Homepage Archive - August 2022 (page 3)

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Sunday the 21st

Radio Technology Theme Crossword Puzzle for August 21st

Radio Technology Theme Crossword Puzzle for August 21st, 2022 - RF CafeThis custom made Radio Technology theme crossword puzzle from RF Cafe is for August 21st, 2022. "Down" words consisting of four or more letters begin with the first letter of this puzzle's theme. All RF Cafe crossword puzzles are custom made by me, Kirt Blattenberger, and have only words and clues related to RF, microwave, and mm-wave engineering, optics, mathematics, chemistry, physics, and other technical subjects. As always, this crossword puzzle contains no names of politicians, mountain ranges, exotic foods or plants, movie stars, or anything of the sort unless it/he/she is related to this puzzle's technology theme (e.g., Reginald Denny or the Tunguska event in Siberia). The technically inclined cruciverbalists amongst us will appreciate the effort...

Many Thanks to LadyBug Technologies for Their Continued Support!

LadyBug Technologies RF Power Sensors - RF CafeLadyBug Technologies was founded in 2004 by two microwave engineers with a passion for quality microwave test instrumentation. Our employees offer many years experience in the design and manufacture of the worlds best vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, power meters and associated components. The management team has additional experience in optical power testing, military radar and a variety of programming environments including LabVIEW, VEE and other languages often used in programmatic systems. Extensive experience in a broad spectrum of demanding measurement applications. You can be assured that our Power Sensors are designed, built, tested and calibrated without compromise.

Friday the 19th

The Electronics Market- looking into the 60's

The Electronics Market- looking into the 60's, January 1, 1960 If I had the time, it would be interesting to research how accurate this Electronic Market prediction from the January issue of Electronics magazine compares to how the decade actually ended. My guess based on most of the history of the electronics industry is that except for very fantastic prognostications of personal nuclear power sources and domestic robots in every household, the forecasts greatly underestimated actual progress. That is because discoveries are made so frequently and improvements made so quickly that after ten years there are innumerable new aspects of electronics that were never even dreamed of a decade earlier. According to one source, the consumer electronics market in 2020 was close to $700B, as compared to $1.6B in 1959. Adjusting for inflation, that $1.6B is the equivalent of about $14B in 2020, so the market growth for consumer electronics in that time period was around 50x ($700B/$14B). That is a significant increase in just one sector of the electronics industry...

China Plans Fleet of Telescopes Orbiting Moon

China Plans Fleet of Telescopes Orbiting Moon - RF Cafe"A team of Chinese scientists have proposed sending a fleet of telescopes to orbit the moon and peek into the most mysterious era of the universe's past. The Discovering the Sky at the Longest Wavelength (DSL) mission, if officially approved in the coming weeks, would shed light on the so-called cosmic dark ages, a time when the infant universe was nothing but a sea of darkness. Astronomers believe the first stars appeared when the universe was about 200 million years old. Before that, the world was a rather obscure and empty place: no suns, no planets - only the hydrogen atoms forged from the Big Bang. Those ancient hydrogen atoms hold the key to the dark era and the structure of the universe we live in today, but are impossible to detect from Earth because of interference from human radio activities..."

Television Set Shipments by Areas

Television Set Shipments by Areas, May 1949 Radio & Television News - RF CafeAccording to a tally crafted by Radio & Television News magazine in 1949, the total number of television sets sold in the United States in 1947 and 1948 was 964,206. There were approximately 146 million people at the time per the U.S. Census. If there was an average of 4 people per household, that works out to around one television set for every 36 houses. Some households already had TV sets during that time, but far fewer than half owned a television. Nobody owned a color TV then because no commercial broadcaster used a color camera. Color was still a future feature being hyped in Mechanix Illustrated and Scientific American, like flying cars and personal computers. Today, of course, everybody that wants a television has a television... or two... or three. Effectively, every smartphone and computer is a TV (via Internet, not direct OTA transmissions) as well. In 1949, almost all TVs were owned by people who paid for them themselves. Today, many sets are bought by people who have been subsidized by fellow citizens forced to help pay for them via tax policies...

