Search RFCafe.com                           
      More Than 17,000 Unique Pages
Please support me by ADVERTISING!
Serving a Pleasant Blend of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow™ Please Support My Advertisers!
   Formulas & Data
Electronics | RF
Mathematics
Mechanics | Physics
     AI-Generated
     Technical Data
Pioneers | Society
Companies | Parts
Principles | Assns


 About | Sitemap
Homepage Archive
        Resources
Articles, Forums Calculators, Radar
Magazines, Museum
Radio Service Data
Software, Videos
     Entertainment
Crosswords, Humor Cogitations, Podcast
Quotes, Quizzes
   Parts & Services
1000s of Listings
 Vintage Magazines
Electronics World
Popular Electronics
Radio & TV News
QST | Pop Science
Popular Mechanics
Radio-Craft
Radio-Electronics
Short Wave Craft
Electronics | OFA
Saturday Eve Post

Software: RF Cascade Workbook
RF Stencils Visio | RF Symbols Visio
RF Symbols Office | Cafe Press
Espresso Engineering Workbook

Aegis Power  |  Alliance Test
Centric RF  |  Empower RF
ISOTEC  |  Reactel  |  RFCT
San Fran Circuits

Noisecom

LadyBug RF Power Sensors

Cafe Press

Please Support RF Cafe by purchasing my  ridiculously low-priced products, all of which I created.

RF Cascade Workbook for Excel

RF & Electronics Symbols for Visio

RF & Electronics Symbols for Office

RF & Electronics Stencils for Visio

RF Workbench

T-Shirts, Mugs, Cups, Ball Caps, Mouse Pads

These Are Available for Free

Espresso Engineering Workbook™

Smith Chart™ for Excel

RF Electronics Shapes, Stencils for Office, Visio by RF Cafe
Homepage Archive - October 2018 (page 4)
See Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 of the October 2018 homepage archives.

Friday 26

Electromaze Puzzle, February 1966 Popular Electronics

Electromaze Puzzle, February 1966 Popular Electronics - RF CafeRobert Radford's (not to be confused with Robert Redford) "Electromaze Puzzle" is a unique - and weird - sort of word puzzle that first appeared in this February 1966 issue of Popular Electronics magazine. Some people have been confused about the strategy, believing that all the white spaces needed to be filled in. They do not. Just because a letter might have an empty square adjacent to it does not imply that another letter must fill it. Also, read the instruction carefully, especially the part about the last letter of one word being the first letter of another word. You will probably want to print out the maze grid and find an old guy who should still have a pencil stowed away somewhere you can borrow to use for filling in the boxes...

Copper Mountain Technologies Needs a Technical Sales Territory Manager

Copper Mountain Technologies Needs a Technical Sales Territory Manager - RF CafeCopper Mountain Technologies' Technical Sales Territory Manager will be a part of our growing global sales team. Our USB VNAs are next generation analyzers designed to meet the needs of 21st Century engineers. Our VNAs include an RF measurement module and a processing module, a software application which runs on a Windows PC, laptop or tablet, connecting to the measurement hardware via USB interface. The successful candidate will have the technical background, sales experience, and personal drive to solve customers' technical and business problems, and as a result, grow sales in their assigned territory. Take this opportunity...

General Electric's Mobile Radio History

General Electric's Mobile Radio History - RF CafeIf you appreciate the legacy of the people and facilities of early electronics manufacturers, then you will want to visit Mr. Tom McKee's (K4ZAD) website titled, "General Electric's Mobile Radio History." He has loads of photos of facilities and equipment from all across the country. Having worked for a while at the Syracuse (Liverpool, more accurately), NY, GE Electronics Park campus, I particularly like seeing photos of the heydays when the company turned out military radars and sonars, and lots of consumer products like televisions, radios, washing machines, and refrigerators. Tom has fairly extensive archival information that you might not find anywhere else. Take a few minutes to look around, especially if you or someone you knew worked for GE; maybe you will recognize a face...

Transient Specialists - Utilizing Our Capabilities

Transient Specialists: Utilizing Our Capabilities - RF CafeTransient Specialists, a leader in EMC rentals for over 30 years, announces that they will be offering continued support for electrostatic discharge products. There are a variety of ESD simulators, or ESD gun manufacturers, however it is crucial to consider the application when selecting a gun. Having the ability to buy or rent components to enhance testing capabilities could pay dividends down the road. Many simulators, including the Dito, NSG 437, and ESD3000 have the ability to remove and change discharge networks. This allows for additional testing beyond the 150 pf / 300 Ω the commonly tested to IEC 61000-4-2. Transient Specialists conveniently located in the mid-west offers a variety of EMC test equipment rentals to accommodate your testing needs...

