It is not often
that a famous author of books dealing with the subject of secret military codes,
ciphers, and cryptography writes to me asking for assistance in some research. In
fact this is the first time such an author has written - about codes and ciphers,
that is. Mr. Fred B. Wrixon contacted (see below)
me after finding World War II communications articles posted on RF Cafe to
ask whether I had any verifiable knowledge of a fabled communication system between
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill that
went by the name POTUS-PRIME.
Other than recognizing that POTUS is President of
the United States and PRIME is
Prime Minister, I had to admit to possessing no useful knowledge.
It reportedly involved the Bell Labs A-3 speech scrambler that was superseded by
the SIGSALY system. If you happen upon this post and are able to assist Mr. Wrixon,
he would not only be most grateful, but is offering compensation...
"It can kill everything from your laptop to
your TV. Russian hackers have created a USB stick that can instantly fry any machine
it is plugged into. It sends 220 Volts through the signal lines of the USB interface,
rendering anything it is plugging into useless. The Russian security researcher
known as "Dark Purple" who created the stick has even posted a video of
it in action - killing his laptop in the process..."
Tisha H., of Gadsden, Alabama, is the lucky
winner of the RF Cafe Book Drawing for September 2015. Tisha selected
Foundations of Antenna Engineering: A Unified Approach for Line-Of-Sight
and Multipath, by Kildal Per-Simon, which was Graciously provided by
Artech House. Each
month I randomly choose one or two names from the list of people who have bought
my software products during the month. Most of the books are donated by the publishers,
and then I pay for shipping to the winner.
"Investors poured increasing amounts of cash
into startups in the third quarter, defying fears of a bubble in the tech sector,
a survey showed Wednesday. A total of 1,799 venture-backed startups around the world
pulled in $37.6B in funding in the quarter, the highest since 2001, according to
the survey by CB Insights and KPMG. The vast majority of the funding - 77% - went
to technology startups..."
Effective Expert Witnessing: Practices for the
21st Century, 5th Edition, by Jack V. Matson, comes highly recommended by the
good folks at IMS ExpertServices.
They are the origin of all the BullsEye articles I post that provide insight into
real court cases involving expert witnesses. After I recently posted "Tips from an Expert Witness Recruiter on Getting Hired," written
by Mr. Toby Edwards, I wrote to ask whether there is a book that would be particularly
good for someone either already engaged in or contemplating being engaged in providing
expert witness services. This book was the response.
Anatech Electronics, a manufacturer of RF and microwave filters,
has published its March 2015 newsletter. As always, it includes both company news
and some tidbits about relevant industry happenings. This month, Sam Benzacar theme
is Spectrum Pollution: A Silent Menace." He discusses a test run by a spectrum monitoring
setup that recorded thousands of independent signals in the 2.4 GHz ISM band in
an urban environment, illustrating how saturated our environment is with RF energy,
and making you wonder...
Empower RF is pleased to announce it is it is
shipping another new, industry leading RF amplifier system that complements the
frequency coverage and power level "footprint" of our next generation, high power
PA product family.
Model 2180, covering 1 to 2.5 GHz and delivering an unprecedented
2 kW CW of broadband output power in a 8U, air cooled chassis is our latest
market release. Offering unrivaled size, weight, and power advantages and building
on a design architecture that has been a catalyst for technology...
"And there is nothing new under the sun."
- Ecclesiastes 1:9, NKJV (did you know that is the origin
of the saying?). This 1930 editorial by Radio-Craft editor Hugo
Gernsback describes a coordinated scam perpetrated by
radio manufacturers to compel consumers to buy new sets rather
than have their existing sets repaired. In short, retail prices were inflated to
accommodate a built-in 'trade-in' allowance that far exceeded the repair cost or
used radio cost. Radio service shops were getting the short shrift because many
people who might have otherwise elected to have repairs made would instead trade
in the old set for a new one...
