing hydrogen gas, however, have
proven to be speed bumps on the road to adoption of fuel cells in the mainstream transportation
sector. RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia has announced a new a 'proton battery'
that eliminates ..."
Thursday 29
 Rohde & Schwarz is offering a free
Worldwide Spectrum Allocations Poster to the first 250 people who
request it. You'd better hurry because they won't last long ...
 "Boeing announced its investment in Adelaide,
Australia-based Myriota, an Internet of Things (IoT) startup seeking to revolutionize
satellite communications by providing low-cost access to high-value data in remote locations.
Myriota developed technology enabling two-way communications between ground-based micro-transmitters
and low Earth orbit (LEO)
nanosatellites to securely share data over narrow bandwidths. This
direct-to-orbit platform enables applications across the logistics, defense, utilities,
agricultural, environmental and maritime ..."
 "Edith Clarke was the world's first female electrical engineer and
Professor of Electrical Engineering. Her trailblazing career has long been an inspiration
for young women. Edith Clarke was the world's first female electrical engineer. She later
became the first female Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Texas
in Austin. Edith specialized in electrical power system analysis and later wrote the
seminal book Circuit Analysis of A-C Power Systems. Born in February of 1883 she
would lead a stellar career breaking many firsts for women the electrical engineering
community ..."
 The September 1932 issue of Radio Craft
contained an article titled, "Radio a la Cortlandt Street!," the original "Radio
Row" located at the corner of Cortlandt and Washington Streets in Manhattan. It was
a mecca of new and used electronics components and assemblies. After World War II
there was a huge supply of surplus parts and equipment made available to the public as
a means to clear out inventory and also as a "thank you" to the citizens who voluntarily
donated critically needed panel meters, tuning capacitors, connectors, and other items
to the War Department. That really helped the market boom. Post-war ...
 Please
take a few moments to visit the
everythingRF website to see how they can assist you with your project.
everythingRF is a product discovery platform for RF and
 microwave
products and services. They currently have 213,080 products from more than 1090 companies
across 267 categories in our database and enable engineers to search for them using their
customized parametric search tool ...
 Moral standards seem to rigidly obey the second
law of thermodynamics, which states that entropy (disorder) increases in a closed system.
Most people would say society is more rude and corrupt today than in days gone by - count
me among them. However, believing so does not obviate or excuse acts of deviance in the
past. Indeed, even esteemed organizations like the
ARRL seems to have been guilty of promoting dishonest acts. To wit, consider this
offer appearing in the "Strayed" column of the April 1933 issue of QST magazine,
"For Sale: QSL Cards of any country. Win your WAC ..."
 "This video is part of a series of video clips
make while on my way to watch Mad Mike Hughes launch his steam-powered Flat Earth rocket on March
24th, 2018. I first met 'Mad Mike' and his friend 'Pioneer Pat' back in 2017 during one
of Mike's first launch attempts. I decided to ride my motorcycle out to the desert to
root him on for today's planned launch. Go Mike!!! The launch was a perfect success!!
1872 feet! Mike's hurt, but he will be alright. This was one of the most interesting
and moving <video>"
Wednesday 28
 High quality
test equipment (TE) typically costs more than the knockoff stuff, but a lot more
of the former is still around in regular use compared to the latter. The retained value
of vintage TE can be quantitatively measured on eBay - as can most things for that matter.
An item is worth what the market will bear. Hewlett Packard (HP), Tektronix, Bird, Simpson,
B&K, Triplett, even Heathkit, typically sell for often surprisingly high prices when
in working order. Accordingly, a lot of people are looking for specifications on the
older equipment as well as schematics and alignment manuals. A Google search almost always ...
 IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) just released
a tutorial titled, "Recent Progress and Future Evolution of Massive MIMO for cm-wave and
mm-wave Bands" - sponsored by R&S. "Massive MIMO is considered as the main game-changing
technology from 4G to 5G. The benefits brought by Massive MIMO in terms of capacity and
coverage are key enablers towards significant spectral efficient enhancements in cm-wave
bands and the effective utilization of mm-wave bands for mobile communications. In recent
years, major advances have been made by mobile vendors in order to bring Massive MIMO
to reality ...
 "Forty-five unmanned aerial vehicles and drones
fell out of the sky during a U.S. Army exercise after Raytheon's advanced
high-power microwave and laser dune buggy engaged and destroyed them.
These common threats were knocked down during a Maneuver Fires Integrated Experiment
at the U.S. Army Fires Center of Excellence. The event, known as MFIX, brought military
and industry leaders together to demonstrate ways to bridge the Army's capability gaps
in long-range fires and maneuver short-range air defense ..."
 QST, the American Radio Relay League's
flagship monthly publication, has been around since December of 1915. It has for decades
included
Fools'
articles in the April editions, as do many other magazines. Each year I peruse April
issues with a bit of trepidation for fear that I will not be savvy enough to spot the
phony article. Usually there is some aspect that is clearly not right, thereby giving
up the scam. This year's April QST arrived a week ago and a quick scan has not revealed
to me anything suspicious. Maybe this one requires the knowledge of a seasoned, practicing
Ham for detection; book knowledge alone might not cut it this time ...
 It
is fairly rare anymore to see dogs running loose in the neighborhood - unlike 40+ years
ago when I had a paper route and was harassed daily by rogue curs. Some municipalities
will fine or arrest you if your dog leaves your property unattended. Lawsuits have ensued
over Rover marking his assumed territory on someone's car tire. For the safety of both
your dog and your neighbors, train him/her to remain within the confines of your yard.
Both
wireless (far field) and
wired (near field) systems have been used extensively and successfully
to help with training, and do not harm your dog.
 "Scientists from IDLab, a core IMEC research group
embedded in the universities of Ghent and Antwerp, are working on an innovative system
for wireless networks to enable smooth communication even in crisis situations. The project
recently received $750k from DARPA, the American
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, through the DARPA Grand
Challenge. The prestigious DARPA challenges are global competitions in which teams of
researchers work around a specific theme to overcome a problem that affects the entire
world ..."
Tuesday 27
 "Researchers from the MIT, Harvard and the Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory have announced that they have created an exotic new material
as 'kagome metal.' This is an electrically conductive crystal consisting
of layers of iron and tin atoms arranged in a kagome lattice pattern. Kagome is derived
from traditional Japanese basket-making techniques. The kagome pattern consists of interlaced,
symmetrical triangles arranged in a lattice. Physicists have been fascinated by this
pattern for decades and they ..."
 It's a good thing that ferric chloride does not
turn unstable and explosive after sitting in the dark for many years or I might be in
trouble. My bottle was bought back when Radio Shack was the electronic hobbyists local
source for project parts. There is probably not much demand for either ferric chloride,
FeCl3, or ammonium persulfate, (NH4)2S2O8,
these days since fewer people are making their own printed circuit boards (PCB's) and
there is a host of companies who offer low quantity
PCB fabrication at a good price. However, for those who still engage in home brew
projects and want an alternative to point-to ...
Lou Frenzel - who writes on various topics
du jour - has a short article titled "How
Low (in Frequency) Can You Go?," on the Microwaves & RF website. He
gives a few examples of application of the electromagnetic spectrum bands below 15 MHz.
Among them is the 160/190 kHz band, which is a Part 15 unlicensed region for ISM
applications. It is fairly empty and begging for use. Of course the AM commercial radio
broadcast band still occupies 535-1,705 kHz (I listen there
daily). Also mentioned is the newly salvaged (after the
USAF abandoned it), 33-acre High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) antenna in Alaska.
Per Lou, "HAARP research is not for weather control" --- That's a joke, son ...
