90° SM Coupler
Innovative Power Products introduces their
Model IPP-7057, a 200 watt surface mount 90°
Coupler that operates from 100–520 MHz. Detailed product specs, including the outline drawing, typical test data, and s-parameters
are available on IPP's website. The IPP-7057 will combine two signals up to 200 watts CW of total output power. This coupler
is produced in an SMD package size of 0.750 x 2.00 inches. Insertion loss is less than 0.60 dB, amplitude balance is less
than ±0.80 dB, phase balance is less than ±7°.
for Commercial Service
This
story from a 1941 edition of National Radio News reports on the FCC's having passed regulations to allow the rollout
of commercial television service as of July 1, 1941. These standards, observes the Commission, "represent,
with but few exceptions, the undivided engineering opinion of the industry." They "satisfy the requirement for advancing
television to a high level of efficiency within presently known developments." Furthermore, "Frequency modulation is required
for the sound accompanying the pictures. Thus, television is now benefited by the recent developments of frequency...
Continued Support!
Planar Monolithics has been setup to
design, develop, manufacture, test, and market complex state-of-the-art
hybrid RF
MIC and MMIC components, supercomponents, and subsystems for applications in telecommunications, terrestrial, satellite,
and mobile-radio communications, defense (ECM, ECCM, ESM, Radars, EW), CATV, navigation and marine electronics, FAA/DOT-avionics,
ground based systems, and MLS.
Technologies as an Advertiser
RIGOL Technologies is
an emerging T&M leader and a technology innovator in electronic measurement. RIGOL's premium line of products including:
DSOs,
Spectrum Analyzers,
DMMs,
Programmable
Power Supplies, Signal Generators, and
Waveform Generators. The
DSA800 Spectrum Analyzer by RIGOL redefines the product
category by setting new standards for performance and price. Its digital IF technology guarantees reliability and performance
will meet the most demanding RF applications.
People List
Forbes just published their list of the
world's richest people for 2014, which includes 1,645 billionaires.
Bill Gates bubbled to the top this year, edging out Mexico's telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim Helú, who held the distinction
the previous four years. It is amazing how often you read where once a member of the über rich declares to be on a
mission to gift huge portions of wealth to charities, he/she seems to get even wealthier. Scanning through the list of the
wealthiest people and looking at the businesses they are associated with makes apparent that big bucks can be made in just
about any realm as long as you are one of the top players. Owning a casino is a good bet for making...
Filters & 4-Way Power Divider
Anatech Electronics
has released new designs for a 862.5 MHz cavity bandpass filter, an 2422 MHz cavity bandpass filter for Wi-Fi hotspots,
a 2.0-2.9 GHz 4-way power divider/combiner, and a 902-928 MHz cavity bandpass filter for ISM band. All can be ordered
directly through their AMCrf web store.
Robert Balin created
many quizzes for Popular Electronics magazine back in the 1960s and 1970s. This particular
Electronic Numbers Quiz presents various objects and your challenge is to match one of the provided numerical
values to each item. For example, a tuning fork is most commonly, in the Western world, associated with a certain frequency
for tuning musical instruments (electronic and mechanical). As is often the case, being familiar with the "standards" of
the era is helpful on a few of the items like the tuning capacitor and the IF transformer, but you should be able to eliminate
some options by knowing the impedance of the twin lead...
Joe Cahak, RF engineer and owner of Sunshine Design Engineering Services, just sent me another
paper he has authored on the subject of determining the
quality factor
("Q") of rectangular and cylindrical cavities. Before you decide to skip reading this article
because the topic might seem too esoteric, Joe does much more than present formulas and tables. He also includes a tale
of the research needed to cull and vet the many, often conflicting, opinions of which formulas are correct. Ultimately,
a decision was made to select formulas that most closely matched empirically determined values from published data. If Mr.
John T. Frye was still writing Carl & Jerry adventures...
AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming
Cobham has been awarded a $21.8 million contract modification by the US Naval Air Systems Command, exercising an option
to procure additional Low Band Transmitters (LBT), a variety of antennas and adapter interface modules for
the AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming
System to be used by the US Navy and the Australian military. Under this option,
Cobham Defense Electronics in Lansdale, PA will manufacture 8 LBTs for the US Navy and 11 for Australia;
11 vertically polarized antennas for the Navy and 6 for Australia; 17 high band horizontally polarized antennas for the
Navy
National
Radio Institute (NRI) was founded in 1914 at the dawn of the radio age. It provided self-study courses as well as classroom
instruction on the art of electronics and radio communications. A bi-monthly magazine titled National Radio News
was published from 1929-1953. This article explaining how oscillators work appeared in the December 1940 edition. Although
circuits of the day used vacuum tubes, the principle of voltage and phase relationships required to initiate and sustain
oscillations
are the same as for transistor circuits. A step-by-step description is provided from the time the power is applied until
stable oscillations are established.
for RF Engineers
I'm not
a big fan of government employees in general since many, IMO, are filling unnecessary jobs created to build voter bases
and expand the power and influence of politicians and appointed bureaucrats. It places a huge burden on those of us who
do real work by having to deal with their ineptitude and arrogance and having our hard-earned income taken to subsidize
their pampered existence. That said, there are government jobs and employees that I highly regard, being primarily those
who work in high technology fields. Who can argue that, with the exception of many high ranking department appointments
of political nature, the rest of the people are typically very skilled
Appreciation of Support
There are many reasons why Comdel
RF power supplies, DC generators and matching networks are used by the
leading semiconductor equipment manufacturers, solar cell / photovoltaics manufacturers and IC makers
throughout the world.
Our customers value the breadth of our RF generator product line, as well as our experience, entrepreneurial spirit and
commitment. Our combination of products and people provides customers with advanced power supply technology, proven techniques
and product reliability.
"Shoe" Comic Strip
Today's edition of the
Shoe comic strip had an amateur radio gag line. Enjoy.
Reversal of Patent Case
This article by Bob Ambrogi, of IMS Expert
Services, reports on how the ambiguous, objective nature of the legal definition of a "Person of Ordinary
Skill in the Art" re patent interpretation was the basis for megacorp SAP losing an infringement lawsuit on appeal.
It illustrates the
importance of having competent, non-egotistical legal representation for what might
otherwise be considered an open-and-shut case. In this instance, the "little guy" prevailed due to having the best legal
team. Note: IMS ExpertServices
periodically sends me e-mails that highlight recent key court cases that can significantly affect the effectiveness of expert
testimony, both for...
from Triad RF Systems!
Triad RF
Systems was formed in 2010 with the objective to solve the problem of HPAs being the Achilles heel in most RF radios.
We have solutions for integrating high performance HPAs
into
sophisticated RF subsystems and systems without sacrificing efficiency and linearity. Call us to find out how we do it.
Triad RF Systems serves all areas of the RF and Microwave industries including military, satellite and commercial communications.
Our products operate from 10 MHz to 20 GHz.
Shortly after Edwin H. Armstrong
demonstrated the viability of
FM for
long distance broadcasting in January of 1940, the U.S. FCC allocated spectrum to it in the 42-50 MHz band. Armstrong
had introduced the FCC to FM originally in 1936. The new modulation scheme was popular due to its immunity to amplitude
related noise like that generated by motors, automobile ignition systems, and lightning. However, World War II broke
out a little over a year later and most commercial radio advancements were put on hold. This article from a 1940 edition
of National Radio News could not have predicted that, or the FCC's decision to relocate the FM spectrum to 88-108 MHz
in 1945 in the closing days of WWII. Some speculate that...
Mini-DIN 4.1/9.5 Adapters
Fairview Microwave Inc. has introduced
mini-DIN 4.1/9.5
adapters for applications requiring low PIM performance such as cell sites or indoor/outdoor distributed antenna systems
(DAS). Other applications of these adapters include land-
mobile radio
(LMR) communications, telecom installations, wireless infrastructure, portable sweep testing,
OEM in-rack RF routing, and in-building systems. Mini-DIN adapters are similar to 7/16 DIN connectors, but are smaller with
more precise electrical performance and offer VSWR of 1.25:1 to 6 GHz.
Microwave Engineering
Microwave Engineering, by David M. Pozar.
