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See Page
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archives.
Monday 10
 NuWaves Engineering
posted this brief tutorial titled, "How Do I Make a Simple Notch Filter for Lab Use?" From the webpage: "Virtually all
disciplines apply certain inherited tricks-of-the-trade to expedite tasks. RF engineers and technicians
are no different from anyone else... in that respect at least. Oftentimes there is a need for a quick
and easy-to-build simple notch filter to improve laboratory measurements. For instance, an RF signal
generator's second harmonic can negatively ..."
 "A growing number of satellite system owners and operators need
new capabilities to protect their assets and missions in space. To address this requirement, Lockheed
Martin has introduced iSpace (intelligent Space),
a program that provide defense, civil, commercial, and international customers
with sensor data processing, space domain awareness, command and control, and
battle management capabilities for the space domain. Space is an important and
valuable domain that has changed from a safe environment to one ..."
 The Space Race was at its peak in 1964 when this advertisement
by the
Capitol Radio Engineering Institute (CREI) Program in Space Electronics appeared in Electronics
World magazine. Although it all began in 1957 with the International
Geophysical Year, the heat was turned up that year when the USSR successfully
launched Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite. President John F.
Kennedy made his famous speech before the U.S. Congress in 1961, where he said
in part, "This nation should commit itself ...
 "Carbon nanotubes can be used to make very small electronic devices,
but they are difficult to handle. University of Groningen scientists, together with colleagues from
the University of Wuppertal and IBM Zurich, have developed a method to select
semiconducting nanotubes
from a solution and make them self-assemble on a circuit of gold electrodes. The
results were published in the journal Advanced Materials on 5 April. The results
look deceptively simple: a self-assembled transistor with nearly 100 percent
purity ..."
 Skyworks is pleased to introduce the
SKY65623-682LF,
an LNA designed for applications such as wearables, asset trackers, navigation devices, action cameras
and more. This discrete LNA is optimized to operate from 1559 to 1606 MHz, has a very low current
(1 mA @ 1.8 V supply) and single power supply (1.5
to 3.6 V range) for design flexibility and simplicity. The device's broad
frequency range covers GPS L1, GLONASS, Galileo and Compass navigation systems
and it minimizes external components thereby reducing the bill of materials ...
 "Dozens of official “award stations” have registered to take part
in the 2017 International Marconi Day
(IMD) event, this year being held on April 22, 0000-2359 UTC (starting on April
21 in US time zones). All contacts counting toward the Marconi Award must be
made on HF with registered stations, but other participating stations do not
need to be registered to claim awards. This year marks the 30th IMD, held each
year to mark the anniversary of wireless pioneer Guglielmo Marconi's birth on
April 25, 1874. IMD is ..."
Sunday 9
Friday 7
 "With worldwide data demand outpacing the frequency, bandwidth
and power capabilities of our current communications infrastructure, Felix Ejeckam and Ty Mitchell,
both experts in (gallium nitride)
GaN-on-Diamond technology have joined forces to create Akash Systems, a company
committed to revolutionizing the future of fast, affordable satellite communications. Through the application
of GaN-on-Diamond materials, Akash's technologies can resolve issues ..."
 Southwest Antennas, an industry leader in innovative MIMO antenna
solutions, is pleased to introduce four new MIMO sector antennas to their existing line-up of
directional antenna
solutions. The four new MIMO sector antennas feature a wide 120 degree
horizontal beamwidth, allowing for wide area coverage. Designed for 2x2 and 4x4
MIMO radio systems, two and four port versions of these sector antennas are
offered in both 2.2 – 2.5 GHz S-Band and 4.4 – 5.0 GHz C-Band frequency options,
for ISM / broadcast and law enforcement use ...
 These three
electronics-themed comics that appeared in circa 1952-53 Radio & Television News
magazine is good fodder for winding down the week. For some reason the early 50s
were a little comic challenged. I originally posted this page a couple years
ago, but found another comic I had missed in the same issue. If you enjoy comics
like this, there is a growing list of other comics at the bottom of the page you
can check out ...
 Here is a spanking-new book on receiver design by none other than
Ulrich Rohde and coauthors Jerry Whitaker and Hans Zahnd.
