Friday 17

Service Technicians' All-American Award Winners

If you had a father, brother, uncle, grandfather, husband, or neighbor who was an electronics service technician in the days of yore, he might have been mentioned in this 1958 issue of Radio & TV News magazine highlighting General Electric's Service Technicians' All-American Award Winners. Rather than rewarding the independent businessmen for their technical prowess, the company assigned awards based on community services performed, thereby reflecting positively on both GE and the electronics service business as a whole. Each winner received a $500 check, which in 2020 money is the equivalent to about $4,500 in today's economy. The closest thing we have to the radio and television serviceman today is maybe the guys who install broadband cable and satellite dishes. Their level technical knowledge is not required to be anywhere near as deep...

State of U.S. Science and Engineering 2020

The National Science Board (NSB) is required under the National Science Foundation (NSF) Act to prepare and transmit a Science and Engineering Indicators report to the President and Congress every even-numbered year. Prepared by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), it is "subject to extensive review by Board members, outside experts, interested federal agencies, and NCSES internal reviewers for accuracy, coverage, and balance." The most salient point is probably that China is "rapidly developing [its] science and technology (S&T) capacity. The changing global landscape affects the position of the U.S. relative to the other major global players. For example, the U.S. has seen its relative share of global S&T activity remain unchanged or shrink..." STEM testing in K-12 grades indicates students are merely in the mid range relative to students worldwide (but they know their PC gender pronouns). That helps explain this, "Foreign-born workers - ranging from long-term U.S. residents with strong roots in the U.S. to more recent immigrants - account for 30% of workers in S&E occupations." Comments?

Flintec Weight, Force, & Load Sensors

Flintec's Joe Williams wrote asking to have his company included on RF Cafe's Data Acquisition Systems & Data Loggers vendor page. Flintec, of Hudson, MA, is a manufacturer of precision weight measurement technologies designed for use across a diverse range of industrial sectors. Sensors, hardware, electronics and software fully compliant with international standards and verification requirements. A extensive line of load cells, weight, and force sensors, and the interfacing electronics and mounting fixtures are available to make planning and installation simple. Individual components as well as complete systems for industrial weighing scales and medical applications can be supplied. Contact Flintec today to learn how they can help your project.

Take to the Air with Dependable Avionics Testing

Axiom Test Equipment, an electronic test equipment rentals and sales company headquartered in North County San Diego, has published a blog post titled "Take to the Air with Dependable Avionics Testing," explaining how to source the right electronic load for your next project. "Avionics systems assist pilots in providing safe flights on commercial, industrial, and military aircraft. Failures in those systems usually leads to catastrophe, stressing the importance of proper testing of avionics systems and their components. As avionics systems become more automated and autonomous, they become more complex in their software and hardware. Suitable test equipment must keep pace with the functionality needed to 'exercise' avionic systems and subsystems under real-world conditions, so that designers can fully understand the behavior of those systems, installers and maintainers know their performance levels, and pilots...

Return of the Lithium-Metal Battery

"XNRGI nears commercialization of its porous silicon anode lithium-metal battery. Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere: You see them in gadgets, vehicles, robots, and power-grid storage. Worldwide production now stands at about 160 gigawatt-hours per year. The revolutionary technology earned three of its lead developers the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2019. And yet the lithium-ion battery is far from perfect. It's still too pricey for applications requiring long-term storage, and it has a tendency to catch fire. Many forms of the battery rely on increasingly hard-to-procure materials, like cobalt and nickel. Among battery experts, the consensus is that someday something better will have to come along..."

Electro-Photonics Offering RF & Microwave Products

Electro-Photonics is a global supplier of RF & Microwave components. Their products include SMT hybrid and directional couplers, wire bondable passive components, mounting tabs, filters, transmission lines, and very useful test boards for evaluating components (spiral inductors, single-layer capacitors). The Electro-Photonics team can support your small R&D design requirements with RF & Microwave test fixtures and save you valuable design and characterization time. Please take a moment to visit Electro-Photonics' website and see how your project might benefit.

