Homepage Archive - May 2019 (page 2)

These archive pages are provided in order to make it easier for you to find items that you remember seeing on the RF Cafe homepage. Of course probably the easiest way to find anything on the website is to use the "Search RF Cafe" box at the top of every page. About RF Cafe.

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Friday 10

RF Cafe Advertiser Booth Locations at IMS 2019

RF Cafe Advertiser Booth Location at IMS 2019 - RF CafeAs you already know if you are planning to be at the International Microwave Symposium (IMS) this year, it is being held from June 2nd through the 7th in Boston, Massachusetts. The last time the IMS show was in Boston venue was 2009, and RF Cafe was there. It was my very first IMS show. The entire day was spent taking photographs and meeting as many RF Cafe website advertisers as possible. I also got to visit with a few people from companies I used to work for. The National Electronics Museum had a very nice display set up showcasing the evolution of the Microwave industry. Up until a couple weeks ago, Melanie and were planning on returning this year to the IMS show, but some family matters have required some extensive travel lately ...

Empower RF Systems' EW Europe 2019 Presentation

Empower RF Systems "High Power Solid State Advances in Technology" - RF CafeEmpower RF Systems' CTO Paulo Correa will be presenting "High Power Solid State Advances in Technology" at the 2019 Electronic Warfare Europe convention in Stockholm, Sweden. While the electromagnetic battle space becomes more densely occupied and our adversaries develop new threat methodologies, more capable threat simulation emitters systems are required. The stakes are high and domination of the electromagnetic battle space will determine the winner of conflicts, not the dominant air power. The technology scenario is not unlike the development of the airplane, its value not quickly appreciated (how we found ourselves behind China and Russia EW technology). Figuratively we are moving ...

Carl & Jerry: Electronic Shadow

Carl & Jerry: Electronic Shadow, September 1957 Popular Electronics - RF CafePopular Electronics began publishing a monthly electronics detective story series, "Carl and Jerry: A New Company is Launched," in the debut October 1954 issue. The two main characters, Carl Anderson and Jerry Bishop, were the brainchild of John T. Frye, who also authored the "Mac's Radio Service Shop." Carl and Jerry helped keep the world safe from miscreants by way of their investigative prowess and deductive skills, often with the assistance of their Ham radio skills. The Hardy Boys were a couple of pikers in comparison. The theme and ultimately solving of each mystery is centered around use of electrical and/or electronics devices and methods, with a bit of intrigue and humor thrown in. If you enjoy short stories, then you will like the Carl & Jerry series ...

SF Circuits Launches Expanded PCB Testing and Inspection Capabilities

San Francisco Circuits Launches Expanded PCB Testing and Inspection Capabilities - RF CafeSan Francisco Components (SFC), a recognized leader in Printed Circuit Board (PCB) fabrication, assembly, and testing, is now offering expanded PCB testing and inspection capabilities to its customers, further ensuring high-yield PCBs that meet rigid design and performance specifications across all applications and industries. San Francisco Circuits offers PCB testing for Bare Boards (before the board is assembled) and Assembled Boards (once the board is assembled), that will detect and minimize issues that would affect performance. "PCBs need to be tested early in the design and production phases in order to control component tolerances, part-to-part performance variations ..."

10 Most Expensive Engineering Degrees for 2019

10 Most Expensive Engineering Degrees for 2019 - RF Cafe"College costs in the US continue to soar, with the most expensive schools topping out above $70,000 per year. Getting an engineering degree is tough, and the soaring price of colleges doesn't make it any easier. For many years, college costs have been rising at twice the rate of inflation, and today's most expensive engineering degrees reflect that, having recently cracked the $70,000-a-year plateau. To be sure, all of those $70,000-plus schools offer financial aid, often in substantial amounts. In some cases, the final dollar figure may be comparable to that of a state school after all the aid is totaled up. That, of course, is if the applicant receives financial aid. All of the colleges on the list offer great educations ..."

Reactel: RF & Microwave Filters of All Types

Reactel Filters - RF CafeReactel has become one of the industry leaders in the design and manufacture of RF and microwave filters, diplexers, and sub-assemblies. Through a continuous process of research and development, they have established a full line of filters of all types - lowpass, highpass, bandpass, bandstop, diplexer, and more. They offer the generally known tubular, LC, cavity, and waveguide designs, as well as state of the art high performance suspended substrate models. Established in 1979. Please contact Reactel today to see how they might help your project ...