Windows RF Calculator™ by Holland Shielding Systems

Windows RF Calculator by Holland Shielding Systems - RF CafeHolland Shielding Systems has released an updated version of their free utility software, now named Windows RF Calculator (formerly RF-Toolbox). The current version is 1.9.9.0. I first posted information on RF Toolbox back on May 5th. Since that time a few edits have been made to the original calculators and new ones have been added. A lot of hard work went into creating Windows RF Calculator, so be sure to thank Holland Shielding Systems for making it available at no cost!

Atwater Kent 305Z Radio Service Data Sheet

Atwater Kent Model 305Z 5-Tube 32 V. D.C. Superhet Radio Service Data Sheet, July 1936 Radio-Craft - RF CafeFor many years I have been scanning and posting schematics & parts lists like this one featuring the Atwater Kent Model 305Z 5-Tube 32 V. D.C. Superhet radio. It appeared in a 1936 issue of Radio−Craft magazine. OCR (optical character recognition) software is run on them to separate the textual content, which allows search engines to capture words that helps people find information. There are still many people who restore and service these vintage radios, and often it can be difficult or impossible to find schematics and/or tuning information. I keep a running list of all data sheets at the bottom of the page...

RF & Electronics Symbols for Office™

RF & Electronics Schematic & Block Diagram Symbols for Office™ r2 - RF CafeIt was a lot of work, but I finally finished a version of the "RF & Electronics Schematic & Block Diagram Symbols" that works well with Microsoft Office™ programs Word™, Excel™, and Power Point™. This is an equivalent of the extensive set of amplifier, mixer, filter, switch, connector, waveguide, digital, analog, antenna, and other commonly used symbols for system block diagrams and schematics created for Visio™. Each of the 1,000 or so symbols was exported individually from Visio in the EMF file format, then imported into Word on a Drawing Canvas. The EMF format allows an image to be scaled up or down without becoming pixelated, so all the shapes can be resized in a document and still look good. The imported symbols can also be UnGrouped into their original constituent parts for editing. Check them out!

Many Thanks to ISOTEC for Continued Support!

ISOTEC Corporation - RF CafeSince 1996, ISOTEC has designed, developed and manufactured an extensive line of RF/microwave connectors, between-series adapters, RF components and filters for wireless service providers including non-magnetic connectors for quantum computing and MRI equipments etc. ISOTEC's product line includes low-PIM RF connectors components such as power dividers and directional couplers. Off-the-shelf and customized products up to 40 GHz and our low-PIM products can meet -160 dBc with 2 tones and 20 W test. Quick prototyping, advanced in-house testing and high-performance. Designs that are cost effective practical and repeatable.

Thursday the 18th

Carl and Jerry: Too Lucky

Carl and Jerry: Too Lucky, August 1961 Popular Electronics - RF CafeAs is the normal modus operandi (MO) of John T. Frye with his "Carl & Jerry" series of techno-dramas, this "Too Lucky" episode combines adventure with electronics to teach a lesson in the process of entertaining with a great story. If you're a fisherman, you'll particularly enjoy this one. I have to admit to not knowing about this method of "electrofishing" (although not called by that name here) for drawing fish to a high voltage alternating electrical field and then capturing them with a net once close enough to be paralyzed (stunned). A process called "galvanotaxis" which causes uncontrolled muscular convulsion in the fish causes them to swim towards the source...

RF Systems for Advanced Multimode Cellular and Wi−Fi

Solving RF Systems for Advanced Multimode Cellular and Wi-Fi - RF Cafe""The adoption of 5G continues to thrive in the mobile market, with a raft of device types beyond smartphones set to form part of the wider ecosystem, extending to new industries and a wide array of device categories, including automotive, Extended Reality (XR), Personal Computers (PCs), wearables, mobile broadband and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). However, democratization of this extended 5G experience will be constrained, not just by the modem and application processor, but also by the growing complexity of the Radio Frequency Front End (RFFE). In turn, the sheer number of Radio Frequency (RF) components now needed in a 5G device has grown exponentially, while pressure to improve performance and thermal efficiency and condense the overall die size area have become ever more important to help reduce cost and ensure integrity of the signal and communication reliability. While the burden of 5G on the RFFE..."

