Puzzle for August 31, 2014
This week's crossword puzzle, like last week's
crossword puzzle, and all the weeks before that, was custom made by me and contains
only words and clues pertaining to science and engineering. Print it out and take
it to your next diversity in the workplace meeting so you can honestly say you got
some mental stimulation out of it. Enjoy!
& Electronics Training Ad
It wasn't all that long ago that deadlines
for magazine printing cycles were measured in months - unlike today where electronics
on-demand printing has cut lead times to weeks and even days. Accordingly, this
National Schools advertisement pitching 'after the war' training in electronics
servicing that appeared in the September 1945 edition of Radio Craft was likely
designed and submitted two or three months ahead of the publication month
(e.g., in June or July). How could they be so sure that their scarce advertising
dollars wouldn't be wasted? Simple. By that time, the entire country seemed to have
a sense that World War II would come to an end soon since Hitler's, Mussolini's,
Tojo's...
New Round of Magazine
Articles for 8/29/2014
After
you've turned off all the lab equipment and are sitting around waiting for the 3-day
Labor Day weekend to start, kill some time with a couple of these new articles.
-
Precision Validation of Radar
System Performance in the
Field, W. Yu
-
Why Are Oscilloscope Probe
Amps at the Tip?, A. Pini
& L. Jacobs
-
Selecting an RF Power Meter
or Sensor (p.54), LadyBug
Technologies
-
Match Impedances When
Making Measurements,
S. Sandler
-
On-Site Testing of Lightning
Protection Devices, K. Rand
-
Next Generation
Communications for Next
Generation Satellites,
N. Kundtz
- Analyzing Active
Cancellation Stealth,
X. Sheng & X. Yuanming
Sure, you do it all the time, but at some
point either someone suggested and/or showed you how to clip
substitute components into a circuit in place of a suspected bad
component while troubleshooting or maybe during the design or tuning process. Miniature
circuits of today pretty much rule out using alligator clips to patch in a part,
but sometimes it is possible to use miniature J clip leads or even pin probes to
make the connection long enough to take a measurement. Since I do a fair amount
of circuit work on other-than-RF applications, I often find myself using short insulated,
stranded wires with mini alligator clips on each end to make connections.
for Their Support!
Anatech Electronics designs and manufactures
the industry's widest range of RF and microwave filters at frequencies up to 40 GHz, as
well as power dividers, directional couplers, and many other product types. We specialize
in standard and custom designs for commercial wireless, public safety, satcom, and
defense applications, and we can meet stringent military environmental specifications.
Series of Low PIM Connectors
Delta's
4.1 / 9.5 Mini DIN
series of coaxial connectors are designed to meet the growing demands of today's
high performance mobile communications systems. Mechanically similar to the 7/16
series, the 4.1/9.5 Mini DIN's 30% smaller size and reduced weight, allow increased
package density and flexibility in system design. Delta offers a wide range of standard
4.1 / 9.5 Mini DIN configurations including: male and female
Audio crossover networks have the same fundamental
mission as RF multiplexer filters in radio systems, which is to separate and steer
specific bands of frequencies into two or more signal paths. While simple in concept,
implementation in hardware can be a major challenge depending on requirements for
channel separation, feedthrough, phase and group delay, amplitude equalization,
distortion, and other factors. This article discusses some of the decisions used
by crossover network designers when considering where to make band breaks, while
leaving actual circuit design rules to other authors. I built a set of custom speakers
many moons ago and went through the frustrating process...
ISO 9001:2008 Certification
Planar Monolithics Industries, Inc. (PMI) announced that they have received their
ISO 9001:2008 certification for
their Quality Management System. With the recent successful completion of the audit
at the El Dorado Hills, CA facility, now all three PMI facilities, including both
facilities located in Frederick, MD, are ISO certified. ISO 9001:2008 certification
is a prestigious certification requiring companies to meet the complex and demanding
documentation, quality system and continuous process improvement requirements.