Thursday 9

Do You Know Enough About Capacitors?

Do You Know Enough About Capacitors?, January 1960 Electronics World - RF CafeToday's electronics and RF magazines tend to cater to engineers and managers, as opposed to technicians and hobbyists. That's not to say that techs do not benefit from the material presented, but that information is typically concerned with new product and system design with little attention paid to troubleshooting and maintenance. The predecessors to modern magazines much more often included articles on the latter. Publications like Popular Electronics, being intended for hobbyists, featured useful quizzes, "how to" articles, and troubleshooting tips along with product reports and an occasional design methodology piece. Electronics World, the predecessor to Popular Electronics, was more of an equal split between professional and hobby themes. This particular article tests the reader's knowledge of capacitors by proposing circuit failure examples ...

Promote Your Company on RF Cafe for as Little as $35/Month

Sponsor RF Cafe for as Little as $35 per Month - RF CafeRF Cafe typically receives 8,000-15,000 website visits each weekday and about half that on weekends. RF Cafe is a favorite of engineers, technicians, hobbyists, and students all over the world. With more than 7,000 pages in the Google search index, RF Cafe returns in favorable positions on many types of key searches, both for text and images. New content is added on a daily basis, which keeps the major search engines interested enough to spider it multiple times each day. Items added on the homepage often can be found in a Google search within a few hours of being posted. I also re-broadcast homepage items on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. If you need your company news to be seen, RF Cafe is the place to be. Banner advertising begins at $150/month ...

Free Engineering Magazines for May 2019

Engineering White Papers & Books, May 2019 - RF CafeWhitepapers, pamphlets, books, magazines, and chapter examples listed here are a small sample of a lot of new items that are offered for FREE through TradePub. The publishers make them available to qualifying people as a promotional campaign for their full line of offerings. Whitepaper topics include careers, manufacturing, and engineering, while magazine titles include Microwave Engineering Europe, Electronic Design, and Microwave Product Digest. Note: I earn a few pennies (literally) when you download one of these or the many other pubs available, so please help yourself ...

Withwave Intros 18 & 26.5 GHz VNA Automatic Calibration Module

Withwave Intros 18 & 26.5 GHz VNA Automatic Calibration Module - RF CafeLast year Withwave introduced their new Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) Automatic Calibration Module that operates up to 12 GHz. Now, Withwave has versions that operate at 18 and 26.5 GHz! All Automatic Calibration Modules are ideal for users who want fast and easy calibration for various popular VNAs. They are powered either via USB or a 5.5 VDC connector. Communications with the equipment is via USB or LAN. Full 1-port through 2-port calibrations are accomplished automatically using a simple One-Push START button. This module works as host systems to measure and calculate calibration coefficients and sends the data to the VNA ...

Radar Principles - Part 1

Radar Principles - Part 1, April 1945 Radio-Craft - RF CafeThis is the first of a two-part "Radar Principles" article by British engineer and researcher Dr. R.L. Smith-Rose. Dr. Smith-Rose explains the basics of radio detection and ranging using simple illustrations and calculation examples. When these articles were written, radar had recently been credited with playing a major role in helping the Allies successfully wage war against aggressive Axis powers that were ravaging London and other European cities with air attacks comprised of both manned and unmanned vehicles. While the principles of radar were somewhat familiar to people because of its analogy to using hearing to estimate distance and location, the actual science behind the operation of radar was and still is considered a form of black magic nearly everyone ...

NASA Says Metals Fraud Caused $700M Satellite Failure

NASA Says Metals Fraud Caused $700M Satellite Failure - RF Cafe"A metals manufacturer faked test results and provided faulty materials to NASA, causing more than $700 million in losses and two failed satellite launch missions, according to an investigation by the U.S. space agency. The fraud involved an Oregon company called Sapa Profiles Inc., which falsified thousands of certifications for aluminum parts over 19 years for hundreds of customers, including NASA. Taurus XL rocket Source: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB The bad parts were used in the making of Taurus XL, a rocket that was supposed to deliver satellites studying the Earth's climate during missions carried out in 2009 and 2011. The launch vehicle's fairing, a clamshell structure that carries the satellite as it travels through the atmosphere, didn't fully open, causing the unsuccessful launch, according to a statement from NASA ..."

