See Page 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 | of the July 2020 homepage archives.
 "It is hard for one to believe that there
is room for
further reduction in size and weight from what we are accustomed
to today." So wrote Radio & TV News magazine editor William Stocklin
in 1958. It was a decade after invention of the transistor (1948), and the first
integrated circuit had not yet been developed (Robert Noyce, 1959), but even so
it seems fairly short-sighted for a major electronics magazine editor. While being
amazed at the shirt-pocket-size transistorized radio and hearing aid, he still found
hope for the future of miniaturization of vacuum tubes, such as diodes recently
released by General Electric that would "fit into the shell of a standard type of
transistor." Sure, it is easy in hindsight to pick on someone's contemporaneous
view of an emerging industry...
"atenlab-r2-catr-ota-measurement-systems-7-21-2020.htm" target="_top">
 Atenlab Corporation has produced a video of
the "atenlab-r2-catr-ota-measurement-systems-7-21-2020.htm" target="_top"> R-2 Compact
Antenna Test Range (CATR) Over-the-Air (OTA) Measurement System. It 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 R-2 is suitable for measuring small antennas and devices with integrated antennas.
It covers a frequency range of 10 to 80 GHz. A DUT positioner moves in 0.1°
increments. Chamber exterior size is 1.8 x 0.8 x 1.8 m. RF absorber lines the
interior. Atenlab's Maxwell and Maxwell Lite software automates measurement and
presentation of collected data in 2D or 3D...
 "Chocolate is the latest material to be
colorized by nanotechnology instead of chemical dyes. While so
many of us are working at home during the [Wuhan Flu] pandemic, we do worry that
serendipitous hallway conversations aren't happening. Last year, before the pandemic,
it was one of those conversations that led researchers at ETH Zurich to develop
a way of making chocolates shimmer with color - without any coloring agents or other
additives. The project, announced in December, involves what the scientists call
'structural color.' The team indicated that it creates colors in a way similar to
what a chameleon does - that is, using the structure of its skin to scatter a particular
wavelength of light..."
 Ever heard of the revolutionary
Graphechon Tube,
by RCA? Neither had I, until I saw it mentioned in an ad for RCA televisions in
a 1950 edition of The Saturday Evening Post. My curiosity was piqued enough to do
some research. First, here is the text of the ad: "Scientists at RCA Laboratories
work with split-seconds of time too infinitesimal for most of us to imagine. Their
new electron tube, the Graphechon, makes it possible. For instance, in atomic research,
a burst of nuclear energy may flare up and vanish in as little as a hundred-millionth
of a second. The Graphechon tube oscillograph, taking the pattern of this burst
from an electronic circuit, "remembers" what happened - and re-creates it in a slow
motion image which can last for a minute and a half. Scientists may then observe
the pattern...
"ConductRF-LSA-Flexible-RF-Cables-7-14-2020.htm" target="_top">
 ConductRF LSA series of "ConductRF-LSA-Flexible-RF-Cables-7-14-2020.htm"
target="_top"> low loss, performance flexible RF cable assemblies, provide microwave
system designers with a versatile solution for most applications. Here we offer
customers a solution for 0.086" diameter cable that facilitates greater flexibility
and handling or, 0.141" diameter that exploits the same great performance but with
almost half the loss. Connector options include SMA, Type-N, TNC & SMP that
provide excellent VSWR between DC and 18 GHz, also solutions for MCX &
SMB are available in a wide array of configurations. These assemblies are built
using our own double shielded, FEP jacketed cable, that was developed specifically
for performance solutions. With shielding effectiveness exceeding 90 dB through
18 GHz...
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!
 Raytheon is another of the stalwart early
American electronics and technology manufacturing company. It began operations in
Cambridge, Massachusettes in 1922 under the name of the American Appliance Company.
The name was changed to
Raytheon in 1925 to reflect its growing vacuum tube usiness. Did
you know the name Raytheon means "light from the gods?" In this case, the light
refers to the orange glow from the tube heater filiment. If you have ever had the
privilige of seeing in a darkened room vacuum tubes glowing inside a vintage radio,
you will understand the relationship to a godly sight. Not too many years ago, there
were still a few companies like Tesslor manufacturing new tube radios, but now you'll
have to go to eBay or similar venues to find used radios. The prices are not too
bad. ...but I digress. This 2-page advertrisement in a 1955 issue of Radio &
Television News magazine pitched a division...