Vintage Radio Shack TV Commercials

Vintage Radio Shack TV Commercials - RF CafeThere are still plenty of us around who remember seeing Radio Shack commercials on TV back in the days when all television sets had at least one vacuum tube in them - the CRT (cathode ray tube). As evidenced by the huge number of vintage Radio Shack commercials posted on YouTube, and the amount of views for them, there is still a desire by people to take a nostalgic trip back in time to see the content they remember. Of course at the time we usually considered all commercials an imposition on our TV program watching. One of the annoyances of modern TV programming is that even though you have to pay for the service, you still have to sit through even more commercial time per show than was imposed when reception was free (over the air). I have to be honest and admit that I don't recall ever seeing any of the Radio Shack commercials in this collection of videos, but they definitely have the "look" of the ones I do remember from the days of yore. I used to visit...

Anatech Electronics August 2022 Newsletter

Anatech Electronics August 2022 Newsletter - RF CafeSam Benzacar of Anatech Electronics, an RF and microwave filter company, has published his June 2022 newsletter that features his short op−ed entitled "The Millimeter-Wave Debacle Revisited," where he discusses some of the realities that have impacted the mm-wave portion of 5G systems - the two biggest of which are cost and lagging technology (e.g., semiconductors) to support the scheme. Nascent 6G plans which envision spectrum operation in realms above 100 GHz are saddled with the same limitation (at least currently) as 5G. As always, Sam demonstrates a keen awareness of the industry for which his company, Anatech Electronics, services...

General Electric Radio Advertisement

General Electric Radio Advertisement, September 1935 QST - RF CafeWhen metal-encased vacuum tubes came on the electronics scene in the 1930s, they were billed as the innovation that was going to radically change the radio world. The built-in Faraday shield properties of the tubes did in fact stop the effects of cross-coupling between adjacent tubes and permit more densely packed circuits, but they also caused some other problems as well. Capacitance between tube elements and the shield caused electron flow control issues and affected operational frequency. Packing tubes closer together also meant the rat's nest of resistors, capacitors, inductors, and wires on the underside of the chassis that were installed in a point-to-point manner rather than neatly on printed circuit boards (which largely did not exist at the time) were closer together and therefore created new problems due to proximity. Still, metal tubes served a very useful purpose when employed wisely and continued in use along with unshielded tubes...

Get Your Custom-Designed RF Cafe Gear!

Custom-Designed RF-Themed Cups, T-Shirts, Mouse Pads, Clocks (Cafe Press) - RF CafeThis assortment of custom-designed themes by RF Cafe includes T-Shirts, Mouse Pads, Clocks, Tote Bags, Coffee Mugs and Steins, Purses, Sweatshirts, and Baseball Caps. Choose from amazingly clever "We Are the World's Matchmakers" Smith chart design or the "Engineer's Troubleshooting Flow Chart." My "Matchmaker's" design has been ripped off by other people and used on their products, so please be sure to purchase only official RF Cafe gear. My markup is only a paltry 50¢ per item - Cafe Press gets the rest of your purchase price. These would make excellent gifts for husbands, wives, kids, significant others, and for handing out at company events or as rewards for excellent service. It's a great way to help support RF Cafe. Thanks...

Please Thank Lotus Communication Systems for Their Support!

Lotus Communication Systems Modular RF/Microwave Components - RF CafeLotus Communication Systems began in 2009, setting up CNC machine shop and RF/microwave assembling and testing lab in Middlesex Country, Massachusetts. Lotus is committed to highest quality and innovative products. Each RF/microwave module meets exceedingly high standards of quality, performance and excellent value, and are 100% MADE IN USA. Lotus' RF/microwave products cover frequency band up to 67 GHz. Lotus also offers an COTS shield enclosures for RF/microwave prototyping and production. All products are custom designed. We will find a solution and save your time and cost. Lotus has multiple 4 axis CNC machines and LPKF circuit plotters.

