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Today in Science History

Multipath Distortion Menace to FM Stereo

Multipath Distortion Menace to FM Stereo?, February 1963 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeWe have been told that rock music's Buddy Holly perished in an Iowa plane crash in 1959 - "The Day the Music Died." I'm thinking maybe it was a ruse in order to fulfill Mr. Holly's secret ambition to design amplifiers for the Marantz electronics company, under the alias of Richard Sequerra. Marantz, founded in 1953, is still in the business of designing high quality receivers and amplifiers. But I digress... This 1963 article in Radio-Electronics magazine called upon industry leaders to comment on the deleterious effects which multipath can have on the reception of stereo FM ( frequency modulation) radio. Commercial FM stereo broadcasting was still in its infancy at the time. Left-right channel separation was made more difficult when multiple signals are present in the analog decision making circuitry, and acceptance by the public depended on successful operation. Stereo was a big selling point for a new paradigm in musi

Radios Terms Illustrated

Electronics-Themed Comics: Radio Term Illustrated, April and May 1946, Radio-Craft - RF CafeHere are another trio of vintage electronics-themed comics from Radio-Craft magazine. Two are part of illustrator Frank Beaven's "Radio Terms Illustrated" series, where readers would write in with suggestions and Mr. Beaven would put the ideas in ink. These two are "Poor Reception, and "Regeneration." If you look at the bottom of the page, you will find a big listing of other comics, with many of the other "Radio Terms Illustrated" instances ("High Potential," "Signal Generator," "Overload Capacity," "Amplitude," "Transmission Loss," etc.) labeled. Enjoy!

EMC: High Intensity Radiated Fields

Military and Aerospace EMC: High Intensity Radiated Fields (HIRF) - RF Cafe"Under the heading of radiated susceptibility (RS) testing is the category of High Intensity Radiated Fields, or HIRF. What is HIRF and why does anyone need to test to these high levels? NASA/TP-2001-210831, In-Flight Characterization of the Electromagnetic Environment Inside an Airliner[1], has this definition: HIRF encompasses man-made sources of electromagnetic radiation generated external to the aircraft considered as possibly interfering with safe flight. The easiest way to distinguish HIRF from other types of EMI is to state what it is not. HIRF does not include interference among on-board systems; this type of interference is referred to as an Electromagnetic Compatibility or EMC issue..."

Breakthrough in Thermoelectricity

The Coming Breakthrough in Thermoelectricity, July 1961 Electronics World - RF CafeConsumer grade thermoelectric coolers have been around for so long now that most people probably assume there is nothing wondrous about the discovery that makes them possible. I still marvel at the process that allows the application of a current through physical junction of two dissimilar metals (certain types) to produce a cooling effect rather than the I2R heating normally associated with conductors. This 1961 Electronics World magazine article from a scientist at Westinghouse Electric's research laboratories provides a nice introduction to the subject of thermoelectricity from both electric current generation based on the application...

Imaginary Numbers Are a Cinch

Imaginary Numbers Are a Cinch - Part 2, January 1968 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeWhen I was in high school, if someone placed me in a classroom where imaginary numbers (whatever they were?) were to be taught - and I was expected to learn about them - I likely would have gone into an anxiety-induced stupor. My plans were to be an electrician, and I was pretty sure electricians didn't need to know about imaginary numbers. By the time I began taking courses toward an electrical engineering degree, I quickly gained an immense appreciation for the power of complex numbers. Anyway... in this second installment of a three-part series, the author educates George (whether real or imaginary - see what I did there?) on the virtues of manipulating complex numbers when dealing with electric circuits...

How Christmas Came to S. McSquegg

How Christmas Came to S. McSquegg, December 1953 QST - RF Cafe"The perfect squelch" was a popular concept in the 1950s. I know because I've seen it in a few different magazines from that era. In fact, The Saturday Evening Post ran a regular inset feature by that name. As you might guess, it has to do with making a short statement that has the effect of cutting out the "noise," whether it be from the background of a radio reception or from an obnoxious person shooting off his mouth (which was the case for the SEP). BTW, the "Squegg" part of Sunspot McSquegg's name comes from the radio term "squeg," which refers to oscillations due to excessive feedback, like what happens when a microphone is placed too close to the speaker. This Christmastime tidbit...

