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3 of the February
2018 homepage archives.
Friday 9
 "Research groups from University of Jyväskylä
and Aalto University (Finland) together with researchers from Caltech and Aarhus
University (iNANO Center, Denmark) have reported a new highly parallel technique
to fabricate precise metallic nanostructures with designed plasmonic properties
by means of different self-assembled
DNA origami shapes. The so-called DALI (DNA-assisted lithography)
method has been published in the latest issue of Science Advances. 'We can build
virtually any nanoscale shape using a DNA origami..."
The Long Island RF / Microwave
Symposium & Exhibits takes place on Thursday, April 5, 2018. It is the area's
premier annual event that brings together the microwave, millimeter-wave & RF
community. This event is free for attendees but you must register in advance. All
Long Island engineers, managers, students and technical professionals involved in
these fields are invited. Registered attendees will receive admission to the exhibit
floor, technical lectures, lunch, the networking event and dinner. The first 200
registered attendees...
 Prior to the advent of earth-orbiting satellites,
very long range communications like between continents was dependent on the state
of the various ionosphere levels. There is never a completely predictable "open"
channel from point A to point B. A satellite repeater, however, while not always
in a position to be within view of both points, at least is predictable based on
a published ephemeris of times and positions. The first
OSCAR (Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio), now governed
by AMSAT, was launched in December of 1961. This 1973 article in Popular Electronics
mentions OSCAR 6, which was launched in October 1972...
The TTRM1116 is a high
power, lightweight L- for use with UAV Video, Control, and Telemetry data links.
Its small form factor coupled with its high power density make this amplifier a
versatile solution for UAVs of any size. This amplifier has been field proven to
provide a UAV with over 120 km of data link distance. This class AB GaN module is
designed for both military and commercial applications. It is capable of supporting
any signal type and modulation format, including but not limited to 3-4G telecom,
WLAN...
 "As thousands of spectators looked on, the
rocket, developed by Musk's firm
SpaceX,
lifted clear of Cape Canaveral's launch pad 39a on [February 6], marking what will
surely be seen as a defining moment in the history of the private space sector.
With the launch, the vehicle has become the most powerful operational rocket in
the world by a factor of two. Composed of three Falcon 9 nine-engine cores whose
27 Merlin engines together generate more than five million pounds of thrust at liftoff,
the spacecraft is able to lift into orbit..."
 "U.S. Air Force researchers are ready to
kick off a $33.6M five-year sensor-fusion program to enhance the effectiveness of
surveillance radar by blending-in
electro-optical technologies like visible-light, infrared, multispectral,
and hyperspectral sensors. Officials of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base, Ohio, revealed plans this week for the Precision Real-time Engagement
Combat Identification Sensor Exploitation (PRECISE) project. PRECISE seeks not only
to fuse several different RF and electro..."
Thursday 8
 "The FCC is set to consider an agenda item
at its next open commission meeting on Feb. 22 that proposes to open up gobs of
new
spectrum above 95 GHz. If approved, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
would seek comment on adopting rules for fixed point-to-point use of up to 102.2
GHz of spectrum in various bands, as well as making up to 15.2 GHz of spectrum available
for unlicensed use in several band segments and creating a new category of..."
 Cellphones have not mitigated the need for
or use of
Citizen Band (CB) radios. Many truckers like them because they
are still an anonymous means of communications that is hard to track back to a particular
user. Cellphone apps do a pretty good job of providing road and traffic condition
reporting, but you can still key up your CB mike and ask for a status and likely
get it. My first CB radio was a 23-channel Realistic job bought at Radio Shack.
That was in 1986 - my senior year in high school. At the time, the FCC required
you to submit a
Form 505 - Application for Class C or D Station License in the Citizens
Radio Service to transmit. Even though I now have my Ham license (KB3UON), some people still consider me a "10-4 Good Buddy" operator
because I did not have to take the Morse Code test ;-)...
 If you think science-challenged politicians
grandstanding in the media to gain - ostensibly, but unfortunately likely - favor
with their constituents is a new phenomenon, take a look at this. On almost a daily
basis these days we have
elected doofuses pretending to be experts in physics, climatology,
chemistry, medicine, economics, and other realms of learned science, when all they
are really are mouthpieces for special interest lobbyists whose clients have lots
of money for elections. At the risk of being too repetitive, I have to point out
the brilliant congressman from Georgia who thought that the...
 Based in South Korea,
RF & Connector
Technology (RFCT) is a prime worldwide supplier of RF coaxial connectors and
cable assemblies. All popular combinations of connectors and cables are available.
RFCT also produces a line of directional couplers, surge arrestors, power combiners
/ splitters, attenuators, terminations, and antennas for GPS and wireless applications.
Please visit RFCT today and thank them for their support...