Wednesday the 17th

CapaciQuiz - 1961 Popular Electronics

CapaciQuiz, August 1961 Popular Electronics - RF CafeRobert Balin, Popular Electronics magazine's quizmeister, created this CapaciQuiz for the February 1961 issue. Most of these are elementary, but think carefully about the exact wording of Q4 before you answer. With Q8, believe the better explanation is that for a purely capacitive circuit, current and voltage are 90° out of phase, so when the sinewave voltage is at zero, the current is at a maximum. Note that Q6 and Q10 are opposites (parallel vs. series capacitor combinations), so if you have trouble reasoning one of the configurations, work on the other and then you'll know both. Bon chance!...

Meta-Atoms Road Signs for Light Waves

Meta-Atoms Act Like Road Signs for Light Waves - RF Cafe"Usually, when light travels through a material, it produces an image. But when it passes through a new material developed by researchers at the Australian National University (ANU), it produces two completely independent and different images - as different, in fact, as the iconic outline of the Sydney Opera House and the continent of Australia. This unusual effect is possible thanks to nanoscale structures within the material that manipulate a light wave's direction of travel in a way that could have applications for information processing and communications. The nanoscale structures used in this research are ultrathin films comprising arrays of tiny dielectric structures that behave much like atoms. Known as metasurfaces, such structures are often employed in the design of miniaturized optical components, and they can also be used to control the direction in which light can and cannot travel at the nanoscale. For instance, some of these 'meta-atoms' allow light to flow only from left to right, while others permit travel only from the right to the left..."

Exit Heterodyne QRM

Exit Heterodyne QRM, October 1947 QST - RF Cafe"QRM" is the Q-code in Ham-speak for unwelcomed manmade inband electrical interference. Interference is not just random signals like noise from motor brush arcing, intermittent electric distribution system connections or inter-conductor arcing, etc. An improperly tuned or ineffectively filtered radio transmission, or EM energy leaking from a poorly shielded electronic device is also QRM. I distinguish such noise as unwelcomed because what might be considered as noise by one person could be a desired signal by another. "QRN" stands for electrical noise generated in nature such as lightning bolts, solar storms, or even, as discovered by Drs. Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, the 160 GHz Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation that emanates from all regions of the sky. A mnemonic for remembering which Q-code is which is the trailing "M" for manmade and "N" for natural...

Thanks to Wireless Telecom Group for Their Support!

Wireless Telecom Group (RF power and noise measurement) - RF CafeThe Wireless Telecom Group, comprised of Boonton, CommAgility, Holzworth, and Noisecom, is a global designer and manufacturer of advanced RF and microwave components, modules, systems, and instruments. Serving the wireless, telecommunication, satellite, military, aerospace, semiconductor and medical industries, Wireless Telecom Group products enable innovation across a wide range of traditional and emerging wireless technologies. A unique set of high-performance products including peak power meters, signal generators, phase noise analyzers, signal processing modules, 5G and LTE PHY/stack software, noise sources, and programmable noise generators.

Antenova Adds Agosti Corner-Placement Antenna

Antenova Adds Agosti Corner-Placement Antenna - RF CafeAntenova Ltd, the UK-based manufacturer of antennas and RF antenna modules for M2M and the IoT, is adding a new offering to its range of miniature Surface Mount Designed (SMD) antennas and modules for GNSS applications. The new antenna, Agosti, part number SR4G080, measures 9.0 x 5.8 x 1.7 mm and operates with exceptional efficiency in a reduced space on a corner of a PCB. The key advantage of the Agosti antenna is its small ground plane requirement. Most SMD antennas use the surface of the PCB around the antenna as a ground plane to radiate signal from, so it is the ground plane requirement not the physical dimensions of the antenna that defines the space it needs. Antenova's radiated measurement results show Agosti operating well on small ground planes of 40 x 20 mm, 70 x 25 mm and 80 x 30 mm, making it a good choice for small form factor designs...