Pozar's new edition of Microwave Engineering includes more material on active circuits, noise, nonlinear effects, and wireless
systems. Chapters on noise and nonlinear distortion, and active devices have been added along with the coverage of noise
and more material on intermodulation distortion and related nonlinear effects. On active devices, there's more updated material
on bipolar junction and field effect transistors. New and updated material on wireless communications systems, including
link budget, link margin, digital modulation methods, and bit error rates is also part of the new edition.
Analyzer Repair for Support
We absolutely know
analyzer repair. Wouldn't you like a friend like that on your side?
Repair of your existing 
equipment is the most cost effective - period. Don't be pressured by the manufacturer
into buying a very expensive newer model just because they can't or won't do the repairs on yours. Our in-house repair engineering
group offers low pricing, experience (15 years on average), military PMEL graduates, parts
for repair in stock, warranty-90 days.
A Discrete 555 Timer
When I first laid my hands on a
555 timer IC back in the early 1980s, it was Nirvana.
Having recently separated from the USAF, working as an electronics technician at Westinghouse Electric, and working on my
electrical engineering degree in night school, I was eager to learn about and adopt every bit of technology within reach.
No opportunity was missed to integrate the 555 into my designs for test fixtures and experimental circuits. One such application
was a custom timer that controlled a UV light source for curing a particular adhesive we were using in a DoD classified
project. Those were exciting times. Signetics had introduced its NE555 in a decade earlier to provide...
for Continued Support
Founded in 2005, LadyBug
Technologies manufactures the PowerSensor™ line of miniaturized USB
RF & microwave power sensors. LadyBug manufactures high
accuracy average, pulse,
and pulse profiling sensors with GUI interfaces covering up to 26.5 GHz and 80 dB dynamic range. These Sensors
set a, patented industry standard, No Zero / No Cal technology. There is no need to disconnect or wait for internal
zeroing and calibration prior to making accurate low power measurements.
vs. True Sun Time
Since the switch to Daylight Saving Time just occurred this weekend, it makes a good segue into the topic of time zones and
shifts in general. The map shown here was created by Stefano Maggiolo, who has a Ph.D. in geometry from SISSA, Italy, on
his "The poor man's math blog" web page, and is a Google engineer. His map depicts by what amount, based on your position
in a local time zone, your clock time differs from the local sun time. Local sun time is relative to when the sun is due
south, at its highest altitude, when noon occurs. Time zones in most of the world are fairly evenly distributed in 1/24th
increments and do make fairly circuitous deviations around states, provinces and countries, with a very obvious exception
in regions of China. Some of China's time zones span...
Acquires ISO Certification
Nova Microwave, a subsidiary of
Electro Technik Industries (ETI), is now certified to ISO: 2008 by SAI Global. Nova Microwave
designs and manufactures 
isolators and circulators for RF and microwave commercial and defense applications. Nova Microwave offers
a number of different styles from drop-ins to surface mounts. The frequency ranges from 380 MHz to 23.6 GHz with average
power ratings from 2 to 250 watts.
Sir William Henry Bragg
"There is also the great driving force which
we know under the name of religion. From religion comes a man's purpose ; from science, his power to achieve it. Sometimes
people ask if religion and science are not opposed to one another. They are: in the sense that the thumb and fingers of
my hand are opposed to one another. It is an opposition by means of which anything can be grasped. It is right, therefore,
with all our heart to learn what will help us in the work we want to do, so that when the call comes we can say, 'I am here...
Printed Circuits & Capacitors
1954 was just a decade after World War II, during
which time the Army Signal Corps introduced a method of printing - or etching - metallic circuit conductors on an insulator
substrate, and thus was born the
printed circuit
board (PCB). The first boards used a phenolic-paper laminate, which is the shiny brown
substrate material that is still found in some industrial applications like motors and control panels. Ferric chloride was
used to etch away the copper foil not masked off with photoresist chemicals. I made many crude PCBs using a resist ink pen
to draw circuit traces and component mounting pads, then etched away the exposed copper with ferric chloride...
It has been many years since I presented a questionnaire
to website visitors in order to get a measure of what people like or dislike and what new feature(s)
might be useful. In order to qualify as an entry, you must fill out the 15-question form in its entirety. A winner
will be randomly selected. As an incentive for you to take a few minutes of your busy day to complete and submit the form,
I am offering as compensation a chance to win the 3-volume set titled
Handbook of Reflector Antennas and Feed
Systems: "Theory and Design of Reflectors," "Feed Systems," and "Applications of Reflectors," published by Artech
House. This represents a $627 retail value.
