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Homepage Archive - August 2019 (page 3)
See Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 of the August 2019 homepage archives.

Friday 23

POPULAR ELEComics - Comics with an Electronics Theme

POPULAR ELEComics - Comics with an Electronics Theme, January 1968 Popular Electronics - RF CafeAlways a good way to end a busy week, here is a collection of electronics-themed comics that appeared in a 1967 issue of Popular Electronics magazine. A few of the artists you will recognize if you are a regular reader. Some drawing styles are immediately identifiable, such as those by Dave Harbaugh (of "Hobnobbing with Harbaugh" fame). Others, at least to me, are not quite so familiar. Frank Tabor, George White, Stan Fine, and JAS (I'm sure I know those initials, but can't place them) are amongst the others. I have to admit to not really knowing what the gag is in the comic with the guy in his pajamas. The party guy is cutting a wire to his ear buds ...

Axiom Test Equipment Blog – Capturing Semiconductor I-V Characteristics

Axiom Test Equipment Blog – Capturing Semiconductor Current and Voltage Characteristics - RF CafeAxiom Test Equipment, an electronic test equipment rental and sales company, has published a blog that explains semiconductor measurements, specifically, current-versus-voltage (I-V) characteristics and how semiconductors will respond under different I-V conditions. Semiconductor I-V testing is typically performed as a series of swept measurements, with values of I and V changing for each measurement as a means of detecting any trends in device performance under changing operating conditions. Read about which specifications are key to consider when choosing an I-V tester for your project's needs. Go over a few examples of I-V testers, a mainframe, and curve tracers which provide the test energy levels ...

Resistive? Inductive? or Capacitive? Quiz

Resistive? Inductive? or Capacitive? Quiz, October 1960 Popular Electronics - RF CafeHere is a different type of quiz from Popular Electronics' master quiz-maker, Robert P. Balin. Rather than the typical format where you need to match a word or another picture with a picture, this one requires you to consider each description and decide whether it best describes an inductive, capacitive, or reactive circuit. I confess to messing up on question 20, because I couldn't remember whether a lagging power factor referred to voltage lagging current or current lagging voltage. Hint: It refers to current lagging voltage. Another hint: Remember the ELI the ICE man mnemonic ...

Get Your Custom-Designed RF Cafe Gear!

Custom-Designed RF-Themed Cups, T-Shirts, Mouse Pads, Clocks (Cafe Press) - RF CafeThis assortment of custom-designed themes by RF Cafe includes T-Shirts, Mouse Pads, Clocks, Tote Bags, Coffee Mugs and Steins, Purses, Sweatshirts, and Baseball Caps. Choose from amazingly clever "We Are the World's Matchmakers" Smith chart design or the "Engineer's Troubleshooting Flow Chart." My "Matchmaker's" design has been ripped off by other people and used on their products, so please be sure to purchase only official RF Cafe gear. My markup is only a paltry 50¢ per item - Cafe Press gets the rest of your purchase price. These would make excellent gifts for husbands, wives, kids, significant others, and for handing out at company events or as rewards for excellent service. It's a great way to help support RF Cafe. Thanks.

RF Superstore Intros Coaxial RF Connector Shorts

RF Superstore Intros Coaxial RF Connector Shorts - RF CafeRF Superstore is proud to announce its new line of coaxial RF Connector Short Circuits which has been added to our stock, with immediate availability. Connector types include BNC, N, SMA / 2.5 mm, and TNC, both male and female. When used in conjunction with our line of RF terminations, and through-type RF connector adapters, they are useful for equipment calibration. RF 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 ...

Critical Communications Break out of Analog Mold

Critical Communications Break out of Analog Mold - RF Cafe"Once firmly rooted in its analog origins, critical communications is now steadily evolving to provide enhanced situational awareness. The latest public safety and military communications (MilCom) radios are more versatile and reliable, supporting ad-hoc networks to improve or enable connectivity. With higher-data-rate capabilities, critical communications solutions can send and receive high-resolution images, videos, and other types of data-intensive content. At the same time, they provide higher-quality voice communications while maintaining security. To ensure communications and interoperability, they still can support analog communications as a failsafe ..."