Thursday 16

World's Most Accurate Radar

If you do a Google search on the Talos Defense Unit at White Sands Proving Grounds, you have to look really hard to find any mention of Radio Corporation of America (RCA) having had any part of the program. Bendix Corporation built the Talos missile. According to the sparse documentation on the development of the AN/FPS-16 monopulse radar, it was the brainchild of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and built by RCA in Moorestown, NJ. This 1958 Radio & TV News magazine article claims the FPS-16 was developed with a lot of input from Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) of Johns Hopkins University, but the Wikipedia webpage makes no mention of it. The FPS-16 had the highest spatial resolution of its time at 0.15° and 4.5 meters. It operated at 5400-5900 MHz...

Calculation of Potentiometer Linearity and Power Dissipation

Here is yet another example of where the basics in electronics never changes. There are always new people entering into the realm, so even if the subject has been covered countless times already, there is always a need to print it again. Remember that at one time you were a newbie and appreciated seeing beginners' concepts explained. The old-timers of the day probably complained about being tired of seeing the simple stuff re-hashed over and over. Most standard potentiometers (pots) are linear in operation, that is, the resistance between the moveable wiper contact and the overall resistance between the two ends is directly proportional to the percentage of travel along the length of the resistive element (printed or wirewound). One of more popular specialty pots is the logarithmically tapered type that is used in audio circuits...

DoD Preps New Electromagnetic Spectrum Strategy

"The Defense Department is preparing for a new electromagnetic spectrum strategy to be released next summer. 'We are challenged in the electromagnetic spectrum,' Air Force Maj. Gen. Lance Landrum, the deputy director for the Secretary of Defense Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations Cross Functional Team, told reporters during a roundtable event Dec. 18 held by the Association of Old Crows in Alexandria, Va. 'Our dependence on the electromagnetic spectrum, the way our systems depend on it ... our competitors see that dependency, and so they see that dependency as a possible vulnerability.' The Defense Department Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations Cross Functional Team, which stood up in April, is leading the effort with the DOD's chief information office..."

Many Thanks to Res-Net Microwave for Continuing 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.

In-House PCB Prototyping with Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing is a popular term, referring usually to 3D printing of components. In the case of this "In-House PCB Prototyping with Additive Manufacturing" article appearing in NASA's Tech Briefs magazine, however, the focus is on using the relatively newly available "personal" machines for creating and even populating printed circuit boards (PCBs) for prototyping and even low volume production. A large number of low cost, fast turnaround PCB prototyping services are now available like San Francisco Circuits, Bittele Circuits, and others listed on the PCB Directory website. Additive manufacturing is essentially a slow reversal of many companies' dispensing of their in-house prototyping capabilities beginning in the 1980s. The philosophy was that consolidating those functions to 3rd-party vendors was the most economical method (and in many cases it is), against the better judgment of the engineers and technicians who lost the convenience of down-the-hall machine shops and PCB fabrication facilities.

MPDevice: RF & Microwave Circulators & Isolators

MPDevice (MPD) has become a trustworthy and reliable company in the global RF market as a manufacturer of passive RF Devices. Included are attenuators and terminations, coaxial connectors, adapters, and cable assemblies, DC blocks, surge arrestors, power combiner / dividers, and directional couplers. The Korean Telecommunication market is now entering into the era of hyperconnected society. With continuous enhancement in R&D capabilities and quality control, MPD will continue in an effort to become the No. 1 technologically innovative company with a focus on the emerging 5G marketplace.

Wednesday 15

Cover Story: Modern Ham Shack

World Radio Laboratories (WRL) was a major manufacturer of amateur radio equipment in the middle of the last century. They were famous for high power transmitters like the Globe King models, which looked exactly like the big, black, rack-based units seen in older movies with Ham radio cameos. It took a couple chassis filled with big glowing vacuum tubes to pump out a kilowatt of power. Today's semiconductor-based transmitters do the job in a small fraction of the volume, with higher quality and higher reliability and with usually no periodic maintenance required. The savings in your electric bill is substantial. WRL provided a great service to the amateur radio community that constituted its customer base by encouraging anyone passing through Council Bluffs, Iowa...