"I would rather
be a great scientific investigator than a great engineer; but would rather be a
second-rate engineer than a second-rate investigator." -
Heinrich Hertz in a letter to his parents in October, 1877
To get more out of your Keysight-Technologies-Back-Basics-Key-Spectrum-Analysis-10-12-2015.htm" >spectrum
analyzer, you need to go back to the basics. Dynamic range identifies whether or
not low-level signals will be visible in the presence of large signals, and is one
of the most important - and difficult - measurements to get right. Since the display
range, measurement range, noise floor, phase noise, and spurious response of the
instrument all play important roles in determining dynamic range, it is often misunderstood
and misinterpreted...
"Magnets are well-known from the physics lessons
at school, but they are hardly covered in chemistry lectures; and it is still a
chemical process by means of which researchers have succeeded in controlling magnetic
properties in bulk ferromagnets. While physical processes may influence the orientation
of the magnetic fields, the chemical process in this case controls magnetism in
carefully chosen strongly ferromagnetic material systems. The working principle
used in this case is similar to the..."
Fifth in the "Men Who Have Made Radio"
series, Heinrich Hertz is honored here for giving mankind what author Hugo Gernsback
appropriately termed "a sixth sense." Having earned his doctorate with a thesis
on "the distribution of electricity over the surface of moving conductors," Hertz
proved through his experiments the existence of electromagnetic waves - the aforementioned
sixth sense. During his short 37 years on Earth,
Heinrich Hertz accomplished an impressive amount of fundamental
research and discovery. He was remembered fondly as a kind man who placed advancing
the frontiers of science ahead of fighting for credit...
If you think the controversy over whether
drivers being distracted by telecommunications devices is something new, consider
this article from a 1935 issue of Radio-Craft magazine. Mobile radio was
a relatively new possibility at the time, as was the horseless carriage into which
installation was a cause for concern by insurance companies and government regulators.
Just as nowadays we worry about and sometimes fining drivers who use a smartphone
for
texting while driving, the state of Connecticut in 1935 went so
far as to propose imposing a fine of $50 ($870 in 2015 money)
for installing a radio set or any "other...
MECA is pleased to announce the addition to our
662 series, 2 watt
SMA
attenuators operating now up to 4 GHz. The 662-dB-1RA series attenuators
cover all wireless applications from Hz – 4.0 GHz and available in standard
values of 3, 6, 10, 20 & 30 dB. And as always made is USA carrying
MECA's 36 month warranty...
NuWaves Engineering, a veteran-owned small business
delivering advanced RF and microwave solutions, announced today that the company
has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research contract from the
USAF Research Laboratory to develop and test an advanced triplexer in support of
AFRL's GPS technology development program. Under the AFRL-sponsored technology development
effort...
While
watching the Avengers: Age of Ultron movie, at some point when one of the
computer voices was speaking, a memory of the "This Is DigiTalker" voice suddenly came to mind. Back in the mid-1980s
while working at Westinghouse in Annapolis, Maryland, a couple of the engineers
brought a DigiTalker prototype experimentation board into the super-classified area
where I worked. According to National Semiconductor's datasheet, it was introduced
sometime around 1980. The programmable digital voice IC was a big deal in that unlike
other devices that had a fixed set of...
"The
2015 Nobel Prize for Physics has been awarded to Arthur B McDonald
and Takaaki Kajita "for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that
neutrinos have mass". The prize is worth SEK 8m (£629,000) and will be shared by
the two winners who will receive their medals at a ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December.
Kajita is a Japanese citizen and a member of the Super-Kamiokande collaboration.
McDonald is a Canadian citizen and director of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory..."
Pasternack, a leading provider of in-stock and
ready to ship RF, microwave and millimeter wave products, announces the release
of new affordable
coaxial-packaged RF amplifiers. Both low noise and gain block
amplifiers are offered and display excellent performance covering wide octave frequency
bands from 9 kHz to 3 GHz. All of these new amplifiers from Pasternack
provide an outstanding value and are all priced less than $500 USD for a single
unit. These products provide engineers a convenient...
This week's custom
crossword puzzle contains only words with relevance to science,
engineering, mathematics, chemistry, astronomy, mechanics, etc. Since each puzzle
is created personally by me, I usually insert a few special words and clues. This
week, the company names of my two newest advertisers are buried somewhere in the
matrix. Enjoy!
