|
Today in Science History -
 Considering that only three-and-a-half
decades had passed since the brothers Wright first flew their eponymous "Flyer"
off the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, it is pretty impressive to think
that by 1938 the majority of commercial air transport planes were under the
able control of electromechanical apparatus(es?). Rudder, elevator, aileron,
and throttle, driven by electrical servomechanisms rather than human hands
and feet, responded to the signals to analog computers fed data from onboard
barometer, accelerometer, level, and compass sensors, and from ground-based
radio directional beams. That was for mostly straight and level flight from
one fixed waypoint to another. An ability to program vectored flight paths
came later. This "Radio
Lands the Plane" article discusses progress being made in the realm of
completely automated landings. As can be seen, the framework for modern instrument
landings systems was being laid...
 Withwave's precision
2.92 mm to SMPM mm Adapter Series are designed based on precision
microwave interconnection technologies. These adapter series are manufactured
to precise microwave specifications and constructed with male and female gender
on both side. The precision microwave connector interfaces ensure an excellent
microwave performance up to 40 GHz. VSWR is 1.2:1 (max), M-M, M-F, F-F,
F-M interface combinations, passivated stainless steel body. Useful in laboratory
and productions test setups, prototyping, and production interconnections...
 "A team at the University of Nottingham
used graphene, a material with high electrical conductivity, in an
ink-jet printing process to build up mesh together electronic structures
that can perform functions such as converting light into electricity. Related:
New 2D Materials Show Promise for Future Electronic Devices The approach demonstrates
a new way to use the material for 3D printing processes as well as provides
insight into the design of next-generation electronic devices, researchers
said. Led by Professor Mark Fromhold, head of the university’s School of Physics
and Astronomy, the team used quantum mechanical modeling to identify how electronics
move through 2D-material layers..."
 The
Barkhausen-Kurz (B-K) oscillator is credited as being the first high power
microwave generator that exploited the electron transit time effect. It was
developed in 1920 by German physicists Heinrich Georg Barkhausen and Karl
Kurz. As this article's author points out, the vacuum tube and supporting
circuits were difficult to produce and were not very well understood theoretically.
Shortly thereafter, the magnetron and klystron tubes came along and dominated
the high power microwave generation realm. Included in Part II of "Microwave
- Generation of Microwaves" is a good, brief explanation of the operation
of both B-K and magnetron circuits...
 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...
 Anatech Electronics (AEI) manufactures
and supplies
RF and microwave filters for military and commercial communication systems,
providing standard LP, HP, BP, BS, notch, diplexer, and custom RF filters,
and RF products. Standard RF filter and cable assembly products are published
in our website database for ease of procurement. Custom RF filters designs
are used when a standard cannot be found, or the requirements dictate a custom
approach for your military and commercial communications needs. Sam Benzacar's
monthly newsletters address contemporary wireless subjects. Please visit Anatech
today to see how they can help your project succeed.
 In 1945 when this series was published
in Radio-Craft magazine,
microwaves
were pretty much the realm of corporate and university research laboratories
and - often coincidentally - secret Department of War projects. Radar was
the primary application, although some work was being done on high bandwidth
communications by the aforementioned entities, in some cases following in
the footsteps of amateur radio operator's discoveries about how the higher
frequencies were affected by the ionized layers of the Earth's atmosphere.
Immediately following the end of World War II, the government began declassifying
a lot of information learned about microwave, and magazines were fast to pick
up on it. In fact, there were instances where editors saw fit to write columns
asserting their right to do so when criticisms were heaped upon them by readers
accusing them...
 Axiom Test Equipment, an electronic
test equipment rental and sales company has published a new blog post entitled
"Welcome
the New Year by Upgrading Test Gear," that tells you how to determine
when it's time to upgrade your test equipment. Learn about the different opportunities
and think about what requirements you have coming up in order to recognize
the right time and equipment to upgrade. Test instrument upgrades provide
opportunities for improvement: to make up for what is missing in an instrument
or test setup, be it measurement speed, accuracy, bandwidth, sensitivity,
resolution, even more measurement channels. Other times, equipment becomes
obsolete and prompts an upgrade to newer equipment that is still supported
by the manufacturer or gives you increased performance...
 "U.S. military researchers needed
a weapon data link radio to help steer hypersonic weapons to their targets.
Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in
Arlington, Va., announced a $4 million contract to BAE Systems last month
to develop two weapon data link prototypes for test and integration of the
future hypersonic Tactical Boost Glide (TBG) vehicle. The TBG program is a
joint DARPA and U.S. Air Force effort to develop technologies for future air-launched,
tactical-range hypersonic boost glide systems. Boost glide uses a rocket to
accelerate a weapon payload to high speeds, after which the payload then separates
from the rocket and glides unpowered to its destination..."