Copper Mountain Technologies: Vector Network Analyzers

Copper Mountain TechnologiesCopper Mountain Technologies develops innovative and robust RF test and measurement solutions for engineers all over the world. Copper Mountain's extensive line of unique form factor Vector Network Analyzers include an RF measurement module and a software application which runs on any Windows PC, laptop or tablet, connecting to the measurement hardware via USB interface. The result is a lower cost, faster, more effective test process that fits into the modern workspace in lab, production, field and secure testing environments...

Thursday 22

Substrata Communications

Substrata Communications, January 1968 Popular Electronics - RF CafeBenjamin Franklin is credited with many inventions; scientific experiments and discoveries; writings on science, government, and fiction; skills as an orator and diplomat; printer of books and newspapers; business endeavors; and for being the nation's first Postmaster General. Although we all are familiar with his forays into things electrical in nature like flying kites in lightning storms, this article from a 1968 issue of Popular Electronics introduces us to what might have been the earliest "wireless" communications demonstration. The scheme involved the equivalent of the old lab gag of charging up a large-valued electrolytic capacitor and then tossing it to someone, resulting in a surprising shock. As with many of you, I have been both the victim and purveyor of said mischief ...

Anatech Electronics August 2019 Newsletter

Anatech Electronics August 2019 Newsletter - RF CafeAnatech Electronics, an RF and microwave filter company, has introduced a new line of suspended stripline and waveguide type RF filters. Sam Benzacar wrote as part of Anatech's August newsletter about the continued debate over whether exposure to cellphones causes cancer, diminished vision, etc. His short op-ed entitled "Radiation Hazard Battles Continue Unabated" is likely a response to the FCC's recent declaration that RF energy at 5G mm-wave frequencies does not pose an increased health hazard over existing technologies. Millimeter-wave energy is non-ionizing and does not penetrate the skin deeply enough to be an issue at operational power levels. Also included are ...

Rohde & Schwarz Releases R&S NGM200 Power Supply Series

Rohde & Schwarz Releases R&S NGM200 Power Supply Series - RF CafeWith the new R&S NGM200, Rohde & Schwarz extends their range of specialized power supplies. The models of the R&S NGM200 series offer new features, which make them ideal for developing battery-powered equipment operating at up to 20 V and drawing currents up to 6 A. Available as single-channel and two-channel models: the R&S NGM200 power supplies. Being part of the same power supply family, both the R&S NGL200 and the new R&S NGM200 series offer the same superb performance and specifications to supply extremely stable outputs with a minimum of residual ripple and noise. Devices that switch from a few µA in sleep mode to several A in active mode benefit from the exceptionally fast load recovery time ...

Phenomena Underlying Radio

Phenomena Underlying Radio (part 8), July 1934 Radio News - RF CafeThis is part of a series published by Radio News and the Short-Wave magazine in the early 1930s. As with most topics pertaining to electronics, the theory is still relevant and applicable to many modern circuits and systems. Piezoelectric principles are introduced for determining the frequency of oscillators. I have to admit to not having heard of the 'pyroelectric' effect. A pyroelectric crystal when heated or cooled develops charges on the extremities of its hemihedral (another new word for me, meaning "exhibiting only half the faces required for complete symmetry") axes. Types other than the familiar quartz include tourmaline, boracite, topaz, Rochelle salts, and even sugar. Read on to learn more ...

Cyber Warfare Attacks on Power Grid Need Defending

Cyber Warfare Attacks on Power Grid Need Defending - RF Cafe"Richard Clarke knows a few things about clear and present dangers. He had already served under six presidents and been appointed the U.S.'s first counterterrorism czar when he joined the George W. Bush White House, but when he tried to alert important decision-makers before September 11 about the threat of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil, those warnings were largely ignored. These days, Clarke is still trying to get Americans to think hard about the next big attacks - and the ones that are quietly happening as you read this sentence. Clarke's new book, The Fifth Domain, written with cyber expert and fellow White House veteran Robert Knake ..."