This problem appeared on a Scottish high school
higher maths placement exam (we say 'math'
here in the U.S.) and it reportedly caused a major uproar due to its difficulty.
Part (a) is a piece of cake, but part (b) is what separates the wheat from the chaff,
so to speak. Not being one to pass up such a challenge, I took a shot at it - and
actually got it all correct! Completing part (b) requires that you know about how
to find the minimum value of a function, a method I didn't learn until college calculus.
Any HS kid that knows how to work part (b) is a bright light for the future of England
and the world. Here is a nice online
derivative finder
if you need it, and here is a
scan of my scribbled solution.
Nuts and Volts magazine published
a really nice layman's overview on the subject of
radar and electronic warfare. Author Gerard Fonte begins with
a little radar history and then delves into basics on radar signature, countermeasures
including anti-radiation missiles, false targets, and radiation patterns. This is
a fairly short article and is meant only as an introduction to the subject. For
a really great resource that goes into much more detail, but without all the mind-boggling
mathematics, I recommend (and own a copy of) Stimson's
Introduction to Airborne Radar.
It was the end of August when I last posted
links to RF & microwave engineering articles. You don't need me to suggest reading
material, but this can at least serve as a reminder that there are many great new
articles available. Some magazines have been printing an abbreviated version of
an article and then posting the entire article online. Often, even if the entire
text is printed, there are additional sketches and photographs posted online
...
-
Using Power Sensors in Unattended
Applications
-
6 Types of Resonators Used Across
the RF/Microwave Universe
-
Making Links with Cables and
Connectors <more...>
Linx Technologies, a Merlin, OR based developer
and manufacturer of Internet of Things (IoT) Products and Solutions, is pleased
to introduce its new pre-certified remote control and sensor transceiver modules.
The
HumRC™ Series transceiver is built on the popular Hummingbird
platform, and is a frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) transceiver designed
for reliable bi-directional remote control and sensor applications. Available today
in 900 MHz, the HumRC™ outputs up to 10dBm. This results in a line-of-sight range
of up to 1.0 mile...
P1dB, an RF and Microwave component supplier, announces immediate availability
of 1.85 mm,
65 GHz attenuators, designed to handle 1 Watt of continuous
RF power. The 1.85 mm attenuators are available in 3dB, 6dB, 10dB, 20dB and
30 dB attenuation values. A common value for 1.85 mm attenuators is a
6 dB, part number is P1AT-18MF-65G1W-6. All attenuator values can be found
in the attenuator category page on the P1dB...
The good folks at
IMS ExpertServices periodically sends me e-mails that highlight
recent key court cases that can significantly affect the effectiveness of expert
testimony, both for the plaintiff and for the defendant. You need only scan the
headlines I post daily to know the importance of effective legal representation
when intellectual property (IP) is being contested.
Expert Library articles are different from BullsEye
in that rather than report on specific court cases featuring noteworthy actions
from expert witnesses, they offer strategic advice to experts. Toby Edwards is an
expert witness recruiter who has been party to thousands of initial interviews between
attorneys and perspective expert witnesses. He offers a few...
Fairview Microwave Inc., a supplier of on-demand
microwave and RF components, introduces a brand new family of ultra-miniature
UMCX, WMCX and HMCX32 cable assemblies. Commonly used to connect
an external antenna to a mini-PCB, these flexible micro-coax jumpers offer operation
from DC to 6 GHz and are ideal for use in wireless communications systems. Additional
wireless applications include antennas for GPS and other radio systems, Wi-Fi, wireless
LAN, Bluetooth, ZigBee, LTE, mini-PCI and PDA / PCS / cellular handset...