Therry and the Pirates
You can still buy from Moog today the same
sort of
Theremin that was described in this 1961
Carl & Jerry episode. Ever the early adopters of breaking
technology, the teenagers exploit the motion-sensitive feature of the Theremin in
hopes of improving Carl's basketball game. As usual the boys, in mock dialog, describe
the Theremin's operational theory for the benefit of readers not familiar with the
musical instrument. They do not, however, mention that the device is named after
its Russian inventor, Léon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928. Read on to
discover how a Theremin strapped to Jerry's back...
Connection for Support
Test Equipment Connection Corporation is your single source
test & measurement
solution. We offer over 300 test equipment manufacturers including Agilent, Tektronix,
Anritsu, 
Rohde & Schwarz, Advantest and Fluke, plus
thousands of New, Used, Second Hand, and Refurbished test equipment products. We
buy and sell bench top, general-purpose test and measurement equipment. $2M is budgeted
each month for the purchase of surplus equipment.
Power Amplifiers
Envelope Tracking Power Amplifiers for Wireless
Communications, by Zhancang Wang. Envelope tracking technology is seen as the
most promising efficiency enhancement technology for RF PA for 4G and beyond wireless
communications. More and more organizations are investing and researching on this
topic with huge potential academic and commercial values. This is the first book
on the market to give complete introduction, theory, and design considerations on
envelope tracking for wireless communications...
at 18,000 M.P.H.
These days, I'm always a bit hesitant to publish
or do Internet research on items mentioning chemical compounds any more toxic than
rubbing alcohol. This article reports on early plans of the Vanguard satellite launch
platform for America's first orbiting satellites. Although the main focus is on
the
electronic steering and stabilization systems, it mentions the
fuel composition of nitric acid and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine. That's probably
enough to cause a federal agent to come knocking on my door... or at least put me
on some sort of surveillance list. Less exotic fuels like LOX
(not to be confused with the fish used on bagels),
kerosene...
in Demand at This Plant
"He no sooner gets alone with a
sweater girl than he's trying to pull the wool over her eyes."
That's a really old joke that only old guys remember. 'Sweater girl' was a term
used to describe... how do I properly put it?... Dolly Parton types (you know,
having a good singing voice 
). Anyway,
I thought you might need to be apprised of the origin of the term to appreciate
the title of this article from a 1944 edition of Radio Craft. You're welcome.
Contest Winners Awarded
NI (formerly AWR Corporation) awarded
the first-, second- and third-place winning teams of the
IMS2014 Student Design Contest for High-efficiency Power Amplifier
and High-sensitivity Radar complementary one-year licenses of NI AWR Design Environment™
software.
Thomas Edison
"It is apparent to me that the possibilities
of the aeroplane, which two or threes years ago was thought to hold the solution
to the [flying machine] problem, have been exhausted, and that we must turn elsewhere."
- Thomas A. Edison, New York World, November 17, 1895. This, from the man
who reportedly tried more than 1,000 different materials for his incandescent light
bulb before arriving at a coil of carbon filament.
Here is a little more tech comic artistry
from Bill Hutchinson. Bill created a lot of work for Popular Electronics
over the years in addition to his semi-regular
Hobnobbing with Harbaugh series. One of the comics mentions an
operator being referred to as a 'lid.' In Hamdom, the term means a person who is
incompetent or stupid. The history of 'lid' is apparently uncertain (as is 'Ham') per many
sources I checked, but two explanations seem the most feasible to me. The first
is that in the olden days of land telegraphy, less skilled Morse code operators
supposedly placed the lid of a tobacco...
This first of a two-part "Radar Principles" article by British engineer and researcher Dr.
R.L. Smith-Rose. Dr. Smith-Rose explains the basics of radio detection and ranging
using simple illustrations and calculation examples. When these articles were written,
radar had recently been credited with playing a major role in helping the Allies
successfully wage war against aggressive Axis powers that were ravaging London and
other European cities with air attacks comprised of both manned and unmanned vehicles.
