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5 of the October 2020 homepage archives.
 RCA (Radio Corporation of America) is not
really the first company name that comes to mind when thinking about
radar, be it weather, aircraft navigation, or nautical navigation.
Instead, I think of radios and televisions and even satellites; RCA developed the
circa 1958 SCORE series. According to this 1955 article in Radio & Television
News magazine, RCA designed and built a a C-band airborne radar system for
detecting adverse weather conditions enroute, at a range of up to 150 miles. Operating
at around 5.4 GHz at 75 kW peak, the AVQ-10 radar unit was primarily meant
for weather avoidance rather than for terrain and aircraft avoidance. The installed
weight of 125 pounds was rather amazing considering the use of vacuum tubes and
a CRT display (also a vacuum tube), along with leaded passive components and bulky,
heavy (relatively) transformers for providing high voltage...
"PCBONLINE-How-Create-Custom-PCBA-10-20-2020.htm" target="_top">
 PCBONLINE, a one-stop custom PCB/PCBA manufacturer
for prototypes, small-batch, and massive production, recently published a technical
blog to explain "PCBONLINE-How-Create-Custom-PCBA-10-20-2020.htm" target="_top">
how to create a custom PCBA. It answers what is a PCBA, how to create a custom PCBA,
the techniques used for manufacturing the PCBA, etc. When a PCB is mounted with
electronic components, it becomes a PCBA (printed circuit board assembly), which
is a semi-finished electronic product that achieves the vital function of an electronic
device. PCBAs are used in almost all electronics industries. PCBAs manufactured
by PCBONLINE include the high frequency PCBA, multilayer PCBA, rigid-flex PCBA,
aluminum PCBA, etc. 1 to 100 layer PCBAs can be delivered in 3 days...
 "For around 10 years, smartphones and
computer screens have been based on a display technology composed of so-called thin
film transistors. These are inorganic transistors that require very little power,
and they have proven themselves capable, given their widespread adoption. But they
have limits that researchers have been busy trying to overcome. 'We explore new
ways to improve upon thin film transistors, such as new designs or new methods of
manufacture,' said Gyo Kitahara, a Ph.D. student from the Department of Applied
Physics. 'Organic thin film transistors, for example, have a bright future
in LCD screen devices. Compared to the inorganic kind currently used..."
 Here is an advertisement by
RCA Victor (Radio Corporation of America) from the November 6,
1948, edition of the The Saturday Evening Post. As was common in the day,
the company specifically addresses Americans in an American magazine. Rarely anymore
does a major American company use the word "America" or "American" in promotional
material because of globalism and the fear of being too committed to the well-being
of its native country. The same is true of most western countries' corporations,
where their country names can be substituted for "America" in this piece. Up through
about the 1980s it was commonplace to specifically address countrymen. Once manufacturers
ramped up offshoring efforts the practice began disappearing. Offshoring is distinctly
different from importing another...
"ConductRF-Low-Smoke-Zero-Halogen-Cable-Solutions-10-13-2020.htm" target="_top">
 ConductRF is pleased to offer "ConductRF-Low-Smoke-Zero-Halogen-Cable-Solutions-10-13-2020.htm"
target="_top"> Low Smoke / Zero Halogen Jacketed RF Cables for various applications
Indoor and Outdoor for Naval Ship-Board applications. We have two ranges of solutions
aimed at differing RF requirements with our SBA series aimed at Higher Frequency
18 GHz needs. These are 100% factory tested to exacting VSWR and Loss standards
because, We know, Results Count! ConductRF manufactures a range RF Cables in support
of Ship Board applications, where Low Smoke, Zero Halogen requirements are mandated.
These cable have Low Smoke Polyolefin Jackets that are suitable for Ship Board Environments.
The Cable solutions are commonly available in 3 sizes with cable OD of 0.240", 0.405"
and 0.590"...
 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.
 It seems Amateur radio operators in every
country have perpetually been in a battle against government bureaucrats. Early
on, Hams were allocated small segments of available "usable" spectrum and a fairly
wide swath of the less desirable spectrum. That was especially true of the microwave
bands when there was not a lot of components and equipment available that could
operate at the higher frequencies. Those familiar with history are familiar with
the situation where Amateurs developed a lot of the technology for operating in
the upper MHz and into the GHz realm, and then the government snatched it from them
for commercial and military use. Hams pretty much pioneered
atmospheric scatter as a means for long distance (DX), over-the-horizon
communications using those upper frequencies. This editorial from a 1955 issue of
Radio & Television News magazine reports on a relatively newer variation dubbed
"forward-scatter," which works in 40-80 MHz band (6-meters and VHF) when the
transmitted power is sufficiently high. The military, which discovered the phenomenon
and had recently declassified it, was considering allowing Amateurs...