Crossword for March 9, 2014
Every Sunday I create an
engineering- and science-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.
for Their Support
Dow-Key Microwave is the world's
largest manufacturer of electromechanical switches for RF and microwave
applications. Founded in 1945, we are also the oldest
continuously operating RF / microwave switch manufacturer in the U.S. Dow-Key specializes
in customized, high-performance coaxial, waveguide, and high-rel switches, as well as switching systems such as RF matrices
and system-level rack integration, programmable attenuators, and delay lines.
(you pay shipping)
A few of the
technical books generously donated by major publishers like Artech
House and Cambridge University Press are not likely to be selected by the RF Cafe monthly
Book Drawing winners, and have been sitting on my shelf
for a year or so. I would never consider selling them, but they do deserve good homes because the information is very interesting.
If you are willing to pay for me to ship them to you, I will be glad to do so. If you would like any of the books below,
please send me an e-mail with your zip code...
8-12 GHz Limiting Amplifier
API Technologies announces a new broadband
8-12 GHz limiting amplifier
ideally suited for demanding military 
requirements and high-end
commercial applications such as microwave receivers, microwave telemetry systems, uplink communications platforms, instrumentation,
and military communications systems. It features excellent output flatness of 1 dB that is independent of the input,
and allows for inputs levels from -20 to -10 dBm.
- Help or Hindrance?
Most of us, long before being introduced
to the concept of power in electrical circuits, learn about it in terms of mechanical power and/or sound power. It takes
some doing to abandon the esoteric nature of power and be trained to grasp the scientific and mathematical aspects
of power in all its forms. When the driving source is steady state or a pure sinewave, life is relatively simple, but such
is more often than not an exception to the system being studied. Here is a nice, short treatise on the concept of sound
power that will augment your earlier-learned knowledge of
music
power rating.
Taiwan U. Student Competition
AWR Corporation announces the winners of its
2013 National Taiwan University Student Design Competition. AWR partnered with National Taiwan University
in mid-2013 to sponsor the first ever Taiwan Student Design Competition. The objective of the competition was to encourage
students in Taiwan to become involved in the dynamic profession of microwave and RF engineering and to apply their knowledge
to practical designs using the highly efficient AWR design methodology
for Longtime Support
PCB Material World is an independent distributor
and market maker of PCB raw materials, located in the Northwest
suburbs of
Chicago. We buy, list and sell PCB raw materials such as copper clad laminates,
copper foil, drill backer and entry, among other items. Our objective is to act as a buy-sell PCB materials exchange;
enabling efficiency in materials usage for PCB manufacturing. Our emphasis is on high end and/or hard-to-find products such
as microwave materials, colors, heavy coppers, and obsolete and other non standard products.
If your workplace is anything like the ones I have experienced, most print issues of magazines
end up in the mail room recycle bin or trash can - they never make it out the door. You might even scan the TOC and dog-ear
a couple pages for later reading, but seldom get around to it before ultimately chucking them in the can. Fortunately, you
can read the articles online if you know they exist. I post a list like this one about once a week to help you keep track.
» Microstrip
Antenna Maintains
Low Profile
»
Hall Effect Sensors Measure
Fields and Detect Position
»
Understanding Adjacent
Channel Power
Measurements in Spectrum
Analysis
»
Sigma Delta ADCs : A Non-
Mathematical Approach
Co-Located GPS Receivers
Parsec
Technologies has published a white paper titled "Low Noise Amplifier
(LNA) Linearity Impacts to Close Proximity Co-Located GPS L1 Receivers." A commercial
low-cost GPS L1 (Fc = 1575.42 MHz) receiver in close physical proximity to a 2G/3G/4G compliant
cellular handset transceiver FEM is analyzed for performance impacts related to various forms of electromagnetic interference.
A description of how the GPS L1 receiver works is presented. GPS L1 receiver link budgets, simulation and measured receiver
data, and spurious...