 The old-time radio broadcasts available
on the Internet are obviously recorded version of shows made long ago. However,
back in the day those shows were
originally performed live in front of microphones and recorded in a broadcast
studio. With a cast of two or three or even more, the actors would voice their
lines with as much talent and effort as those performing for movies. The crew
usually included a group of people responsible for creating background sound
effects like horses running, car horns tooting, airplanes buzzing by, and
dogs barking. All was done real-time with split-second timing required to
pull it off and sound convincing. Radio audiences were unaware of all the
work required as they sat intently listening to the Adventures of the Lone
Ranger and The Shadow. Behind the scenes were dozens of engineers and technicians
tending local radio broadcasting equipment and all-important telephone landlines
used for synchronizing stations across the country...
 Triad is pleased to announce that it
continued to outperform revenue projections in the second half of 2020. The
year's
record−high revenue and orders were driven by the company's rapidly growing
reputation as a premier supplier of feature-rich, ultra−efficient radios,
RF/microwave bi−directional amplifiers, custom multi−functional amplifier
systems, CubeSat frequency converters and amplifiers and wideband amplification
for EW and counter UAS systems. Triad delivered some of the highest data−rates
and longest−range ISR wireless links available for Unmanned Land, Sea, and
Air Systems this year. Triad achieved several financial and operational goals
in 2020 and positioned itself for future growth with the introduction of its
new line of amplified radios, investment in operations, and the addition of
key team members...
 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.
 We've all heard of a Van de Graaff
(Robert J.) electrostatic generator, but have you heard of a
Wommelsdorf (Heinrich) generator (aka influence machine)? I hadn't prior
to reading this article entitled "Electric Space Ships" from a 1951 issue
of Radio-Electronics magazine. It took careful reading to get my head around
the propulsion scheme detailed by Professor Hermann. At first I thought he
was describing electric propulsion, but in fact his machine uses electrical
energy generated from the sun to accelerate some form of liquid propellant
via static electric charges. Therefore, this is not a system capable of indefinitely
sustaining itself and its payload (which includes human inhabitants). In fact,
the good professor proposes a geostationary refueling station above the Earth...
 "In recent years, physicists and
electronic engineers have been trying to identify materials that could be
used to fabricate new types of electronic devices. 1-D and 2-D materials have
been found to have particularly advantageous characteristics, particularly
for the development of new generations of nanoelectronics (electronic components
at the nano scale). Such 1-D and 2-D materials, such as graphene, monolayer
molybdenum disulfide, silicon nanowires and silicon nanosheets, could also
play a crucial role within the semiconductor industry, as they could help
to develop increasingly small transistors. Despite their well-documented advantages,
emerging low-dimensional materials can have a relatively small amount of so-called
free charges compared to 3-D materials. In the context of electronic components,
a
free charge is an electron or hole..."
 Copper Mountain Technologies (CMT)
is seeking a
Lead RF Design Engineer to develop new VNAs for customers all over the
world. Our USB VNAs are next generation analyzers designed to meet the needs
of 21st Century engineers. Our VNAs include an RF measurement module and a
processing module, a software application which runs on a Windows or Linux
PC, connecting to the measurement hardware via USB interface. The Lead RF
Design Engineer will lead a team of engineers developing new USB VNAs, meeting
new customer requirements, and evolving current product line. This individual
will work closely with product management, manufacturing and other engineering
teams to ensure delivery of quality solutions to customers. Take this opportunity
to join a great company. Preferred location for this position...
 Having spent a lot of my career working
for defense electronics companies in classified programs, I am somewhat torn
between sympathizing with Hugo Gernsback from his perspective as editor of
Radio-Craft and what I know is a valid reason for guarding certain
technological information for the sake of military advantage. It is often
the case that people who have had no exposure to the 'black' side of industry
cannot appreciate the need for it. Their argument postulates that suppressing
knowledge does more harm than good because an opportunity for more people
to gain from breakthroughs will result in more rapid advancement in technology.
While that is true, the downside is that the enemy rarely feels obliged to
reciprocate in the same manner, and will exploit your generosity...
 Skyworks Solutions, an innovator of
high-performance analog semiconductors connecting people, places and things,
today announced that its high-performance Wi-Fi 6E front-end modules are featured
on the world's first
ultra-fast Wi-Fi 6E gaming router from ASUS. Utilizing the FCC's newly
allocated 6~7 GHz extended band to double the capacity of traditional Wi-Fi,
the Wi-Fi 6E standard enables faster connectivity and supports an increased
number of connected users meeting the unprecedented demand for increased video
conferencing, online gaming, streaming TV, AR/VR, home security cameras and
online exercise apps. An established leader in the networking market, ASUS
is the first to deliver the increased and wider bandwidth 160 MHz channels
of Wi-Fi 6E with its ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 gaming router...
 "Necessity is the mother of invention,"
is an oft-heard maxim that is validated continually. Such was the case, as
pointed out here in this National Union Radio Corporation ad which appeared
in a 1944 issue of Radio-Craft magazine. The development of many
new metal alloys was required in order to obtain the kind of performance and
reliability needed in ever-evolving electronics products. Already available
metals for filaments, coils, grid wires, getters, electron guns and many other
constituents of
vacuum tubes that are subject to high temperatures (many hundreds of degrees)
and mechanical conditions (unequal coefficients of expansion, for example,
which can cause stress fractures), were not sufficient for the task. Metallurgists
had their work cut out for them...
|
-