The Yagi Antenna

The Yagi Antenna, October 1952 Radio & Television News Article - RF CafeThe Yagi–Uda antenna (usually referred to as a Yagi), is a relatively simple to construct multielement structure consisting of a combination of driven (director) and reflective (reflector) diploes. Careful phasing of the configuration results in a directional radiation pattern that is used often for long distance (DX) and direction finding work. It is also useful in a dense signal environment where there is a need to exclude received signals not emanating from a preferred source. Common (or what used to be) rooftop television antennas were of the Yagi type and served not just to pull in distant stations, but to help reject multipath signals that would cause ghost images on the screen. The concept is the 1926 brainchild of Messrs. Shintaro Uda and Hidetsugu Yagi, both of the Tohoku Imperial University, in Japan. The Yagi antenna described in this 1952 issue of Radio & Television News magazine is for VHF channels 2-13...

Promote Your Company on RF Cafe

Sponsor RF Cafe for as Little as $40 per Month - RF CafeNew Scheme rotates all Banners in all locations on the page! RF Cafe typically receives 8,000-15,000 website visits each weekday. RF Cafe is a favorite of engineers, technicians, hobbyists, and students all over the world. With more than 12,000 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. If you need your company news to be seen, RF Cafe is the place to be.

Thanks to Anritsu for Their Support!

Anritsu (electronics test equipment)Anritsu has been a global provider of innovative communications test and measurement solutions for more than 120 years. Anritsu manufactures a full line of innovative components and accessories for RF and Microwave Test and Measurement Equipment including attenuators & terminations; coaxial cables, connectors & adapters; o-scopes; power meters & sensors; signal generators; antenna, signal, spectrum, & vector network analyzers (VNAs); calibration kits; Bluetooth & WLAN testers; PIM testers; amplifiers; power dividers; antennas.

Tuesday the 16th

Recent Developments in Electronics

Recent Developments in Electronics, September 1965 Electronics World - RF CafeThe items reported in the September 1967 issue of Electronics World magazine represent the beginning stages of many technologies that are still in used today. The monolithic ferrite memory was a major producibility improvement in what was formally hand-wired toroidal matrices of cores. They were the first step in integrated memory (although we don't use magnets anymore in ICs (just on hard drives). The Electronically Controlled Robot looks like something from a modern Japanese university - without the skin, hair, and eyeballs. Note that as today, supplying power is one of the biggest hurdles in making a human-looking robot (umbilical required). The Solid State Camera "Tube" is one of the very first solid state camera imaging chips. It had a whopping 2,500 pixels. The Computer-Directed Drawing Machine converted a 2-dimensional drawing into a 3-dimensional perspective. Shipboard Satellite Communications was at the time one of the first uses of satellites for global communications, it being a big deal because...

San Francisco Circuits: PCBs for Wearable Devices

San Francisco Circuits: PCBs for Wearable Devices - RF CafeSan Francisco Circuits (SFC) has launched a new industry focus page on PCBs used in wearable devices. This new industry focus page on PCBs for wearable devices covers how these devices require small form factors and how they are achieved. It also includes the material selection process, design & layout best practices, wearable device applications, and the future of materials for wearable technologies. As technology advances and more innovative applications are developed for wearable devices, the circuit boards used in these applications will require a manufacturer that understands the demanding requirements of flex PCBs. Select wearable device applications include: virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers, glucose monitoring systems...