Book Drawing Selection
Thanks to the generosity of Artech House and Cambridge
University Press, eight new books have been added to the selection available to monthly
RF Cafe Book Drawing winners. There are currently 21
titles to choose from if you are the lucky person. To date, I have given away more than 90 books, and have paid the shipping
cost on all of them. It is one way to thank the many visitors and contributors to RF Cafe's ongoing success.
In this episode of Carl & Jerry, the teens
ponder a question posed by Jerry's mother upon looking down their hillside home: "[L]ook at all those
TV antennas down there. Hardly two of them are alike; yet they're all intended to receive the same stations.
How come there are so many different kinds?" That was all the pair needed to set them off in an investigation to determine
the answer. Being avid electronics and RF hobbyists and experimenters, they discuss the principles of how antennas work,
various types of transmission lines, impedance matching, antenna types, bandwidth, and other topics relevant to the challenge.
As with most Carl & Jerry stories, the intent is to educate...
Technologies for Support
Founded in 2005, LadyBug
Technologies manufactures the PowerSensor™ line of miniaturized USB
RF & microwave power sensors. LadyBug manufactures high accuracy average, pulse, and pulse profiling sensors
with GUI interfaces
covering up to 26.5 GHz and 80 dB dynamic range. These sensors set a, patented industry standard, No Zero
/ No Cal technology. There is no need to disconnect or wait for internal zeroing and calibration prior to making accurate
low power measurements.
Our February Book Winner!
Dean F., of Suwanee, GA, is the
February 2014, RF Cafe book drawing winner. Dean selected
Integration of Passive RF Front-End Components in SoCs, by Hooman Darabi and Ahmad Mirzaei. Each
month I select one or two names from a list of people who have either ordered one of my
RF Cafe software products, or sent me an
e-mail asking t obe entered. The book was Graciously provided by Cambridge University Press
aka Agbogbloshie
This story appeared on a news website I found while gathering daily tech
headlines... in case you've forgotten where your e-waste is likely to end up. According to German photographer Kevin McElvaney,
the 40,000 Agbogbloshie (near Accra) locals call their land
Sodom & Gomorrah, after the Biblical city that was destroyed
by fire. This is just one small part of the world where such activities are daily routine for those living in abject poverty.
BTW, similar sacrifices are made to build our e-devices
in the first place during the extraction of raw materials and during manufacturing and transportation of finished goods.
Many of our clothes, vehicles, appliances, tools, sports items, food containers, and other items pass through...
Magazines
Here is your chance to own a pile of
vintage electronics magazines for just the cost of shipping.
As you are probably aware, for the past few years I have been buying vintage editions of QST, Popular Electronics,
Electronics World, Radio & TV News, Radio-Electronics, and Wireless World, for the
purpose of scanning and posting articles that I believe will be of interest to RF Cafe visitors. I have gotten all
I need from them and rather than having them sit around taking up space, I am offering to mail them to you on a first come,
first served basis. Most of the magazines were purchased on eBay...
Electronics for Support!
Since 1961, MECA* has served the microwave
industry specific to passive components in the DC to 20 GHz frequency range. MECA serves all areas of the RF/Microwave
industries including world class network
providers, and supporting supply chain infrastructure. We have long been the "backbone"
of high performance wired and air-interfaced networks such as in-building applications, satellite communications, radar,
radio communications, telemetry applications, mobile radio, aviation & air traffic communications.
*Microwave Electronic Components of America Radiation Belts
This
is scary. Believe it or not, there is a group of scientists who think it might be a good idea to beam very low frequency
(VLF) radiation into the upper atmosphere to erase the
Van Allen radiation belts. I kid you not. An article in
the March 2014 edition of IEEE's Spectrum magazine describes a plan to clear out the proton cloud residing in the
inner belt (1,000 - 9,600 km altitude) and the electron cloud hovering in the outer belt
(13,500 - 58,000 km altitude). Both Van Allen radiation belts, particularly the outer ring,
are hazardous to electronics, i.e., satellites, because of the circuit-frying potential due to a build-up of electric charges
that can, under certain conditions, penetrate an imperfect Faraday shield...