While the principles of radar were somewhat familiar to people...
Noise Gain Blocks in Die Form
RFMW, Ltd. announces design and sales support
for four new
high-linearity, low noise gain blocks from TriQuint. Offered as
DIE, they target hybrid assembly designs requiring the highest level of performance
unencumbered by package parasitics. All devices cover applications from 0.05 to
4 GHz such as commercial and military radar receivers, EW, communication LNA
designs and general purpose LNA designs needing highly linear amplifiers
Technologies for Support!
Parsec specializes in embedded passive and
active antenna modules for GPS,
GNSS, M2M, IoT (Internet-of-Things) and LTE. Parsec also has a full
line of high performance, LNA ICs for wireless and mobile markets. Parsec's offerings
significantly improve system performance and signal integrity with high efficiency
embedded antennas using smaller ground planes, higher gain, and higher IP3 performance
while insuring low noise and excellent Rx abilities.
for August 25, 2014
LinkedIn's CEO Jeff Weiner hit a home run
with his recent post titled
The 3 Qualities of People I Most Enjoy Working With. The article's
content is undeniably interesting, but I guarantee the fame factor is based on the
Venn diagram that he created. It's simple and sure to get a chuckle out of you.
Here are a few more useful articles:
— Running an Effective
Long-Distance Job
Search
—
5 Ways New Grads Can
Get a Boost up the
Corporate Ladder
— Fired at 50? Now What?
— How to Answer the 'Tell Me
About Yourself' Interview
Question <more...>
Crossword Puzzle for 8/24/2013
This week's science and engineering-themed crossword
puzzle, like last week's crossword puzzle, and all the weeks before that, was custom
made by me and contains only words and clues pertaining to science and engineering.
Print it out and take it to your next diversity in the workplace meeting so you
can honestly say you got some mental stimulation out of it. Enjoy!
Historical Development
This second part of the "Radar Principles" article by British engineer and researcher Dr.
R.L. Smith-Rose provides a historical perspective of the very beginnings of radar
systems. Although alluded to by technical visionaries like Hugo Gernsback, George
Orwell, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, et al, for use in target detection and ranging
(but rarely speed, oddly enough). According to Dr. Smith-Rose, the
first use of radio waves for detection and distance measurement was in atmospheric
studies to characterize the ionosphere, in a bistatic configuration. It is an interesting
and quick read, and you might even be introduced to the concept of a "squegging" (self-quenching)...
Director of Systems & Services
Thanks to our 50 years of industry experience, Aviat Networks knows microwave
transmission better than anyone, and now we are delivering the next generation of
LTE proven microwave networking solutions that bring together high performance radio
transmission and smart network evolution to all-IP. Aviat has an opening for a Systems &
Services Networks Director, responsible for developing and executing a services
strategy that supports the existing customer business and the sector's growth strategy.
Please see description for details if interested
to Eliminate Interference
QRM and QRN (manmade and natural interference,
respectively) has been a problem to be dealt with since the beginning of
radio communications. Amplitude modulation (AM) was and is still the
most vulnerable because there are so many sources of electrical and electromagnetism
generation - both intentional and unintentional. Filters can take care of out-of-band
noise, but inband noise needs to be dealt with differently. Some inband interference
can be reduced in effectiveness with circuits using specific time constants that
address specific noise types. One of the most successful methods for mitigating
generic noise is to limit the opportunity for noise signals to enter the system
by employing directional antennas...
Signal multiplexing was originally performed
using a rotating mechanical device with commutator contacts. Such a contraption
suffered from a number of limitations including contact wear, noise, speed, size
and weight. Probably the most limiting were contact wear and switching speed. Bulk
could be accommodated because back then everything was bulky. Standard
vacuum tube switches were eventually used to build multiple
(n) input / multiple (m) output switching circuits, but
the space needed to contain them grew exponentially with the...
for Their Support!
