 Friday the 30th
Thursday the 29th
Wednesday the 28th
Tuesday the 27th
Monday the 26th
Sunday the 25th
Friday the 23rd
 "Sam Benzacar of Anatech Electronics, an
RF and microwave filter company, has published his April 2021 newsletter that features
his short op−ed entitled "A
Wall of Interference!" The allusion is to the "wall" of antennas that typically
comprises cell tower installations. Each antenna represents a source of potential
signal interference for collocated antennas' receivers whose connected front end
low noise amplifiers must successfully reject out-of-band signals and/or the inbound
spurious mixer products generated by out-of-band signals. Sam also presents some
relevant industry news items as well..."
 Electronic mail did not start out as we know
it today, whereby anyone with access to an Internet-connected device can compose
and send a typed message to a similarly equipped receiver. The first electronic
mail message was sent (and received) on November 1, 1960, between post offices in
Washington, D.C., and Chicago, Illinois. This article from Popular Electronics
magazine takes you on a step-by-step tour of how the
Speed Mail system worked, including its dedicated shortwave radio links between
participating cities. Great care was taken in an attempt to assure message confidentiality
by having the letter opened and scanned automatically inside a sealed machine on
the transmit end and then printed and placed in a sealed envelope on the receive
end. Knowing what we know now about government snooping...
 Res-Net Microwave has a complete line of
precision RF & microwave components including attenuators, terminations,
resistors, and diode detectors for commercial, military, and space applications.
Products range from the small flange type to large 2,000 watt connectorized power
attenuators and/or terminations at frequencies up to 26.5 GHz. In-house photo
etch and laser trim capability. The company is a leader in development and production
of the films required for these type of RF/microwave components. Please check out
Res-Net Microwave's website to see how they can help with your current project.
Thursday the 22nd
 After having read many articles about Dr. Lee
de Forest, it seems the poor guy was besieged his entire life by envious and/or
belligerent electronic communications compatriots who sought to defame him and/or
deny him of monetary rewards. This January 1947 issue of Radio-Craft magazine
includes a dozen or so pieces written by friends and colleagues who recognized the
momentous struggles and achievements of Dr. de Forest. Such burdens of
fame are borne by many - if not all - persons of similar celebrity. Dogged persistence
is the order of the day for experimenters and breakers-through of assumedly impenetrable
walls. Guys like de Forest lived by the old adage recommending that "if at
first you don't succeed, try, try again." You'll be amazed at how de Forest whipped
- almost literally - that thing which was preventing his
wireless telephone from working. BTW, as I've pointed out before, you will find
the good doctor's last name written as "de Forest, DeForest, and De Forest."
As evidenced by his signature...
 Modelithics is pleased to announce the release
of
version 21.4.5 of the Modelithics Qorvo GaN Library for use with Keysight Technologies'
Advanced Design System and Cadence AWR Design Environment. Version 21.4.5 of the
Modelithics Qorvo Gallium Nitride (GaN) Library includes a total of 82 models containing
59 packaged power models, 17 GaN die power transistor products and 6 small-signal
models. This release offers a non-linear model for the Qorvo QPD1028L, a 750W (P3dB)
discrete GaN on SiC HEMT using Qorvo's QGaN50HV process. This device comes in an
NI-780 package (eared). The Angelov-based large-signal model includes an advanced
model feature for enabling intrinsic I-V sensing and is valid for Class AB operations...
 At first I thought this was a news item about
Maxwell Smart's archenemy. "A complex network of randomly interconnected logic gates
creates conditions that could thwart hackers. Not all
chaos is bad. In the case of programmable chips, chaos can be harnessed to create
a unique digital identifier. Think of it as a fingerprint—only, instead of distinctive
loops and whorls on human skin, this is about the unique physical variations present
in silicon chips. These minute differences, often at an atomic level, vary from
chip to chip, even if they are manufactured together. The physical variations can
be amplified using a technology called physically unclonable functions (PUFs) to
create a signature that is unique to a specific chip..."