 "Scientists from the National Institute of Standards
and Technology as well as John Hopkins University have discovered a powerful phenomenon
that could improve memory and computing devices in a number of ways. This phenomenon
is known as
zero field switching (ZFS). Scientists believe it could be key to
creating smaller, lower-power computing and memory devices than ever before. The phenomenon
begins with a layering of platinum and tungsten over a cobalt-iron-boron magnet. This
is sandwiched between gold electrodes that have been placed ..."
Monday 26
 While I don't agree with everything Elon Musk
says and does, I have a great deal of respect for his technical acumen and willingness
to push the frontiers of technology forward. He has helped to fill the gap in space vehicle
research while NASA concentrated instead on reaching out to a particular religious group.
Musk made electric cars cool. He recently announced his intention to remove SpaceX and
Tesla
Facebook pages after news broke of continued massive data breeches
on the social venue. RF Cafe no longer posts there, either BTW - only on LinkedIn
and on Twitter ...
 "These two technologies have long been hyped,
and proponents of each are finally starting to work together.
Graphene has been heralded as a 'wonder material' for well over a
decade now, and 5G has been marketed as the next big thing for at least the past five
years. Analysts have suggested that 5G could be the golden ticket to virtual reality
and artificial intelligence, and promised that graphene could improve technologies within
electronics and optoelectronics. But proponents of both graphene and 5G have also been
accused of stirring up hype. There now seems to be ..."
 As one who enthusiastically followed the
manned space program from its early days in the 1960's, reading news stories and
magazine articles on new technology and research never ceases to amaze me. When China
or Russia flies the next man to the moon, the level of fanfare will be more focused on
how the U.S. is no longer considered the leader than on how much more improved technology
is and how much lower the risk is. We now have over a million total hours of men living
in space versus a thousand or so in 1969. Semiconductors have totally replaced vacuum
tubes - with vastly better capability and ruggedness. Mechanics and ...
 ConductRF is continually innovating and developing
new and improved solutions for RF Interconnect needs. See the latest
TESTeCON RF Test
Cables for labs. ConductRF makes production and test coax cable assemblies as well
as standard & precision RF connectors. Over 1,000 solutions for low PIM in-building
to choose from in the iBwave component library. They also provide custom coax solutions
for applications where some standard just won't do. Please visit
ConductRF
today to see how they can help your project!
 You might have noticed that since last November
the engineering and science themed daily RF Cafe header images have been much larger
than those which graced the pages in the past. The change was motivated mainly by a desire
to make them more viewable on the tiny screens of mobile phones. It also gave me the
opportunity to include more information. In the process, I took the occasion of being
on each daily
engineering
and technology history page to check on the validity of the long ago included hyperlinks
to pages which validated dates of events. Use Wikipedia was avoided because of the joke-worthy
reputation it had for bogus ...
 "The head of U.S. Strategic Command said the nation
doesn't need a 'Space
Force' right now. 'I think that someday we'll have a Space Corps and Space Force
in this country. But I don't think the time is right for that right now,' STRATCOM's
Commander Gen. John Hyten said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing March
20 to discuss fiscal 2019 budget priorities. Hyten's response followed comments President
Donald Trump made earlier this month in a speech to the military in San Diego ..."
Sunday 25
 Each week, for the sake of all avid cruciverbalists
amongst us, I create a new
technology-themed crossword puzzle using only words from my custom-created lexicon
related to engineering, science, mathematics, chemistry, physics, astronomy, etc. You
will never find among the words names of politicians, mountain ranges, exotic foods or
plants, movie stars, or anything of the sort. You might, however, see someone or something
in the exclusion list who or that is directly related to this puzzle's theme, such as
Hedy Lamar or the Bikini Atoll, respectively
...
Friday 23
 Popular Electronics reader Frederic D.
Barber, Jr., was having none of the newfangled designations for standard
physical units as reported in the April 1966 issue. He, and evidently many others,
was not ready to accept the replacement of terms such as cycles per second (cps) with
Hertz (Hz), or seemingly any other change that included honoring a person by using his/her
name. We don't know whether ...