Innovative Power Products has more than 30 years of experience designing
and manufacturing RF passive
components. 
Our couplers, combiners,
baluns, resistors, and terminations incorporate the latest technology
in materials available, which equates to unrivaled product performance.
for India Locations
NI (formerly AWR Corporation) has
added three locations in India during the first week of September to its
2014 AWR Design Forum (ADF) tour. The event agenda
has been set and registration is now open. Agenda highlights include: New Innovations
and Technologies in the NI AWR Design Environment™ Microwave Cavity Filter Design
Transceiver Module and Multi-Element Phased Array Design Cree GaN Models and Process
Design Kit for First Pass MMIC Designs RFIC Design 3D EM Simulators for PCB Design
Gen Design & Engineering
Frontiers in Antennas: Next Generation Design &
Engineering, by Frank Gross. Edited by one of the world's foremost authorities
on smart antennas and featuring contributions from global experts, Frontiers in
Antennas discusses the latest advances in antenna design and engineering. This pioneering
guide deals primarily with frontier antenna designs and frontier numerical methods.
Many of the concepts presented have emerged within the last few years and are still
in a rapid state of development. Each chapter provides in-depth details on a unique
and modern antenna technology.
Anyone who has done a lot of
electronics troubleshooting - especially on a wide variety of
hardware - knows that proficiency depends on acquiring a 'feel' for how things ought
to be. An oft-given example is that bank tellers and store clerks are taught to
spot counterfeit bills not by showing them what all the different phony currency
looks like, but what real money looks like. That way, anything that does not look
familiar is readily apparent. The same philosophy has served technicians and engineers
well since the beginning of electrical and electronic circuits. The more senses
that can be drawn upon to facilitate troubleshooting, the more quickly you are likely
to pinpoint the problem. Depending on the symptoms of the failure, sniffing the
assembly for toasted or...
High Isolation RF Switches
Pasternack Enterprises, an industry-leading manufacturer
and supplier of RF, microwave and millimeter wave products, debuts an entirely new
family of
high isolation PIN diode switches consisting of three low insertion
loss, high isolation and high speed modules, covering a frequency range of 1 to
12 GHz. When signal integrity and performance are a critical component of system
functionality, the higher the isolation figure, the better the overall performance
will be
Antenna Systems for Support
Specialising in the design and development of high gain, printed circuit arrays,
ultra wide-band directional
antennas, multi-
octave bicones and high gain collinear omni-directional
antennas. Large catalogue of antenna designs. Specialist development projects from
250 MHz to 40 GHz. Communication industry awareness and expertise in antenna
physics ensure customer satisfaction.
Sir Oliver Lodge
Radio
Craft magazine ran a monthly series of short articles paying tribute to some
of shakers and movers in the field of science - this time it was
Sir Oliver Lodge. "While Hertz was discovering radio waves in
air, Lodge was determining the laws of the corresponding activity which takes place
in electrical conductors. It was Lodge who demonstrated the possibility of radio
communication, experimentally, as Marconi did its commercial value - just as Henry
created the telegraph and Morse made it of practical utility."
...well, a human handful with a complete compliment
of four fingers and a thumb. I have no idea who first thought of these jokes, but
thanks to whoever did. I especially like the
iPod joke!
Radio Service Edition
Once mobile and other high-vibration and impact
operational environments became the norm for communications, it became necessary
to design hardware so that electronic components would not work themselves loose
and cause intermittent or total failure. With vacuum tubes, placing locking shields
over them did the job, but that caused other issues such as increased cost, poor
cooling, and increased chassis size and weight. Some circuits with high power and/or
frequency benefited from shields, but most did not need them. Sylvania introduced
a scheme called "Lock-In" (trademark name of "Loktal")where the center pin incorporated a circumferential
groove that latched into a capturing mechanism. It was strong enough...
