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4 of the May 2021 homepage archives. Friday the 14th
 The General Electric TDY-2 was one of the
earliest American
anti-radar electronic countermeasures (ECM) systems. Having been highly secret
technology during World War II, its existence and some details of its operation
were revealed in a 1946 issue of Radio-Craft magazine. Declassification of much
advanced technology in the post-war years fueled the boom in both commercial and
consumer markets, including electronics, communications, automotive, boating, aircraft,
appliances, construction, and even manufacturing and distribution. Interestingly,
the time taken to get products into the marketplace was longer than a lot of people
anticipated, and it caused consternation amongst those hoping to benefit...
 Keysight Technologies recently announced
the availability of their PathWave
Design 2022 software suite. "RF applications are trending towards ever
higher millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequencies. Integration densities now require correct
assembly, simulation, and verification of multi-technology RF modules. PathWave
Advanced Design System (ADS) enables intelligent integration of modules that interconnect
RFIC, MMIC, laminate, wafer-level packaging, antenna, and PCB into dense 3D structures,
which can avoid costly hardware failures. With PathWave ADS, you can achieve consistent
and timely design wins through RF design verification..."
 The
fundamentals of crystals has not changed since this article appeared in a 1960
edition of Popular Electronics magazine, although the way they are grown,
cut, trimmed, and packaged has changed fairly significantly. Our understanding of
how they work at the atomic level has advanced significantly as well. Nearly every
digital device in existence has at least one crystal buried inside it for clock
generation, so the number of crystals being manufactured has grown exponentially
over the intervening decades. When considering the oscillators circuits shown here,
you can mentally replace the vacuum tubes with transistors to get an understanding...
 A few times in the past I have mentioned
the U.S. Army's long-running comic-book-style of training material for vehicle maintenance.
It began in 1940 under the title of The Army Motors and ran through the
end of World War II. In June 1951, at the beginning of the Korean War, the
publication was re-introduced as
PS Magazine - The Preventative Maintenance Monthly, where the "PS" part
stands for "Post Script," a la the "p.s." you might put at the end of a written
letter. In this case the "p.s." is a post script to the regular Army vehicle maintenance
manuals. I recently happened to run across the RadioNerds.com's extensive section
on PS Magazine, and it is a treasure trove of downloadable PDF versions of the magazines.
As you can see from the cover illustrations and the contents, its appeal was primarily
to the predominantly male vehicle maintenance force...
 "For decades,
electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding has been a consideration and concern
to the aerospace and defense industries. But, with the airwaves becoming ever more
crowded as devices get smarter and more prolific, EMI has also become a greater
consideration for everyone from consumer products manufacturers to the burgeoning
U.S. Space Force. Ensuring that on-demand signals are not interfered with or corrupted
has made the need for materials that shield EMI more important than ever. EMI, which
is caused by one electronic device sending radio frequency or electromagnetic waves
intentionally or unintentionally to another device, can disrupt electronic devices,
equipment, and systems used in critical medical, military, aerospace, mass transit,
vehicular control..."
 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 (click here for screen capture). 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...
 RF Superstore launched in 2017, marking
the return of Murray Pasternack, founder of Pasternack Enterprises, to the RF and
microwave Industry. Pasternack fundamentally changed the way RF components were
sold. Partner Jason Wright manages day-to-day operations, while working closely
with Mr. Pasternack to develop 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!
Thursday the 13th
 At first look this antenna from Bell Telephone
Laboratories appears to be a
phased array, but in fact it is a "lens" that uses reflecting metal fins to
direct incoming and outgoing radio waves into a narrow beam. This is a new approach
to the standard method of using a curved (usually parabolic) reflective dish with
a feedhorn. No detail is given about how, if at all, the phases of the received
signals are phase-adjusted at the point they converge on the back-side waveguide
feed. It is sort of akin to the Osgood optical lens used in lighthouses. Shortly
after the end of World War II, Bell Telephone Labs began a major effort to
interconnect the entire country with microwave relay stations to enhance efficiency
and reliability of long distance telephone calls...
 ConductRF announces availability of professional
high frequency
TSA89 series of RF test cables with performance to 40 GHz.
Precision connector choices include; SMA, Type-N, 3.5mm, 2.92mm, & 2.4mm. Key
features: High-frequency point to point cable, light weight rugged double-shielded,
flexible cable, low loss <0.68 dB/ft @ 40 GHz, low VSWR < 1.35:1
(Typical < 1.25:1), RF leakage >-100 dB to 18 GHz, temperature rated
from -55ºC to 125ºC. 100% factory VSWR and insertion loss tested. Wide selection
of configurations & lengths. Cables are in stock and available immediately from
Digi-Key...