 Here is a little electronics hobbyist humor
in the form a comic series titled "Hobnobbing with Harbaugh," compliments of
Popular Electronics magazine. Dave Harbaugh drew many comics for technical
magazines. For the non-Ham, QSL is the Q-code for "'I confirm that I received your
transmission." You don't need to be an amateur radio operator to appreciate these
comic strips, though. Note that with it being 1963, the husband and wife are shown
sleeping in separate beds - just like in the TV shows of the era like The Dick Van
Dyke Show and I Love Lucy. BTW, the kid in the crib is spelling out -..(d) .-(a)
-..(d) -..(d) -.--(y).
 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 for
amplitude and phased matched VNA applications 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. A partnership with Newark assures fast, reliable
access. Please visit ConductRF today to see how they can help your project!
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 Judging by some of the letters written to
magazines by their readers,
obtaining parts referenced in many construction articles proved difficult or
impossible to procure. Ziff-Davis, a major publisher in 1940 as well as today, ran
this notice in a 1940 issue of its Radio News magazine offering advice
as to how one might go about getting everything needed. Unlike nowadays where nearly
every available source worldwide can be found on the World Wide Web, back then searching
could be - and too often was - a long, slow process. Just finding a phone number
or mailing address for a potential supplier presented a major obstacle to anyone
without a collection of catalogs and magazines - or at least knowing someone who
did. Imagine needing ten non-standard parts and having to write letters to manufacturers
and/or distributors trying to located critical component...
 "Researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute
of Technology (RMIT) have introduced an ultra-thin material for semiconductors that
could lead to
transparent electronics. A molten mixture of tellurium and selenium, rolled
over a surface, results in the deposit of an atomically-thin sheet of beta-tellurite.
As a rare "p-type" semiconductor material, the beta-tellurite transports positively
charged constructs known as holes. 'This new, high-mobility p-type oxide fills a
crucial gap in the materials spectrum to enable fast, transparent circuits,' said
team leader Dr. Torben Daeneke. The RMIT team's new p-type semiconductor is ten
to one hundred times faster than existing p-type oxide semiconductors. according
to the project's team leader. 'In our advance, the missing link was finding the
right, 'positive' approach'..."
 This
Technology
Theme Crossword Puzzle for April 25th has many words and clues related to RF,
microwave, and mm-wave engineering, optics, mathematics, chemistry, physics, and
other technical subjects. As always, this crossword 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. Enjoy!
RfCaFe
autodidacts
Electronics-Themed Comics June 1951 Radio-Electronics
 RF 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 13,000 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.
 RF Cascade Workbook 2018 is the next phase in the evolution
of RF Cafe's long-running series, RF Cascade Workbook. Chances are you
have never used a spreadsheet quite like this (click here for screen capture). It is a full-featured RF system
cascade parameter and frequency planner that includes filters and mixers for a mere
$45. Built in MS Excel, using RF Cascade Workbook 2018 is a cinch
and the format is entirely customizable. It is significantly easier and faster than
using a multi-thousand dollar simulator when a high level system analysis is all
that is needed. An intro video takes you through the main features...
 It 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!
 With more than 1000
custom-built symbols, this has got to be the most comprehensive set of
Visio Symbols available for RF, analog, and digital system and schematic drawings!
Every object has been built to fit proportionally on the provided A-, B- and C-size
drawing page templates (or can use your own). Symbols are provided for equipment
racks and test equipment, system block diagrams, conceptual drawings, and schematics.
Unlike previous versions, these are NOT Stencils, but instead are all contained
on tabbed pages within a single Visio document. That puts everything in front of
you in its full glory. Just copy and paste what you need on your drawing. The file
format is XML so everything plays nicely with Visio 2013 and later...
 With 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 object has been built to fit proportionally on the provided
A-, B- and C-size drawing page templates (or can use your own). Stencils are provided
for equipment racks and test equipment, system block diagrams, conceptual drawings,
and schematics. Unlike previous versions, these are NOT Stencils, but instead are
all contained on tabbed pages within a single Visio document. That puts everything
in front of you in its full glory. Just copy and paste what you need on your drawing.
The file format is XML so everything plays nicely with Visio 2013 and later...
 This 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...
 RF
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 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...
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