Hedy Lamarr: A Short Biography

Hedy Lamarr: A Short Biography - RF CafeHedy Lamarr, born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler on November 9, 1914, in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, is widely remembered as one of Hollywood's most glamorous stars of the Golden Age of cinema. Her remarkable beauty and talent earned her roles many hit films. Lamarr's journey to Hollywood fame began with her breakout role in the controversial 1933 film Ecstasy. However, behind the glamour and fame lay a brilliant and inquisitive mind that would contribute profoundly to the field of telecommunications, particularly through her co-invention of spread spectrum communication technology. Hedy Lamarr's story truly bridges the worlds of art and science in a way that resonates with the engineering community. The inspiration for Lamarr's groundbreaking idea emerged from a combination of her early exposure to engineering concepts...

Temperature Calibration for Protecting Food Safety

Axiom Test Equipment Blog: The Role of Temperature Calibration in Protecting Food Safety - RF CafeTranscat | Axiom Test Equipment, an electronic test equipment rental and sales company has published a new blog post entitled "The Role of Temperature Calibration in Protecting Food Safety" that covers how temperature calibration tools such as dry blocks and calibration baths are precise, accurate tools for measuring temperatures during food production cycles. Complying with food temperature safety regulations helps deliver safe foods with long shelf lives, while noncompliance can result in health issues with serious legal consequences. Dry blocks and temperature calibration baths are both capable of measuring wide temperature ranges with high resolution and accuracy although they work in much diverse ways. A temperature dry block heats or cools a metal block to a precise temperature...

Fix Those Printed-Board Defects

Fix Those Printed-Board Defects, December 1959 Electronics World - RF CafeMy long-established collection of soldering aid and tuning wand tools still gets a fairly regular workout - but not necessarily for soldering tasks. Most are non-metallic, meant for bending and poking, and are very strong and heat resistant. The metal types are still required for direct contact with molten solder. One of the best tips offered in this 1959 Electronics World magazine article is for when replacing a leaded component on a PCB. If possible, rather than heating the landing pad and plated through-via to remove the leads, just clip the leads far enough from the PCB surface to create a post or loop to solder the new component to. Doing so creates a mechanically sound solder joint without undue risk of damage to the PCB metal or laminations. Interestingly, the PCB in this article contains a vacuum tube plug-in socket...

Bell Telephone Labs: Coherent Light

Bell Telephone Laboratories: Coherent Light, August 1962 Radio-Electronics - RF Cafe"Multichannel light highways for communications are still far from realization. But with continuous sources of coherent light available, it becomes possible to explore the problems of modulating, transmitting, detecting, amplifying and, in general, controlling light for possible communications applications." That claim was made in a 1962 Bell Telephone Laboratories (Bell Labs) info ad in Radio-Electronics magazine. More than six decades later, the job is being handled by microcircuits with integrated laser transmitters and receivers. High quality optical fiber provides information transport across the neighborhood, city, state, country and world. A big list of other Bell Labs innovations is at the page bottom. Created a century ago in 1925, Bell Telephone Laboratories' name has been Nokia Bell Labs...

Wilhelm Röntgen: A Short Biography

Wilhelm Röntgen: A Short Biography - RF Cafe Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, a luminary in the field of physics, was born on March 27, 1845, in Lennep, a small town in the Rhine Province of Prussia, now part of Germany. His father, Friedrich Conrad Röntgen, was a cloth manufacturer, while his mother, Charlotte Constanze Frowein, hailed from an affluent and distinguished family of Dutch descent. Wilhelm spent his early childhood in Lennep before the family moved to Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, when he was three years old. His education began at the Institute of Martinus Herman van Doorn, a technical school in Utrecht. However, Wilhelm was expelled at the age of 18 after being falsely accused of sketching a caricature of one of his teachers, an injustice that deeply affected his academic trajectory. Röntgen's early academic path was unconventional...

