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Exodus Advanced Communications Best in Class RF Amplifier SSPAs - RF Cafe

Comics: Ye Antique Radio Collector

Comics: Ye Antique Radio Collector, October 1964 Popular Electronics - RF CafeHere for your almost-Friday enjoyment is a collection of radio-themed comics from a 1964 issue of Popular Electronics magazine. The scenario in the first comic is one that an owner of an antiques store told me happens often with cunning customers. Now that eBay has been around for so long, shop owners, yard/garage sale holders, Craigslist sellers, and even places like Goodwill know what their items are really worth and price accordingly. In fact, about the only things you can find at those venues anymore is utter junk or stuff too big to sell and ship on eBay - like an area rug or a night stand. Every once in a while you'll come across a good deal when the person is not Internet savvy, but not often. We hardly even look anymore...

Hams Track High-Altitude Balloon"

Hams Track High-Altitude Balloon - RF Cafe"The Kopernik Observatory put out a call last week for hams to receive and decode transmissions from a launch by its High Altitude Balloon Camp. Amateur radio delivered! Social media was abuzz with images decoded from the K2ZRO-9 transmitters. The balloon was launched from Vestal, New York, and ascended over the Catskill Mountains. A crowd gathered at W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station at ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut, where Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, was tracking it. The decoded slow scan television (SSTV) signals showed black skies above, and cumulonimbus build ups below the balloon..."

France Joins the Space Age Club

France Joins the Space Age Club, December 13, 1965 Electronics Magazine - RF CafeFrance's A-1 (aka "Astérix") satellite launch in November of 1965 made it the sixth country to place a satellite in orbit - behind Russia, USA, the UK, Canada, and Italy, respectively. Astérix's primary mission was to test the booster rocket, and verify the ground tracking networks. Onboard were a radar transponder, a tracking beacon, and a telemetry transmitter. Due to a presumed damaged antenna, received signals from the beacon were very weak and only lasted for two days. Although initially France relied on U.S. contractors for much of its hardware (mechanical and electronic), it endeavored to develop and produce the majority of the required technology in-country...

Electronics Newsletter c.1965 - Satellite Radio & TV

Electronics Newsletter, December 13, 1965 Electronics Magazine - RF CafeAlthough less than a decade had passed since NASA launched its first satellite (Explorer 1), planners there were already dreaming of the day when direct satellite-to-home and satellite-to-car signals would be broadcast on a commercial basis. This 1965 issue of Electronics magazine notes an intention to begin with FM radio station airing akin to what we know today as satellite radio. Then, by 1977 the country would be treated to satellite-to-home television programming powered by a space-borne SNAP-8 (Space Nuclear Auxiliary Power) generator. Sirius XM Radio made its debut in 2001, while home satellite TV service began in 1976. Also mentioned is the USSR's fourth failed attempt to safely land an instrument package (Luna 8, aka Lunik 8) on the Moon...

Please Thank Werbel Microwave for Continued Support!

Werbel MicrowaveWerbel Microwave is a manufacturer of RF directional and bidirectional couplers (6 dB to 50 dB) and RF power dividers / combiners (2- to 16-way) with select models operating up to 26.5 GHz and 100 W of CW power (3 kW peak). All are RoHS and REACH compliant and are designed and manufactured in our Whippany, NJ, location. Custom products and private label service available. Please take a couple minutes to visit their website and see how Werbel Microwave can help you today.

JFETs - Put Last Month's Theory to Work

JFET's - Put Last Month's Theory to Work, June 1969 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeThe introduction of field-effect transistors (FET's) into the electronics world was a major benefit to designers needing lower power consumption and perhaps more importantly, high input impedances for active circuits. The two most fundamentally distinct type of FET's are the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) and the junction field-effect transistor (JFET). Both FET types are voltage-controlled devices and do not require a bias current (hence the high input impedance) like a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) does. Neither FET type has a PN junction. A JFET uses a high resistance semiconductor channel region between the source and drain with an ohmic contact to the gate, whereas the MOSFET has a insulative oxide layer...

EMC Compliance in Industrial Equipment

EMC Compliance in Industrial Equipment - RF Cafe"Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is crucial to industrial equipment design and operation. In industrial environments, where numerous electronic devices and systems coexist, the potential for electromagnetic interference (EMI) is significant. Ensuring EMC compliance is essential for industrial equipment's reliable and safe operation, preventing disruptions and maintaining productivity. This article explores the unique EMC challenges in industrial settings, discusses strategies to achieve EMC compliance, and provides real-world examples of successful implementations. Challenges in Industrial Settings Industrial environments pose unique EMC challenges due to several factors: High Electromagnetic Noise..."