Axiom Test Equipment: Rent, Buy, Trade & Repair

Axiom Test Equipment - RF CafeAxiom Test Equipment allows you to rent or buy test equipment, repair test equipment, or sell or trade test equipment. They are committed to providing superior customer service and high quality electronic test equipment. Axiom offers customers several practical, efficient, and cost effective solutions for their projects' TE needs and is committed to providing superior customer service and high quality electronic test equipment. Please check out Axiom Test Equipment today!...

Graphene Printing Technique 'Silk Screens' Flexible Electronics

Graphene Printing Technique 'Silk Screens' Flexible Electronics - RF Cafe"Graphene-based remote epitaxy enables inexpensive copying of gallium arsenide and gallium nitride chips. Future high-efficiency solar cells molded to the surface of a car, ultrasmall photonics chips, and low-power, long-lasting wearable devices will all require something no one's yet been able to achieve, namely chips made from high-efficiency materials that are flexible, thin, and inexpensive to manufacture. A research group at MIT has announced a couple of developments in recent weeks that bring such a confluence of innovations closer to the achievable. Jeehwan Kim's research group announced separately this month..."

Thursday 25

Erie Technological Products

Erie Technological Products, October 18, 1965 Electronics Magazine - RF CafeErie Technological Products, located in my adopted hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, was a re-branding of Erie Resistor Company as the concern had begun manufacturing a wide variety of discrete electronic devices - resistors, capacitors, feed-through filters, silicon rectifiers. The Erie Resistor complex on 12th Street in Erie occupies a huge amount of real estate on both sides of the road. The overhead foot bridge can be seen in this photo. The buildings have long been vacated and stand with many others as reminders of the thriving manufacturing center that Erie once was. We still have a good bit of manufacturing here, but nothing like back in the hey days of the last century...

Whazzup with the Lumped Element Filter Pic?

Mini-Circuits Filter Advertisement - RF CafeWe might just have a major scandal on our hands. Whilst perusing the October issue of Microwaves & RF magazine I saw this ad for Mini-Circuits filters. I really liked how they showed the internal construction of the various filter types - cavity, slab line, microstrip, ceramic resonator, MMIC. Then, I noticed the lid is shown installed on the lumped-element filter. "What are they trying to hide?" I asked myself (not really). It is reasonable to ask, though, why the cover is on the LC filter? Is there some proprietary, top-secret method being used that would blunt their competitive edge - maybe superconductor inductors with infinite Qs and/or graphene capacitors? Someone needs to ask Mini-Circuits whazzup wit dat? The world deserves to know.

Last Chance to Buy a New Radio - c1942

Last Chance to Buy a New Radio - c1942 (Kirt's Cogitation #308) - RF CafeIt is probably safe to say that most people, especially today, believe that the United States was suddenly and unexpectedly thrust into involvement in World War II on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese navy launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The fact is the U.S. was "unofficially" engaged for over a year beforehand by "lending" both equipment and personnel to British, Russian, Chinese, French, and other militaries as part of their effort to drive back invading German, Italian, and Japanese Axis forces. World War II actually began in the Fall of1939 with Hitler's invasion of Poland. Americans, being safely separated from the front lines by the Seven Seas, knew little of and were concerned little about the goings on "Over There." Once the call to arms was sounded with the Pearl Harbor attack, the country quickly and enthusiastically converted to full wartime mode. Manufacturing plants...

Anatech Electronics Newsletter for October 2018

Anatech Electronics Newsletter for October 2018 - RF CafeAnatech Electronics, a manufacturer of RF and microwave filters, has published its October newsletter. In it, Anatech founder and owner Sam Benzacar discusses the finally come-of-age Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switch for RF use. A MEMS switch is smaller and lighter than any other switch technology, has very little insertion loss, provides very high isolation, can theoretically operate into the millimeter-wave region, and can handle substantial amounts of RF power. RF MEMS switches' Achilles heel at the moment is relatively low isolation (~25 dB) compared to other types of RF switches. Sam also includes some relevant telecomm industry headline news...

Centric RF: Attenuators, Adapters, Cable Assemblies, Power Dividers

Centric RF microwave components - RF CafeCentric RF is a company offering from stock various RF and Microwave coaxial components, including attenuators, adapters, cable assemblies, terminations, power dividers, and more. We believe in offering high performance parts from stock at a reasonable cost. Frequency ranges of 0-110 GHz at power levels from 0.5-500 watts are available off the sheld. Order today, ship today! Centric RF is currently looking for vendors to partner with them. Please visit Centric RF today...

