Homepage Archive - December 2020 (page 1)

Monday 7

Serviceman's Experiences

Whether or not this is a true story does not matter- it is both instructive and funny, especially if you catch the import of the closing statement. Electronics magazines from the era of repairable entertainment electronics devices like radios, television, and phonographs often carried stories of the woes experienced by servicemen. Tales of in-home work were the most interesting, especially when the homeowner tried to bilk the poor technician out of paying or accusing him of purposely inflating the bill with unneeded parts and service charges. This 1941 issue of Radio News magazine is a good example of how frustrating the business could be.

Army Working on Electromagnetic Deception Tool

"The U.S. Army is developing a new tool to gain an advantage in the cat and mouse game that is the electromagnetic spectrum mission. Currently in the early concepts stage, the Army detailed its idea for the Modular Electromagnetic Spectrum Deception Suite, or MEDS, that will seek to confound the enemy within the invisible yet highly dynamic maneuver space of the electromagnetic spectrum. Despite the fact forces cannot see it, the spectrum is an extremely important space they must cautiously move through just as a unit would in formation through a valley. U.S. adversaries have proven their ability to locate units based solely on their signature in the electromagnetic spectrum, leading to entire concept..."

Science in Music

If you are not in the habit of listening closely to the words of songs, you could easily miss the the fact that many make passing mention of topics on science and mathematics, while others integrate it as the primary theme. There are a lot of songs written and produced by people whose primary vocation is in the sciences; their songs are a secondary "hobby" type of endeavor - often with a touch of humor. Don't miss Tom Lehrer's incredible "Elements Song." Other songs are created by mainstream popular groups and happen to integrate themes of science, mathematics, engineering, etc. One of the earliest examples I can recall noticing was produced by the Moody Blues - "The Word." At the time, I did not fully appreciate the profoundness of the lyrics in terms of how they described the electromagnetic spectrum in its entirety, but an examination of the lyrics (below) reveals the profundity of the words...

ConductRF RF Connectors & Cables at DigiKey

"ConductRF-Precision-Coaxial-Cables-Connectors-70-GHz-12-4-2020.htm" target="_top"> Now available for direct purchase from DigiKey - ConductRF's "ConductRF-Precision-Coaxial-Cables-Connectors-70-GHz-12-4-2020.htm" target="_top"> Precision RF Cables & Connectors with performance up to 70 GHz! When a standard commercial product won't support your needs, ConductRF goes in to another gear with its Precision RF Coaxial Connector support. We offer a broad range of options including 2.4 mm, 2.92 mm, 3.5 mm as well as precision SMA, Type-N, TNC and SMP solutions for many higher performance cables from the industries leading manufacturers like Times Microwave, Harbour Industries, Insulated Wire, Semflex and more. Often with Precision RF Coaxial solutions, everything comes down to the RF performance...

Take Part in The Engineer's 2020 Salary Survey

"Make your voice heard in the largest industry-wide salary survey of its kind and enter a prize draw for £100 of retail vouchers. Last year, in our fourth annual engineering salary survey, we asked UK engineers from across industry to tell us how they felt about their jobs and how much they get paid. With almost 1600 engineers from across 11 sectors of UK industry taking part, the survey provided an illuminating picture of life in engineering, from levels of job satisfaction and how pay and benefits in some sectors differ to others, to the number of women in the profession and how their earnings compare to those of their male colleagues..."

Thanks to PCB Directory for Continued Support!

PCB Directory is the largest directory of Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Manufacturers, Assembly houses, and Design Services on the Internet. We have listed the leading printed circuit board manufacturers around the world and made them searchable by their capabilities - Number of laminates used, Board thicknesses supported, Number of layers supported, Types of substrates (FR-4, Rogers, flexible, rigid), Geographical location (U.S., China), kinds of services (manufacturing, fabrication, assembly, prototype), and more. Fast turn-around on quotations for PCB fabrication and assembly.

Sunday 6

Pearl Harbor Day Crossword Puzzle for December 7th

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. This December 7th Pearl Harbor Day crossword puzzle has a few words and clues relating to the surprise attack in 1941. As always, the crossword contains no names of politicians, mountain ranges, exotic foods or plants, movie stars, or anything of the sort unless it/he/she is related to this puzzle's technology theme (e.g., Hedy Lamarr or the Bikini Atoll). The technically inclined cruciverbalists amongst us will appreciate the effort. Enjoy!!!