 Mr. Paul Herzig, of Raytheon, just sent the
final batch of
Watkins-Johnson Tech-Notes. There are now 82 of them, from vol. 1
through vol. 18, posted in downloadable PDF format. You might not have a immediate
need for Parallel Testing of Magnetic Bubble Memories (v13-1), but many of the topics
contain information that is still very relevant to modern system design and testing;
e.g., Gain of Directional Antennas (v3-4) and Image-Reject and Single-Sideband Mixers
(v12-3)...
 "Like many humans,
lithium-ion batteries typically don't like the cold, which means
they don't perform well at freezing temperatures. Now researchers in China may have
solved this problem by developing a new lithium-ion battery system that can endure
unprecedented temperatures even as low as -40 °F giving it potential for
use as an EV battery that doesn't succumb to cold weather. A team from Fudan University
in Shanghai has developed a cold-enduring hard-carbon anode and a lithium-rich..."
Wednesday 7
 Those of us who have been making measurements
on electrical and electronics equipment for a long time are well aware of the need
to be certain that the ground (common) lead of a piece of test equipment - oscilloscope,
multimeter, or other instrument - is never connected to a point in the circuit that
is
above ground potential. Doing so can be dangerous and/or destructive. If the
test point is above ground potential, connecting the ground lead to it creates a
direct short to ground, which can destroy the device under test (DUT) or at least
cause the measured signal to be altered...
 Rohde & Schwarz has published a white
paper titled, "Antenna Basics." This white paper describes the basic functionality
of antennas. Starting with Hertz's antenna model followed by a short introduction
to the fundamentals of wave propagation, the important general characteristics of
an antenna and its associated parameters are explained. A more detailed explanation
of the functionality of some selected antenna types concludes this white paper.
Download for free...
 "Current computer systems represent bits
of information, the 1's and 0's of binary code, with electricity. Circuit elements,
such as transistors, operate on these electric signals, producing outputs that are
dependent on their inputs. The field of
photonic computing aims to achieve that goal by using light as
the medium. Ritesh Agarwal's research on photonic computing has been focused on
finding the right combination and physical..."
 This
RF Electronics Basics quiz targets those of you who are newcomers to the world
of radio frequency (RF) electronics, but seasoned vets are welcome to give it a
go as well. People have reported using material from these quizzes as fodder
for interviewing potential candidates. All quizzes are multiple choice and answers
are provided...
A new application example illustrates key models and simulation capabilities
within
NI AWR Design Environment, specifically Visual System Simulator™
(VSS) system simulation software, that enable radar system architects and RF component
manufacturers to design, validate and prototype a radar system. This integrated
platform provides a path for digital, RF and system engineers to collaborate on
complex radar system design. Modern radar systems are complex and depend heavily
on advanced signal processing algorithms to improve their...
 "Fog computing is expected to play a major
role in meeting the needs of future 5G networks. The technology has been boasted
as an effective way to provide the low latency promised by the 5G New Radio standard.
With plans to roll out nationwide 5G by 2020, the convergence of 5G and
fog computing is anticipated to be an inevitable consequence of
bringing processing tasks closer to the edge of an enterprise's network. What is
fog computing? Fog computing involves extending cloud capabilities, such compute,
storage and..."
Tuesday 6
 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 Microwave
Engineering Europe, Electronic Design, and Microwave Product Digest...
 "There is increasing interest in making broader
use of the millimeter wave frequency band for communications on small mobile platforms
where narrow antenna beams from small radiating apertures provide enhanced communication
security. Today's millimeter wave systems, however, are not user friendly and are
designed to be platform specific, lacking interoperability and are thus reserved
for only the most complex platforms. To expand the use of millimeter wave
phased-arrays and make them broadly applicable..."
 My first exposure to
hot-carrier diodes was in the detector sections of the s-band
airport surveillance and x-band precision approach radar systems I work on in the
USAF. I had no idea what a hot-carrier diode - or for that matter what a Schottky
diode, its alternate name - was at the time. Come to think of it, I do not recall
them ever being referred to specifically as hot-carrier or Schottky diodes - just
"diodes." This Electronics World article from Hewlett Packard engineer
Stephen Adam provides some background into hot-carrier diodes, including how their
low barrier potential, small junction capacitance, low noise, and short...
 EMV 2018 will take place February 20 - 22,
2018, in Dusseldorf, Germany. EMV compromises the whole spectrum of electromagnetic
compatibility (EMC). At the exhibition you will meet the industry's leading companies
for EMC-equipment, components and EMC-services. At EMV you find individual solutions
and profit from diverse potentials...