Electro-Photonics Offering RF & Microwave Products

Electro-PhotonicsElectro-Photonics is a global supplier of RF & Microwave components. Their products include SMT hybrid and directional couplers, wire bondable passive components, mounting tabs, filters, transmission lines, and very useful test boards for evaluating components (spiral inductors, single-layer capacitors). The Electro-Photonics team can support your small R&D design requirements with RF & Microwave test fixtures and save you valuable design and characterization time. Please take a moment to visit Electro-Photonics' website and see how your project might benefit ...

Wednesday 8

Electronic Current Quiz

Electronic Current Quiz, October 1963 Popular Electronics - RF CafeThis Electronics Current Quiz from the October 1963 edition of Popular Electronics is recent enough (if you consider half a century ago to be recent) that it uses both transistors as well as vacuum tubes in the example circuits. I have to admit to only scoring 60% on the quiz, which is pretty lame. You will probably do better, especially if you are my age or older. As when looking up the solution to problems in the back of the textbook and the answers seem obvious (well, not always), so too do these ...

Climbing to the Top in the MMIC Arena

Climbing to the Top in the MMIC Arena - RF CafeMicrowave & RF magazine has a regular Q&A feature where industry titans are interviewed about their companies and personal involvements therewith. In the April issue, Chris DeMartino talks with Custom MMIC's John Greichen. "Although Custom MMIC has been in existence for a relatively short amount of time, the company is now regarded as a top supplier of monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs). How did the company get to where it is now? Custom MMIC is a 13-year-old company. We started as a custom design service company in 2006, serving the advanced MMIC technology needs of military radar and communications. Our experience and design expertise provided a strong base to enable a transition into standard products ..."

War Comes! ...and Goes

War Comes! January 1942 QST - RF CafeWith today being the anniversary of the end of WWII (VE Day), this January 1942 article from QST magazine report on how it affected amateur radio operators helps add context to the era. It came as no surprise to amateur radio operators that their operational privileges would be curtailed immediately after the United States was drawn into World War II following the Japanese Imperial Navy's attack on Pearl Harbor. After all they were subject to the same kind of restriction during WWI. Just as President Woodrow Wilson issued an executive order prohibiting unauthorized transmissions by amateurs, President Roosevelt had the FCC ban the radio transmissions of Hams. The fear was that enemy intelligence gathering posts ...

Technical Support Representative Needed by ATEC

Technical Support Representative Needed by Advanced Test Equipment - RF CafeAdvanced Test Equipment Rentals is a leading provider of test and measurement equipment. ATEC has established solid relationships with industry leading manufacturers worldwide. ATEC offers competitive pay and benefits. Advanced Test Equipment Rentals is looking for a Technical Support Representative. Our ideal candidate has knowledge of electronic testing equipment. Responsible for prompt technical support to product teams and customers assists in activities required for product teams to quote an order, confers with customers and representatives of associated industries to evaluate and promote improved and expanded services, plans and directs rental orders failed in field (FIF) ...

Aluminum Scandium Nitride Exhibits Ferroelectric Behavior

Aluminium Scandium Nitride Exhibits Ferroelectric Behavior - RF Cafe"University of Kiel and Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology (ISIT) in Germany claim the first demonstration of ferroelectric behavior in a III-V-based semiconductor. The researchers used aluminum scandium nitride (AlScN) alloy in their demonstration, but they also believe other group III (group 13 in more modern periodic table notation) elements such as gallium (e.g. GaScN) and group-3 scandium-relative yttrium (e.g. AlYN) could provide materials with ferroelectric behavior. Moving from group 3, the quaternary alloy aluminum magnesium niobium nitride (AlMgNbN) is another contender, they report. Magnesium is group 2 and niobium group 5 ..."

Withwave: RF & Microwave Components

Withwave RF & Microwave Components - RF CafeWithwave manufactures an extensive line of metrology quality coaxial test cable assemblies, connectors (wave-, end-, vertical-launch, board edge, panel mount), calibration kits (SOLT), a fully automated vector network analyzer (VNA) calibrator, between- and in-series connector adaptors, attenuators, terminations, torque wrenches, test probes & probe positioner. Frequency ranges from DC through 20 GHz. Please contact Withwave today to see how they can help your project succeed ...