 Please welcome former USAF radar tech
Kenneth Martin our vaunted list
on the Radar Shop webpage. Kenneth enlisted in 1965, making him the 2nd-earliest
guy in the list. He served in the 2nd Combat Communications Group (2CCG) in Germany,
with deployments in the region. If you were once or currently are a USAF radar
technician, contact me to be added, too - the others of us appreciate you making
yourself "findable." Note: Please let
me know if you have schematics for the MPN-13/14 radar system.
 "Kink" is not a word you hear very often
anymore in reference to having a problem in a process or task, but it turns up fairly
regularly in hobby and do-it-yourself types of magazines as "Hints
and Kinks" columns. Having a kink in the neck or a kink in the garden hose are
more familiar uses of the word. "Kink" appears in the ARRL's QST magazine,
my older model airplane magazines, in some of the Popular Electronics magazines,
and likely in many others. "Hints and Kinks" type columns typically are collections
of ideas submitted by readers explaining how they solved a particular problem or
how they came up with a new way of doing something. Some are outdated but many are
timeless in their application and usefulness. I put all the ones here in to the
latter category...
 "According to the National Association of
Colleges and Employers, those graduating with engineering degrees are the
highest paid new grads in the U.S. The average starting salary for an engineer
with a bachelor's degree was $66,521 in 2019. For the Class of 2020, starting salaries
were 4% higher - $69,188 on average. With the help of PayScale, we've compiled a
list of those engineering schools whose graduates are paid well when they graduate
and during their mid-career years.
 We've
ranked the schools by the highest mid-career salaries of their graduates." Spoiler:
#20 is New Jersey Institute of Technology at $65.7k, and #1 is - no surprise - Harvey
Mudd College at $91.4k...
 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...
Reactel has become one of the industry leaders in the design and manufacture
of RF and microwave
filters, diplexers, and sub-assemblies. They offer the generally known tubular,
LC, cavity, and waveguide designs, as well as state of the art high performance
suspended substrate models. Through a continuous process of research and development,
they have established a full line of filters of filters of all types - lowpass,
highpass, bandpass, bandstop, diplexer, and more. Established in 1979. Please contact
Reactel today to see how they might help your project.
Wednesday the 12th
 "Plug-Ugly
Eliminator" could refer to a couple possible devices. One might be some sort
of cover for hiding electrical cords and plugs where the go into a wall socket.
It might also be a move decorative type plug than the standard kind on the end of
a line cord. What the Plug-Ugly Eliminator actually is, is an overly complex contraption
allowing a radio listener to turn off a radio for a predetermined amount of time
when "commercial announcements in which he may have no interest or which may even
be offensive to him" begins playing. The "Plug" part of the name is another name
for a commercial. Maurice Kay's Plug-Ugly Eliminator, which appeared in the May
1946 issue of Radio-Craft magazine, is another items where if had occurred
in an April edition, you might think you were being pranked for April Fools. The
drawing certainly has the characteristics of a Rube Goldberg creation...
 "Long-lasting devices written with carbon
nanomaterial inks can be remade into new ones when their work is done. With a cocktail
of carbon-based inks, engineers have made the first fully
printable and recyclable electronic circuits on paper. The sturdy, high-performance
devices last for months, and can be decomposed at the end to recover the carbon
materials so they can be reused for printing. The recyclable carbon electronics
are not meant to supplant silicon, says Aaron Franklin, an electrical and computer
engineering professor at Duke University who reported the advance in Nature Electronics.
Instead, this is a way to satisfy the thirst for ubiquitous, embedded electronics
without sending enormous amounts of often toxic waste..."
 Analog Devices' Diarmúid Carey has an interesting
article on the Electronic Design website entitled, "How
to Choose the Right Protection for Your Circuit." This seemingly simple subject
often requires a thorough review of potential unintended consequences of overprotecting
or underprotecting a circuit that can be subject to a wide range of environments.
He begins "Protection subsystems often can inhibit innovation in terms of performance.
Devices such as surge stoppers and protection controllers avoid having to implement
bulky TVS diodes, and thus help overcome those design challenges. Manufacturers
in all industries constantly push cutting-edge performance while trying to balance
such innovation against tried-and-true robust solutions. Designers are faced with
the difficult task of balancing design complexity, reliability, and cost. One subsystem
in particular, electronics protection, rebuffs moves to innovate due to its nature.
These systems protect sensitive and expensive downstream electronic devices (FPGAs,
ASICs, and microprocessors), requiring a zero-failure rate..."