Mr. Rohde is unquestionably one of the single largest contributors to RF
communications products and technology in the last many decades, with an
immeasurable amount of valuable knowledge worth learning. This c2017, 4th
edition covers explore system planning, antennas and antenna coupling,
amplifiers and gain control, filters, mixers, demodulation, digital
communication, and the latest SDR technology ...
 "Astro Aerospace, a Northrop Grumman business, has been selected
by Airbus Defence and Space to provide the nine meter L-band mesh reflectors for two
Inmarsat 6 satellites. Astro Aerospace has 100 percent on-orbit success since 1958
and provides the most advanced and reliable unfurlable mesh reflector technology on the market. Astro
Aerospace's unique AstroMesh® technology is particularly well suited for Inmarsat 6's L-band capacity,
which is significantly greater than previous satellites and capable of supporting ..."
Thursday 6
 Telewave today introduced the
M108-150-XTP-M
Series transmitter combiners that deliver very high isolation, low loss, and high RF power handling
capability for use in public safety and land mobile radio applications operating between 148 to 174
MHz. The trend toward narrower guard bands between transmit and receive frequencies requires extremely
effective filtering to mitigate interference and increase intermodulation suppression between transmitters.
Telewave's transmitter combiners are designed to meet these challenges using
very-high-Q ...
 "According to a new report published by Zion Research, the global demand
for
RF duplexers
was valued at approximately US $4B in 2014. This demand is expected to reach US
$8 billion in 2020 with a growth rate of 11% between 2015 and 2020. In terms of
volume, the global RF duplexer market stood at around 42 million units in 2014.
The report is titled 'RF Duplexer Market for Cellular, Wireless Communication,
Military, FO Communication, Consumer and Automatic & Miscellaneous Applications:
Global Industry Perspective ..."
 As with nearly things electronic, innovations in
radar systems that were ground-breaking a few decades ago are now
available commercially at a small fraction of the cost, a much more compact
size, and much greater performance and reliability. Radar operators during World
War II noticed that they were able to detect strong rainstorms demonstrating
that signals did not necessarily need a metallic object to be reflected strongly
enough to be received and processed. Research began soon thereafter to build
radars optimized for detecting ...
 Triad RF Systems has introduced the
TTRM1093D
LDMOS amplifier operates at a frequency range of 1800 MHz to 2200 MHz and has a
power output of 25 watts, while still maintaining a compact form factor of 4.1 x
4.226 x 0.818 inches. This unit also features internal protection against
over/under voltage and excessive temperature conditions, which coupled with its
rugged construction, ensure fault-free operation in even the most ...
 "The Semiconductor Industry Association
(SIA) trade group Thursday (March 30) set out a comprehensive list of
research priorities for maintaining semiconductor technology innovation in years to come, as the era
of conventional CMOS
scaling draws to a close and engineers turn to new materials, manufacturing
techniques, architectures and structures. The SIA released a 73-page report,
developed in conjunction with Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC), which outlines
14 areas identified as key areas ..."
 Whitepapers, pamphlets, books,
magazines, and chapter
examples listed here are a small sample of a lot of new items that are offered for FREE through
TradePub.
The publishers make them available to qualifying people as a promotional campaign for their full line
of offerings. Whitepaper topics include
careers,
manufacturing,
and engineering,
while magazine titles include Microwaves & RF,
Military & Aerospace Electronics, and
Microwave Product Digest. Note: I earn a few pennies
(literally) when you download one of these or ...
 "Calculating a
proton's spin used to be an
easy college assignment. In fact, Carl Gagliardi remembers answering that question when he was a physics
graduate student in the 1970s. But the real answer turned out not to be simple at all. Even Gagliardi's
"right" response was disproven by experiments a few years later that turned the
field upside-down. Protons are one of the three particles that make up atoms,
the building blocks of the universe. A proton's spin is one of its most basic
properties. Because protons are in part made up of quarks, scientists presumed
the proton ..."
Wednesday 5
 Anatech
Electronics, Inc. offers the industry's largest portfolio of high-performance standard and customized
RF and microwave filters
and filter-related products for military, commercial, aerospace and defense, and
industrial applications up to 40 GHz. Anatech has introduced 3 new products for
your conveniences: an 1,125 MHz cavity bandpass filter with N type connectors,
an SMA female to SMA female cable assembly using LMR-100A coaxial cable, and an
an offer to manufacture custom-design filters ...