 Atenlab has been operating in Taiwan for
more than a decade, and has sold and installed hundreds chambers around the world.
Holistic, affordable Over-the-Air
(OTA) measurement systems perform comprehensive measurement and test in a controlled
environment. Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR) with one-touch operation supports
multiple systems - 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G - and major instrument brands. [M]ulti-probe OTA
measurement systems offer reduced time measurements over single-probe systems.
 This might be my oldest copy of QST,
being Vol. XIII, Number 6. Up until a few decades ago, authors commonly appropriated
themes and characters from familiar fairy tales and fables for use in articles of
instructional nature. Some publications even used comic book style formats for teaching
to beginners. The term 'wabbulation' (aka "wobbulation" and "wobulation") is spoken
to Uncle Jimmy by the fabled Piper, and I have to admit not being familiar with
the term. According to W2PA's story, 1920s era QST technical editor Robert Kruse
coined the word to describe inadvertent modulation of the carrier frequency during
CW or phone operation. Per the Wikipedia entry, "wobulation is Hewlett-Packard's
term for a form of interlacing designed for use with fixed pixel displays...
"Modelithics-GlobalFoundries-RFwave-Partner-Program-7-20-2020.htm" target="_top">
 Modelithics, the leader in high-frequency simulation
models and precision RF, microwave, and mmWave measurement services, is pleased
to announce it is now a member of the GLOBALFOUNDRIES® (GF®) "Modelithics-GlobalFoundries-RFwave-Partner-Program-7-20-2020.htm"
target="_top"> RFwaveTM Partner Program. The partnership between GF and Modelithics
will enable mutual clients to accelerate the launch of new products, based on accurate
testing results and the ready availability of Modelithics to assist GF and its clients
in modeling activities. GF's RFwave program is an ecosystem of partners that provide
unique mmWave test and characterization capabilities along with design services,
IP, and EDA solutions that will enable designers to build highly optimized RF solutions
for a range of wireless applications such as Internet-of-Things (IoT), wireless
connectivity, 5G, and automotive radar...
 "Researchers from ETH Zurich have achieved
what scientists have been attempting to do for some 20 years: in their laboratory
work as part of European Horizon 2020 research projects, they have manufactured
a chip on which fast electronic signals can be converted directly into
ultrafast light signals - with practically no loss of signal quality.
This represents a significant breakthrough in terms of the efficiency of optical
communication infrastructures that use light to transmit data, such as fiber optic
networks. In cities like Zurich, these fiber optic networks are already being used
to deliver high-speed internet, digital telephony, TV, and network-based video or
audio services (streaming). Today's optical networks achieve data transmission rates
in the region of gigabits per second..."
 Centric 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 shelf. Order today, ship today!
Centric RF is currently looking for vendors to partner with them. Please visit Centric
RF today.
 July 19th's custom
Electrical Engineering crossword puzzle contains some words particular
to radio, radar, analog and digital circuits, components, and other tech-themed
words and clues. Each week for two decades I have created a new technology-themed
crossword puzzle using only words (1,000s of them) from my custom-created lexicon
related to engineering, science, mathematics, chemistry, physics, astronomy, etc.
You will never find among the words names of politicians, mountain ranges, exotic
foods or plants, movie stars, or anything of the sort. You might, however, find
someone or something in the otherwise excluded list directly related to this puzzle's
technology theme, such as Hedy Lamarr or the Bikini Atoll, respectively. Avid cruciverbalists
amongst us: the gauntlet has been thrown down.
 Here is the Radio Data Sheet for
Zenith radio models 8H032, 8H033, 8H050, 8H052, 8H061 as published
in a 1947 issue of Radio-Craft magazine. Some of the electronics magazines
used to include this type of high level documentation so that hobbyists and even
service shops with budgets too small to afford cabinets full of SAMS data packets
could work on the radios. Most of the radio manufacturers would not even sell factory-prepared
documentation to anyone who was not an "authorized" service center. The RadioMuseum
website has nice examples of restored versions of both the Zenith 8H032 and the
Zenith 8H034 tabletop radios. The electronics are similar but the chassis designs
are completely different. They sport three bands: the 540-1620 kHz AM band,
the pre-WWII 42-48.5 MHz FM band, and the current 88-108 MHz FM band...