Fairview Microwave has unveiled a new series of low insertion loss repeatability
. These electromechanical switches exhibit low insertion loss repeatability which
is guaranteed over millions of switching cycles. This performance is extremely useful
to help maintain overall system measurement accuracy. Typical applications for these
switches include test instrumentation, research and development, electronic countermeasures,
electronic warfare, microwave radio, space systems and radar...
 "Supercapacitors are electronic components
which can act like batteries, storing and releasing charge quickly.
Flexible
supercapacitors have been made before, but can only be shaped and stretched
in predetermined ways, limiting their suitability for clothing applications. The
Singapore team, from the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Nanyang
Technical University, has been working on this topic for some years, and now claims
to have developed a far more versatile material..."
Monday 5
offers a line of
isolators
and circulators covering frequencies from 150 MHz to40 GHz, with reflected
power levels up to 250 W. Coaxial (SMA, BNC, N, TNC, etc.), drop-in, surface
mount, and waveguide configurations are available. Low intermodulation products
(-80 dBc), low insertion loss, and high isolation are standard. Panted and
sealed to IP65 standards. Please visit vidaRF today for your needs...
 The final architecture of 5G cellular networks
has yet to be carved in stone. However, it looks as though millimeter waves, with
their ability to obtain wider bandwidths, will play an important role in 5G - the
next generation of mobile phones. The combination of these bands along with directional
phased-array antennas, in which radio waves can be steered electronically
in a desired direction, will constitute one of the key technologies in future 5G
cellular systems. While there have been...
 Prior to the emergence of
silicon-based semiconductors, selenium and copper(cuprous)-oxide
rectifiers were the alternatives to vacuum tubes. Copper-oxide (Cu2O)
was popular as a small signal detector since its forward voltage drop was similar
to a Schottky type diode - typically around 0.2 V. Copper-oxide diodes were
used in radios and test equipment meters. Selenium (Se) has a forward voltage drop
of around 1 V, but its high reverse voltage withstanding of 20 V or more
made it popular for voltage rectification, with as many layers as necessary being
stacked serially as required. Selenium rectifier stacks...
 Precision Ruggedized VNA Cables from ConductRF
offer RF Engineers great alternatives to costly OEM cables that are now past their
best days. We have many standards for applications at 18 GHz, 27 GHz and
40 GHz. Our torque resistant connector heads and phase stable constructions
ensure great performance for many tests to come.
ConductRF
VNA series provides customers with reliable ruggedized solutions for lab and production
VNA testing...
This looks like a major step forward. Keysight Technologies today unveiled
PathWave, the
industry's first software platform that integrates design, test, measurement and
analysis. As a result, PathWave enables customers to accelerate innovation and product
development from concept through manufacturing and deployment. PathWave is based
on Keysight's industry-leading, proven expertise to ensure consistency, accuracy
and measurement integrity...
 "Two years ago, we covered research out of
the University of Manchester that demonstrated that graphene-based membranes could
serve as a filter for cleaning up nuclear waste at nuclear power plants. While it's
not clear that this particular application for the
graphene membranes ever made much headway in nuclear waste cleanup,
they did discover an interesting phenomenon about these graphene membranes in the
ensuing two years: protons can transport through graphene..."
Sunday 4
 At least 10 clues with an asterisk (*)
in this
technology-themed crossword puzzle are pulled from this past week's
(1/29 - 2/2) "Tech Industry Headlines" column on the RF Cafe homepage (see the Headline
Archives page for help). A couple even include Super Bowl-related news. For the
sake of all the avid cruciverbalists amongst us, each week I create a new technology-themed
crossword puzzle using only words from my custom-created related to engineering,
science, mathematics, chemistry, physics, astronomy, etc. Enjoy!...
Friday 2
 Here are a couple new vintage
electronics-themed comics for your enjoyment as you wind down
the work week. They appeared in a 1944 issue of Radio-Craft magazine. My
favorite is the one with the lady in the vacuum cleaner repair shop. Look at her
request! Her husband must have put her up to it. The other comic is pretty good,
too. Having lived toward the end of the vacuum tube era, my appreciation of the
equipment is more for the nostalgic quality than memories of having to wait for
the tubes to warm up and re-tuning the radio and TV set at intervals while listening
and/or watching...
 "The latest camera research is shifting from
increasing the number of megapixels towards fusing data with
computational processing. You may be pleased with the camera technology
in your latest smartphone, which can recognize your face and take slow-mo video
in ultra-high definition, but these technological feats are just the start of a
larger revolution. The latest camera research is shifting away from increasing the
number of megapixels towards fusing camera data with computational processing. By
that, we don't mean the Photoshop style of processing..."