Electronics Themed Comics

Electronics Themed Comics, October 1945 & April 1946 Radio News - RF CafeHave you had a rough week? If so - and even if not - take a few minutes to get a laugh from these electronics-themed comics from the pages of vintage Radio News magazines. Beginning sometime in the late 1930s and early 1940s, single-panel topical comics began appearing frequently in many hobby and even professional magazines. Sure, comics showed up in magazines before that time, but they generally did not necessarily have to do with the main subject of the publication. The Saturday Evening Post, for example, had many single-panel comics, but they were on any random theme. I can't go without commenting on the April 1946 comic since it reminds me of a situation while in tech school at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1979. I can't recall exactly what the circuit was that the instructor was covering, but it involved tuning to achieve a waveform with a null in the center of two bandpass regions similar to this:  ∩∩ . He and everyone I worked with in the field after tech school referred to it as the "Dolly Parton waveform." Such a scenario would never pass muster with the overly sensitive...

The Ideal Band for 6G

The Ideal Band for 6G - RF CafeJoe Madden, of mobile Experts, has an interesting article in the August issue of Microwave Journal where he discusses, per the title, "The Ideal Band for 6G." As with every increment in wireless technology, the pursuit of higher per-channel bandwidth drives the center frequencies farther into the nether regions of mm-wave and beyond. Aside from no having existing technology (i.e., integrated circuits) to support commercialization of the high bands, lack of obstacle penetration and greater signal strength drop−off (per Friis equation) buggers the system. Mr. Madden has a useful 3−D graph illustrating the aforementioned limiting characteristics of the various frequency bands. He begins the article by noting that the original stated motivation for 5G enabling higher bandwidth local application is not really being realized, but instead is exploited by carriers to handle more traffic..

Transistor Topics - Heathkit TCR-1, MOBIDIC

Transistor Topics - Heathkit TCR-1, MOBIDIC, April 1960 Popular Electronics - RF CafeFor many years, Popular Electronics magazine had a monthly column titled "Transistor Topics" that reported on news in the world of those newfangled semiconductors. To wit, this article from the April 1960 edition begins, "Each month, more and more transistorized consumer products are developed as replacements for vacuum-tube designs." The Heathkit TCR-1 clock radio is featured for its six-transistor superheterodyne AM receiver circuit. A mechanical clock is still used since other than using Nixie tubes, digital displays were not commercially available. The MOBIDIC "super" computer is also covered for its total transistorization. At about 4 feet wide and 6 feet tall, it is hard to believe that the "MOB" portion of the acronym stands for "mobile"...

Post Your Engineer & Technician Job Openings on RF Cafe for Free

/jobs.htm" target="_top"> Engineering Job Board - RF CafeRF Cafe's raison d'être is and always has been to provide useful, quality content for engineers, technicians, engineering managers, students, and hobbyists. Part of that mission is offering to post applicable /jobs.htm" target="_top">job openings. HR department employees and/or managers of hiring companies are welcome to submit opportunities for posting at no charge. 3rd party recruiters and temp agencies are not included so as to assure a high quality of listings. Please read through the easy procedure to benefit from RF Cafe's high quality visitors...

Thanks to TotalTemp Technologies for Continued Support!

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. Please contact TotalTemp Technologies today to learn how they can help your project.

Monday the 15th

Designing an All-Channel TV Antenna

Designing an All-Channel TV Antenna, February 1966 Electronics World - RF CafeYes, the old days of over-the-air broadcasts and analog television could be a pain. Perfect adjustment of the antenna and TV controls one day could be totally useless the next day or even later the same day. Atmospheric and physical variations can change suddenly and significantly, affecting both radio and television. Proper separation and processing of horizontal and vertical synchronization of the video, color and intensity, and audio by the TV's electronic circuits depended on the right combination of antenna, and lead-in cable. The advent of semiconductors in place of vacuum tubes helped stabilize the television's role in viewing quality and lessened the overall irritation level, and the introduction of cable-based and then satellite-based programming distribution to reduce irritations to the point where most people never had a problem. That said, I would happily return to the days of yore and suffer the aforementioned inconveniences, to enjoy a time when the content was significantly less rude and crude, and patriotic and traditional family-based shows were by far the rule rather than the exception...

RF Cafe Poll: Do You Work from Home?