"The head of U.S. Strategic Command said the nation
doesn't need a 'Space
Force' right now. 'I think that someday we'll have a Space Corps and Space Force
in this country. But I don't think the time is right for that right now,' STRATCOM's
Commander Gen. John Hyten said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing March
20 to discuss fiscal 2019 budget priorities. Hyten's response followed comments President
Donald Trump made earlier this month in a speech to the military in San Diego ..."
 Making format changes to magazines after many years
of an established standard always ruffles the figurative feathers of a significant portion
of regular readers. Two magazines I read monthly, Model Aviation and QST,
recently underwent a format change - both of which I considered very nice. However, reader
comments in the aftermath showed a few who were not impressed. Popular Electronics
magazine in 1966 made announcements regarding plans to adopt some of the newer base units
for physical measurements, including this one for beginning to use "Hertz" (Hz), along
with its various ...
 Three new application notes are available from Rohde &
Schwarz on the topics of: -
Envelope Tracking and Digital Predistortion for RF Amplifiers,
Outphasing -
Envelope and Doherty Transmitter T&M -
Wideband mm−Wave Signal Generation and Analysis.
As always, they can be downloaded at no charge.
 "When he's not on ham radio, Scott Tilley, VE7TIL,
an amateur astronomer, hunts spy satellites. Using an S-band radio from his home in Roberts
Creek, British Columbia, Tilley routinely scans the skies for radio signals from classified
objects orbiting Earth, according to a recent article on Spaceweather.com. Since starting
5 years ago, Tilley has located dozens of secret or unlisted satellites. Earlier this
month, while hunting for ZUMA - an undisclosed US government spacecraft lost in a January
8 launch mishap - when he saw the signature of
IMAGE (Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration) ..."
Thursday 22
 "It defies conventional wisdom about semiconductors.
It's baffling that it even works. It eludes physics models that try to explain it. This
newly tested class of
light-emitting semiconductors is so easy to produce from solution
that it could be painted onto surfaces to light up our future in myriad colors shining
from affordable lasers, LEDs, and even window glass. These materials are very radiant.
The nagging question of whether hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites (HOIPs) could really
work just ..."
 The metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor
(MOSFET)
was patented in its present form by Bell Labs in 1959, following the original patent
by inventor Julius Edgar Lilienfeld, in 1925. It had only been on the open market for
designers to use for a bit over a decade when this article appeared in Popular Electronics.
Adolph Mangieri wrote a number of articles for the magazine in the early 1970s introducing
readers to the many new types of semiconductor devices coming out of research laboratories
and into the commercial marketplace; e.g., "Understanding the Junction Field Effect Transistor."
MOSFET's are nowadays the primary building ...
 Transient Specialists, a leader in electromagnetic
compatibility rentals for over 30 years, announces that they will be offering rentals
of the
NSG 5500 by Teseq this coming May. This compact Automotive immunity transient test
generator allows for testing for to meet standards of ISO, SAE, DIN and JASO, and many
others. Transient Specialists, conveniently located in the mid-west, offers a variety
of EMC test equipment rentals to accommodate your testing needs. Our rentals include
technical support on the equipment, weekly and monthly ...
 Not everyone who visits RF Cafe is a seasoned
hobbyist, technician, or engineer. Some are newcomers to the realm and are in search
of knowledge to educate and encourage them. This 3-volume set of
Encyclopedia of Electronic Components is a contemporary printing
of modern day parts. All standard passive and active types are covered, as are topics
like sensors and human input, audio, heat, light, sound, and much more. A couple hundred
reviewers give the books 4.5 stars ...
 Believe it
or not Radio Shack is still
open for business both online and in some brick and mortar locations. They have some
really good prices on clearance (aka going out of business) parts that you might need.
I just ordered some connector adapters, coin cell batteries, and antenna mount kit for
dirt cheap. Shipping is free for a minimum $39 purchase. Use coupon code RADIO15 to get
an additional 15% discount ...