ERZIA: Microwave & mm-Wave Modular Amplifiers

Many Thanks to ERZIA for Continued Support!ERZIA serves critical aerospace and defense missions by designing and manufacturing RF, microwave, and mm-wave amplifiers, integrated assemblies operating from low frequencies up to 100 GHz, and by providing high reliable satellite communications. The company was founded in 2002 to become a worldwide reference of advanced engineering, performance, reliability and ruggedness. Their catalogue of standard amplifier modules comprises more than 100 different models, having also a high capacity of customization for amplifiers and integrated assemblies. Some of products have space heritage and are used in aerospace, commercial, military and scientific systems, having a wide range of final applications...

Wednesday 21

Picture Tubes

Picture Tubes, May 1955 Popular Electronics - RF CafeBy the time most of us who even remember cathode ray tubes (CRTs) were first introduced to them, the technology and manufacturing processes had been pretty much perfected - especially for the standard 525-line resolution type. The NTSC published a standard for B&W television in 1941 and then for color in 1953. This "Picture Tubes" article in a 1955 issue of Popular Electronics provides a look inside a CRT manufacturing plant at General Electric. If you want one of the best explanations I have ever seen on how a TV picture scan is implemented, check out this video. If you don't understand raster scanning after watching it, you never will. You might be surprised to learn that there were not actually 525 lines of picture information, but that only about 480 to 487 lines of picture were included - the rest were ...

New Military Phone System

New Military Phone System, May 1955 Popular Electronics - RF CafeIt's kind of hard to believe that by 1955, the military was still very dependent on wired radio communications for field use. This system, heralded as a technological breakthrough for its ability to operate over a distance of 200 miles between units (with the aid of repeater cells), weighed in at 178 pounds and "occupies only five and a half cubic feet of space." A big part of the weight was probably due to the lead-acid batteries that powered it, although there was likely an ability to hook it up to a generator. A modulated carrier is credited with being able to stuff 12 channels into a single twisted pair of wires. No mention is made of whether any sort of encryption (scrambling) of the signals was used. No mention was made of the model number. If anyone out there can identify it, please let me know ...

Engineering Degree Guidance

Engineering Degree Guidance - RF CafeMs. Cassie Stevens sent me an e-mail alerting me to the Engineering Degree Guidance website. Per Cassie, "It is an online resource for anyone who is looking for unbiased and professionally reviewed content and recommendations for Engineering degree programs. Our team was created so we can provide answers and all types of assistance needed to help improve the quality of information to those looking for guidance on these degree options. Our content is reviewed by top tier professors in the education and journalism spaces. Please check out our highly regarded editorial team; they are listed on the homepage of our website." Engineering Degree Guidance has been added to my list or related resources on the Job Information Resources page.

RF Cafe Quiz #45: Dielectric and Thermal Properties of Materials at Microwave Frequencies

RF Cafe Quiz #45: Handbook of Dielectric and Thermal Properties of Materials at Microwave FrequenciesThis quiz is based on the information presented in Handbook of Dielectric and Thermal Properties of Materials at Microwave Frequencies, by Theodore Anderson. This book is a wealth of information of dielectric characteristics of biological tissues in plants, animals, as well as for ceramics, soils and minerals. Particular attention is paid to properties in the ISM frequency bands. Extensive sources for similar studies are provided. All RF Cafe quizzes would make perfect fodder in employment interviews for technicians or engineers - particularly those who are fresh out of school or are relatively new to the work world. Come to think of it, they would make equally excellent study material for the same persons who are going to be interviewed for a job.

State of Magic-Angle Twisted Graphene Probed

State of Magic-Angle Twisted Graphene Probed - RF Cafe"Amid the fanfare around the announced Mott insulating and superconducting states observed in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) in the spring of 2018, the real excitement was around the questions the results left unanswered - what were these states and what might they explain about other systems? By measuring the capacitance of magic-angle TBG Pablo Jarillo-Herrero (who led the research behind the observations announced in 2018) and Ray Ashoori, alongside colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the U.S. and the National Institute of Materials Science (NIMS) in Japan ..."