How to Eavesdrop on Terahertz Frequencies

How to Eavesdrop on Terahertz Frequencies - RF Cafe"If you position yourself between a stationary transmitter and receiver, it's possible to deflect signals and steal information. Society is poised to enjoy a major communications upgrade with the widespread launch of commercial 5G networks. Meanwhile, a handful of researchers have already started to think ahead to 6G - the next (next) generation of wireless and cellular technology. Just as 5G networks will transmit data on higher frequencies than previous generations, preliminary research suggests that the trend may well continue with 6G networks. Harnessing these waves brings a wealth of benefits. Along with offering more bandwidth for data transfers..."

Wednesday 24

60 GHz Phased Array System with 256 Antenna Elements

 Imec Spin-Off Unveils 60 GHz Phased Array System with 256 Antenna Elements - RF Cafe"Pharrowtech, a spin-off initiative from imec, demonstrated a prototype of a 60 GHz active phased array at the Telecom Infra Project Summit in London. This solution paves the way for telecom OEMs to dramatically increase range and field of view of backhaul nodes, access points and home units. It is built using low-cost, high-volume chip and antenna technologies. This marks an important step towards accelerated deployment of cost-effective high-speed internet solutions for rural, urban and suburban environments..."

Please Thank RF Superstore for Their Continued Support

RF Superstore coaxial cable, connectors, adapters - RF CafeRF Superstore launched in 2017, marking the return of Murray Pasternack, founder of Pasternack Enterprises, to the RF and microwave Industry. Pasternack fundamentally changed the way RF components were sold. Partner Jason Wright manages day-to-day operations, while working closely with Mr. Pasternack to develop RF Superstore into a world class RF and microwave component supplier. RF coaxial connectors & adapters, coaxial cable & cable assemblies, surge protectors, attenuators. Items added daily. Free shipping on orders over $99. We're leading the way again!

Why Not a Ham License Just for Ladies?

Why Not a Ham License Just for Ladies?, December 1967 Popular Electronics - RF CafeIn this saga of YL (young lady) and OM (old man) Ham radio operators, General license holder Carole H. Allen elucidates, with a touch of humor, the woes beset upon women pertaining to repairing radio equipment. Mrs. Allen's lament is in fact not the treatment of women participating in the communication aspect of Ham radio, but the reluctance of men to allow them to engage in the technical aspects of the electronic equipment. From an operator standpoint, guessing the gender of the Ham on the other end of the signal can be nearly impossible, particularly with CW (Morse code). Poor transmission quality can make phone (voice) determination of YL or OM difficult sometimes as well. Back in the 1960s it was not possible to simply surf to the FCC's Universal License System website...

Skyworks Powers Connected Lighting for Revolutionary Smart Cities

Skyworks Powers Connected Lighting for Revolutionary Smart Cities - RF CafeSkyworks Solutions, an innovator of high performance analog semiconductors connecting people, places and things, today announced that its advanced wireless engines are enabling Philips' CityTouch end-to-end street lighting management platforms. Specifically, Skyworks' connectivity solutions provide superior efficiency, extended range and complete network coverage to facilitate seamless communication between Philips' smart street lamps and cellular base stations. These innovative devices allow city operators to reduce power consumption and support public safety through adaptive scheduling and remote services. Installations of CityTouch have commenced worldwide, fostering more livable...

MECA Electronics: Passive RF & Microwave Components

MECA ElectronicsSince 1961, MECA Electronics has designed and manufactured an extensive line of RF & microwave components for in-building, satellite, radar, radio, telemetry, mobile radio, aviation & ATC. Attenuators, directional & hybrid couplers, isolators & circulators, power dividers & combiners, loads, DC blocks, bias-Ts and adapters & cables. MECA has 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...

Memristor Boosts Accuracy and Efficiency for Neural Networks

Memristor Boosts Accuracy and Efficiency for Neural Networks - RF Cafe"Just like their biological counterparts, hardware that mimics the neural circuitry of the brain requires building blocks that can adjust how they synapse, with some connections strengthening at the expense of others. One such approach, called memristors, uses current resistance to store this information. New work looks to overcome reliability issues in these devices by scaling memristors to the atomic level. A group of researchers demonstrated a new type of compound synapse that can achieve synaptic weight programming and conduct vector-matrix multiplication with significant advances over the current state of the art. Publishing its work in the Journal of Applied Physics, from AIP Publishing, the group's compound synapse is constructed..."