Hong Kong Adds Quality Electronics to Its Bargain Basement Line

Hong Kong Adds Quality Electronics to Its Bargain Basement Line, December 13, 1965 Electronics Magazine - RF CafePardon my gallows humor, but when I first saw this photo from a 1965 issue of Electronics magazine of this manufacturing plant being built in Hong Kong, my thought was that maybe those scaffolds in front of the windows were actually there to prevent despondent, hopeless employees from jumping onto the sidewalks below. These days, more stylish and socially acceptable nets are used. The take-away from this story is that while it might seem the shifting of manufacturing to and/or sourcing of foreign-made products by U.S. firms from China is not a recent phenomenon. This was half a century ago before the fall of the Berlin Wall, before the breakup of the U.S.S.R., the mowing down of student protestors in Tiananmen Square, and other high profile...

SFC's PCB Layer Stackup Calculator

San Francisco Circuits PCB Layer Stackup Calculator - RF CafeSan Francisco Circuits has launched a new PCB Stackup Calculator / Design Tool. San Francisco Circuits' free PCB Stackup Calculator helps engineers and designers quickly configure and visualize multilayer PCB stackups from 4 to 14 layers. Users can select copper weights, dielectric materials, and vias, then instantly view a detailed layer-by-layer breakdown with IPC 6012 manufacturing guidelines. Key Benefits: Layer Flexibility - Design stackups for 4 to 14 layers, Material Guidance - Typical copper foil and prepreg thicknesses, Via Options - Blind and buried, Instant Visualization - Clear stackup tables for easy review...

New Rules to Govern CB Radio

New Rules to Govern CB, October 1964 Popular Electronics - RF CafeCitizens' Band (CB) radio began in 1945, just after World War II, in order to provide common folks with a means of both fixed and mobile radio communications that required only paying a fee to operate. Amateur radio (Ham radio) did and still does require that the operator pass a written test to gain transmitting privileges (anyone may receive a signal). CB was and is used for both fixed base and mobile communications. Evidently, by 1964 there was enough use and misuse of the airwaves that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) found it necessary to publish and enforce a new set of rules for users. CB radio began operations in the 460-470 MHz UHF band, then moved to 27 MHz in 1958 since equipment could be manufactured in a manner more affordable to a wider segment of the public...

Unknown Frequency Quiz

Unknown Frequency Quiz, September 1965 Popular Electronics - RF CafeLots of old-time sci-fi movies and TV shows liked to display Lissajous patterns on oscilloscopes when an authentic high tech look was needed in a scene. Every engineer, technician, and physicist in the world - me included - roll his or her eyes at the sight of such a lame attempt to impress the public. Of course the truth is the first time I saw a Lissajous pattern gyrating on an o-scope screen, I was mesmerized. The need to crank on the signal generator knobs and take control of the electroluminescent object d'art was overwhelming. Now, in the same manner that watching the first couple Space Shuttle launches was a thrill not to be missed and then became just another launch, so, too, is watching a live Lissajous pattern on a scope - it's just another Lissajous. Except, well, that's not quite so - at least for me. I always eagerly viewed Shuttle launches...

Ferroelectric Helps Break Transistor Limits

Ferroelectric Helps Break Transistor Limits - RF Cafe"Integrating an electronic material that exhibits a strange property called negative capacitance can help high-power gallium nitride transistors break through a performance barrier, say scientists in California. Research published in Science suggests that negative capacitance helps sidestep a physical limit that typically enforces tradeoffs between how well a transistor performs in the 'on' state versus how well it does in the 'off' state. The researchers behind the project say this shows that negative capacitance, which has been extensively studied in silicon, may have broader applications than previously..."

Mac's Service Shop: Changer Chatter

Mac's Service Shop: Changer Chatter, May 1959 Electronics World - RF Cafe"Squegging" - Now there's a word you don't hear every day. It is a shortened version of "self-quenching." As is often the case in these "Mac's Service Shop" sagas, we get a primer on certain circuit functions and how to troubleshoot and resolve the issue. You can also usually count on learning more than one lesson per reading. After replacing the failed component in Barney's exasperatingly elusive receiver, Mac turns to record changer mechanisms and their bewildering nature, but the real message being given is the value of well-written troubleshooting guides from manufacturers. Even with today's no-user-serviceable-parts-inside products, there are many times a troubleshooting guide is included as part of the user's manual. That goes for both electronic and mechanical products. You might laugh at the first step that tells the owner to check to make sure the electric cord is plugged in or batteries are installed with the proper polarity...

Rotating Subreflector Produces Circular Scanning

Rotating Subreflector Produces Circular Scanning, February 14, 1964 Electronics Magazine - RF CafeElectronically steered phased arrays have largely replaced mechanically steered antennas in the last couple decades. In an effort to eliminate the need for a waveguide rotary joint, which is both expensive and complex when built for high reliability under harsh operating conditions, Japanese engineers developed an alternative where a small subreflector is orbited about a central axis to produce a small scanning angle. The measured half power bandwidth of the central beam was about 7.5°, while the half power scan width about the main axis boresight appears per one of the plots to be around 30° or so (if I interpret it correctly). I assume this scheme was never pursued much beyond the experimental phase...