 "Millimeter wave signals were more found to be more robust than expected
and provided high speeds - although not gigabit speeds - at distances of several thousand
feet from a node, Signals Research Group found in recent testing of Verizon's 28 GHz
fixed wireless access network in Houston. 'Millimeter wave signals are far more resilient
than we expected, even at distances exceeding several thousand feet. Tree foliage, passing
school buses, buildings, glass ..."
Wednesday 21
 Anatech Electronics, a manufacturer of RF and microwave
filters, has published its February newsletter. In it, Sam Benzacar notes the impressive
of rapid transformation of T-Mobile from virtual insignificance in the wireless world
to the top of the hill. He cites Open Signal's January 2018 report titled, "State of
the Networks: USA" as evidence. Sam offers his take on the reason for T-Mobile's success
and for why Verizon and AT&T fell behind. As usual, it's a worthwhile read ...
Spark Kicks off 5G Era in New Zealand
with Live Trial
 "New Zealand telecom operator Spark announced
what it claims to be the country's first
live 5G mobile test site in Wellington. The 5G trial used equipment
and technical support from Chinese vendor Huawei. It will test speeds, coverage and the
parameters of the spectrum in a real-world environment, and run throughout March connecting
equipment in a specialized vehicle drive-testing the streets of Wellington. 'We intend
to be at the forefront of deploying this technology in New Zealand once ..."
 Admittedly, I needed to look up the meaning of
"connubial"
when seeing the title of this tongue-in-cheek article by Carl Kohler in the July 1969
issue of Popular Electronics magazine. Nobody knows for sure whether the over-enthusiastic
starring male in the series of techie stories that ran in Popular Electronics magazine
in the 1950s was actually Carl himself or an alter ego version of himself. Carl was also
the artist of numerous tech-related comics. This episode deviates a bit from the already-married
type to report on the exploits of born loser Otto Tronix ...
 "It seems like the FCC's recent interest in doing
an in depth study of the growing RF spectrum
noise floor
has taken a new twist. The FCC's apparent lack of real action in gathering the data needed
to make serious inroads into RF noise pollution has drawn the attention of the ARRL,
which voiced their concerns in a recent ARRL Letter as well as in their formal response
to the FCC. The ARRL 'took the opportunity to strongly urge the FCC to reinstate a 2016
TAC noise floor study, which, ARRL asserted, apparently was terminated before it even
got started.' It would seem ..."
 The available bandwidth of RF channels are often
limited by the bandpass characteristic of filters, amplifiers and mixers. Detecting amplitude
flatness and phase distortion is crucial in characterizing the quality of a transmission
channel. The amplitude flatness within the used bandwidth may have an influence on the
signal quality. Knowledge about phase distortion is essential to maintain low bit error
rates in data transmissions and VNAs commonly perform amplitude flatness and phase distortion
measurements ...
 "Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) has reached
critical mass as network operators all over the world have announced their deployment
plans. Last year, the NB-IoT market was driven by a handful of operators, primarily in
Asia and Europe. U.S. operators Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile have started to fast track their
NB-IoT development. By the end of 2018, most of the U.S., Europe
and Asia Pacific will be covered by at least one NB-IoT network. Despite the early lead
by unlicensed Low Power Wide Area ..."
Tuesday 20
 "In a new study, researchers from the U.S. Department
of Energy's (DOE) Argonne and Brookhaven National Laboratories observed the formation
of two kinds of defects in individual
nanowires, which are smaller in diameter than a human hair. These
nanowires, made of indium gallium arsenide, could be useful for a wide range of applications
in a field scientists have termed optoelectronics, which encompasses devices that work
by converting light energy into electrical impulses. Fiber optic relays are a good example ..."