Friday 4

Bell Telephone Laboratories - EDT Crystals

Occasionally when I post a Bell Telephone Laboratories (aka Bell Labs) promotion from a vintage electronics magazine, someone writes to challenge the claim being made by Bell Labs of having been the progenitor of the idea. This full-page ad apparently claiming to have developed the process needed to grow high purity crystals appeared in a 1947 issue of Radio-Craft magazine. The huge EDT (Ethylene Diamine Tartrate) crystal shown was created over a three-month period. Its intended use was for filters in telephone communications circuits. Development of the crystal growing process is yet another case of "necessity being the mother of invention," given that the massive increase in demand for phone service across the country left the company short on filter crystals. Bell Telephone Laboratories' manufacturing arm, Western Electric...

Critical Point for Improving Superconductors

"The search for a superconductor that can work under less extreme conditions than hundreds of degrees below zero or at pressures like those near the center of the Earth is a quest for a revolutionary new power - one that's needed for magnetically levitating cars and ultra-efficient power grids of the future. But developing this kind of "room temperature" superconductor is a feat science has yet to achieve. A University of Central Florida researcher, however, is working to move this goal closer to realization, with some of his latest research published recently in the journal Communications Physics. In the study, Yasuyuki Nakajima, an assistant professor in UCF's Department of Physics, and co-authors showed they could get a closer look at what is happening in 'strange' metals..."

L3Harris Needs a Lead Advanced Concept Engineer - RF/EW Products

L3Harris is dedicated to recruiting and developing diverse, high-performing talent who are passionate about what they do. We are in need of a Lead Advanced Concept Engineer - RF/EW Products at either our Van Nuys, CA, or Palm Bay, FL, location. L3Harris Technologies is an agile global aerospace and defense technology innovator, delivering end-to-end solutions that meet customers' mission-critical needs. The successful candidate will lead technical strategy and customer technical discussions for engineering in support of the world-class L3Harris RF interference canceller product line, work with customers to understand their mission needs and translate those to technical specifications for design teams, analyze market conditions and forecast trends, examine our position against the competition, and develop an executable strategy for growing the business, lead the marketing effort, educate customers, guide the product roadmap, and champion key initiatives...

AM/FM Under Siege

The electromagnetic world sure is a noisy place and it is getting worse all the time - in every region of the spectrum. Intentional radiation is not so much of a problem because it usually falls within well-defined limits and is predictable, but sloppy engineering and, honestly, ignorance, has made life harder for just about everyone. Listeners to broadcast radio in both the AM and FM bands have really taken a hit. AM has always been prone to interference by its very nature, so anyone listening expects the occasional pop or hiss from atmospheric phenomena or a light switch being flipped on or off. Have someone in the house run a blender or drill and you can forget hearing anything until the task is completed. It comes with the territory, so to speak. FM was and is largely immune to most forms of interference, but lately I have been noticing it coming from some of the most unusual places. For as long as I can remember, I have preferred to have a radio on in the background whilst whiling away at work and at play...

Custom Microwave Inc. (CMI) Waveguide

Custom Microwave Inc. (CMI) has been added to the Waveguide, Antennas, and Test Services pages on RF Cafe. Operating in Longmont, CO, for more than 25 years, CMI specializes in passive antennas for high-performance space and ground applications. They are experts in designing and manufacturing high-quality, high-performance antennas, feeds, and components from 1 GHz to 1 THz. Full in-house capabilities are available for computer design, machining, electroplating, electroforming, and testing (including near and far field radiation patterns, and PIM) at a 54,000 sq. ft. facility. Contact CMI today at (303) 651-0707 to learn how they might help you.

Please Visit Empower RF's Website in Appreciation of Their Support

Empower RF Systems is a global leader in power amplifier solutions. Empower RF Systems is an established and technologically superior supplier of high power solid state RF & microwave amplifiers. Our offerings include modules, intelligent rack-mount amplifiers, and multi-function RF Power Amplifier solutions to 6 GHz in broadband and band specific designs. Output power combinations range from tens of watts to multi-kilowatts. Unprecedented size, weight and power reduction of our amplifiers is superior to anything in the market at similar frequencies and power levels.