Meet the Transistor

Meet the Transistor, January 1955 Popular Electronics - RF CafeShortly before Christmas, 1947, the experimental work of Bell Laboratories scientists John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley resulted in the world's first semiconductor transistor. With proper biasing, the germanium transistor demonstrated an ability to produce signal gain. The signal fed to the base resulted in a higher amplitude signal at the collector. Voila, the device which would ultimately replace the vacuum electron tube had been invented. The rest, as they say, is history. Aside from a few high power applications, the only new equipment produced that uses vacuum tubes are retro things like audio amplifiers and simple receivers. Of course, there is still a large cadre of vacuum tube users in the Amateur Radio real and vintage equipment restorers...

Generative AI Generates More E-Waste

Generative AI Generates More E-Waste - RF CafeIn Compliance magazine has an article entitled, "The Growing Use of Generative AI Will Generate More E-Waste." I queried ChatGPT about whether the claim is true. Summarizing its reply, ChatGPT admits is is a polluter. To wit: "Yes, the growing use of generative AI has the potential to contribute to an increase in electronic waste (e-waste). This stems from multiple factors related to the infrastructure and hardware required to support AI development and deployment. Here's how generative AI contributes to the problem and the broader implications: • Hardware Demand • Shorter Hardware Lifespan • Increased Energy Consumption • Consumer Devices • Recycling Challenges. To mitigate the e-waste impact of generative AI include designing hardware with a longer lifecycle, improving recycling technologies, adopting modular designs for easier upgrades, and using energy-efficient models that reduce the need for frequent hardware replacements. Additionally, promoting circular economy practices and enforcing e-waste regulations can help address the issue. Generative AI offers immense potential but addressing its environmental footprint, including e-waste, is essential for sustainable development."

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• Nearly 40% of SMBs using AI

FM Receivers and Their Alignment

FM Receivers and Their Alignment, August September 1940 National Radio News - RF CafeFM radio noise immunity testing. 1940 was a big year in the commercial broadcast industry because it was when the FCC began licensing stations for FM operation. Amazingly, that was only four years after Edwin Armstrong first came up with his frequency modulation scheme - fast moving for the government. Simultaneously, equipment manufacturers were cranking out transmitters, receivers, antennas (new frequencies), writing installation and operation guidelines, training servicemen, and doing scores of other vitally important tasks. The advent of FM was considered a very significant technical improvement because of immunity to electrical noise interference. If for no other reason, you should look at this National Radio News magazine article...

What You Should Know About X-Ray Radiation in TV Sets

What You Should Know About X-Ray Radiation in TV Sets, November 1967 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeDuring the early era of color television, much editorial ink was spilled on the topic of x-radiation emitted from the high voltage power supplies within. This 1967 Radio-Electronics magazine article appeared toward the end of the problem. Those of us who were around for the excitement remember being told as children "Don't sit so close to the TV; it'll ruin your eyes." The ignorant among us thought the admonition was because focusing so close-up would be bad training for eye muscles. The real reason was danger of absorbing too much ionizing x-radiation from the high voltage vacuum tubes. Achieving bright, vibrant color with early tri-color cathode ray tubes (CRTs) required blasting the red, green, and blue phosphorescent dots on the back of the display...

Leaftronics Biodegradable Electronics

Leaftronics Biodegradable Electronics - RF Cafe"A research team headed by Prof. Karl Leo at TUD Dresden University of Technology have developed an innovative, nature-inspired solution that could revolutionize the electronics industry: Leaftronics." This innovative approach leverages the natural structure of leaves to create biodegradable electronic substrates with enhanced properties and offers a sustainable, efficient, and scalable solution to the global-waste problem. These findings have now been published in the journal Science Advances. Electronic devices, from toys to smartphones, consist of circuits. Specific substrates are used to manufacture these circuits..."