Tuesday 23

Two Ways to Measure Distortion

Two Ways to Measure Distortion, October 4, 1965 Electronics Magazine - RF CafeHere is a good, brief introduction to harmonic and intermodulation distortion measurement methods that were commonly used in the 1960s. Total harmonic distortion (THD) was used often, especially for audio equipment, which of course most frequency conversion circuits ultimately were in the era since digital data transmission over the air was not too common. Author Charles Moore worked for Hewlett-Packard (HP) and references HP Application Note 15, "Distortion and Intermodulation" which, thankfully, is made available by Hewlett-Packard / Agilent / Keysight on their website. In fact, a complete list of all the vintage app notes are available on this page by downloading the Excel file. I highly recommend that you download and save all you think...

Scouting's JOTA Participants Urged to File Post-Event Reports

Scouting's Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) Looking Forward to Successful 2018 Event - RF Cafe"Boy Scouts of America Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) Coordinator Jim Wilson, K5ND, is urging JOTA participants to file post-JOTA reports. JOTA and the companions Jamboree on the Internet (JOTI) took place over the October 19-21 weekend. The reporting system combines JOTA and JOTI reports. 'It's critical that we demonstrate the activity level for this event to support further work in developing support systems, information, and activities for the 2019 JOTA-JOTI event,' Wilson said. Station information will be compiled into the US JOTA-JOTI report and filed with the World Organization of the Scout Movement for their overall 2018 JOTA-JOTI report..."

Thanks Once Again to everythingRF for Long-Time Support!

everything RF Searchable Database - RF CafePlease take a few moments to visit the everythingRF website to see how they can assist you with your project. everythingRF is a product discovery platform for RF and microwave products and services. They currently have 227,460 products from more than 1210 companies across 285 categories in their database and enable engineers to search for them using their customized parametric search tool. Amplifiers, test equipment, power couplers and dividers, coaxial connectors, waveguide, antennas, filters, mixers, power supplies, and everything else. Please visit everythingRF today to see how they can help you...

Bias T, Band Splitter and Other RF Diplexers

Bias T, Band Splitter and Other RF Diplexers - RF CafeThe following article / app note titled, "Bias T, Band Splitter and Other RF Diplexers," was submitted to RF Cafe by Bree Engineering. It is a brief introduction to and explanation of the theory and application of the named frequency selective devices. A Bias-T is frequency dependent just as much so as a band splitter or diplexer; it differentiates between DC (0 Hz) and the RF frequency. Bree Engineering Corporation was founded in 1999 and is a manufacturer of custom electronic filters, multiplexers, filter banks and other related types of components in the frequency range of 0.1 MHz to 40 GHz. Designs include Chebyshev, Bessel, Butterworth, Gaussian, transitional, elliptic-function and pseudo-elliptic-function filters in lumped element, cavity, combline, interdigital...

Comics with an Electronics Theme

Comics with an Electronics Theme, September 1967 Popular Electronics - RF CafeIt's time for a few more electronics-themed comics. This set from four different artists comes from the September 1967 issue of Popular Electronics magazine. Users of modern, solid state radio gear are not familiar with the kinds of problems that plagued the older vacuum tube equipment - mainly overheating and a tendency for that smoke that is supposed to remain inside resistors and capacitors leaking out and breaking the set. One good thing about the overheated components that help with troubleshooting is that the designers at the factory added a chemical to give off the unique burnt resistor or capacitor odor that let you sniff out the faulty part; you know, kind of like the odor added to natural gas (which itself is odorless) to alert you to a leak. Be sure to use one or more of these in the opening slides of your next presentation...

Many Thanks to ConductRF for Continued Support!

ConductRF coaxial cables & connectors - RF CafeConductRF is continually innovating and developing new and improved solutions for RF Interconnect needs. See the latest TESTeCON RF Test Cables for labs. ConductRF makes production and test coax cable assemblies for amplitude and phased matched VNA applications as well as standard & precision RF connectors. Over 1,000 solutions for low PIM in-building to choose from in the iBwave component library. They also provide custom coax solutions for applications where some standard just won't do. A partnership with Newark assures fast, reliable access. Please visit ConductRF today to see how they can help your project!

New Pentagon Weapons Vulnerable to Cyber Attack

New Pentagon Weapons Vulnerable to Cyber Attack - RF Cafe"The GAO revealed the presence of several vulnerabilities in the weapons that were never fixed. 'In operational testing, DOD routinely found mission-critical cyber vulnerabilities in systems that were under development, yet program officials GAO met with believed their systems were secure and discounted some test results as unrealistic.' reads the report. 'Using relatively simple tools and techniques, testers were able to take control of systems and largely operate undetected, due in part to basic issues such as poor password management and unencrypted communications.' The report was committed by the Senate Armed Services Committee that requested to review the way the Pentagon was securing its weapons systems..."