Thursday 3

Elementary Radio Quiz

There is a good reason why Harold Glenn called this an "Elementary Radio Quiz." It appeared in a 1947 issue of Radio-Craft magazine. If you have been in the analog and RF electronics field for more than a couple years and don't score 100%, it has to be due to a misreading of accidental selecting of the wrong answer. I know what you're thinking - "The fool must have screwed up and missed at least one and is making excuses." Not this time - although I don't deny it could have happened. Anyway, it might be a fun quiz to pass out in the break room or maybe present it to a Ph.D. candidate during an interview ;-) "Bonne chance!," as Corporal Louis LeBeau might say...

Get Your Custom-Designed RF Cafe Gear!

This 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...

World's Smallest Atom-Memory Unit Created

"Faster, smaller, smarter and more energy-efficient chips for everything from consumer electronics to big data to brain-inspired computing could soon be on the way after engineers at The University of Texas at Austin created the smallest memory device yet. And in the process, they figured out the physics dynamic that unlocks dense memory storage capabilities for these tiny devices. The research published recently in Nature Nanotechnology builds on a discovery from two years ago, when the researchers created what was then the thinnest memory storage device. In this new work, the researchers reduced the size even further, shrinking the cross section area down to just a single square nanometer..."

Not Such A Smooth Operator

Something happened at work that reminded me of a funny event from way back during my time at Westinghouse Oceanic Division (now part of Northrop Grumman), in Annapolis, MD. There is a moral to this story. During my electronics technician days there, I spent the first couple years building PCBs, wiring harnesses, and system-level assemblies for Navy sonar systems. We had some really slick stuff like towed vehicles with transducer arrays along the sides, nose cones for smart torpedoes, flow sensors, proximity fuse elements, etc. The exposure to all that, and the super-smart people that designed it, fuelled my desire to go to the trouble of earning an engineering degree. One of my tasks for a while was to build the transducer arrays, which entailed building the hundreds of tiny transducer elements. The assemblies were made of a machined aluminum base plate (about 1-inch square), onto which a precisely cut low density foam block was attached. On the top of that was a set of two machined aluminum plates that sat on either side of a piezoelectric ceramic transducer element...

L3Harris Needs an Advanced Concept Engineer

L3Harris is dedicated to recruiting and developing diverse, high-performing talent who are passionate about what they do. We are in need of a Scientist, Advanced Concept Engineer (ACE) at our Van Nuys, CA location. L3Harris Technologies is an agile global aerospace and defense technology innovator, delivering end-to-end solutions that meet customers' mission-critical needs. The company provides advanced defense and commercial technologies across air, land, sea, space and cyber domains. The ACE will identify and/or define customers emerging needs and develop solutions to those needs. The ACE will maintain a macro view of existing and emerging products and technologies. The ideal candidate will have significant experience and knowledge in the Radar Engineering field. Although not a requirement, additional knowledge of Electronic Warfare (EW) or Electronic Support Measures (ESM) systems will be considered a plus. This position will focus on breadth rather than depth and will have technical interface to customers to discover, qualify, and pursue business opportunities...

Many Thanks to Anatech Electronics for Long-Time Support!

Anatech Electronics (AEI) manufactures and supplies RF and microwave filters for military and commercial communication systems, providing standard LP, HP, BP, BS, notch, diplexer, and custom RF filters, and RF products. Standard RF filter and cable assembly products are published in our website database for ease of procurement. Custom RF filters designs are used when a standard cannot be found, or the requirements dictate a custom approach for your military and commercial communications needs. Sam Benzacar's monthly newsletters address contemporary wireless subjects. Please visit Anatech today to see how they can help your project succeed. 

Wednesday 2

New Standards for TV Antennas

The RETMA referenced in this 1954 Radio & Television News magazine article titled "New Standards for TV Antennas" was commonly known back in the day, but not many would recognize it nowadays. RETMA, founded in 1953 at the dawn of the commercial television age, was the Radio Electron[ics] Television Manufacturing Association. It set standards for electronics components like resistors (e.g., the 1%, 2%, 5%, 10% series), capacitors, inductors, equipment racks, and antennas. After many name iterations, what began as the Radio Manufacturers Association (RMA), it changed to RETMA in 1953, then to Electronic Industries Association (EIA, well-known for its 19" rack standards) in 1957, and today it is known as the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). The cost of letterhead and promotional material changes over the years must have been enormous ;-) Tracing the full history is difficult, but between Wikipedia and the JEDEC websites you can get a pretty good picture. The "Antenna Section" spoken of here is the area of the RETMA manual pertaining to antennas...