San Fran Circuits: ENEPIG PCB Surface Finish

San Francisco Circuits: ENEPIG (Electroless Nickel Electroless Palladium Immersion Gold) PCB Surface Finish - RF CafeSan Francisco Circuits, a premier provider of leading edge technology printed circuit boards, has published a new article on ENEPIG (Electroless Nickel Electroless Palladium Immersion Gold) PCB Surface Finish. ENEPIG is one of the most popular PCB surface finishes due to reduced palladium prices and its advantages over finishes like ENIG. Composed of four metal layers - copper, nickel, palladium, and gold - ENEPIG offers excellent protection against corrosion and the infamous "black pad" issue. ENEPIG: Ideal for Demanding Requirements ENEPIG supports various package types, including BGA, SMT, wire bonding, and press fit. With a thin gold layer (0.05μm - 0.1μm), it simplifies assembly and provides improved reliability...

The Ray of Mystery

The Ray of Mystery, 3/15/1896 The Warren Mail - RF CafeOn a whim, I did a search for the earliest appearance of Nikola Tesla's name in U.S. newspapers included in the NewspaperArchive.com database. This story from Mr. George Grantham Bain appeared in multiple newspapers within a few days of this March 5, 1896 edition of The Warren Times in Warren, PA, which coincidentally is not far from me here in Erie. The article reports on the role that Tesla's high voltage generators played in the development of x-ray images on fluorescent displays and on film (which Tesla termed "cathode photography"). It mentions how the term "cathode" is relatively new to the general public even though it had been around since 1832 when Michael Faraday introduced it in his work. Wilhelm Röntgen made the world's first x-ray image - of his wife's hand...

Michael Faraday: A Short Biography

Michael Faraday: A Short Biography - RF CafeMichael Faraday, one of the most revered experimental scientists in history, was born on September 22, 1791, in Newington Butts, a small village near London. His humble beginnings were in stark contrast to his towering achievements. Faraday's father, James, was a blacksmith of modest means, and his mother, Margaret Hastwell, managed the household despite financial difficulties. The family belonged to a small Christian sect known as the Sandemanians, whose values of humility, simplicity, and a focus on practical service profoundly influenced Faraday throughout his life. Faraday's early education was rudimentary, consisting mostly of reading, writing, and arithmetic. At the age of 14, he was apprenticed to a London bookbinder named George Riebau. This apprenticeship proved transformative, as it allowed young Faraday...

Open Neutral in a Single-Phase Electrical Service

Open Neutral in a Single-Phase, 120/240 Volt Electrical Service: Kirt's Cogitations™ #366 - RF CafeA neighbor approached me the other day regarding a strange occurrence with the electrical supply to his workshop, which is not attached to the house. The overhead lights were dim, and his small refrigerator was straining. Turning on or off various tools and lights caused changes in everything else. This guy is one smart cookie (and an excellent woodworker), and has handled all his own household electrical and plumbing issues for many decades, but he had never experienced such a situation. Fortunately, I have. Upon hearing his description, I immediately recognized it as a case of an open neutral in the circuit breaker panel. I have seen that before. Understanding what is happening can be made simple by realizing that once the neutral reference is gone, the two "legs" (phases) are in series with each other rather than in parallel...

Open Neutral in a Single-Phase Electrical Service

Open Neutral in a Single-Phase, 120/240 Volt Electrical Service: Kirt's Cogitations™ #366 - RF CafeA neighbor approached me the other day regarding a strange occurrence with the electrical supply to his workshop, which is not attached to the house. The overhead lights were dim, and his small refrigerator was straining. Turning on or off various tools and lights caused changes in everything else. This guy is one smart cookie (and an excellent woodworker), and has handled all his own household electrical and plumbing issues for many decades, but he had never experienced such a situation. Fortunately, I have. Upon hearing his description, I immediately recognized it as a case of an open neutral in the circuit breaker panel. I have seen that before. Understanding what is happening can be made simple by realizing that once the neutral reference is gone, the two "legs" (phases) are in series with each other rather than in parallel...

