 Friday the 2nd
Thursday the 1st
 My first exposure to
bare die integrated circuits was in the early 1980's, while working at the Westinghouse
Oceanic Division in Annapolis, Maryland. It was my first job as an electronics technician
after separating from the U.S. Air Force. After working there on the evening shift
for a couple years building sonar systems for the U.S. Navy, I had an opportunity
to move to the day shift if I could pass muster for a high level security clearance.
A small group of engineers, with just one technician, was formed to serve the needs
of a "special" customer. A couple other guys with more seniority them me interviewed
for the position, but they failed the background check, which included two polygraph
tests ...but I digress. Part of my job entailed building microcircuit assemblies
using bare IC die and surface mount passive devices epoxied to very tiny printed
circuit substrates, and then using a thermosonic wirebond machine to do the interconnections.
1 mil gold wire was used. A week-long class at the company's plant in Baltimore
provided the basics, but the work we did was very unique and required developing
new techniques that probably would not pass inspection by the crotchety Navy inspectors...
 Call me a snob, but IMHO except for rare
circumstances, if you expect to hold the title of "engineer," you really should
have
earned a college degree in engineering. Sure, there are talented people without
an engineering degree that can do certain engineering jobs more competently than
someone with an engineering degree; however, it certainly is not so in the majority
of instances. It is foolish to look around at all the technology you share your
life with and conclude that people without the benefit of a formal engineering education
could turn out so much at such a fast pace. When someone learns that you are an
engineer, there is an automatic assumption that you hold at least a Bachelor's degree
in engineering, software, or the physical sciences. If you tell someone you are
a technician, the assumption is that you have earned an Associate's degree and/or
received training in the military specific to your job's nature. When I see messages
like the one in this advertisement, I get a little perturbed because: 1) It is misleading
since unaware people will believe that becoming an engineer really is a easy as
taking some home instruction courses, and 2) It diminishes the accomplishments,
financial and time investment, and hard work of those who did earn an engineering
degree...
 There is an article on the EETimes website
entitled, "Solder's
Days Should Be Numbered - There Is a Better Way." It basically an infomercial
for the Occam Group's process of "reverse order processing" which eliminates soldering
of electronics assemblies. "Our vision is to first attach components to a 'component
board' and test that assembly before encapsulation and circuitization. This ensures
that all assemblies are known to be good at the outset. There are several methods
for adding component connections, including traditional plating techniques and additive
printed circuits. By removing solder, thermal excursions are greatly diminished."
It sounds good, but upon visiting Occam's website
I could not find any useful information about how they work their claimed magic,
and no photos of actual products or processes. The idea sounds good, but might still
be in the vaporware phase of development. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
 If this 1960 Popular Electronics
magazine article was written today, the title would more likely be, "One
IC Pocket Radio," and rather than a couple dozen resistors, capacitors, and
inductors (and a transformer), and there might be one or two decoupling capacitors.
Everything else would be contained within the integrated circuit. There are plenty
of single-chip radio circuits available from distributors like Digi-Key, Newark
Electronics, etc. Oh, and how many of you even know what a phenolic board looks
like? Better yet, how many of you can identify the unique smell of one heating up
or burning due to component overheating? If you can't, then consider yourself lucky,
because that probably means you're 40-50 years younger than I am, and you have that
much longer to live then me...
 New 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.
 Triad RF Systems designs and manufactures
RF power amplifiers
and systems. Triad RF Systems comprises three partners (hence "Triad") with
over 40 years of accumulated knowledge of what is required to design, manufacture,
market, sell and service RF/Microwave amplifiers and amplifier systems. PA, LNA,
bi-directional, and frequency translating amplifiers are available, in formats including
tower mount, benchtop, rack mount, and chassis mount. "We view Triad more as a technology
partner than a vendor for our line-of-sight communications product line." Please
check to see how they can help your project.
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https://www.youtube.com/
user/LadyBugTech
 We recently passed
the 62nd anniversary of the first successful
earth-moon-earth (EME) communication path by amateur radio operators. What
is today a routine operation by Hams was a big deal back in the day. The moon
was still a mystery to most of the world since at the time not even an unmanned
probe had been sent for exploration. As reported in this 1960 issue of
Electronics World magazine, 1,296 MHz was the frequency of choice using a 1 kW
klystron on the transmit end and a highly sensitive parametric amplifier on the
receive end, with high gain parabolic antennas on both ends. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) has allocated the 144.00-144.20 MHz,
222.0-222.025 MHz, 432.00-432.07 MHz, 902.8-903.0 MHz, 1295.8-1296.05 MHz, and
2303.9-2304.2 MHz bands for various modes of EME operation per Part 97 rules.