On a fairly regular occasion someone will
write to one of the QST magazine columnists or post on a forum asking about information
on a particular antenna configuration he recalled seeing printed many moons ago,
but can no longer find anything on it. Fortunately, the columnists are guys who
have been in the Ham game for a many decades and not only remember what the writer
references, but knows where to dig out the original info. Even with the plethora
of resources available on the Web, some things still cannot be found because nobody
yet has posted it. That is one of my prime
"A new transistor with an atomically thin
current-carrying channel that operates at ultralow supply voltages has been unveiled
by a team of researchers in the US. The new device, which is made from a 2D semiconducting
crystal and a bulk germanium substrate, can be switched on at just 0.1 V. It
could be used to create extremely dense and lower-power integrated circuits, and
could also form the basis of ultrasensitive"
Hiram Percy Maxim is well-known by amateur
radio operators as the founder of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). He died
in 1936 and was buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Hagerstown, Maryland. A few years
ago while visiting relatives in Hagerstown, I went to the cemetery, took some photos,
got the exact GPS coordinates, and posted a short article on it (see
Hiram Percy Maxim's Gravesite in Hagerstown, Maryland). If
not for my documentation, there would be no way to know that the large grave marker
shown in this 1940 QST article does not belong to the esteemed Mr. Maxim, but to
the matron of his wife's family
"The idea is very simple, NFC chips are embedded
in the concrete, and easy to interpret printed or 3D embossed logos on the surface
indicate the presence of NFC-accessible services such as local transport information,
local tourist information, emergency services, or even multimedia content (this
could also be derived from advertising). Made in China, the passive NFC chips are
low cost and low tech, explained Blocparc, all the company's IP is in"
MECA is pleased to announce its latest addition to our broad band
line of Power Dividers with the 32-way splitter. Available in Type N &
SMA, 30 W Wilkinson Power Dividers, optimized for excellent performance with
industry leading specifications from 500 MHz – 6.00 GHz. Offering typical
VSWR's ranging from of 1.30:1, Isolation of 18 dB typical offering phase and
amplitude balance typically only seen in narrower/octave band models...
"It might be the oddest phone ever made -
an 8" tall robot that can dance along to your music, project movies out of its head.
Called Robohon, the firm says it can even identify people using a camera in its
head. Measuring eight inches tall, it has a two inch touch screen on its back and
built in speakers and speech recognition. It walks, talks, dances, and connects
to LTE and 4G phone networks. It is even capable of identifying people by their
face or..."
The ARRL Handbook for Radio Communications
is a valued reference for radio electronics and wireless communications. Since 1926,
it has kept radio amateurs, professionals, and experimenters immersed in applied
theory and do-it-yourself projects. The ARRL Handbook covers a wealth of information:
the fundamentals of electronics and radio signals, construction practices, antennas
and propagation, equipment and circuit design, and other useful reference information.
This 93rd edition of The Handbook continues to keep pace with the fast-moving technology
employed around the world. Each chapter is full of practical hands-on information
to...
The TA1030 is a Class AB GaN SSPA that produces linear power
from 6400 to 7200 MHz. Designed for Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB)
industry, this amplifier produces 10W of 16 QAM COFDM with skirts that are 30 dBc
or greater. The amplifier also features our versatile DC supply (VDS) which
accepts a DC input of +9 to +36V. The amplifier produces 60 dB of linear
gain with an input VSWR of 1.5:1. Features include forward power detection, over/under
and reverse voltage protection and can switch between on and off in <1usec. A
tri-color status LED...
The Senior RF Design Engineer, under minimal supervision,
will be responsible for the design, implementation, and optimization of wireless
designs in hearing aids and hearing aid accessories. S/He must possess technical
expertise, effective communication skills, creativity, and internal drive to lead
the creation of designs that are recognized as best-in-class in the hearing aid
industry. S/He must have the ability to work both independently and in a group environment.
The Senior RF Design Engineer must be able to work well in a cross-functional team
environment and provide leadership and clarity for wireless system architecture
and design issues and have a passion...
Skyworks introduces an ultra-broadband LNA with
superior gain flatness and exceptional linearity. It is ideal for high performance
cellular infrastructure, small cells, tower mounted amplifiers, remote radio units,
repeaters, base stations and military LNA applications. The
SKY67159-396LF single stage GaAs pHEMT LNA offers ultra-broadband performance
with a single matching circuit, low noise figure and good linearity. On-die active
bias design...
In 1936, a high school graduate could expect
to earn about $15 per week in the
nascent radio business. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics' Inflation Calculator, that is the equivalent of around $257 per week
in 2015. That is not much to live on. Today, McDonalds burger flippers think they
should be paid a minimum of $15 per hour. That equates to $600 per week
in 1936, which is the kind of salary top industry executives were drawing back then.