This quiz from Popular Electronics challenges
(not too much, though) your knowledge of
energy conversion in common devices. A few of them might be unfamiliar to people born after about 1990,
but even so, you've probably seem them all at some point, especially if you are a regular RF Cafe visitor
(meaning you're probably smart). Robert P. Balin constructed many of this type quiz for
PE. In fact, clicking on the following hyperlink will find the
Popular Electronics Quizzes for you.
Cards & Photos, c1924-1978
You will want to see
this. Collecting thousands of QSL cards and photographs of their Ham radio operators and radio equipment is a monumental
accomplishment today, but it was even more of a challenge in the early and middle part of the last century. You must actually
make contact with the station to legitimately collect a QSL card, and then the remote operator must be willing to absorb
the cost of mailing you a card. Mail service, particularly from some overseas locations, was no guarantee of successful
delivery. A large portion of radio installations were cobbled together by their operators from scrap parts and had marginal
functionality, even into the 1960s and '70s, so contacts were more difficult. As early as 1924, Don Retzlaff's grandfather,
Thomas "Tom" Russell Gentry
(W5RG) began the process where over a span of more than half a century he acquired more than
5,000 QSL cards from all over the Earth...
Broadband HPAs to EMC Line
Rohde & Schwarz now offers up to 10 kW of power in a frequency range from 9 kHz
to 225 MHz with its
R&S BBL200 amplifier family. 
Thanks to a new liquid cooling system,
these models are quieter and more compact than ever before. The R&S BBL200 will be on display at EMV 2014 in Düsseldorf
at booth CCD-202.
Appreciation of 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.
Old Time Radio on Demand
"How
to Download and Listen to All the
Old Time Radio Shows You
Want" That is the tag line on the RUSC (R U Sitting Comfortably?) website. Having been a longtime
fan of the old radio shows, I gratefully accepted an offer by co-owner Joy Norris to poke around the website that she and
her husband Ned have created. RUSC is a subscription-based collection of hundreds, nay thousands of programs from "The Golden
Age of Radio" that are available for your listening pleasure either streaming live or as a download for listening to at
a later time. A list of the main show categories appears on every page for easy access. Not only are more familiar comedy
titles like Abbot & Costello, Milton Berle, and Father Knows Best included, but lesser known...
It's been a while since posting job hunting and career article links.
These might be of interest to you.
•
8 Lies Interviewers Tell Job
Candidates
•
5 Steps to Enhance Your
Online Job Search
•
Low-Cost Strategy for a
College Degree
•
Engineering Grads Enjoy
Greater Job Prospects
•
How to Survive Getting Fired
from a Tech Company
•
8 Reasons
You Should Turn
Down That
Job Offer
•
How to Know When You've
Outgrown Your Job
•
Are Employees Working
More Jobs for No Pay?
•
Giant Resumes Fail to
Impress Employers
by to Windfreak Technologies
Windfreak Tech designs, manufactures,
tests and sells high value radio frequency products such as RF signal
generators, synthesizers, power detectors, mixers, upconverters and 
downconverters. We develop high quality, reliable, low cost products to make
your life easier. Windfreak Tech is developing high quality, low cost products to make life easier for RF engineers and
hobbyist. Future products will be more synthesizers, transmitters, receivers and test equipment - All at low cost.
A couple decades ago,
you would expect to pay $100 for a good quality handheld DMM that measured AC and DC current and voltage and maybe even
power, plus had a few other functions like frequency counting, and capacitance and transistor beta measurement. Now for
about the same money, you can buy a handheld digital oscilloscope (DSO) for about the same money. This 1 MHz bandwidth
RioRand DSO features 1 Msps, 12-bit sampling and a 320x240 pixel color LCD display. A 1x/10x probe is included. The price from Amazon is less than $90 with free shipping. If you
need more bandwidth, the
Owon HDS1021M provides a 20 MHz BW and also has a multimeter function for a tad over $200.
Need the extra BW and 2 channels? Less than $400 gets you the
Owon HDS1022M-N with 20 MHz BW, or $800 for the
Owon HDS3102M-N with 2 channels and 100 MHz. This is a good time to add one to your home toolbox.