Electronics-Themed Comics

Electronics-Themed Comics, August 1962 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeThree more electronics-themed comics here, these from a 1962 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine. They represent a good spectrum of consumer electronics service issues of the era. The page 41 comic scenario is not likely to occur with a television today; it's more likely with a Li-Ion powered cellphone sitting in your pocket. The page 60 comic, on the other hand, is more likely to happen today with all the anti-theft devices used on in-dash devices like radios, GPS navigation units, and Ham (Amateur) and CB radios. Even without the anti-theft devices, good luck getting the dashboard apart enough to service the device. I recently replaced an in-dash air vent valve motor in my daughter's truck...

Material Perfectly Absorbs All Electromagnetic Waves

Material Perfectly Absorbs All Electromagnetic Waves - RF Cafe"A team of scientists from the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) has developed the world's first ultra-thin film composite material capable of absorbing over 99% of electromagnetic waves from various frequency bands, including 5G/6G, WiFi, and autonomous driving radar, using a single material. This novel electromagnetic wave absorption and shielding material is less than 0.5mm thick and is characterized by its low reflectance of less than 1% and high absorbance of over 99% across three different frequency bands..."

Making Circuit Components

Making Circuit Components, July 1969 Radio-Electronics - RF CafePart 1 of this "All About IC's" series titled, "What Makes Them Tick," author Bob Hibberd introduced the concept of semiconductor physics and doped PN junctions. It appeared in a 1969 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine. 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...

Hallicrafters: Here's to a Good Old Fashioned Christmas

Hallicrafters: Here's to a Good Old Fashioned Christmas, January 1942 QST - RF CafeAs was customary for U.S. businesses, Hallicrafters ran a Christmas advertisement in the January issue of magazines where they appeared. The January edition, as is common even now, is typically mailed in early December, getting it in the hands of readers in time for Christmas. This "Here's to a Good Old Fashioned Christmas" (which many state governors want to end beginning this year) message appeared in the January 1942 issue of QST magazine. Halli(gan) and (hand)crafters was founded in Chicago in 1932 by William J. Halligan. The company designed and manufactured radio equipment for hobby, commercial, and military applications and quickly became very popular amongst their users...

Electronics-Themed Comics from the 1960s

Electronics-Themed Comics from May 1961, February 1967, & May 1967 Electronics World - RF CafeThank God It's Friday (TGIF) again. What better way is there to wrap up a week than to get a good laugh at these electronics-themed comics from a few of my vintage Electronics World magazines from the 1960s? If you still need more to help recover from the past five days and prepare you for the weekend, a huge list of other webpages with similar comics is at the bottom of this page. They would make good additions to in-house presentations.

Novel Semiconductor Devices

Novel Semiconductor Devices, October 1959 Electronics World - RF CafeGermanium was "the" semiconductor of choice in 1959 even though advances were being made with silicon. Most of the newer semiconductor devices were being fabricated with germanium as the central transducer element. Temperature sensors, strain gauges, "sensistor" variable resistance units, Hall effect sensors and gyrators and circulators, torsional (twist) transducers, displacement sensors, and even neutron detectors were done in germanium. Even though silicon is referenced as being applicable to all the devices, it was not until the 1960s that silicon began to dominate semiconductor fabrication. This paper titled ,"From Germanium to Silicon, A History of Change in the Technology of the Semiconductors...

RF Cascade Workbook

RF Cascade Workbook - RF Cafe 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 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...

Communications Satellites - Key to World-Wide TV

Communications Satellites - Key to World-Wide TV, March 1960 Popular Electronics - RF CafeIn 1960, futurists were predicting that within 10 years it would be possible to beam television signals between continents and directly into homes. It was the eve of Project Echo, which boosted a 100-foot-diameter inflatable metallized plastic ball into low Earth orbit to reflect signals efficiently back through the atmosphere. Engineers and scientists were already planning the next best thing - a satellite that not only reflected, but also amplified, possibly frequency converted, and would even steer signals that impinge upon it. Envisioned in this article is hundreds of satellites being available for relaying signals between all regions of the Earth on then-standard VHF channels. We now have successful satellite television systems, but they operate at Ku-band due to bandwidth requirements and need special converters to interface with a television...