180-Degree Hybrid Coupler
Werbel Microwave is developing a standard line
of narrowband 180-degree hybrids. A signal applied to the sum port
produces two outputs of equal amplitude and phase, while a signal applied to the
delta port produces output signals of equal amplitude but opposite phase. The model
2Q11 was designed to fulfill a custom requirement from 2.2-2.3 GHz. Measured
return loss was 1.2:1 or better, 25 dB isolation and 0.3 dB insertion
loss. Phase balance was within ±5 degrees
"Stationary waves in the earth mean something
more than mere telegraphy without wires to any distance. They will enable us to
attain many important specific results impossible otherwise. For instance, by their
use we may produce at will, from a sending-station, an electrical effect in any
particular region of the globe; we may determine the relative position or course
of a moving object, such as a vessel at sea, the distance traversed by the same,
or its speed; or we may send over the earth a wave of electricity traveling at any
rate we desire... " - Nikola Tesla describing a future technology called radar. "The Problem of
Increasing Human Energy," The Century, 1900.
Covers Current Events
Anatech Electronics, a manufacturer of RF and microwave filters, has published
its August 2014 newsletter. As always, it includes both company news and some tidbits
about relevant industry events. This month, Sam Benzacar offers his views on the
subjects of Fiber: Too Slow for Wall Street, NASA Examines Microwave Propulsion,
Report: Northeast Has "Fastest" Broadband. It also pays tribute to Dr. Norman Abramson,
founder of ALOHAnet as part of his theme on "Wi-Fi's Changing the Wireless Playbook."
for Long-Time Support
For over 40 years KR Electronics has designed and manufactured high quality
RF & microwave filters
for the commercial and military markets. KR Electronics manufactures all filter
types and individually synthesizes filters
for special applications. State of the art computer synthesis, analysis and test
methods are used to meet the most challenging specifications.
Success won in the realm of
space-based communications has been fraught with many failures.
As with most endeavors, it is thanks to the relative few who have sacrificed and
endured against overwhelming odds to bring significant technological advances in
communications to the many. Space presents a particularly difficult venue because
of the harsh deployment and operational environment, and inaccessibility after deployment.
Personal sacrifice has taken the form of depression, financial ruin, lost opportunity
for other endeavors, broken families, sickness, substance abuse, and other maladies...
and Musician
Lester William Polsfuss is credited with being
a major player in the pioneering of electric guitars with his solid-body (no
acoustic resonance chamber) model... but you probably knew that. As if being
a popular musician and, along with wife Mary Ford, selling millions of records wasn't
enough,
Les Paul was an experimenter and inventor in the electronic music
realm. Here is what was at the time a contemporary look inside his home-workshop-studio.
Mr. Polsfuss designed and built the record cutter that he used in his early days
out of scrounged automobile...
for Their support!
RIGOL Technologies is an emerging T&M leader and a technology innovator in
electronic measurement. RIGOL's 
line of products including: Digital o-scopes,
RF spectrum
analyzers, DMMs, programmable power supplies, signal generators, and waveform
generators. The
DSA800
Spectrum Analyzer redefines the product category by setting new standards for
performance and price.
Well, almost free. The price paid is providing your email address so they can
be sent to you. In >5 years of recommending these books and white papers, I have
never had anyone complain about spam after requesting them. I make a few ¢
on each, so please help yourself to any or all of these offered by
TradePub.
Signals and Systems for 
Dummies
Optics for Dummies
Cover Letters for Dummies
Job Seeker Strategies to Stay Ahead of the Career
Curve
You - According to Them: Uncovering blind spots that impact
your reputation and your 
career
Find - and Get - The Job You Want: 12 Steps to Job Search
Success
Crossword for August 17, 2014
Every Sunday I create an engineering-themed crossword
puzzle using a word list that I personally created and added to during over a decade
of making puzzles. All of the words are related to engineering, science, mathematics,
chemistry, astronomy, etc. There are no numbnut clues about movie stars or clothing
designers. Enjoy.