 Sam recently wrote to let me know about his
company Skynet Labs' services
for developing custom NI LabVIEW test software applications. Based in Unionville,
Connecticut, Skynet Labs specializes in product configuration, automated product
test and manufacturing, implementation of data acquisition hardware and test software
with NI LabVIEW and Visual Basic. They will develop custom signal processing and
analysis software with MATLAB, Python for scientific applications including electronics
and biomedical industry. Certified LabVIEW Architect, Certified LabVIEW Developer,
Certified TestStand Developers on staff with more than 15 years of experience. Contact
Sam today to learn how Skynet Labs can help your project!
 RF 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...
 "In the not-too-distant future, flexible
electronics will open the door to new products like foldable phones, tablets that
can be rolled, paper-thin [get it? paper - wood]
displays and wearable sensors that monitor health data. Developing these new flexible
/ bendy products means using materials like new plastics and thin films to replace
the rigid circuit boards and bulky electronic components that currently occupy the
interiors of cell phones and other gadgets. New research by a University of Wisconsin-Madison
engineer leverages a surprising and inexpensive substance -
wood - to make the flexible microwave circuits that can power
modern communications. In a paper published in the journal Nature Communications..."
 Long before their college days at Parvoo
U., our two amateur electronics sleuthing buddies were on the job tracking down
and trapping bad guys by using their combined knowledge of circuits and physics.
In this episode,
Carl and Jerry are tasked with helping a hobby store owner stop
a rash of thefts that always seems to occur during a busy time right after school
lets out for the day. Their first inclination was to devise a system like the big
department stores were installing that used passive tags on items that would trigger
an indicator when passed through the detector at the exit door. That was in 1958
when the anti-theft tags were first being utilized. Unfortunately, the system they
were able to build was not sensitive or selective enough, so they came up with a
different scheme...
 National Instruments (NI) will present a
webinar on July 29th entitled, "Build a Web App for Your Test System in 30 Minutes." Learn how
to build a modern, flexible web application for your LabVIEW 2014+ or C# test system
in 30 minutes. Join us for a step-by-step walkthrough on how to create a WebVI for
your existing LabVIEW application, and get it published on the web. All you need
to create WebVIs are your LabVIEW skills and the LabVIEW NXG Web Module, no web
development knowledge required. WebVIs run entirely in the browser, don't need extra
installs, and adapt to any screen size.
 Copper 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.
 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...
 "In our information society, the synthesis,
distribution, and processing of radio and microwave signals happen ubiquitously
in wireless networks, telecommunications, and radars. The current tendency is to
use carriers in higher frequency bands, especially with looming bandwidth bottlenecks
due to demands for 5G and the Internet of Things.
Microwave photonics, a combination of microwave engineering and
optoelectronics, might offer a solution. A key building block of microwave photonics
is optical frequency combs, which provide hundreds of equidistant and mutually coherent
laser lines. They are ultra short optical pulses emitted with a stable repetition
rate that corresponds precisely to the frequency spacing of comb lines. The photodetection
of the pulses produces a microwave carrier..."
 An engineer friend
wrote saying he is in immediate need of 50 pieces of the Cree
CMPA0060025F, 25 W, 20-6000 MHz, GaN MMIC power amplifier.
If you can supply any quantity, please contact me at
kmblatt83@aol.com and let me
know. Time is of the essence. Thank you very much!
 Not everyone who visits RF Cafe is a seasoned
engineer or technician. Some are just getting into electronics as part of a career
path and/or hobby endeavor and appreciate the availability of entry-level information.
As an oft-quoted sage-type person famously said, "A journey of a thousand miles
begins with the first step." Accordingly, here is a short article explaining the
basic physics and application of the of
backward diode, which is akin to a Zener diode and tunnel diode
in that it is meant to operate in the reverse bias region. National Semiconductor,
Texas Instruments (TI), and Raytheon were the manufacturers in 1958 when this article
appeared in Radio-Electronics magazine. National Semiconductor was swallowed up
by Texas instruments in 2011...
 The everythingRF website has a short
article on current
5G spectrum allocation around the world. Frequencies
are added and/or removed occasionally depending on who controls the government agencies
and which lobbyists have enough money to influence said officials. The chart was
created in 2018 and promises to be updated as needed. Hopefully, the author is watching
the industry and making adjustments as needed.
Since 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.