World's Biggest Betatron

World's Biggest Betatron, March 1946, Radio-Craft - RF CafeBetatron particle accelerators date back to 1935 with the one built by Max Steenbeck in Germany. The name is a portmanteau of "beta" + "electron," which is sort of a superfluous redundancy. This news piece is about the world's biggest betatron having been built, with dimensions of 9 feet high, 6 feet wide and 15 feet long, and 24,000 volt energizing coils. Strangely (it seems to me), the article interchanges the terms "xxx-volt electrons" and "xxx electron-volts. I suppose its fundamentally the same thing, but just unusual to see it that way. Note the robustness of the machine as required to rigidly contain such powerful magnetic forces...

Radio Dial Mechanism

Radio Dial Mechanism, November 1953 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeUnless you are into restoring and/or repairing radios with dial cords, you probably can't fully appreciate the humor in this short piece from a 1953 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine. Dial cord is a type of string that does not stretch when put under tension. It is wound around the shafts of two or more components to keep them in step with each other. Since the advent of LED and LCD readouts for displaying the tuned frequency, there was no need to mechanically synchronize a sliding or rotating pointer with the position of a (usually) multi-plate tuning capacitor. If you are/were lucky, the path of the dial cord simply wrapped around the shaft of the tuning element (capacitor) and around the axle of a circular tuning dial, with no pulleys or bobbins for changing the direction...

The Ground Plane Grows Up

The Ground Plane Grows Up, May 1954 Radio & Television News - RF CafePrior to the advent of personal computers and handy-dandy antenna design software like EZNEC, determining the effects of varying parameters - element spacing, angles and length, ground plane distance and extent, feedpoint impedance, the presence of conductive structures, etc. - it was necessary to make a series of often complex mathematical calculations and ultimately perform real-world measurement. Huge amounts of time would be invested in the design and verification process. It has been know for a long time that the distance an antenna sits above a ground plane has a significant effect on the radiation pattern - particularly the vertical pattern. The information provided in this 1954 Radio & TV News magazine article undoubtedly required many hours to assimilate and required someone (author William Harrison) with a lot of knowledge in the science/art of antennas. While some empirical testing is still needed for critical applications, in most cases these days the results of computer simulations suffice...

Introduction to Modern Television

Introduction to Modern Television, February 1939 Radio News - RF Cafe"Modern" used in the title of anything has always bothered me since it is utterly ambiguous unless you know the era of the authorship. There are plenty of books using "Modern Medicine" in the title that describe bloodletting as a treatment for various diseases or swallowing mercury to cure constipation (and just about everything else). Accordingly, apologies to anyone searching for 2021-modern television information who might have wandered in here hoping to find useful information. However, if you are looking for historical data regarding the evolution of broadcast television, then you might be in the right place. As usual when reading this kind of article from a 1939 issue of Radio News magazine, I am amazed to see accounts of the very first thoughts on the path technology takes toward where we find ourselves in 2021. There are basically two types of "visionaries" - those who first come up with a new idea and those who actually implement the vision. Often the same person qualifies for both categories. Being the first person to think up the idea of sending voice signals or images through the air to a remote location...

Editorial - High Life: The Bill Comes Due

Editorial - High Life: The Bill Comes DueAccording to Electronics magazine editor Lewis Young in mid-1964, the industry was entering into a slump in business opportunities. The boom times provided during the war years of WWII and Korea had resulted in, according to Mr. Young, a lax attitude toward operational strategy that led to wasteful spending and poor accountability for project results. It wasn't just the defense contractors' fault because government bureaucrats - from relatively low ranking military personnel to elected lawmakers - had (have) a habit of making sudden changes to contract requirements. Maintaining the resources needed to keep up with ever-evolving demands necessitated a lot of the excess. Fortunately, the military-industrial complex, as President Dwight D. Eisenhower dubbed it, was on the verge of being thrown another huge monetary bone - the Vietnam War. President Kennedy was already pumping lots of equipment and manpower into it, and LBJ would follow suit with vigor ...