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...

Atenlab R-Series CATR OTA Measurement Systems

"atenlab-r-series-catr-ota-measurement-systems-1-8-2020.htm" target="_top"> Atenlab Corporation's R-Series of "atenlab-r-series-catr-ota-measurement-systems-1-8-2020.htm" target="_top"> Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR) Over-the-Air (OTA) Measurement Systems facilitate testing in the 1.7 to 110 GHz electromagnetic spectrum in the convenience of a self-contained anechoic enclosure. Type R2, designed for testing in the 18-110 GHz range, is the smallest, lightest, and very mobile type self-contained cabinet enclosure that easily fits in a typical laboratory or office-size room. MIMO, antenna near-field measurement, EMI, EMS, 3G, 4G, 5G, WiFi, and other modern wireless standards are easily tested. The R6 model is an agile design suitable for 6 GHz 100 GHz measurements. It is extremely flexible and adaptable for a wide range of applications...

Fahnestock Clip Advertisement

You have probably seen Fahnestock clips, but did you know that's what they were called? Me neither, until I first saw the name of them on a page in a MicroMark catalog a while back. When I ran across this advertisement in a 1947 issue of Radio News magazine, it seemed like a good opportunity pass the revelation on. Model train enthusiasts must not use Fahnestock clips as much anymore for wiring their layouts since there are more modern quick-change type terminal connections available. MicroMark does not sell them anymore, but you can still get some from Newark Electronics and other online sellers. Maybe the ones sitting in my parts drawer will one day be worth big $$$ to collectors (just kidding).

TotalTemp Technologies: Thermal Platforms for -100°C to +200°C

TotalTemp Technologies has more than 40 years of combined experience providing thermal platforms. Thermal Platforms are available to provide temperatures between -100°C and +200°C for cryogenic cooling, recirculating circulating coolers, temperature chambers and temperature controllers, thermal range safety controllers, space simulation chambers, hybrid benchtop chambers, custom systems and platforms. Manual and automated configurations for laboratory and production environments. Please contact TotalTemp Technologies today to learn how they can help your project.

i-tech Specialty Inductors

i-tech (Inductive Technologies) manufactures many types of inductors and transformers used apart from our typical RF and microwave applications, but might be needed for ancillary functions that include motion control, sensing, power line conditioning, and beam steering. Toroidal and pot core inductors, flyback transformers, drum core power inductors, primary transformers, surface mount toroids and power inductors, common mode chokes, and current sense transformers. These are the components you see sprinkled around the semiconductor parts of the circuits inside printers, phones (real phones, not cellphones), garage door openers, HVAC systems, etc.

Exodus Advanced Communications: RF & Microwave Power Amplifiers

Exodus Advanced Communications is a multinational RF communication equipment and engineering service company serving both commercial and government entities and their affiliates worldwide. Power amplifiers ranging from 10 kHz to 51 GHz with various output power levels and noise figure ranges, we fully support custom designs and manufacturing requirements for both small and large volume levels. decades of combined experience in the RF field for numerous applications including military jamming, communications, radar, EMI/EMC and various commercial projects with all designing and manufacturing of our HPA, MPA, and LNA products in-house.

Tuesday 14

Mac's Service Shop: A Little Dog and SSB Tuning

Do you know what a "gimmick winding" (aka "gimmick capacitor) is? It's been a long time since I have seen or heard the term that describes a twisted pair of insulated wires used to create a very small value of capacitance (~1 pf/inch). They were often found in vintage radio and television sets for use in fine tuning a filter response, interstage coupling, impedance matching, etc. Some service shops and hobbyists would solder in ad hoc gimmick capacitors into circuits to optimize factory sets or maybe to compensate for fixed value components that had drifted in value over time. After achieving the proper value, a dab of wax or cement of some sort is added to keep everything in place. I doubt that gimmick capacitors are acceptable in a high reliability, critical application like spacecraft and military equipment...