 "Researchers at UNSW Sydney have demonstrated
the lowest noise level on record for a
semiconductor quantum bit, or qubit. The research was published
in Advanced Materials. For quantum computers to perform useful calculations, quantum
information must be close to 100 percent accurate. Charge noise - caused by imperfections
in the material environment that hosts qubits - interferes with quantum information
encoded on qubits, impacting the accuracy of the information. "The level of charge
noise in semiconductor qubits has been a critical obstacle to achieving the accuracy
levels we need for large-scale error-corrected quantum computers," says lead author
Ludwik Kranz, a Ph.D. student at UNSW's Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication
Technology (CQC2T) working with the Centre's spin off company Silicon Quantum Computing
(SQC)..."
RF Superstorelaunched in 2017, marking the return of Murray Pasternack, founder
of Pasternack Enterprises, to the RF and microwave Industry. Pasternack fundamentally
changed the way RF components were sold. Partner Jason Wright manages day-to-day
operations, while working closely with Mr. Pasternack to develop RF Superstore into
a world class RF and microwave component supplier. RF coaxial connectors & adapters,
coaxial cable & cable assemblies, surge protectors, attenuators. Items added
daily. Free shipping on orders over $25. We're leading the way again!
 This
Electronic Menu Quiz appeared in the August 1963 edition of
Popular Electronics magazine. Robert Balin created many such quizzes for
Popular Electronics over the years. It challenges you to match the common
food-related term for a device with its picture. If you've been around electronics
labs and/or read electronics hobbyist magazines for a while, chances are you have
run across most of the terms. I suggest you click on the image to get a full-size
view of the drawings to be able to see all the detail. A couple of the names I have
to admit not being familiar, so they seem rather 'corny'... get it?
 Each month the ARRL's flagship magazine,
QST, makes an article available for free to non-members. November's selection
is titled "Military Mast Problems and Solutions." Bob Dixon, W8ERD, begins:
"Many of us use military surplus masts and tripods to hold up antennas, especially
in portable situations. They work very well, but these masts have potential stability
problems, because the adjacent mast sections and tripod are held together by their
weight and by friction alone. If the mast is tilted by the wind or pulled by a wire,
the mast joints and tripod can separate, and the entire structure can fall down
catastrophically. Also, if you have a rotatable antenna on the mast, the mast sections
can slip and rotate the antenna, or make it difficult to turn. These problems can
be fixed by pinning all the mast sections and the tripod together..."
"Skyworks-Circulator-Radar-Systems-Wireless-Applications-10-20-2020.htm" target="_top">
 Skyworks is pleased to introduce the "Skyworks-Circulator-Radar-Systems-Wireless-Applications-10-20-2020.htm"
target="_top"> SKYFR-001982, a small form factor surface mount circulator for L-Band
radar systems and wireless applications in the 1200-1400 MHz operating range.
This device offers high power level handling with minimal thermal rise, providing
a flow path for the RF signal as well as protection for sensitive components from
excess signal reflection. Packaged in a compact SMT housing, the SKYFR-001982 can
be easily incorporated onto PCB boards with automated pick and place manufacturing.
The SKYFR-001982 is the latest in Skyworks' broad portfolio of Circulator and Isolator
products for radars for both military and commercial applications...
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'm always tempted to wax nostalgic over
ads like this one since they remind me of more care-free childhood and early teenage
years when our household had the typical single television set with an antenna on
the roof and a
300 Ω twin lead cable running haphazardly down the roof surface
and over the metal gutter, stretching under the eave to where it was crushed between
the window sill and lower window pane, and snaked along the wall and floor to the
TV. In the early days, our antenna was fixed (no rotator). Situated in Mayo, Maryland,
about midway between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., where our nearest broadcast
stations resided, we somehow managed to get acceptable reception on our low-end
black & white television. I don't recall in which direction the antenna was
pointed (maybe northwestish to cover both directions equally). It wasn't until sometime
in the early 1970s that we finally got our first color TV that the system showed
its weakness...
 "Special operations commands across Europe
are ramping up their capabilities with
high-frequency communications to ensure connectivity on the battlefield.
Leaders there are turning to high frequency communications as a way to optimize
properties that provide a low probability of interception and detection. Special
forces in France, Germany, Poland and Ukraine continue to receive high-frequency,
or HF, systems as a way to diversify communications plans, industry sources confirmed
to C4ISRNET. Some special operations organizations have selected L3Harris' AN/PRC-160(V),
industry sources said. Enhancements in HF come at a time when NATO members and partner
forces..."
 As mentioned in an earlier post, a while
back I bought a box full of vintage Old Farmer's Almanacs (OFA) at a yard
sale, figuring there would be a bunch of good items to post here on
RF Cafe and on my
Airplanes and Rockets
hobby website. Chief amongst the postworthy features is the Mathematical Puzzles
section. They are a fair challenge to an engineer's cerebration, contemplation,
and deliberation. These particular mathematical posers appeared in the 1974 issue
of OFA. #10, while rated a difficulty of 4 (where 5 is most difficult),
is really not even a mathematical challenge when you think about it (hint - it's
an old riddle you've probably seen before). Enjoy!