Gowanda Launches More Broadband Conicals

"Gowanda-Broadband-Conicals-12-2-2020.htm" target="_top"> Gowanda Electronics, a designer and manufacturer of precision electronic components for broadband radio frequency and power applications, announces the introduction of a new "Gowanda-Broadband-Conicals-12-2-2020.htm" target="_top">broadband microwave RF conical inductor series - C070 - available in Surface Mount (C070SM) and Flying Lead (C070FL) configurations to enhance utility for the electronic design community. Gowanda's new C070 series was developed to address market needs and industry trends calling for ever-increasing performance from broadband conical components. It was designed for use in communication applications for bias T's (filter signals, remove noise), broadband chip manufacturing, communication platforms, high frequency, microwave circuitry...

IEEE: 5G, IoT with AI/ML to Be Most Important 2021 Technologies

"IEEE has released the results of a survey that they conducted with Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) in the U.S., U.K., China, India and Brazil. The objective of the survey was to identify the most important technologies for 2021, understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the speed of their technology adoption and figure out which industries are expected to be most impacted by technology in the year ahead. Among total respondents, nearly one-third (32%) say AI and machine learning, followed by 5G (20%) and IoT (14%). Manufacturing (19%), healthcare (18%), financial services (15%) and education (13%) are the industries that most believe will be impacted..."

Radar Reaches the Moon

"These pulses speed toward the moon at the fantastic speed of light… through the ionosphere and on into the unknown void surrounding the earth's atmosphere." Hard as it might be to imagine nowadays, in 1946 there was no empirical data regarding the Earth's upper atmosphere other than the few instrumented sounding rockets that had been launched for studies. Orbiting man-made communications satellites were still a decade away when engineers at the Evans Signal Corps Engineering Laboratory in New Jersey made the first Earth-Moon-Earth (EME, aka "moon bounce") signal bounce using a massive radar and antenna that blasted 10 MW EIRP pulse at the lunar surface. It was a big deal then; it's no big deal today. Amateur radio hobbyists routinely conduct EME communications from the comfort of their home-based Ham shacks, using equipment vastly superior to and less expensive than the 1946 setup...

Heathkit: An Employee's Look Back

RF Cafe website visitor and contributor Joseph B. sent me a note about this article by Lou Frenzel on the Electronic Design website entitled, "Heathkit: An Employee's Look Back." It begins: "For those of you who do not know or remember, Heath Company was the largest kit company in the world. Heath designed and put practically every type of electronic product into kit form. Its products, called Heathkits, were exceptionally popular and many are still in use today. Over the years, Electronic Design has published many Heathkit-related articles and blogs. Recently, I had a chance to talk with Chas Gilmore, who was a Heath executive. For those of you who fondly remember Heathkit and miss its products, here's a look back at this amazing company and the lessons it offers..."

RF Cascade Workbook 2018

RF Cascade Workbook 2018 is the next phase in the evolution of RF Cafe's long-running series, RF Cascade Workbook. Chances are you have never used a spreadsheet quite like this. It is a full-featured RF system cascade parameter and frequency planner that includes filters and mixers for a mere $45. Built in MS Excel, using RF Cascade Workbook 2018 is a cinch and the format is entirely customizable. It is significantly easier and faster than using a multi-thousand dollar simulator when a high level system analysis is all that is needed. An intro video takes you through the main features...

Teledyne Defense Electronics Launches "Virtual Trade Show"

"Teledyne-Defense-Technology-Virtual-Trade-Show-12-2-2020.htm" target="_top"> Teledyne Defense Electronics (TDE) this week unveiled a new interactive "Teledyne-Defense-Technology-Virtual-Trade-Show-12-2-2020.htm" target="_top"> Virtual Trade Show online as a vehicle to promote key product lines and capabilities to customers in a permanent, ongoing manner. Once customers enter the Virtual Trade Show (VTS) they begin an immersive online experience, the perception of being physically present in a non-physical world. That experience includes a 360º panorama view that surrounds the VTS user, enabling customers to "look" left, right, up, down, and move freely from one area on the VTS floor to another navigating by a laptop mouse. This multi-media experience showcases the flagship offerings of TDE's 15 business units, each of whom have their own booth...