Nonvolatile Charge Memory Shows Excellent Room-Temp Performance

"Qinliang Li, Cailei Yuan and Ting Yu from Jiangxi Normal University, along with Qisheng Wang and Jingbo Li from South China Normal University, are developing nonvolatile charge memory devices with simple structures. Wang explains how the optically controllable devices combine the functions of light sensing and electrical storage. What was the motivation for the research and what problem were you trying to solve? Nonvolatile memory devices are central to modern communication and information technology. Among various material systems, emerging two dimensional (2D) materials offer a promising platform for next-generation data-storage devices due to their unique planar structure and brilliant electronic properties..."

Many Thanks to Nova Microwave for Continuing Support!

Nova Microwave is a leader in technically differentiated electronic and radio frequency Ferrite Circulators and Isolators that connect, protect and control critical commercial and military wireless telecommunications systems. Our staff is dedicated to research and development of standard and custom design quality Ferrite Circulators and Isolators from 380 MHz to 26.5 GHz. Available in single or multi-junction topographies, the Nova Microwave product line of is specifically designed for use in varied environmental and temperature extremes.

Some ABCs of V.H.F. Receiver Design

Author Edward Tilton discusses here the tradeoff between bandwidth and sensitivity in receivers, given that broadband noise power follows bandwidth in a 10 log BW fashion. Pulling in the most distant stations requires very low noise in able to get the SNR as high as possible, which requires the minimum bandwidth possible. Prior to highly stable local oscillators, operating successfully in a narrow bandwidth for voice (phone), and particularly for CW (Morse code), dictated the use of a fixed frequency crystal to keep from having to constantly re-tune the station. Nowadays, of course, what used to be considered a metrology grade oscillator can be bought for tens of dollars...

Putting FPGAs to Work in Software Radio

Rodger Hosking, of Pentek, has a downloadable DPF file entitled, "Putting FPGAs to Work in Software Radio." As the handbook's preface states, "FPGAs have become an increasingly important resource for software radio systems. Programmable logic technology now offers significant advantages for implementing software radio functions such as DDCs (digital downconverters). Over the past few years, the functions associated with DDCs have seen a shift from being delivered in ASICs to operating as IP in FPGAs. For many applications, this implementation shift brings advantages that include design flexibility, higher precision processing, higher channel density, lower power, and lower cost per channel...

Withwave: RF & Microwave Components

Withwave manufactures an extensive line of metrology quality coaxial test cable assemblies, connectors (wave-, end-, vertical-launch, board edge, panel mount), calibration kits (SOLT), a fully automated 4-port vector network analyzer (VNA) calibrator, between- and in-series connector adaptors, attenuators, terminations, DC blocks, torque wrenches, test probes & probe positioner. Special test fixtures for calibration and multicoax cable assemblies. Frequency ranges from DC through 110 GHz. Please contact Withwave today to see how they can help your project succeed.

Monday 13

Television and FM Antennas

This article on the design and use of antennas for television and FM radio was printed in a 1948 issue of Radio-Craft magazine. Equations and charts are provided for calculating element lengths for half-wave antennas, including directors and reflectors. Many types of antennas - dipole, stacked dipole, folded dipole, conical, adjustable "V," cross-element - are discussed regarding siting issues (location and height above the ground), and radiation patterns. It is a pretty good primer for someone new to antennas, and makes a great supplement to the data furnished in study guides for obtaining a Ham radio license...