 "Handie-Talkie" was the name given to early walkie-talkies used
in the field by military communications troops. Having been written during World
War II, the author of this QST article just assumed that any reader would
be familiar with the WERS acronym - it stands for War Emergency Radio Service. Per
the Wikipedia entry: "At the start of the Second World War the United States Congress
had suspended all amateur radio activity throughout the country. WERS was established
by the Federal Communications Commission in June 1942 at the insistence of the American
Radio Relay League. WERS would remain in operation in through the end of the Second
World War in 1945. WERS was to provide communications in connection with air raid
protection, and communications during times of natural disaster. WERS licenses were
given to communities and not individuals...
 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.
 This is not something devised by Benjamin
Franklin. Rather, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) sold a variety of these
"Lightning Calculator" slide rules in the days before electronic
calculators. This "Type B" version (copyright 1932, W.P. Koechel) calculates
Ohm's Laws values for resistance, voltage, current, and power. As shown here, it
indicates an alignment of 1 V, 1 A, and 1 Ω. The Lightning Calculators"
were rather large at 8½" wide by 11" high. Being the size of a sheet of paper, it
is surprising they did not come with holes for a 3-ring binder. There were six varieties
of "Lightning Calculators," as shown in the 1939 QST magazine advertisement.
Thanks to Joe Birsa (N3TTE) for the donation.
 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.
 October 18th's custom
Science and Engineering Technology themed crossword puzzle contains
only only words from my custom-created lexicon related to engineering, science,
mathematics, chemistry, physics, astronomy, etc. (1,000s of them). 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. The technically inclined
cruciverbalists amongst us will appreciate the effort.
 That would be President Ford in the background
atop the platform, behind where the
OSCAR ground station was set up. He was there as part of the dedication
of the new National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C., in 1976. The event
was part of the nationwide series of bicentennial celebrations marking America's
founding with the signing of the The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united
States of America. Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins directed the event.
The Space Race was in its heyday and most people were still in awe of anything related
to spacecraft - both manned and unmanned. Just about anyone other than a Ham radio
operator believed communicating with a satellite was the exclusive domain of governments,
so the presence of AMSAT...
 "Analog computing with
neuron-like devices could efficiently solve problems traditional
computers struggle with. One thing that's kept engineers from copying the brain's
power efficiency and quirky computational skill is the lack of an electronic device
that can, all on its own, act like a neuron. It would take a special kind of device
to do that, one whose behavior is more complex than any yet created. Suhas Kumar
of Hewlett Packard Laboratories, R. Stanley Williams now at Texas A&M, and the
late Stanford student Ziwen Wang have invented a device that meets those requirements.
On its own, using a simple DC voltage as the input, the device outputs not just
simple spikes, as some other devices..."
 Reading through this article reminds me of
studying for the amateur radio exams. In fact, the information presented in this
1940 QST piece does not seem to be lacking anything that contemporary discussions
include. My point is that a great amount of knowledge had already been amassed about
earth's upper atmosphere a mere four decades after the first
transatlantic radio communications were accomplished by Marconi
on December 12, 1901 from Poldhu in Cornwall, England, to Newfoundland, Canada.
Considering that at the time no instrumented sounding rockets had been launched
into the extreme upper layers (F1 & F2, beginning at around 120 mi | 200 km),
a lot had been discerned about characteristics as they pertain to radio communications.
Balloons were used for direct measurements...
 In his latest The Accidental Engineer
blog post, Reactel's Jim Assurian offers his assessment of the first-ever
Virtual IMS (vIMS), made necessary by the COVID-19 worldwide epidemic
this year compliments of Wuhan, China. Jim begins: "Some contemplative reactions
to the Virtual IMS from an Exhibitor - the comments are my own and may not be indicative
of other's experience or their impression of the vIMS. The live portion of the Virtual
IMS concluded on August 6th though much of the Conference is available On-Demand
thru September 30th. I encourage you to visit the Conference website. If I had to
rate my experience with the vIMS on a scale of 1 thru 5, I'd give it a 1. I was
underwhelmed by the interface as I noted in my earlier blog post, and the 'traffic'
through my booth was minimal at best. Once I subtracted out the industry friends
who swung past for a look..."
 Reading trade journals is always given as
one of the main ways cited by engineers on career surveys for continuing education.
Engineering
whitepapers, pamphlets, books, magazines, and chapter examples listed here are
a small sample of a lot of new items that are offered for FREE through TradePub.
The publishers make them available to qualifying people as a promotional campaign
for their full line of offerings. Whitepaper topics include careers, manufacturing,
and engineering, while magazine titles include NASA Tech Briefs, Electronic Component
News, and Microwave Product Digest. Note: I earn a few pennies (literally) when
you download one of these or the many other pubs available, so please help yourself.
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.
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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