 Well shazam, I found a radio service datasheet
that had been missed. This one for the
Sparton Selectronne Model 1068 brings the grand total to 220 that
have been scanned and posted here on RF Cafe. They appeared in various formats in
Radio-Craft, Radio News, and Radio & Television News
magazines. It was in the 1930s that pushbutton tuning appeared in most radio sets,
both tabletop and floor-sitting console models. Those mechanical pushbutton tuner
mechanisms were pretty impressive. The Selectronne also sported a popular visual
tuning indicator called the Viso-Glo tube. It was not a true cat's eye in that the
relative brightness of the tube's glow changed with the received station signal
strength...
BeRex announces the availability of the BSW6321 and BSW6421 high isolation, high
linearity, low insertion loss, optimized for Wi-Fi, CATV and 5G applications.
Using a single 2.7 V-5.5 V supply voltage, the BSW6321 and BSW6421 switches
provide a wide 1 to 6,000 MHz frequency range when used in either 50 Ohm of
75 Ohm systems. They utilize a patent-pending technology that provides the
industry's highest isolation of 50 dB at 2.45 GHz...
 Thanks to Mr. Paul Herzig, of Raytheon, for
writing to tell me that the hyperlink I originally had to the
Watkins-Johnson Tech-Note collection on the TriQuint website is
no longer valid. Qorvo (formerly RF Micro Devices, RFMD) took them down after acquiring
TriQuint a few years ago. They were all still available as of September 2015, but
alas no more. Paul provided many of the Tech-Notes in the following list for posting
directly on RF Cafe. Also, I discovered that some of the original TriQuint web pages
can still be accessed via the Wayback Machine™ on the Archive.Org website...
 "A bug in the software used by
Google Cast devices such as Chromecast and Home can slow down
or crash WiFi networks. The problem - initially believed to be isolated to a particular
router model made by TP-Link - appears to affect models made by other manufacturers,
including Asus, Linksys, Netgear and Synology. Complaints on a Google user forum
brought the problem to light earlier this week. Forum user Alastair Hadden's network
problems started after installing Google..."
Thursday 1
 Thanks to Choong S.Y. for writing to let
me know that the Directional Coupler calculator worksheet was not displaying negative
dBm power values, which has been fixed.
RF Cafe Calculator Workbook is now at v7.4, and is still available
as a free download...
 "Electric fields drive
nano-motors a 100,000x faster than previous methods. Scientists
have developed a novel electric propulsion technology for nanorobots. It allows
molecular machines to move a hundred thousand times faster than with the biochemical
processes used to date. This makes nanobots fast enough to do assembly line work
in molecular factories. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have
developed a novel electric propulsion technology for nanorobots. It allows molecular
machines to move..."
 Would you work a 44-hour week for $127? That's
$6,600/yr, or $2.89/hr for a highly skilled
electronics technician in 1969. According to the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics' Inflation Calculator, the equivalent pay in 2017 would be $45,703.89/yr,
or $19.98/hr. A quick look at the current pay rate for an E4 pay grade in the
USAF is $2,139/mo ($25,668/yr). That does not factor in free housing, meals, and
medical care (including for all dependents) - which has significant value. GlassDoor
reports the average salary for an electronics technician in 2017 was $42,390. That
amount is actually a bit lower than the 1969 average. Assuming the present...
 Windfreak Technologies designs, manufactures,
 tests and sells high value USB powered and
controlled radio frequency products such as RF signal generators, RF synthesizers,
RF power detectors, mixers, up/downconverters. Worldwide customers include Europe,
Australia,
 and Asia. Please contact Windfreak today
to learn how they might help you with your current project...
The TA1109 is a small form factor circuit card amplifier designed to be integrated
into satellite systems. Weighing in at less than a half an ounce, the TA1109 is
perfect for applications where small size and weight reduction is critical. Operating
at 2000-2500 MHz, the TA1109 offers up to 4 W of output power, with a
voltage input range of +9 to +14 VDC. This class AB GaN module is designed
for both military and commercial applications. It is capable of supporting any signal
type and modulation format, including but not limited to 3-4G telecom, WLAN...
 Here is a screwdriver bit set that you most
likely do not have, but needed at some point while trying to open a small electronic
device. This
electronic device toolkit includes miniature security bit types
 pentalobe, tripoint, Y-Torx, triangle, and
spanner hex, plus, tweezers, a pry puck, and other stuff. For bigger jobs there
is this heavy duty
Neiko 100-piece security bit set that even includes a wing nut
bit (not for use on officemates)...
 "The
Global Certification Forum is laying out its roadmap for 5G device
certification, with a newly approved work item that will cover certification for
early phases of both non-standalone and standalone 5G. With 5G chipset work well
underway and network equipment already in the field-testing stage, commercial devices
that can utilize 5G technology are a big step in ensuring that users can actually
take advantage of 5G networks as they emerge. Most 5G devices for testing are currently
prototypes - or in the case...
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