Anyway, this article discusses the benefits of formal education in regard to potential
earnings in the radio business in many roles ranging from maintenance technician
to broadcaster to management...
"Facebook is to launch a satellite that will
provide internet access to remote parts of Africa, the social network's founder
Mark Zuckerberg has announced. In partnership with French-based provider Eutelsat,
Facebook hope the first satellite will be launched in 2016. "We're going to keep
working to connect the entire world -- even if that means looking beyond our planet,"
Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post. The project is part..."
Here are the schematics, chassis layout,
and service info for the
Howard Explorer Model W Deluxe 19 Tube All-Wave Superheterodyne
radio. The Radio Service Data Sheets that were published in Radio-Craft
usually seem to have more information included than those published in other magazines,
at least in the same era (1940-ish). It might have to do with how much material
is provided by the manufacturer rather than a decision by the magazine editors.
Believe it or not, there are still people searching for such data...
Anatech Electronics today introduced a broad
line of coaxial RF cable
assemblies that are available as standard products and are also fully-customizable
to meet customer requirements. All standard products can be purchased directly from
the Anatech Electronics Web store. Hundreds of cable assemblies and connectors are
available in standard or custom lengths with connector...
"We are continually faced with a series of
great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems." - John W. Gardner,
Stanford University alum and former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.
"Using microfluidic passages cut directly
into the backsides of production field-programmable gate array devices, researchers
are putting liquid cooling right where it's needed the most -- a few hundred microns
away from where the transistors are operating. Combined with connection technology
that operates through structures in the cooling passages, the new technologies could
allow development of denser and more powerful..."
What was considered in 1937 to be a breakthrough
feat for a full-size airplane is today accomplished regularly in model airplanes.
What took hundreds of pounds of generators, radio gear, sensors, and actuators to
perform the first-ever
fully automatic landing is now done with a few ounces of microminiaturized
GPS receiver, processor, MEMS sensors, servos, and a LiPo battery. The HobbyZone
Sportsman S+RTF (see video at bottom) is an example. Most modern commercial aircraft
are capable of landing themselves in an emergency situation. Just today there was
a news report of an American Airlines pilot that died in flight and the copilot
took over to land the airplane...
For the sake of avid cruciverbalists amongst
us, each week I create a new crossword puzzle that has a theme related to engineering,
mathematics, chemistry, physics, and other technical words. You will never be asked
the name of a movie star unless he/she was involved in a technical endeavor (e.g.,
Hedy Lamar)...
"Researchers from North Carolina State University,
the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, and UNSW Australia have
measured the behavior of specific atoms in dielectric materials when exposed to
an electric field. The work advances understanding of dielectric materials, which
are used in a wide variety of applications from handheld electronics to defibrillators.
'Dielectric materials are insulators that can store and manage electric charge.
But we hadn't yet directly measured how atoms move in dielectric materials in order
to store that charge..."
P1dB, an RF and microwave component supplier,
announces immediate availability of
RF Pigtails, which are good test probe solutions for sampling
or injecting RF signals in PCB circuits. P1dB Pigtails are configured with SMA Female
connectors and are available with a variety of coax types. The SMA Pigtail coax
types are semi-rigid, conformable and jacketed conformable All coax types are available
from 1" to 9" lengths. All Pigtails are found on P1dB's...
This
wideband GaN amplifier module is ideal for CW, modulated or pulsed
applications. The wideband DC input range of +9 to +36V allows the unit to be used
with various power supplies in existing systems. Due to several state-of-the-art
circuits, this unit is also highly immune from damage due to out of specification
DC voltage conditions that may be applied. Its rugged construction guarantees fault-free
operation in the most extreme environments. Output power = 10 W, linear gain = 43
dB, gain flatness...
Advanced Test Equipment Corporation is a world-wide
Hi-Tech equipment rental company located in Sorrento Valley. We are seeking a technical
marketing engineer to write technical articles, web content for our website, attend
trade shows (travel occasionally), and assist with
product support for the Rental Agents. This position is in the Marketing department
reporting to the Marketing Manager, working in a fast pace environment. A background
in engineering or test and measurement equipment is a plus...