Programmable Attenuator
PMI Model No. DTA-14G40G-32-CD-2 is a
10 Bit programmable attenuator
with step resolution as low as 0.04 dB which provides over 32 dB of attenuation over the frequency range of 14.0
to 40.0 GHz. This model is offered in a slim line housing measuring 2.0" x 1.8" x 0.5" with 2.92 mm female
connectors and operates on a single +15 VDC supply with only 40 mA of current consumption typically.
w/Bluetooth and a Music Player
When I first saw this video, I thought it was a satire.
The video is a for-real commercial promoting the new Supersmoker Bluetooth e-cigarette that has built-in Bluetooth connectivity and a music player. From their
website, "Supersmoker or Clubsmoker are electronic cigarettes, you can smoke without all the harmful ingredients of a conventional
cigarette. We have two kinds, rechargeable and disposable e-cigarettes. With the rechargeable you need refills and this
cigarette can be recharged every day. The disposable is an e-cigarette that lasts about 2 packs of conventional...
MHF/U.FL Series Data Sheet
Delta Electronics Manufacturing Corp's new MHF/U.FL series data sheet
details the company's latest ultra miniature coaxial interconnect system that operates from: DC-6 GHz. This connector
interface was developed for applications in small form factor wireless mobile electronic devices. In addition to information
on applications, materials, finishes and typical electrical performances, full detail is provided on how to specify a MHF/U.FL
cable assembly or "pigtail" assembly, including compatible coaxial cables
for Long-Time Support!
For over 20 years Z-Communications
has employed the latest in proven technology to achieve low phase noise, wide tuning ranges and higher operating frequencies
in our VCO and PLL modules. Our state-of-art,
high speed SMT manufacturing
facility is located in San Diego, CA. Our solutions can be tailored to address any VCO or PLL need with the highest performance
available in today's demanding market. Z-Comm can also provide custom solutions for customers with short deadlines.
"So
here we have pi squared, which an engineer would call 10." -
Frank King, cartoonist, creator
of Gasoline Alley (Source: Wikipedia). That statement was made by Walt Wallet
(the main character) to his tech-inclined nephew Skeezix (cowboy slang
for a motherless calf). Over the years, Gasoline Alley included many episodes with Skeezix dabbling in electronics
- usually not very successfully.
for March 2, 2014
This week's crossword puzzle has a heavier concentration
of physics-based words and clues, so I titled it the Physics Crossword Puzzle. Highly imaginative, non? As always, all of
the words are technology terms, so you won't need a nimrod couch potato accomplice to complete it.
for Continued Support!
Since 1994,
leading wireless electronics companies have relied on 3Gmetalworx to deliver cutting edge solutions for advanced
RF/EMI PCB-level shielding requirements. From
prototyping and design
services to JIT manufacturing supply, our clients depend on us to provide a seamless service pathway supporting the entire
product lifecycle. In order to become the industry leader in our market segment, we have invested in the necessary infrastructure
and process optimization required to excel in this demanding field. Continual improvement is in our DNA.
Part I of this article appeared in last month's
(September) edition. It introduced concepts in
antenna types and siting. This
second part talks about cost tradeoffs for various aspects of a DX setup. Author Paul Rockwell does a nice job of providing
graphs of cost versus performance increases for transmitter power, antenna gain, tower height and constructions, etc. He
uses prices typical of the mid 1960s, but even without knowing the equivalent modern day equipment prices, the shapes of
the curves are good indicators of where the point of diminishing returns exists. Paul Rockwell wrote a 4-part series on
station design for long distance (DX) communications that covered antenna selection...
Connection for Support
Test Equipment
Connection provides test and measurement equipment
for sale, lease or rent. New and refurbished with warranty. We buy pre-owned test equipment ($2,000,000
budgeted each month) and offer asset
management services to market your used surplus equipment world wide. Trade in programs
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Paul Rockwell wrote a 4-part series on
station design for long distance
(DX) communications that covered antenna selection and siting (Part I), economics and
construction(Part II), station configuration and receiver topics (Part
III), and propagation quirks and operating tips (Part IV). This first part goes into
some of the gory detail of surrounding terrain considerations and necessary antenna launch angles, complete with equations.
Most of the work is based on multi-element horizontal Yagi antennas. The term "forezone," of which a formal definition is
not locatable in a Google search (no reference to it at all), is used throughout the series,
and refers to the radiation area in the forward direction.