FM Broadcasting in Western Germany

FM Broadcasting in Western Germany, March 1953 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeWhile FM broadcasting (frequency modulation) began in the United States in the late 1930s, it was not until after World War II and even the Korean War, in the 1950s, that the major shift to FM took place. It took even longer for FM to get a foothold in Europe mainly due to the emphasis on rebuilding essential infrastructure and manufacturing destroyed by the war. As this article points out, the newer FM radio features allowed it to thwart some of the propaganda efforts of the Soviets in East Germany who would be stuck in technologies that lag two or more decades behind the free world even to this day (ain't Communism / Socialism great?). The "medium-wave band" referenced herein is AM (amplitude modulation), so replacing dominant radio broadcasting with FM systems would effectively cut off AM propaganda. FM radios were being produced so inexpensively in the U.S. that they were very affordable in Europe was well. There is no mention of whether the West German government subsidized the purchase of FM receivers by citizens...

Merry Christmas from RF Cafe!

Christmas Music Videos - RF CafeHere are a few of my favorite Christmas music videos. They include an eclectic mix of Cloverton, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, an unlikely duet sung by Bing Crosby and David Bowie, and Casting Crowns. Watching the instruments being played really enhances the effect of the song. I used to have the videos embedded in this page for easy viewing all in one place, but each year on some of them I have to go find new hosting location because the previous year's had been removed. This time I am just linking to the YouTube (and other) web pages. The U.S. Air Force Band performance at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is my newest addition for 2020...

Hi Tide in the Tweeter

Hi Tide in the Tweeter, October 1956 Popular Electronics - RF CafeBefore the current generation began destroying its hearing with smartphone earbuds, their parents and grandparents (that includes mine) destroyed our hearing with ridiculously powerful loudspeakers, often in boom boxes perched on shoulders right next to the ears (not me). The "concert hall" - or concert auditorium - experience has been long sought-after since recorded music has been available, which has only been about a century. As evidenced by the sudden increase in articles and advertisements in my growing collection of vintage electronics magazines, the early and mid 1950s saw a sudden swell of articles promoting the equally swelling supply of high fidelity (hi-fi) recording and playback equipment hitting the markets. Subjects ranging from homebuilt projects to reports of top end commercially products filled the pages each month. Television saw the same treatment in the late 1950s and early 1960s. All, of course, relied on vacuum tubes - with just enough relatively expensive semiconductors...

RF Cascade Workbook

RF Cascade Workbook - RF Cafe 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 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...

Why Use a Triac?

Why Use a Triac?, April 1974 Popular Electronics - RF CafeTriacs are not a component often used in RF and microwave circuit design, but being conversant in its operation could make you popular at nerd parties. A triac is basically the equivalent of two SCRs connected back-to-back, allowing it to conduct on both the positive and negative half-cycles of an AC connection. Both devices are most commonly used in switching applications. The unique feature of an SCR and triac is that once the gate voltage is sufficiently high to begin conduction between the anode and cathode, it can be removed and conduction will continue until the anode-cathode voltage is removed ...

POPULAR ELEComics - Comics with an Electronics Theme

POPULAR ELEComics - Comics with an Electronics Theme, January 1968 Popular Electronics - RF CafeAlways a good way to end a busy week, here is a collection of electronics-themed comics that appeared in a 1967 issue of Popular Electronics magazine. A few of the artists you will recognize if you are a regular reader. Some drawing styles are immediately identifiable, such as those by Dave Harbaugh (of "Hobnobbing with Harbaugh" fame). Others, at least to me, are not quite so familiar. Frank Tabor, George White, Stan Fine, and JAS (I'm sure I know those initials, but can't place them) are amongst the others. I have to admit to not really knowing what the gag is in the comic with the guy in his pajamas. The party guy is cutting a wire to his ear buds ...

RF Cafe Engineering & Science Crossword Puzzle - November 18

RF Cafe Engineering & Science Crossword Puzzle November 18, 2018Each week, for the sake of all avid cruciverbalists amongst us, I create a new technology-themed crossword puzzle using only words from my custom-created lexicon related to engineering, science, mathematics, chemistry, physics, astronomy, etc. You will never find among the words names of politicians, mountain ranges, exotic foods or plants, movie stars, or anything of the sort. You might, however, see someone or something in the exclusion list who or that is directly related to this puzzle's theme, such as Hedy Lamarr or the Bikini Atoll, respectively - Enjoy...