NI (formerly AWR Corporation) announces
the availability of a new update to V12 of
NI AWR Design Environment™.
Introduced in June 2015, V12 offers new amplifier-, antenna- and radar-specific
features, as well as ease-of-use improvements, speed enhancements and additional
third-party integration flows. Continuing to build upon the new load-pull features
of V12, the V12.01 update includes numerous additions to the load-pull capabilities,
as well as multiple improvements to system simulation within Visual System Simulator™
(VSS) communications system communications system design...
"To provide a means for both comparing and
selecting energy-harvesting nanogenerators for specific applications, the research
group that pioneered the triboelectric nanogenerator technology has now proposed
a set of standards for quantifying device performance. More than 60 research groups
worldwide are now developing variations of the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG),
which converts ambient..."
"Although not all applications are safety
critical or mission critical, reliability is still a vital consideration for many
electronic products. Making informed choices at the component selection stage can
help ensure the product will perform correctly over its intended lifetime, writes
James Lewis. When choosing capacitors, properties such as volumetric efficiency,
frequency stability, temperature...
"People tend to associate the ability to think
creatively with stereotypical masculine qualities, according to new research published
in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
The findings suggest that the work and achievements of men tend to be evaluated
as more creative than similar work and achievements produced by women. "Our research..."
Radio-Craft magazine ran a series
of feature articles on "Men Who Made Radio." The January 1930 edition honored Canadian
engineer
Reginald A. Fessenden, who is credited for making the first
wireless voice transmission. Mr. Fessended worked with both Thomas Edison and
George Westinghouse, eventually inventing the rectifying electrolytic detector,
which was the successor of the coherer and the precursor of the crystal and the
tube detectors. His interest in communications extended beyond radio to include
sonic devices like sonar, a field in which he also gained significant renown...
"The world market for
printed circuit board technology was worth an estimated $60.2
billion in 2014, growing 0.7 percent, say market analysts at IPC - Association Connecting
Electronics Industries. Production growth in China, Thailand and Vietnam last year
compensated for declining circuit board production in most other regions, IPC analysts
say in the organization's report World PCB Production Report for the Year 2014.
Worldwide rigid circuit board market grew modestly in 2014..."
Well I'll be darned, old Mac the master
radio repairman taught me something else new this month. Along
with giving sidekick Barney a lesson on business ethics and how honest dealing can
pay dividends as societal conditions change, he also put on his Sherlock Holmes
cap and deduced a surprising cause for circuit failure based on the physical location
of a lady's radio; read on to learn the details. As usual, the exact scenarios of
the stories do not apply to today's environment and/or equipment, but the troubleshooting
logic certainly does...
Skyworks introduces a single-pole, double-throw
(SPDT) switch that is qualified to the Automotive
Electronics Council (AEC) Q100 standard. The
SKYA2001
features low insertion loss (0.4 dB at 2.4 GHz) and positive voltage operation with
very low DC power consumption (10 µA). It is ideal
for next generation automotive systems, transportation infrastructure platforms,
in addition to industrial, and aerospace and defense wireless control applications.
Its AEC-Q100 qualification supports extended production life requirements. The device
is manufactured...
"Micro-supercapacitors are a promising alternative to micro-batteries
because of their high power and long lifetime. They have been in development for
about a decade but until nowhave stored considerably less energy than micro-batteries,
which has limited their application. Now researchers have developed an electrode
material that means electrochemical capacitors produce results similar to batteries..."
This article, in addition to reporting on
early
push-push power amplifier configurations, demonstrates what a
mess AC and DC power distribution systems were in the early days of electric service.
Standardization and regulation was at a minimum, and the plethora of potential hazards
to life and property makes you wonder how more people were not killed, maimed, or
had houses and businesses burned down. You hear a lot about medical issues that
came from lead-based paint on window sills, but the electrical wiring and connected
equipment were a mess. Back to the push-push amplifiers, though. According to the
author, the primary difference from the more familiar push-pull amplifier is that
the configuration removes bias from...