More Electronics-Themed Comics

Electronics-Themed Comics, February 1953 Radio-ElectronicsThese three electronics-themed comics appeared in the February 1953 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine. The first one showing the television repairman employing contortionist technique in order to tweak the picture is pretty good. I have seen an advertisement in one of these magazines that offered a deflection coil alignment signal generator box that had a mirror mounted inside the cover specifically for doing the job that tech is doing in the comic. Another comic no doubt hit home with in-home servicemen of the day; at least the owner was honest. The other plays off a brand of humor common in the day that demonstrated the public's fascination with all the newfangled technology showing up every day...

EchoStar Still on the Hook at FCC

EchoStar Still on the Hook at FCC - RF Cafe"The dark cloud of uncertainty hanging over EchoStar doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said his agency continues to take a close look at whether EchoStar, via its Dish business, complied with the FCC's 5G network buildout obligations. 'Dish obviously says that they did,' he said during a press conference after the commission's open meeting Thursday. 'Concerns have been raised. We've been working through the data on that. That work continues.' Separately, the FCC opened a proceeding..."

Making Circuit Components

Making Circuit Components, July 1969 Radio-Electronics - RF CafePart 1 of this "All About IC's" trilogy titled, "What Makes Them Tick," author Bob Hibberd introduced the concept of semiconductor physics and doped PN junctions. In Part 2, he discusses methods used to fabricate monolithic, integrated circuits (IC's) on silicon chips. Transistors, diodes, resistor, capacitors, and to some extent, inductors, can be built using a combination of variously doped junction regions, metallization, and oxidation (insulators). Technology has come a long way since 1969, including mask techniques, 3-D structures, doping gradients, feature size, dielectric breakdown strength, current leakage, circuit density, mixed analog, RF, and digital circuitry, and other things. Part 3, covered in the August issue, goes into more detail about how passive components are realized in silicon...

TV Service Can Be Successful

TV Service Can Be Successful, February 1953 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeNote the byline in this 1953 Radio-Electronics magazine article - Juliette Drut (she's on the cover). Not often were articles in electronics trade magazines penned by a dame or damsel back in the day. For that matter, it's still pretty rare today... hmmm... but I digress. If you thumb through any electronics magazines from the middle of the last century, you find that the pages are filled with advertisements offering courses to train prospects in the field of television and radio repair, with promises of a potential to make big money. Both institutional and home-study courses abounded. The costs never appeared, but hey, with the money a fellow would be making soon, surely the price would be inconsequential. Interestingly, in those same issues would be articles such as this one addressing the reality of electronics servicing...

Thanks to Anritsu for Continued Support!

Anritsu (electronics test equipment) - RF CafeAnritsu 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. "We've Got You Covered."

Electronic Switching Quiz

Electronic Switching Quiz, October 1967 Popular Electronics - RF CafeI found yet another electronics quiz in a copy of my vintage Popular Electronics magazine collection. Robert P. Balin published scores of these quizzes over the span of a couple decades. Unless you have created a few quizzes yourself, it might seem like there is nothing to it, but even relatively simple ones like this requires the creator to think up the problems and then guarantee that the answers given are correct. No, it's not rocket science, but try creating a dozen quizzes with 8 to 10 questions; it could take a while. Anywho[sic], this Electronic Switching Quiz requires you to consider the switch positions and then determine which lamps will turn on...

What CHIPS Act Looks Like Now

What CHIPS Act Looks Like Now - RF Cafe"The U.S. CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 aimed to reestablish advanced manufacturing for logic and memory in the United States, as well as boost or establish other chipmaking activities. The job is far from complete, but a look at where the money is expected to go points to a potentially broad geographic boost for the domestic chip industry. That's assuming it continues. Not long after the law took effect, the federal government began careful negotiations and had in hand proposed deals for more than 30 projects by the end of October 2024. After Donald Trump won the 2024 election, the CHIPS Office went into high gear..."

Radar Tech Joe Urcheck - Part 2

USAF Radar Technician Joe Urcheck - RF CafeA couple weeks ago, I announced USAF radar technician Joe Urcheck's indoctrination into the RF Cafe Radar Shop Hall of Fame. We wrote back and forth a few times as I learned he had quite an interesting career both in the USAF and then for decades as an FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) radar tech. Since a lot of guys with similar backgrounds appreciate being able to read about their comrades' experiences, I asked Joe if it would be OK to post his comments, which he did. Read it here, and shoot me a note if you have a story to tell...

Sylvania Solid State Replacement Parts Advertisement

Sylvania Solid State Replacement Parts Advertisement, August 1969 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeIf you believe this 1969 Sylvania General Telephone & Electronics advertisement, you needed only to stock their specially-designed 60 components to be able to replace every other component made anywhere in the world. Even in 1969 when semiconductors were becoming the majority active devices in electronics (replacing vacuum tubes), the claim is a bit of a stretch. I have my doubts. The ad probably got posted on a few engineering lab bulletin boards (the physical kind of yore, not computer BB's) to elicit a few laughs. It reminds me a little of the episode of M.A.S.H. where a war correspondent asked Captain Hawkeye Pierce what he brought with him from home, and he responded that he only brought...

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Exodus Advanced Communications Best in Class RF Amplifier SSPAs - RF Cafe