RF & Connector Technology: Coax Connectors, Cable, Passive Components

RF & Connector Technology - RF CafeProviding full solution service is our motto, not just selling goods. RF & Connector Technology has persistently pursued a management policy stressing quality assurance system and technological advancement. From your very first contact, you will be supported by competent RF specialists; all of them have several years of field experience in this industry allowing them to suggest a fundamental solution and troubleshooting approach. Coaxial RF connectors, cable assemblies, antennas, terminations, attenuators, couplers, dividers, and more. Practically, we put priority on process inspection at each step of workflow as well as during final inspection in order to actualize "Zero Defects."

Tuesday 20

Project Tinkertoy

Project Tinkertoy, May 1955 Popular Electronics - RF CafeI find it interesting that "Project Tinkertoy," so dubbed by the National Bureau of Standards (NBS - now the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST), does not contain a trademark to acknowledge the ownership of the Tinkertoy™ name. This 1955 Popular Electronics story doesn't mention it, either. Tinkertoy has been around since 1914 and every boy I knew in my neighborhood had at least one set - usually received as a Christmas gift. I had a couple of them, as well as an Erector Set or two. That said, I believe that a more appropriate name for the endeavor would have been "Project Lego™" because of the way component blocks snap and stack together (with the help of a little solder) ...

R&S "Everything LTE-M" Wall Poster

R&S Everything LTE-M Wall Poster - RF CafeRohde & Schwarz is offering a free wall poster entitled, "Be Ahead in Connecting Everything LTE-M." This is offered as part of their August "Wireless Testing Update" newsletter that covers the R&S®CMW270 Wireless Connectivity Tester and a new whitepaper entitled, "White Paper Power Saving Methods for LTE-M and NB-IoT Devices." "LTE-M and NB-IoT are LTE based internet of things (IoT) technologies. Both require long battery lifetime to ensure IoT services and minimize maintenance costs in the future. This white paper describes the possible power-saving methods for LTE-M and NB-IoT devices and gives a guideline of their applicability ..."

Post Your Engineer & Technician Job Openings on RF Cafe for Free

Engineering Job Board - RF CafeRF Cafe's raison d'être is and always has been to provide useful, quality content for engineers, technicians, engineering managers, students, and hobbyists. Part of that mission is offering to post applicable job openings. HR department employees and/or managers of hiring companies are welcome to submit opportunities for posting at no charge (of course a gratuity will be graciously accepted). 3rd party recruiters and temp agencies are not included so as to assure a high quality of listings. Please read through the easy procedure to benefit from RF Cafe's high quality visitors ...

Meet the Transistor

Meet the Transistor, January 1955 Popular Electronics - RF CafeShortly before Christmas, 1947, the experimental work of Bell Laboratories scientists John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley resulted in the world's first semiconductor transistor. With proper biasing, the germanium transistor demonstrated an ability to produce signal gain. The signal fed to the base resulted in a higher amplitude signal at the collector. Voila, the device which would ultimately replace the vacuum electron tube had been invented. The rest, as they say, is history. Aside from a few high power applications, the only new equipment produced that uses vacuum tubes are retro things like audio amplifiers and simple receivers. Of course, there is still a large cadre of vacuum tube users in the Amateur Radio real and vintage equipment restorers. If you have never watched a chassis full of tubes turn on and begin glowing ...

India's Chandrayaan 2 Spacecraft Entered Lunar Orbit

India's Chandrayaan 2 Spacecraft Entered Lunar Orbit - RF Cafe"India's Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft entered lunar orbit on Tuesday, executing one of the trickiest maneuvers on its historic mission to the Moon. After four weeks in space, the craft completed its Lunar Orbit Insertion as planned, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a statement. The insertion 'was completed successfully today at 0902 hrs IST (0332 GMT) as planned, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of manoeuver was 1738 seconds,' the national space agency said. India is seeking to become just the fourth nation after Russia, the United States and China to land a spacecraft on the Moon ..."

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...