 "Miniature MEMS-based speakers could revolutionize
speech and music reproduction in mobile communication devices. They combine the advantages
of a large frequency bandwidth and high acoustic quality with the ability to generate
very high sound levels. Nevertheless, they are so tiny that they can be integrated into
headphones. Such micro-loudspeakers were developed by the Fraunhofer Institutes for Digital
Media Technology (IDMT) and Silicon Technology (ISIT). MEMS technology stands for microelectromechanical
systems and combines classical ..."
 Everyone who is interested enough in microwave
diodes to read this article surely knows* what IMPATT, GUNN, and PIN diodes are, but
have you heard of Read-effect, TRAPATT, LSA, or QMD diodes? If not, it is likely because
you entered the microwaves field long after 1969 when this edition of Electronics
World was mailed to subscribers. Device improvement and obsolescence accounts for
familiarity with the former and unfamiliarity with the latter, respectively. The article
below by two Sylvania Electronic Products engineers describes the properties of various
up-and- ...
 Microwave Journal is conducting along with National
Instruments and Wolfspeed a webinar titled, "Introduction to Radar," on Wednesday, March 28, 2018, at 11:00 AM.
Mr. Scott Bullock presents on the topics of radar detection and ranging, pulse vs. CW,
radar modulation, radar path budget, basic radar equation, radar range equation, range
ambiguity and mitigation, maximum and minimum detectable range, and more ...
 Here is a brand new book being offered by the ARRL:
Receiving Antennas for the Radio Amateur, by Eric P Nichols
(KL7AJ). "Although the fundamental characteristics of antennas apply to both transmission
and reception, the requirements and priorities of receiving antennas can be vastly different
from those of transmitting antennas. Receiving Antennas for the Radio Amateur focuses
entirely on active and passive receiving antennas and their associated circuits. There
are relatively few cases where a radio amateur ..."
 "While
the mobile industry is done with its annual Mobile World lovefest - held last month in
Barcelona - tech suppliers, system OEMs, and mobile operators now face a host of 5G obstacles
not yet overcome. In fact, they're just getting started. The technical issues of 5G are
manifold. Among them, smart antennas and
RF front
ends for 5G mmWave - typically expected to operate at frequencies such as 28 GHz,
39 GHz, or 60 GHz - could seriously affect the performance of yet-to-emerge 5G mmWave
mobile phones ..."
Monday 19
 "Satellite communications have been in use for
decades now, providing connectivity to remote areas, acting as backup in disaster relief
situations, and being a major access mechanism for TV in certain parts of the world.
Satellite use has been vital for government, military, and remote operations, while geostationary
orbit (GEO) satellites are providing global coverage for voice, TV, and, in some cases,
broadband Internet services. The
telco industry is now working toward the standardization and commercialization
of the next generation of cellular standards ..."
 In an ongoing effort to provide the best return
on investment to RF Cafe website sponsors (aka advertisers), I have decided to allocate
the 728x90-pixel banner ad slot at the bottom of all web pages to companies who participate
in the
High Exposure plan. That is in addition to the other features that have always been
included. The cost is still only $150 per month; i.e., no price increase. A full list
of advertising options is available on the
Sponsorship Rates page, but just
the features which are part of the High Exposure plan are highlighted in the screen capture ...
 A lot of RF Cafe visitors might not be familiar
with some of the electronic devices presented in this
Electrochemistry Quiz by Popular Electronics' resident quizmaster, Robert
Balin (a big list of his other quizzes is at the bottom of the page). I offer my
assistance. A is a photocell, B is an early type of rectifier, C is a varistor, D is
a cathode ray tube (CRT), E is an electrolytic capacitor, F is a heated cathode in a
vacuum tube, G is a flashlight battery, H is an early receiver crystal detector, I is
a magnetic audio recording tape, and J is phonograph cartridge. I scored ...