 Back in the day,
Bell Telephone Labs' name was synonymous with cutting edge technology
and brainiac scientists and engineers, similar to IBM (International Business Machines),
Boeing, Chevrolet, Westinghouse, and Hewlett Packard, amongst others. Bell Labs
often ran full-page promotions in electronics magazines like this one in a 1955
issue of Radio & Television News that spotlighted a method they developed for
inspecting relay contacts without having to remove it from the circuit. Prior to
solid state switches, electromechanical relays did the circuit routing for the millions
of calls crossing the United States (prior to that, ladies sitting in front of switchboards
used cables and plugs to route calls manually). Those relays opened and closed thousands
of times each day, so they were subject to a lot of wear and tear. Bell Telephone
invested a lot of time and money into designing high quality relays that would stand
up to the usage...
 "Since the discovery of graphene, two-dimensional
materials have been the focus of materials research. Among other things, they could
be used to build tiny, high-performance transistors. Researchers at ETH Zurich and
EPF Lausanne have now simulated and evaluated one hundred possible materials for
this purpose and discovered 13 promising candidates. With the increasing miniaturization
of electronic components, researchers are struggling with undesirable side effects:
In the case of
nanometer-scale transistors made of conventional materials such
as silicon, quantum effects occur that impair their functionality. One of these
quantum effects, for example, is additional leakage currents, i.e. currents that
flow 'astray' and not via the conductor provided between the source and drain contacts.
It is therefore believed that Moore's scaling law..."
 Please welcome the addition of
Scott Eichfeld to
the list of honored U.S. Air Force
Radar Shop service members. Scott was stationed at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma, in
the 3th Combat Communications Group (3CCG) from 1981 through 1992, assigned to the
TPN-19 mobile airport surveillance radar (ASR) and precision approach radar (PAR)
system. He spent some time TDY helping to write a technical order (TO) at the 5th
MOB (5CCG) at Robins AFB in Georgia. When he arrived at the 5CCG, I had been there
a couple years working on the decades old MPN-14 predecessor to the TPN-19. The
MPN-14's RF circuits were mostly vacuum tube based whereas the TPN-19 was almost
completely solid state.
 Thanks
to the Wuhan Virus, QSO Today's
Ham Expo 2020 will
be an online-only event via your laptop, tablet, and smartphone. It will be held
on the weekend of August 8th and 9th. "Participate in this ground breaking, virtual
international amateur radio expo. Packed with world renowned speakers, exhibitors,
and special conference rooms built on a virtual reality platform." More than 70
internationally renown are scheduled. Register by July 24th to receive early bird
prize incentives. Register
by July 24th for free attendance!
 Everyone reading the is familiar with the
"bell curve," and most have been exposed to the mathematics of it. Standard deviations,
normal distribution, mean, median, variance, etc., are seen often in technical writings.
John Dunn has a good intro (or refresher) on the EDN website entitled, "The Mathematics of Gaussian Probability Distribution." It begins:
"All sorts of physical processes in this analog world exhibit some degree of randomness.
Think of noise, for example. Many noisy processes are described by Gaussian probability
distributions. We should take a look at the mathematics of that. Consider the equation
of the 'bell curve' for a Gaussian probability distribution by starting with a very
simple equation..."
 How far do you commute each day for the privilege
of doing your part to push back the frontiers of technical ignorance and to boldly
go where no engineer - or technician - has gone before. Do you know what the cost
equates for you each year? This handy-dandy infographic lays out some
gruesome numbers.
Those with a weak stomach probably should pass on viewing this one. Here's a hint
at what you will see: See that big $795 in the thumbnail image? That's the average
cost per year for commuting -- per mile! Yessiree, if you live just 10 miles from
work, you're losing nearly $8,000 per year, depending on you automobile type, on
gas, tires, maintenance, devaluation, and loss of your personal time (which is valuable,
after all). Back in the early 1990s I drove about 45 miles each way to Comsat, which
took about 65 minutes due to miserable traffic, which is 130 minutes round-trip,
or 2 hours and 10 minutes (about the run time of an average movie) each day. Figuring
two weeks vacation and 10 holidays, that leave 48 weeks x 5 days/week = 240 days
per year of commuting. 240 days x 130 minutes = 31,200 minutes = 520 hours
per year. That's a fourth of a man-year (2,080 hours) on the road. It was a great
job, but combined with working 60-70 hours per week...
 ConductRF 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!
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.
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