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Homepage Archive - November 2022 (page 3)

See Page  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 of the November 2022 homepage archives.

Monday the 21st

Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc. PhotoFact

Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc. PhotoFact, November 1962 Electronics World - RF CafeAs I have noted before, Sams PhotoFacts were the indispensible gold standard for commercial electronics service documentation from the 1940's through maybe the 1980's. After that, there was not nearly as much of a demand for electronics servicing because most electronic products in the consumer market were fully transistorized and had a high level of integrated circuit (IC) components, and multi-layer printed circuit boards (PCB's). That made serviceability more difficult for both professionals and DIY repairmen. Steep price decreases and very rapid evolution of features resulted in most people opting to throw away broken radios, televisions, phonographs, etc., rather than pay to repair them. The death knell of serviceability was when fly speck size surface mount components dominated PCB assemblies. Sams PhotoFacts were for the era when vacuum tubes (and even transistors and IC's) were plugged...

How to Explain Quantum Technology in 3 Minutes

Quantum on the Clock 2022- RF Cafe"Could you explain a complex concept from quantum physics in just three minutes - and hold the attention of your audience while you did it? This was the premise of the inaugural 'Quantum on the Clock' competition, which challenged A-level and equivalent students from across the UK and Ireland to create creative, clear, engaging and accurate short videos on any aspect of quantum science and technology. The winners of the competition received cash prizes donated by quantum companies and institutions, plus an expenses-paid trip to the Photon 2022 conference in Nottingham..."

Empower RF Systems S-Band 120 kW Transmitter

Empower RF Systems S-Band 120 kW Pulse Transmitter for Radar, Test, and DE - RF CafeEmpower RF Systems sets the bar for extreme high-power solid state COTS amplifiers. The Model 2236 is liquid cooled and combines the output of two six foot cabinets with each cabinet combining sixteen 2U power amplifiers. Lower and higher power versions of this amplifier are available due to the scalable, modular design. Operating from 2800 to 3500 MHz, the flexible pulse handling capabilities of this fielded system includes 20% duty cycles with pulse widths from 200 ns to 500 us and PRFs up to 500 kHz. The 2236 is designed for lower total cost of ownership and higher availability than TWTs and legacy solid state implementations. The transmitter consists of a system controller in a 3U 19-inch rack unit and a total of thirty two 2U 19-inch rack amplifier drawers with each amplifier drawer containing an integrated power supply in its 2U chassis...

Update: Circuit Calculator App

Circuit Calculator App for Android - RF Cafe Cool ProductAt my request, Dmitriy provided a few additional screen shots of RF / microwave type functions for his Circuit Calculator app for Android phones. There are 170+ circuits for design, 50+ electronics calculators, 20+ application notes, and a logic solver. The Power Stage Design Tool is for switch mode power supplies. Filter Designer handles multi-stage analog active filters, and there is a stand-alone Resistors app. He even has a Cost, Please! app for tracking travel-related costs. I could be wrong, but it appears most of the capability of the other two design apps is included in Circuit Calculator. All apps work offline without an Internet connection. Files sizes are significantly smaller than similar apps. Does the world need yet another circuit design app when so many already exist, you might ask? According to Dmitriy: "There is a list of well-known electronics design tools for Android which can be found in every review for the last 10 years: 'Electrodoc,' 'Every Circuit,' 'Droid Tesla,' 'Electronics Toolbox,' 'RF & Microwave Toolbox,' and so on. Also, there is a lot of trash on the market that turns finding a good tool into a quest..."

Novel Radio Items

Novel Radio Items, June July 1940 National Radio News - RF CafeHere are a few tidbits of breaking electronic communications news from a 1940 issue of National Radio News magazine (a publication of the National Radio Institute). "Mayday" had evidently recently been adopted as the preferred distress call rather than "SOS" or even "Help!" For some unknown reason a radio owner desperate to get his set working again dragged a potato across the top of a vacuum tube and it suddenly started receiving the local station. An employee of Edison Company of NYC devised a "storm detector" for warning of potential lightning strikes in the area (possibly akin to the classic silk thread and pith ball bell ringer devised by Benjamin Franklin?). In other news, "long life" vacuum tubes were announced that would last up to 4½ years, and some police departments were finally receiving portable radios. It was an exciting time!

Promote Your Company on RF Cafe

Sponsor RF Cafe for as Little as $40 per Month - RF CafeNew Scheme rotates all Banners in all locations on the page! RF Cafe typically receives 8,000-15,000 website visits each weekday. RF Cafe is a favorite of engineers, technicians, hobbyists, and students all over the world. With more than 12,000 pages in the Google search index, RF Cafe returns in favorable positions on many types of key searches, both for text and images. New content is added on a daily basis, which keeps the major search engines interested enough to spider it multiple times each day. Items added on the homepage often can be found in a Google search within a few hours of being posted. I also re-broadcast homepage items on LinkedIn. If you need your company news to be seen, RF Cafe is the place to be.

Many Thanks to Bittele Electronics for Continued Support!

Bittele Electronics PCB Fabrication - RF CafeSince 2003, Bittele Electronics has consistently provided low-volume, electronic contract manufacturing (ECM) and turnkey PCB assembly services. It specializes in board level turnkey PCB assembly for design engineers needing low volume or prototype multi-layer printed circuit boards. Free Passive Components: Bittele Electronics is taking one further step in its commitment of offering the best service to clients of its PCB assembly business. Bittele is now offering common passive components to its clients FREE of Charge.