 Here is an electronics
Lamp Brightness Quiz for you to try, compliments of Popular Electronics
magazine. Intuition from experience goes a long way here, but if all else fails
you can work out the details of the rectifier circuits to determine which lamp received
the most current. Keep in mind that the diode symbols are not LEDs; it is the 'A,'
'B,' and 'C' symbols inside circles that are the lamps whose brightnesses are being
considered. LEDs did exist at the time this quiz was created in 1969, but the circuits
would perform differently if in fact LEDs were used for double duty of rectification
and illumination. Good luck...
 Teledyne Storm Microwave announces a new
cable product line for Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) test leads and other interconnect
testing,
Storm-Test™, designed to extend a test lead's useful life while delivering phase
stability, critical in precision manufacturing environments where measurement accuracy
must be maintained with repeated use over months and years. The Storm-Test series
of test leads expands Storm's comprehensive portfolio of cable solutions for test
and measurement applications, which includes Accu-Test®, Duratest™, and True Blue®.
The new Storm-Test 50 GHz expands the frequency and phase stability performance
offered by Storm test cables...
 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.
Tuesday the 11th
 While everyone greatly welcomed the ending
of World War II, in its wake was a huge number of people that would be in need
of jobs. Many thousands of men had been trained in the field of electronics maintenance
and hope to exploit those skills in doing service work in radio, television, industrial
controls, and other related fields. Other planned to go into sales, or a combination
of both. Some had been in the business prior to either volunteering or getting drafted
into the war, but not all could expect to simply pick up where they had left off.
In order to assist the country's servicemen in transitioning into civilian life,
Radio-Craft magazine provided a free service where
individuals could list their qualifications, along with contact information
- effectively an abbreviated resume posting venue...
 With more than 1000
custom-built stencils, this has got to be the most comprehensive set of
Visio Stencils available for RF, analog, and digital system and schematic
drawings! Every object has been built to fit proportionally on the provided
A-, B- and C-size drawing page templates (or can use your own). Stencils are provided
for equipment racks and test equipment, system block diagrams, conceptual drawings,
and schematics. Unlike previous versions, these are NOT Stencils, but instead are
all contained on tabbed pages within a single Visio document. That puts everything
in front of you in its full glory. Just copy and paste what you need on your drawing.
The file format is XML so everything plays nicely with Visio 2013 and later...
 While listening to the radio the other day,
I heard a guy who is very technically astute and is a Ham radio operator pronounce
the word "schematic" as "skem-E'-at-ik." He wasn't just joking because he kept saying
it that way throughout the show. It came to mind while posting this chapter entitled,
"The
Electrical Circuit Diagram," and I thought you might appreciate it (especially
if you also routinely mispronounce the word). But I digress... The U.S. Navy over
the years has produced a number of series of training courses for electricity, communications,
mechanics, navigation, etc., that are held in high regard by the military and private
industry. Graduates of the courses who served a term of enlistment performing equipment
maintenance have always been preferred by employers looking for high quality technicians...
 Exciting things are happening at LadyBug
Technologies and we want to share some important news with you. Loyalty from customers
like you has fueled continued growth, making a
move to a larger facility necessary. This is our third move in response to consistent
growth since our inception. With this move, we double our space, allowing additional
product design engineers and manufacturing employees. One of the main reasons for
our expansion is the demand for new products. We are adding 2 members to our engineering
team at the time of the move and plan to add additional personnel shortly thereafter.
We plan to deliver new products at a significantly faster pace. This includes our
new small form factor measurement system with wide bandwidth pulse measurement capability.
This is just one of many exciting developments. Look for additional news about us
in the future...
 "The U.S. Congress is reportedly taking steps
to officially recognize the important contributions made by amateur radio operators.
According to an article on the website of the ARRL, Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (AZ)
has introduced a bipartisan resolution to designate April 18, 2022 as
National Amateur Radio Operators Day. April 18th is the anniversary of the founding
of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) which was established in 1925. The
resolution cites the Amateur Radio Emergency Service for providing 'invaluable emergency
communications services following recent natural disasters, including, but not limited
to, helping coordinate disaster relief efforts following Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma,
and Maria and other extreme weather disasters.' Lesko had introduced a similar bill
last year..."
 Aegis Power Systems is a leading supplier
of AC-DC and
DC-DC power supplies for custom and special applications. Aegis has been designing
and building highly reliable custom power supplies since 1995. They offer a complete
line of switch mode power supplies and power converters for a variety of markets
including defense, industrial, aircraft, VME, and telecom. Supports military, aircraft,
EV, telecom, and embedded computing applications. Design and manufacture of custom
power supply solutions to meet each customer's exacting specifications. Please visit
Aegis Power Systems today.