RF Cafe Poll: Do You Work from Home?The RF Cafe Blog has a built-in poll feature that I can use to solicit statistical information from visitors. This week's question is, "Do You Work from Home?" Since the beginning of the COVID scam, a lot of people transitioned from driving to a facility every day to working either full-time or part-time from home. How about you?

Physically Unclonable Functions Carbon Nanotubes for CommSec

Physically Unclonable Functions Carbon Nanotubes for CommSec - RF Cafe"As the amount of data stored in devices and shared over the internet continuously increases, computer scientists worldwide are trying to devise new approaches to secure communications and protect sensitive information. Some of the most well-established and valuable approaches are cryptographic techniques, which essentially encrypt (i.e., transform) data and texts exchanged between two or more parties, so that only senders and receivers can view it in its original form. Physical unclonable functions (PUFs), devices that exploit 'random imperfections' unavoidably introduced during the manufacturing of devices to give physical entities unique 'fingerprints' (i.e., trust anchors). In recent years, these devices have proved to be particularly valuable for creating cryptographic keys, which are instantly erased as soon as they are used..."

Burgess Battery Advertisement

Burgess Battery Advertisement, August 1934 QST - RF CafeThis could be a modern day photo of an American DHS (Department of Homeland Security) or an Israeli IDF (Israel Defense Forces) agent displaying a body bomb found on an attempted suicide bomber after thwarting an attack, but it's not. In actuality, it is a 1934 Burgess battery advertisement that appeared in QST magazine with the intent of demonstrating to Hams the kinds of research the company was doing. This design was called a "ribbon battery," and it could conveniently be wired in a flexible manner with almost any number of series and parallel connections to accommodate required voltage and current combinations, including taps for multiple voltages needed for vacuum tube radios. The packs could be "wrapped about one's body for portable receiver use." Hmmmm, maybe that's what made me think of the body bomb...

FITSAT-1 CubeSat Flight over Erie, PA

FITSAT-1 CubeSat Flight over Erie, Pennsylvania - December 12, 2012 - RF CafeI stayed up late on the night of of December 11, 2012 (early in the morning, actually) to watch the FITSAT-1 CubeSat satellite flash its Morse code "HI DE NIWAKA JAPAN" message via super-bright LEDs over eastern North America. It was scheduled to pass just south of my location in Erie, Pennsylvania, at 1:14 AM, with a lights-on intensity great enough to be easily seen with binoculars. FITSAT-1 is a project conceived of and built by professors and students at the Fukuoka Institute of Technology (FIT) in Japan. In addition to the LED visual display, the satellite also carries several Amateur Radio payloads including a CW beacon on 437.250 MHz, a telemetry beacon on 437.445 MHz and a high-speed data downlink on 5,840.0 MHz. The CubeSat Project was developed by California Polytechnic State University and Stanford University's Space Systems Development Lab. It creates launch opportunities for universities previously unable to access space. A CubeSat is 10 cm on a side and may have a mass of up to 1.33 kg. Launch vehicles sell space to CubeSats for around $40,000, which makes them very affordable to place in orbit...

RF & Electronics Stencils for Visio

RF & Electronics stencils for Visio r4 - RF CafeWith more than 1000 custom-built stencils, this has got to be the most comprehensive set of Visio Stencils available for RF, analog, and digital system and schematic drawings! Every stencil symbol has been built to fit proportionally on the included A-, B-, and C-size drawing page templates (or use your own page if preferred). Components are provided for system block diagrams, conceptual drawings, schematics, test equipment, racks (EIA 19", ETSI 21"), and more. Test equipment and racks are built at a 1:1 scale so that measurements can be made directly using Visio built-in dimensioning objects. Page templates are provided with a preset scale (changeable) for a good presentation that can incorporate all provided symbols...

Please Thank IPP for Their Long-Time Support!

Innovative Power ProductsInnovative Power Products (IPP) has over 35 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 are serviced around the world. Products listed on website link to detailed mechanical drawings that contain electrical specifications as well as performance data. Please take a couple minutes to visit their website and see how IPP can help you today. 

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