Monday 22

Spintronics Device Functionalities in Graphene Heterostructures

Spintronics Device Functionalities in Graphene Heterostructures - RF Cafe"Graphene Flagship researchers have shown in a paper published in Science Advances how heterostructures built from graphene and topological insulators have strong, proximity induced spin-orbit coupling which can form the basis of novel information processing technologies. Spin-orbit coupling is at the heart of spintronics. Graphene's spin-orbit coupling and high electron mobility make it appealing for long spin coherence length at room temperature. Graphene Flagship researchers from Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden), Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology - ICN2 (Spain), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain)..."

ConductRF Precision D38999 RF & Mixed Signal Cables

ConductRF Precision D38999 RF & Mixed Signal Cables - RF CafeConductRF offers an extensive line of RF and mixed signal cable harnesses and assemblies with custom configurations, lengths and markings. Thousands of combinations of coaxial, power, and digital and analog signal connectors available. Flexible phase-stable, low-loss, phase-matching, high power, and other options per your requirements. Broad insert connector solution choices including BMA, SMPM, for cable sizes #8, #12 & #16 Custom marking and ruggedization enhancements capability. Contact ConductRF today and let us help your project...

Please Welcome INSTOCK Wireless Components As RF Cafe's Newest Advertiser

INSTOCK Wireless Components - RF CafeINSTOCK Wireless Components designs & manufactures UHF/RF power dividers, bias tees, GPS antenna signal splitters, DC blocking L-Band splitters, high-power combiners, and current steering splitters with more than three hundred twenty-five models in 2-way thru 64-way configurations with Type N, SMA, TNC, BNC, & QMA connectors covering frequencies from 10 MHz to 6 GHz. Custom configurations also available including mix-and-match connector options, IP67 outdoor weatherproof, rackmount, and micro-sized units. Our comprehensive portfolio of RF splitter combiners encompasses all UHF, RF, and microwave frequency applications within the ranges 350-1000 MHz, 698-2700 MHz, 1-2 GHz, and 2.4-6.0 GHz...

G & G Radio Supply Company Advertisement

G & G Radio Supply Company Advertisement, October 1953 Radio & Television News - RF CafeIf only eBay had been around at the end of World War II, this surplus equipment would have dominated the electronics and electromechanical gizmo categories. Electronics magazines of the post-WWII era were filled for years with advertisements like this one from G & G Radio Supply Company in a 1953 issue of Radio & Television News. That B-29 bomb sight, like the one used on the Enola Gay, could be purchased brand new for a scant $295, which even in equivalent 2018 dollars of $2,758 (per the BLS), is a steal. This is not the famous Norden bombsight, but it's still a sweet collector's item, which is available on eBay today if you would like to own one. Already have a B-29 bombsight? How about a complete IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) secondary radar system? For a mere $350...

Rohde & Schwarz USA: RF & Microwave, Analog, Digital, & Optical Test Equipment

Rohde & Schwarz USA Pocket Guides - RF CafeRohde & Schwarz develops, produces and markets test & measurement, information and communications technology. Focus is on test and measurement, broadcast and media, cybersecurity, secure communications, monitoring and network testing. Markets serviced are wireless, the automotive industry, aerospace and defense, industrial electronics, research and education, broadcast and media network operations, consumer electronics, cybersecurity for business and governments, communications and security solutions for critical infrastructures and the armed forces, reconnaissance equipment for homeland and external security, and much more...

High Performance Organic Semiconductors

High Performance Organic Semiconductors - RF Cafe"Organic semiconductor materials have the potential to be used in innovative applications such as transparent and flexible devices, and their low cost makes their potential use particularly attractive. The properties of organic semiconductor materials can be tuned by controlling their structure at the molecular level through parts of the structure known as electron-accepting units. A group of researchers centered at Osaka University has specifically tailored an electron-accepting unit that was then successfully used in an organic semiconductor applied in solar cell device that showed high photovoltaic performance. Their findings were published in NPG Asia Materials. 'Electron-accepting units are important elements of organic semiconductors,' study corresponding...

RF Electronics Shapes, Stencils for Office, Visio by RF Cafe
PCB Directory (Manufacturers)

TotalTemp Technologies (Thermal Platforms) - RF Cafe

withwave microwave devices - RF Cafe