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

The Pied Piper of Hamelin, June 1929 QST - RF CafeThis might be my oldest copy of QST, being Vol. XIII, Number 6. Up until a few decades ago, authors commonly appropriated themes and characters from familiar fairy tales and fables for use in articles of instructional nature. Some publications even used comic book style formats for teaching to beginners. The term 'wabbulation' (aka "wobbulation" and "wobulation") is spoken to Uncle Jimmy by the fabled Piper, and I have to admit not being familiar with the term. According to W2PA's story, 1920s era QST technical editor Robert Kruse coined the word to describe inadvertent modulation of the carrier frequency during CW or phone operation. Per the Wikipedia entry, "wobulation is Hewlett-Packard's term for a form of interlacing designed for use with fixed pixel displays...

Electronics-Themed Comics

Electronics-Themed Comics, July 1951 Radio & Television News - RF CafeThe early 1950s was a time when people worldwide were making a shift from radio to television as the primary form of in-home entertainment. There was an aura of awe associated with TV with its ability to send recorded movies and live shows over the air without any physical connection (although it can be argued that an electromagnetic wave is "physical," since it is part of the study of physics). Of course often times the feeling of awe was replaced by a feeling of rage when the blasted thing went on the fritz. Then, the television repairman became the objet d'awe (I just made up that phrase, a la objet d'art). Two of these three tech-themed comics are typical of the era. The other is timeless and could be a modern comic if something other than vacuum tube equipment was shown in the scene. Enjoy!

OSCARs Help Dedicate New Air and Space Museum

OSCARs Help Dedicate New Air and Space Museum, September 1976 QST - RF CafeThat would be President Ford in the background atop the platform, behind where the OSCAR ground station was set up. He was there as part of the dedication of the new National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C., in 1976. The event was part of the nationwide series of bicentennial celebrations marking America's founding with the signing of the The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America. Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins directed the event. The Space Race was in its heyday and most people were still in awe of anything related to spacecraft - both manned and unmanned. Just about anyone other than a Ham radio operator believed communicating with a satellite was the exclusive domain of governments, so the presence of AMSAT...

RCA Radio - Cost Reduction

RCA Radio - Cost Reduction, March 1946, Radio-Craft - RF CafeIf you have seen many of the articles I post from vintage electronics magazines, you know I often compare prices from the magazine's era to today's prices. The online Inflation Calculator from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is as good as any, so it is used. This RCA advertisement in a 1946 issue of Radio-Craft magazine boasts of how drastically the cost of vacuum tubes has come down since 1923. It claims a $9 tube in 1923 costs a mere 80¢ in 1946; that is about 1/11th of the original price. Prior to around 1965, inflation was very low, so the inflation-adjusted price for the $9.00 tube would be $9.80 in 1946 - a full 23 years later (a 9% increase, per the BLS). Therefore, the 80¢ price is an even better deal. Let us compare that to what a $9 item 23 years ago (1998) from today (2021) would cost now. Per the BLS Inflation Calculator, it would take $15.06 in 2021...

Walsco Electronics Corporation Antennas

Walsco Electronics Corporation Antennas, April 1954 Radio & Televsion News - RF CafeThis is another example of one of those advertisements you likely would not see in a modern electronics magazine. There is nothing fundamentally problematic about its content or message, but politically correct standards would condemn any depiction of a woman expressing such excessive appreciation for a man's efforts. It might, after all, convey the idea that all television antenna servicemen should expect such treatment from all women. It also implies that only men can be TV antenna servicemen / servicepersons. If that sounds nutty, well, what can I say. It's the world we live in as evidenced by news items of late. Keep firmly in mind that what is accepted as a social norm today might be considered to be a crime in a few decades, so exercise caution in all you do in the presence of witnesses be it written, videoed, spoken, or acted out...

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