 When
UHF broadcast television was being introduced, pundits - as pundits often
do - were quick to predict the rapid, imminent demise of the VHF channels. To
wit, "All current VHF stations (operating on channels 2 through 13) may be
scrapped, and operations shifted to the UHF band." That was in 1962, when the
first experimental UHF station (WUHF) went on-air in New York City. Cited as the
reason was a supposed inability for the two bands to co-exist. VHF channels 2-6
are on 54-82 MHz, 7-13 are on 174-210 MHz ...
 John Coonrod, of Rogers Corporation, will present a webinar titled
"The Impact of Plated Through Hole Vias on RF Performance"
on Thursday, April 6, at 11:00 am EST. Plated through hole (PTH) vias are
commonly used for RF Printed Circuit Board (PCB) applications. The use of PTH
vias for grounding or repetitive grounding is typically less concerning, however
when PTH vias are used to transition a signal trace from one copper layer to
another, the via property can have a significant impact on signal integrity.
This webinar ...
 "Quantum
information has been stored in a single atom of phosphorus embedded in a silicon crystal – and then
retrieved at a later time. The
quantum memory
was made by physicists in Australia who say that this kind of memory could be an
important ingredient in silicon-based quantum computers with the potential to be
more scalable, compact and easier to mass-produce than devices based on rival
technologies. Long-term storage in classical computers is straightforward;
digital bits are simply copied from the processor to a rotating magnetic ..."
 Pasternack
has released six new IQ mixer models with RF and LO frequency bands ranging from 4 GHz to 38 GHz and
In-Phase and Quadrature IF bandwidths ranging from DC to 4.5 GHz. Typical applications include point-to-point
and point-to-multipoint radio, VSAT, Military Radar, EW, Satellite Communications, sensors, and test
and measurement equipment. Pasternack's new
IQ Mixer modules
are composed of MMIC based assemblies which use a highly reliable GaAs MESFET
semiconductor process that consists of a pair of matched ...
 "The Canadian telecoms regulator has
issued a revised list of service requirements for broadcasters. The regulator,
Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada (ISED), has replaced the
2005 version of the Radiocommunication Information Circular 3 (RIC-3) with an
updated edition. The circular is designed to provide guidance for amateur radio
users throughout Canada. The new document features numerous significant changes,
most obviously the change in name of the organization itself (the ISED was
previously known as Industry Canada). The circular provides ..."
Tuesday 4
 "IC Insights has raised its worldwide
IC market growth forecast for 2017 to 11% - more than twice its original 5% outlook
- based on data shown in the March Update to the 20th anniversary 2017 edition of The McClean
Report. The revision was necessary due to a substantial upgrade to the 2017
growth rates forecast for the DRAM and NAND flash memory markets. IC Insights
currently expects DRAM sales to grow 39% and NAND flash sales to increase 25%
this year, with upside potential from those forecasts. DRAM market growth ..."
 If you think controversial and otherwise inane decisions made
by high-level courts is something new to this era of political high dudgeon, think again. This January
1935 in Radio-Craft magazine article reports a Supreme Court decision over who was the inventor
of
regeneration in radio circuits - Lee de Forest or Major Edwin
H. Armstrong. Evidently in spite of much support by the opinions of notable
experts in the field who claim Armstrong deserves credit, the Court found in
favor of de Forest. The battle had been fought at many level for the previous 18
years. Columbia ...
 Skyworks Solutions, an innovator of high performance analog semiconductors
connecting people, places and things, today announced that Sierra Wireless is leveraging a broad suite
of Skyworks' 3G/4G connectivity solutions to power their
 AirPrime® HL Series
wireless modules targeting machine-to-machine (M2M) and device-to-cloud
applications. In total, Sierra Wireless is utilizing 17 Skyworks devices
spanning high performance multimode, multiband power amplifiers, transmit /
receive front-end modules, RF ...
 "If human ears could
hear the
electromagnetic spectrum,
the noise levels these days would be overwhelming. The skyrocketing use of
wireless devices in military and civilian domains has created a complicated and
noisy environment, filled with signals of widely varying frequency and amplitude
and a menagerie of modulations. For warfighters trying to maintain critical
communications links, interpret ambiguous radar returns, or defend against
electronic warfare tactics, the ability to sort through ..."
 everything RF
has been sponsoring RF Cafe's publication for many years through direct advertising. They have
a very wide presence across the Internet on engineering websites. "everything RF
is a product discovery platform for RF & Microwave Products/Services." They currently have 203,125
Products from more than 874 Companies across 229 Categories in their database and enable engineers to
search for them using the customized parametric search tool. Please visit everything RF now to
see how they can help your project ...