 "Disruptive"
is the early 21st century buzzword. Merely placing the adjective in the vicinity
of any noun or phrase elevates the topic to a level reserved for only the most outside-of-the-box,
ground-breaking, awe-inspiring events. Any technology described as disruptive, that
is to say, as a "disruptive
technology," is certain to cause a hush to fall across the room where it is
introduced. Captains of industry are humbled at the announcement. Kings kneel in
the presence of said disruptiveness. No amount of adulation, worship, exaltation
and praise is sufficient to acknowledge its progenitor(s). Seriously, though, although
the term "disruptive technology" is grossly overused, it is an accurate description
of a technology that represents a concept so unique that it literally changes the
direction of an industry. Consider these examples in history...
Monday the 10th
 Here is another instance of an article which,
if it had been in an April magazine issue, you might be justified in thinking it
might be a gag. "FM
Carrier Stabilization," a 1946 Radio-Craft feature, centers around
the use of a General Electric (GE) GL-2H21 "Phasitron" vacuum tube. Be assured that
it is a real component, developed to address the difficulties in achieving frequency
modulation (FM) requirements set forth by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) at what was really the dawn of the FM commercial broadcast radio era. Only
a little over a decade had passed since Major Armstrong announced his broadband
FM invention, and radio stations were planning to adopt the superior (to AM) form
of broadcasting at a rapid rate, following the end of World War II. The Phasitron
was GE's solution to the problem of maintaining the average...
 "A new quantum sensor can analyze the
full spectrum of radio-frequency and real-world signals, unleashing new potential
for soldier communications, spectrum awareness, and electronic warfare. Army researchers
built the quantum sensor, which can sample the radio-frequency spectrum - from zero
frequency up to 20 GHz - and detect AM and FM radio, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and other
communication signals. HOW IT WORKS The Rydberg sensor uses laser beams to create
highly excited Rydberg atoms directly above a microwave circuit to boost and home
in on the portion of the spectrum being measured. The Rydberg atoms are sensitive
to the circuit's voltage, enabling..."
 In "The River Sniffer," our intrepid sleuthing
heroes
Carl and Jerry, the creation of John T. Frye, apply their electronics prowess
and lessons remembered from chemistry class at Parvoo University in order to catch
polluters who are dumping chemicals into the river where they like to fish. I always
like being reminded of something long forgotten when reading an article from vintage
magazines like this 1962 issue of Popular Electronics, and this one did not disappoint.
Do you recall what 'pH' stands for as a measure acidity or alkalinity? It means
'potential Hydrogen ion concentration.' Don't thank me if it jogged your memory
as well - thank Carl and Jerry...
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 (click here for screen capture). 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...
 Antenova Ltd, the UK-based manufacturer of
antennas and RF antenna modules for M2M and the Internet of Things, has created
a new
software tool to help designers place antennas in a wireless design. The tool
displays the optimum position for embedded antennas on the PCB, depending upon the
dimensions of the PCB and the specifications of the antennas. It places each individual
antenna on the PCB in the best location for signal strength. Antenova has developed
this tool to assist product designers who do not have access to antenna skills in-house.
The tool should help designers to place the antenna in the best position early in
the design process and achieve a working wireless design more easily. It can be
used for one single antenna, or up to three antennas...
 Break out the tinfoil hats and get set to attend
the IEEE Committee on Man and Radiation (COMAR) webinar entitled, "RF
Exposure in the Time of Conspiracies." The 1-hour event is set to get under
way at 1800 UTC on Wednesday, May 12. COMAR is a group of experts on health and
safety issues related to electromagnetic fields, from power line through microwave
frequency ranges. Its primary focus is on biological effects of non-ionizing electromagnetic
radiation. "The real idea behind the webinar is to highlight some of the news articles,
comments, etc. that purport to declare the hazardous nature of exposure to weak
RF fields, such as those posed by new 5G wireless communications base stations,
explain how they are not scientifically based and, possibly, some ideas on how to
better communicate what we really know about potential health effects," said COMAR
chair Ric Tell, K5UJU.
 NorthEast RF's comprehensive
antenna testing services include linear | circular polarized antenna
measurements and OTA cellular device pre-compliance. Up to 18" diameter and <10
kg weight. Antennas can be rapidly evaluated and optimized using our fast near field
spherical system. Test results supplied in data file with pattern viewer software.
A picture of the test configuration is included to help aligned axis. Our selection
of human head and hand phantoms are ideal for verification of body worn devices.
Turnaround time is usually 3-days.
Sunday the 9th
 This
Radio
Theme Crossword Puzzle for May 9th has many words and clues related to
RF, microwave, and mm-wave engineering, optics, mathematics, chemistry, physics,
and other technical subjects. Also, it contains at least six (6) instances of this
puzzle's theme word. As always, this 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., Reginald Denny or
the Tunguska event in Siberia). The technically inclined cruciverbalists amongst
us will appreciate the effort. Enjoy!
 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.
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way to find anything on the website is to use the "Search
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