RF Test Technician Wanted by Empower RF Systems

Empower RF Systems, a leading provider of high-power ultra-broadband radio frequency (RF) amplifier solutions, is seeking a qualified, dynamic, successful RF Test Technician. Headquartered in Inglewood, California, the company and designs and manufactures solid-state, high-power RF amplifier systems and modules for commercial, scientific, and military customers worldwide. Position Summary Reporting to the Production Test Manager and partnering closely with engineering teams, the RF Test Technician develops and performs test solutions for RF products from concept through manufacturing release. He/she supports product development evaluations and final product characterization testing, and works with the development team in providing testability planning, strategies and methodologies...

Manufacturing Silicon Qubits at Scale

"As quantum computing enters the industrial sphere, questions about how to manufacture qubits at scale are becoming more pressing. Here, Fernando Gonzalez-Zalba, Tsung-Yeh Yang and Alessandro Rossi explain why decades of engineering may give silicon the edge. In the past two decades, quantum computing has evolved from a speculative playground into an experimental race. The drive to build real machines that exploit the laws of quantum mechanics, and to use such machines to solve certain problems much faster than is possible with traditional computers, will have a major impact in several fields. These include speeding..."

Fairbanks-Morse Model 81 2-Band 2 V. "Farm" Set Radio Service Data Sheet

Prior to the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, the year this Radio Service Data Sheet appeared in Radio-Craft magazine, commercial electric service was limited primarily to urban and suburban areas. Vast expanses of rural farmland were without electric service and had to rely on individual wind and, where possible, hydro power generators for DC power. The output voltage was of course direct current since it could be stored for later use. Even through the early 1940s many farms and rural households had only the convenience of DC power by virtue of banks of lead-acid batteries. Sears, Roebuck &Co. sold wind-driven electricity generators for farm use to charge batteries in place rather than having to load them onto a wagon and truck them into town for charging. Many farms already had windmills erected to mechanically drive grist mills, saws...

The Existential Threat to Wireless

Lou Frenzel just posted another article over on the EDN website entitled, "The Existential Threat to Wireless." It's nothing new - lack of available electromagnetic spectrum. The lament has been around since the beginning of wireless technology; read some of the articles I've posted from vintage electronics magazines. In the early days, though, the problem was largely a lack of vacuum tube and then semiconductor frequency capability, but now it is more fundamentally a signal attenuation issue (IMHO). The biggest threat nowadays is to existing spectrum being reallocated to other uses depending on which concern has the most money behind it (also IMHO). Lou begins, "As we plunge forward into the next generations of wireless - namely 5G and down the road, 6G - one hurdle stands in the way of progress: the very finite amount of spectrum. ..."

TotalTemp Technologies: Thermal Platforms for -100°C to +200°C

TotalTemp Technologies has more than 40 years of combined experience providing thermal platforms. Thermal Platforms are available to provide temperatures between -100°C and +200°C for cryogenic cooling, recirculating circulating coolers, temperature chambers and temperature controllers, thermal range safety controllers, space simulation chambers, hybrid benchtop chambers, custom systems and platforms. Manual and automated configurations for laboratory and production environments. Please contact TotalTemp Technologies today to learn how they can help your project.

Sunday 12

Engineering & Science Crossword Puzzle January 12

As with my hundreds of previous engineering and science-themed crossword puzzles, this one for January 12, 2020, contains only clues and terms associated with engineering, science, physical, astronomy, mathematics, chemistry, etc., which I have built up over nearly two decades. Many new words and company names have been added that had not even been created when I started in the year 2002. You will never find a word taxing your knowledge of a numbnut soap opera star or the name of some obscure village in the Andes mountains. You might, however, encounter the name of a movie star like Hedy Lamarr or a geographical location like Tunguska, Russia, for reasons which, if you don't already know, might surprise you.

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. Some quoted items have been shortened to save space. About RF Cafe.

Homepage Archive Pages

2026:  Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2025:  Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2024:  Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2023:  Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2022:  Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2021:  Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2020:  Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2019:  Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2018:  Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2017:  Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2016:  Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2015:  Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2014:  Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2013:  Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2012:  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 (no archives before 2012)

- Christmas-themed items