Please Thank Res-Net Microwave for Their Long-Time Support!

Res-Net Microwave has a complete line of precision RF & microwave components including attenuators, terminations, resistors, and diode detectors for commercial, military, and space applications. Products range from the small flange type to large 2,000 watt connectorized power attenuators and/or terminations at frequencies up to 26.5 GHz. In-house photo etch and laser trim capability. The company is a leader in development and production of the films required for these type of RF/microwave components. Please check out Res-Net Microwave's website to see how they can help with your current project.

Tuesday 1

RCA Radiograms

Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was not the inventor of the telegram, but it did decide that the status quo transmitting and delivery services available like the Marconigram were in need of improvement. Accordingly, in 1929 the company initiated its RCA Radiogram, as promoted in this 1947 issue of Radio-Craft magazine. A promotional brochure printed by RCA in 1950 entitled, "What it is - What it does," contrails a lot of detail about the radiogram, including many photos of the operational offices. RCA Radiograms initially could be sent from ship to shore, shore to shore, ship to ship, or shore to ship. No mention was made of being able to send them to/from aircraft. At the time, the cost was 21¢ per word. As with most things, authentic RCA Radiograms...

Radio Boys Book Series

For many years Melanie and I have been collecting and reading The Radio Boys series of thirteen books, which were written in the 1920s by Allen Chapman. It was a time in history when the miracle of radio communications was capturing - even enrapturing - the public with its seemingly miraculous ability to convey messages across town and around the world without the need for wires, hence "wireless." The stories center around four teenage buddies, namely Bob Layton, Joe Atwood, Herb Fennington, and Jimmy Plummer (aka Doughnuts") who, with the assistance of a local pastor, Dr. Dale, took an avid interest in radio and built from scratch a successful crystal radio. Their enthusiasm compounds upon itself as adventures and experiences using wireless foster interest in building better receivers and then building transmitters for sending Morse code and audio ("phone"). In order to appeal to his intended audience - primarily young boys - villains, good guys, hapless bystanders, government agents, local law enforcement, family, and even the occasional damsel in distress...

Withwave High Performance Cable Assemblies to 110 GHz

"withwave-w601-series-low-density-ptfe-12-1-2020.htm" target="_top"> Withwave's W6 Series are complete line of high performance flexible microwave cable assemblies. Specially, W601 Series have low density PTFE structure to achieve velocity propagation of 80%. These series have excellent "withwave-w601-series-low-density-ptfe-12-1-2020.htm" target="_top"> RF performance up to 110 GHz with 1.0 mm Connectors. Features include silver-plated copper  center conductor, low density PTFE dielectric, silver-plated copper outer conductors, and an FEP jacket. Please contact Withwave for your project's needs.

The Wavelength Factor - Part II

Part 1 of this 3-part article, titled "Influence of the Antenna of the Choice of Wavelength for Best Communications," appeared in the February 1952 issue of QST magazine. Unfortunately, I do not yet own that edition. However, I do have Part 3, which subsequently appeared in the August 1952 edition. It will eventually get posted here. QST does not have a publicly available archive, but if you happen to be an ARRL member, you can access Part 1 after signing in. In this series, author Yardley Beers discusses propagation effects, modulation systems, and receiver techniques. A particularly interesting topic included in this installment is that of using a form of pulse modulation in FM broadcasting in order to exploit the 'capture effect' whereby a signal in the presence of noise will tend to suppress the noise. I don't think modern stations use that method, possibly because of incompatibility with stereo channels and data added for digital readouts...

Salary & Career Survey 2020 Onshoring

The SourceToday website has posted their 2020 Salary & Career Trends survey. It is broken out into five different sections: The Impact of Onshoring on American Manufacturers, How Automation is Affecting the Purchasing Profession, Key Demographic Trends Impacting Purchasing Professionals, Compensation Trends for the Purchasing Profession and Workforce Dynamic Trends. A slideshow summary of results is openly accessible, but you will need to register to download the full report..."

Many Thanks to Axiom Test Equipment for Continued Support!

Axiom 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. For anyone seeking a way to offload surplus or obsolete equipment, they offer a trade-in program or they will buy the equipment from you. Some vintage items are available fully calibrated. Please check out Axiom Test Equipment today!

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