Tuesday 7

How IC Logic Circuits Work

How IC Logic Circuits Work, May 1969 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeA nice article by Donald Lancaster appeared in an issue of Radio-Electronics magazine that introduces and puts into layman's terms the relatively new (at the time) world of digital logic circuits. Rapidly falling prices and equally rapidly rising performance fuelled the craze. By 1969, most of the barriers preventing former never-tubers from adopting the fledgling semiconductor paradigm and there was by then a new generation of electronics hobbyists, technicians, and engineers who had "grown up" on transistors and integrated circuits. I like the author's analogies for AND gates and OR gates that involve the familiar objects that include a garden hose with the house tap and nozzle, and the kitchen sink faucet with the hot and cold handles. It's interesting how often water, a substance generally to be avoided around electricity ...

Paradise Intros 400-Series Q-Flex Software-Defined Satcom Modem

Paradise Intros 400-Series Q-Flex Software-Defined Satcom Modem - RF CafeTeledyne Paradise Datacom (Paradise), part of the Teledyne Defense Electronics Group, announced today that it has begun shipping the latest version of its innovative line of Q-Flex modems, the 400 Series. The flagship 400 Series features faster data rate speeds, providing up to 345 Mbps, while also being both smaller and lighter in weight. Expanding on the groundbreaking flexibility the Q-Flex has long been known for, the 400 Series offers more powerful FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) that will accommodate further firmware upgrades and features in the future. 'We are also pleased to announce that the new QMultiflex-400 delivers DVB-S2X on outbound and return carriers as well, in line with the rest of the Q-Flex range. With this upgrade, customers ..."

Gain-Bandwidth Product is Not (Always) Constant

Gain-Bandwidth Product is Not (Always) Constant - RF CafeHugo Coolens posted an article on the Electronic Design website entitled, "Gain-Bandwidth Product is Not (Always) Constant." He includes plenty of equations and nice video to demonstrate how to make the gain−bandwidth product measurement. Says John, "Gain-bandwidth is always constant, isn't it? Using the inverting single-pole op-amp amplifier as an example, this article explains why that often-held belief is a fallacy. When talking amplifiers, I sometimes get the impression that whole groups of electronics hobbyists and engineering students have been brainwashed by endlessly hearing and repeating the mantra 'Gain-bandwidth product is a constant.' Hearing this statement so often, they actually start to believe this is a universal truth. I was reminded of this once again some time ago ..."

Please Thank IPP for Their Long-Time Support!

Innovative Power ProductsInnovative Power Products (IPP) has over 30 years of experience designing & manufacturing RF & microwave passive components. Their high power, broadband couplers, combiners, resistors, baluns, terminations and attenuators are fabricated using the latest materials and design tools available, resulting in unrivaled product performance. Applications in military, medical, industrial and commercial markets. Take a couple minutes to visit their website and see how IPP can help you today ...

What Are CubeSats?

What Are CubeSats? - RF Cafe"The CubeSat is a type of miniaturized satellite for low earth orbit (LEO) space research and applications. One of these is typically made up of one or more 10x10x11.35 cm cubic units, and each unit has a mass of no more than 1.33 kilograms. In addition to being light and small, designers often use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) electronic and structural components. Although bunches of CubeSats have been launched on dedicated rockets, they are most often put into orbit in small numbers via the International Space Station or placed in orbit as secondary payloads. It all started about 17 years ago ..."

TotalTemp Technologies: Thermal Platforms for −100°C to +200°C

TotalTemp Technologies - RF CafeTotalTemp Technologies has more than 40 years of combined experience providing thermal platforms. Thermal Platforms are available to provide temperatures between −100°C and +200°C for cryogenic cooling, recirculating circulating coolers, temperature chambers and temperature controllers, thermal range safety controllers, space simulation chambers, hybrid benchtop chambers, custom systems and platforms. Manual and automated configurations for laboratory and production environments ...

Monday 6

AC Circuit Basics

AC Circuit Basics, Electricity NAVPERS 10622, Chapter 17 - AC Circuits - RF CafeAll college curricula seem to have a number of particular "weeding out" courses that cull the herd - so to speak - from the eventual graduating class. The unfortunate victims are then faced with either dropping out of college (not always such a dooming fate) or choosing a different major. For mechanical engineers (MEs) it was often statics; for electrical engineers (EEs) it was AC circuits - the topic of this article. DC is relatively simple because voltage and current is always in phase, thus no "hard" vector math is involved, but throw in reactance with its attendant non-zero phase angles and suddenly the student is faced with trigonometry - the kiss of death to mathphobes. My experience in engineering school showed that for MEs who lived through statics, dynamics provided the next level of weeding out (it nearly got me). For EEs it was Fourier and Laplace transforms. Level three for MEs was thermodynamics (thermogodda**ics was a popular alternate title) ...