 "Largely unnoticed
amid the Trump administration's proposed military buildup and claims that NATO members are not paying
their fair share, there are reports the western alliance plans to spend more than $3.2B to upgrade
satellite communications
and the computer infrastructure in Europe used for command and control of air
and missile defenses. According to several reports out of Brussels citing senior
NATO officials, the alliance plans to invest more than $1.83B over the next
three years on satellite communications upgrades. The new satellite networks
would support troops, ships and ..."
 "It's
been a long time coming, but the Amateur Service will get two new bands in the near future. The FCC
on March 28 adopted rules that will allow secondary
Amateur Radio access to 472-479 kHz (630 meters) and
to 135.7-137.8 kHz (2,200 meters), with minor conditions. The FCC Report
and Order (R&O)
spells out the details. It allocates 472-479 kHz to the Amateur Service on a
secondary basis and amends Part 97 to provide for Amateur Service use of that
band as well as of the previously allocated 135.7-137.8 kHz band. The R&O ..."
Monday 3
 Germans have long been on the cutting edge of technology and
the fine arts. Much of the world's best music, art, timepieces, engines, aircraft, guns, and other devices
have emanated from there. Notables like Einstein, von Braun, Heisenberg, Planck, Gauss, Kepler, Helmholtz,
Kirchhoff, Hertz, and Fraunhofer - all German - are almost certainly familiar to all RF Cafe visitors.
This article demonstrates the voraciousness with which the Germans sought to engage in
science exploration. It is very unfortunate for the German people that a
couple maniacs like Wilhelm II and Adolph ...
 Did
you catch the two April Fools' Day articles from vintage electronics magazines that I posted on Friday
(here and
here)?
Here is an item in today's news: "The Internet is a minefield on April 1, with tech companies getting
in on the
April Fools'
act in weird, wonderful and often woeful ways. The line between a successful
prank and one that leaves users sighing, or worse, is micron-thin, and the boost
to one's reputation -- or knock on it -- can hang around for ..."
 "Wind and sun, two unpredictable
resources, are becoming ever more important as sources of energy in Europe. This means that we face
a growing need for energy storage facilities, because if energy cannot be used immediately when it is
generated, it needs to be stored until it is needed. The least expensive method is to use hydropower
reservoirs as 'batteries':
i.e. generate electricity using the stored water, when power is in short supply,
and subsequently pump the water back ..."
 Amplifier
Research Corp. has a nice whitepaper available for free download titled "Multi-Tone: Testing, Theory
and Practice." It is a fairly in-depth guide to prediction and measurement
of intermodulation products caused by multiple tones at the system input.
Transmitter designers are concerned with intermod products from a spectrum
compliance standpoint and receiver designers are concerned with intermods from a
signal integrity standpoint ...
 Magazines usually provided at least a brief description on the
circuit functionality for each of the radio models presented in schematic format. The April 1947 issue
of Radio News published schematics and parts lists for six sets, including this for the
 Air King Model 4604D, but not a word about
any of them accompanied it. The thumbnail ...
- Air King
Model 4604D -
Radiola Models
61-6, 61-7 -
Sparton Models
526, 526X, 526PS -
Truetone Model
D2624 -
Stromberg-Carlson Models 1020,
1120, Series 10 -
Westinghouse
Models H-104,
H-105,
H-107, H-108
 "How to reliably
transfer quantum information
when the connecting channels are impacted by detrimental noise? Scientists at
the University of Innsbruck and TU Wien (Vienna) have presented new solutions to
this problem. Nowadays we communicate via radio signals and send electrical
pulses through long cables. This could change soon, however: Scientists have
been working intensely on developing methods for quantum information transfer.
This would enable tap-proof data transfer or, one day, even the linking of
quantum computers ..."
Sunday 2
 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. Clues in this puzzle with an asterisk (*) are pulled
from this past week's (3/27 - 4/2) "High Tech News" column on the RF Cafe
homepage. ...
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