Monday 19

RF Cafe Calculator Workbook v7.8 Available - Free

A/D Converter Calculations for RF Applications - RF CafeAlong with an update to the Analog-to-Digital Converter (aka ADC or A2D) formulas page, a new worksheet has been added to the RF Cafe Calculator Workbook (v7.8) that will do all the calculations for you. lots of information is RF Cafe Calculator Workbook v7.8 (download for free) - RF Cafeavailable out the on the Web for ADCs, but two of the parameters you need to include them in receiver component cascade calculations, noise figure (NF) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), can be difficult to find. Using well-honed search skills, (chough, cough), I located and posted them so as to make your life easier. Now, when you are using the amazingly fantastic RF Cascade Workbook by RF Cafe, you can plug those quantities in along with the filters, mixers, amplifiers, etc. You're welcome...

The Digital Decabulator

The Digital Decabulator, February 1966 RC Modeler - Airplanes and RocketsGenius takes on many forms, not the least of which is the ability to concoct and compose an [almost] believable a story describing in the utmost detail the technical workings of a complex mechanical gadget. Items such as a mizule wrench, meta-phasic shielding, blinker fluid, a left-handed screwdriver, and - one of my favorites - the muffler bearing, have been heard in comic routines... er... routinely. No matter how many times you hear them you always laugh again. Some are actually a portmanteau and just sound funny while others are completely made up. This Digital Decabulator article that appeared in a 1966 issue of R/C Modeler magazine is amazing; it pegs the B.S. detector from beginning to end ...

Overcome 5G Base Station Design Challenges

Overcome 5G Base Station Design Challenges - RF CafeKeysight has just published a new whitepaper entitled "3 Key Challenges Implementing and Testing MIMO and Beamforming in 5G Base Stations and Components" that is available as a free download. "As 5G New Radio (NR) moves from the definition and specification phase into development, enabling technologies such as MIMO, and beamforming are critical. Engineers will use active phased array antennas to implement MIMO and beamforming in base stations and devices. In fact, these active antennas are critical to overcome signal propagation issues, such as higher path loss at millimeter wave frequencies. They also provide the ability to dynamically shape and steer beams to specific users. Active antennas ..."

Men Who Made Radio - Sir Oliver Lodge

Men Who Made Radio - Sir Oliver Lodge, December 1929, Radio-Craft - RF CafeRadio-Craft magazine ran a monthly series of short articles paying tribute to some of the shakers and movers in the field of science - this time it was Sir Oliver Lodge. "While Hertz was discovering radio waves in air, Lodge was determining the laws of the corresponding activity which takes place in electrical conductors. It was Lodge who demonstrated the possibility of radio communication, experimentally, as Marconi did its commercial value - just as Henry created the telegraph and Morse made it of practical utility." See other "Men Who Made Radio" features on ...

everythingRF: Their Name Says It All

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.

Sunday 18

Engineering & Technical Headlines Crossword Puzzle for August 18

Engineering & Technical Headlines Crossword Puzzle August 18, 2019 - RF CafeThis RF Cafe Engineering & Technical Headlines Crossword Puzzle contains at least 10 words from headlines posted on the homepage during the week of August 12 through August 16, 2019 (marked with an asterisk*). These custom-made engineering and science-themed crossword puzzles are done weekly for the brain-exercising benefit and pleasure of RF Cafe visitors who are fellow cruciverbalists. Every word and clue - without exception - in these RF Cafe puzzles has been personally entered into a very large database that encompasses engineering, science, physical, astronomy, mathematics, chemistry, etc. Let me know if you would like a custom crossword puzzle built for your company, school, club, etc. (no charge)...

These archive pages are provided in order to make it easier for you to find items that you remember seeing on the RF Cafe homepage. Of course probably the easiest way to find anything on the website is to use the "Search RF Cafe" box at the top of every page. About RF Cafe.

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TotalTemp Technologies (Thermal Platforms) - RF Cafe
Copper Mountain Technologies (VNA) - RF Cafe

Axiom Test Equipment - RF Cafe

Windfreak Technologies Frequency Synthesizers - RF Cafe