Keysight World 2019 Americas

Keysight World 2019 Americas - RF CafeOn May 14, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm PT, Keysight Technologies will be hosting a live broadcast of it Keysight World event with five technical tracks: 5G (New Radio [NR] standards, trends, opportunities, NR release 15/16 standards, over-the-air [OTA] test: implications and solutions, real-world performance, data throughput), Automotive and Energy (automotive Ethernet backbone of the connected car, advanced automotive radar test solutions, Vehicle-to-Everything [V2X] Comms), Data Center and Telecom, Network Operations and Security, and Advanced Measurements (wideband mm-wave PA test, wideband modulated source: distortion and correction, advanced mm-wave component characterization) ...

Account Manager (Radio Communications & Signal Analysis) Needed by ATEC

Account Manager (Radio Communications and Signal Analysis) Needed by Advanced Test Equipment - RF CafeAdvanced Test Equipment is looking for an Account Manager (Radio Communications and Signal Analysis) with experience in test and measurement equipment. You will work with customers from a broad range of industries, including aerospace/defense, consumer electronics, semiconductor, medical devices, automotive, and manufacturing automation. Responsibilities to include prospecting to managing accounts to achieve the monthly rental revenue growth target within your product line. Expertise in technical sales & customer engagement to rent Audio Analyzers, Cable & Antenna Analyzers, Interference Analyzers, Radio Test Sets, Signal Analyzers, Signal Generators, Spectrum Analyzers, Vector Network Analyzers, RF Channel Emulators, Oscilloscopes, EF Power Meters and Sensors, Noise Generators ...

Resistor Function Quiz

Resistor Function Quiz, January 1962 Popular Electronics - RF CafeHere is another electronics quiz for you to try. It covers the functions of resistors in various circuits. The quiz appeared in the January 1962 edition of Popular Electronics, compliments of Robert P. Balin. I got 100%, just for the record - PhD not required, by the way. Having worked with tubes in the days of yore helps with figure B since it does not really have a direct transistor equivalent, but by process of elimination you can get it ...

The 1st Laser Radio Transmitter

The 1st Laser Radio Transmitter - RF Cafe"Researchers transmit data via a semiconductor laser, opening the door to ultra-high-speed Wi-Fi. For the first time, researchers have used a laser as a radio transmitter and receiver, paving the way for towards ultra-high-speed Wi-Fi and new types of hybrid electronic-photonic devices. This device uses a frequency comb laser to emit and modulate microwaves wirelessly. The laser uses different frequencies of light beating together to generate microwave radiation. The researchers used this phenomenon to send a song wirelessly to a receiver. Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences transmitted a recording of Martin's classic 'Volare' wirelessly ..."

Custom MMIC: Off-the-Shelf and Custom MMICs

Custom MMIC- RF CafeCustom MMIC is a fabless RF and microwave MMIC designer entrusted by government and defense industry OEMs. Custom and off-the-shelf products include switches, phase shifters, attenuators, mixers and multipliers, and low noise, low phase noise, and distributed amplifiers. From next-generation long range military radar systems, to advanced aerospace and space-qualified satellite communications, microwave signal chains are being pushed to new limits - and no one understands this more than Custom MMIC. Please contact Custom MMIC today to see how they can help your project ... 

Sunday 5

Engineering & Science Crossword Puzzle for May 5

Engineering & Science Crossword Puzzle May 5, 2019 - RF CafeSince 2000, I have been creating custom technology-themed crossword puzzles for the brain-exercising benefit and pleasure of RF Cafe visitors who are fellow cruciverbalists. The jury is out on whether or not this type of mental challenge helps keep your gray matter from atrophying in old age, but it certainly helps maintain your vocabulary and cognitive skills at all ages. A database of thousands of words has been built up over the years and contains only clues and terms associated with engineering, science, physical, astronomy, mathematics, chemistry, etc. You will never find a word taxing your knowledge of a numbnut soap opera star or the name of some obscure village in the Andes mountains ...