 Preparing for a
technician career in
electronics today is not so different than it was in 1970, when this article on
resume preparation appeared in Popular Electronics magazine. Sure, particular
job descriptions have changed, but the basics are pretty much the same. In 1970,
being able to list television and radio repair on your resume was a valuable
indication of your schematic reading and troubleshooting prowess. The keywords
Sams Photofacts would jump right off the page at a knowledgeable interviewer
(you can still buy documentation packages from Sams Technical Publishing). Then,
as now, having a two-year college electronics degree or a stint in the armed
forces as an electronics technician - or both, preferably - is almost a
requirement for landing a job at a defense or aerospace electronics company...
Jensen Christmas Radio Advertisement
Loring AFB (/pictures folder)°
Building implosion
Magnetic Variation
New 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.
RF Cascade Workbook 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...
 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 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...
 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...
 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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 "Electronics
and electrical engineering job outlooks are on the decline due to interests
and global materials shortages, but that could change based on several dynamics.
The pandemic has done its best to hinder chip production on a global scale. But
while the shortage shows signs of subsiding, semiconductor companies are
encountering another problem that could set them back: a lack of qualified
electronics and electrical engineers. In June of this year (2022), Intel
engineer Raja Koduri attended the IEEE Symposium on VLSI Technology & Circuits
and raised the issue of engineer scarcity within the U.S., which painted a
negative forecast for the near future (to say the least)..."
 "Seventy-five years
is a long time. It's so long that most of us don't remember a time before the
transistor, and long enough for many engineers to have devoted entire careers to
its use and development. In honor of this most important of technological
achievements, this issue's package of articles explores the transistor's
historical journey and potential future. In 'The First Transistor and How it
Worked,' Glenn Zorpette dives deep into how the point-contact transistor came to
be. Then, in 'The Ultimate Transistor Timeline,' Stephen Cass lays out the
device's evolution, from the flurry of successors to the point-contact
transistor to the complex devices in today's laboratories that might one day go
commercial. The transistor would never have become so useful and so ubiquitous
if the semiconductor industry had not succeeded in making it small and cheap. We
try to give you a sense of that scale in 'The State of the Transistor.' So
what's next in transistor technology? In less than 10 years' time..."
 "This simple gadget
showed off the magic of the first transistor. In 1949 an engineer at Bell Labs
built three music boxes to show off the new transistors. Each Transistor
Oscillator-Amplifier Box contained an oscillator-amplifier circuit and two
point-contact transistors powered by a B-type battery. It electronically
produced five distinct tones, although the sounds were not exactly melodious
delights to the ear. The box's design was a simple LC circuit, consisting of a
capacitor and an inductor. The capacitance was selectable using the switch bank,
which Bardeen 'played' when he demonstrated the box. Bell Labs used one of the
boxes to demonstrate the transistor's portability. In early demonstrations, the
instantaneous response of the circuits wowed witnesses, who were accustomed to
having to wait for vacuum tubes to warm up. The other two music boxes went to
Bardeen and Brattain. Only Bardeen's survives..."
 "Simultaneous
wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) is a promising technology to
connect and energize low-power devices wirelessly over a long distance, suiting
it for IoT implementations. But today's state-of-the-art low-power SWIPT
receivers still consume much more energy for communication than the amount they
can harvest, which hinders further development and growth of the IoT ecosystem.
In a potential game changer, scientists at the Korea Maritime and Ocean
University developed an innovative signal design for a simultaneous wireless
information and power transfer system. The proposed pulse-position modulation
(PPM) scheme enhances power-transfer efficiency and reduces data-decoding energy
consumption - a double advantage - besides performing better than conventional
systems. The technique may ultimately bolster IoT technology. Prior work in the
SWIPT arena highlights two common receiver architectures based on time-switching
and power-splitting schemes..."
 "In May 2022, the
TeraByte InfraRed Delivery (TBIRD) payload onboard a small CubeSat satellite
was launched into orbit 300 miles above Earth's surface. Since then, TBIRD has
delivered terabytes of data at record-breaking rates of up to 100 gigabits per
second - 100 times faster than the fastest internet speeds in most cities - via
an optical communication link to a ground-based receiver in California. This
data rate is more than 1,000 times higher than that of the radio-frequency links
traditionally used for satellite communication and the highest ever achieved by
a laser link from space to ground. And these record-setting speeds were all made
possible by a communications payload roughly the size of a tissue box. MIT
Lincoln Laboratory conceptualized the TBIRD mission in 2014 as a means of
providing unprecedented capability to science missions at low cost. Science
instruments in space today routinely generate more data than can be returned to
Earth over typical space-to-ground communications links..."
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