 "During Exercise Northern Warrior 2018, 35 Canadian
Brigade Group (35 CBG) Communications Detachment did an impressive job of testing and
solving problems. The detachment's two objectives were to provide high-quality communications
to the Arctic Response Company Group (ACG) personnel and test new equipment in an arctic
environment. 'The arid and austere environment of the Canadian Arctic requires effective
communications. The work done by the G6 35 GBC team has undoubtedly demonstrated the
relevance of the
HF communications that are essential to operate effectively in this
hostile climate ..."
 "Measurements of the three-dimensional structure
of the earth, as opposed to the one-dimensional models typically used, can help scientists
more accurately determine which areas of the United States are most vulnerable to blackouts
during hazardous
geomagnetic storms. Space weather events such as geomagnetic storms
can disturb the earth's magnetic field, interfering with electric power grids, radio
communication, GPS systems, satellite operations, oil and gas drilling and air travel.
Scientists use models of the earth's structure and measurements of Earth's ..."
Sunday 18
 Earthlink no longer provides Internet service in the
Erie area, and they want to charge a monthly fee to retain the current e-mail address,
which is not worth the expense. Accordingly, please note that effective immediately
RF Cafe's primary e-mail address will be kirtrfc@aol.com. The Earthlink e-mail
will be kept for a month or two so as not to miss any useful message, but please begin
using the Yahoo e-mail now. I apologize for any inconvenience.
 For the sake of all the avid cruciverbalists amongst
us, each week I create a new
technology-themed crossword puzzle using only words from my custom-created lexicon
related to engineering, science, mathematics, chemistry, physics, astronomy, etc. You
will never find among the words names of politicians, mountain ranges, exotic foods or
plants, movie stars, or anything of the sort. You might, however, see someone or something
in the exclusion list who or that is directly related to this puzzle's theme, such as
Hedy Lamar or the Bikini Atoll, respectively. Enjoy! ...
Friday 16
 Steve Ellis, product manager at Pasternack, wrote
an article titled, "Methods of Suppressing PIM in Multicarrier Systems," that appeared
in the February 2018 issue of Microwaves & RF magazine. "Passive intermodulation
distortion (PIM) - the nonlinear effects that are observed from the passive components
(i.e. antennas, cables, connectors, power dividers, and mixers) of a system at high signal
levels - is a phenomena of particular relevance in wireless infrastructures dedicated
to the propagation of vast amounts of traffic. Cellular and ...
 Here are a couple more
electronics-themed comics from the March 1967 issue of Popular Electronics
magazine for your TGIF enjoyment. The comic on page 100 especially appeals to me since
I am finishing the installation of a Channel Master CM-5020 antenna. It has been a long
time since I installed a traditional style TV antenna - about 40 years ago when I put
a Radio Shack antenna on the roof of my mother's house. The entire 109" long by 100"
wide antenna, including mounting hardware, weighs only 11.5 pounds and presents
a wind resistance of 30 pounds. This is Channel Master's best antenna ...
 "Researchers have produced a 'human scale' demonstration
of a new phase of matter called quadrupole topological insulators that was recently predicted
using theoretical physics. These are the first experimental findings to validate this
theory. The researchers report their findings in the journal Nature. The team's work
with QTIs was born out of the decade-old understanding of the properties of a class of
materials called topological insulators. 'TIs are electrical insulators on the inside
and ..."
 The 8th RF & Microwave Paris Exposé will be held March 21 & 22,
2018, at Porte de Versailles, Paris, France. Vendors will have products on exhibit, and
conferences include EMC and RF simulation, IoT and Radio, Reliability of Components and
Electronic Systems, GaN for Microwave Applications , Antennas Made by 3D Printing, GaN
for Microwave Applications, Evolution ...
 "The
Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico has been saved following an agreement
signed by a consortium led by the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando. The
announcement was made on 22 February by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which
has been looking for an alternative sponsor for the iconic, 305 m-diameter radio telescope
since 2006. The NSF currently spends around $8M a year to keep Arecibo operating. The
final impetus for the NSF to find new funding sources came in September 2017 when the
telescope was damaged by Hurricane Maria ..."
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