Sunday the 20th

Electronics Themed Crossword for Thanksgiving Day

Electronics Themed Crossword Puzzle for Thanksgiving Day, 2022 - RF CafeHere is your custom made Electronics Themed crossword puzzle for Thanksgiving Day, 2022. All RF Cafe crossword puzzles are custom made by me, Kirt Blattenberger, and have only words and clues related to electronics, electricity, radio, radar, RF, microwave, and mm-wave engineering, optics, mathematics, chemistry, physics, and other technical subjects. 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!

Get Your Custom-Designed RF Cafe Gear!

Custom-Designed RF-Themed Cups, T-Shirts, Mouse Pads, Clocks (Cafe Press) - RF CafeThis 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...

Thanks Again for Windfreak Technologies' Continued Support!

Windfreak TechnologiesWindfreak Technologies designs, manufactures, tests and sells high value USB powered and controlled radio frequency products such as RF signal generators, RF synthesizers, RF power detectors, mixers, up / downconverters. Since the conception of WFT, we have introduced products that have been purchased by a wide range of customers, from hobbyists to education facilities to government agencies. Worldwide customers include Europe, Australia, and Asia. Please contact Windfreak today to learn how they might help you with your current project.

Friday the 18th

Corrugated-Waveguide Band-Pass Filters

Corrugated-Waveguide Band-Pass Filters, July 1951 Electronics Magazine - RF CafeMaybe in 1951 when this "Corrugated-Waveguide Band-Pass Filters" article appeared in Electronics magazine, placing a special resonating form inside a section of waveguide was a reasonable option for creating a bandpass filter response, but it sure seems like a hard way of accomplishing the task. As shown in the photo and illustrations, a tapered metallic block with machined fins spaced to resonate at a predetermined frequency created a high frequency cutoff to work in conjunction with the natural low frequency cutoff frequency to create a bandpass combination. A quick search did not turn up any references to such structures being used in modern waveguide bandpass filters, although they might exist. It appears iris coupling of resonating cavities is the method du jour. I admit to not being a waveguide expert, so do your own research on this one. If nothing else, this is a good historical reference...

Skyworks Isolated Gate Driver for Silicon Carbide FET Power

Skyworks Isolated Gate Driver Reference Design for Silicon Carbide FET Power Modules in Electric Vehicle and Industrial Applications - RF CafeSkyworks Solutions is introducing an isolated gate driver reference design that operates with Wolfspeed's Silicon Carbide (SiC) Field Effect Transistor (FET) power modules With the growing adoption of SiC for power conversion and inverter applications - fueled by consumer demand for greater range, faster charging and more efficient propulsion for electric vehicles (EVs) - there is an increasing need for gate drivers that are optimized for SiC FETs. The new Si828x gate driver board (GDB) kit from Skyworks simplifies design and enables increased integration for automotive applications by replacing competing designs with more complex gate driver board layouts. Skyworks Si828x gate driver board (GDB) kit. What: Designed and tested for Wolfspeed XM3 SiC FET modules and instantiated on an evaluation board, the Skyworks Si828x GDB kit keeps high voltage/high current...

Many Thanks to Centric RF for Their Continued Support!

Centric RF microwave components - RF CafeCentric 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.

Oscilloscope Traces

Oscilloscope Traces, December 1957 Popular Electronics - RF Cafe"Whenever some science fiction movie or TV show is intended to appear 'ultra-scientific,' or when a sponsor wants to clinch his sales pitch with some phony-technical display, chances are that an oscilloscope will be shown with a modulated wave pattern jumping around on the screen." Funny that this was going on back in 1957 when this article appeared in Popular Electronics magazine, and that it still occurs today. How many modern sci-fi movies or techie action movies have you seen that still show Lissajous patterns squirming around on oscilloscope screens? The only difference is today's hoaxes have rectangular displays whereas the old ones used round displays...

Chip Could Replace 1,000 Lasers

Chip Could Replace a Thousand Lasers - RF Cafe"Frequency combs are key to optical chips that could cut Internet power consumption. A record-breaking optical chip can transmit 1.8 petabits per second, roughly twice as much traffic as transmitted per second over the entire world's Internet, a new study finds. Previous research transmitted up to 10.66 petabits per second over fiber optics. However, these experiments relied on bulky electronics. A compact microchip-based strategy could enable mass production and result in smaller footprints, lower costs, and lower energy consumption. Until now, the fastest single optical microchip supported data rates of 661 terabits per second..."

Simple R.F. Meter

Simple R.F. Meter, October 1958 Popular Electronics - RF CafeCommercially available test equipment for hobbyists in the 21st century is pretty high quality at a relatively low price, so the motivation for buying parts and building your own RF power meter has to be driven not by cost, but by a desire to gain the experience. This 1958 Popular Electronics magazine article presents a simple RF power meter that can be built for about $25 worth of parts. All the parts should be readily available except for the Raytheon CK-721 (or CK-722) germanium PNP transistor. The 2N3906 and the 2N2907 have been suggested as replacements, but some changes in the biasing resistors might be required...

RF & Electronics Symbols for Office™

RF & Electronics Schematic & Block Diagram Symbols for Office™ r2 - RF CafeIt was a lot of work, but I finally finished a version of the "RF & Electronics Schematic & Block Diagram Symbols" that works well with Microsoft Office™ programs Word™, Excel™, and Power Point™. This is an equivalent of the extensive set of amplifier, mixer, filter, switch, connector, waveguide, digital, analog, antenna, and other commonly used symbols for system block diagrams and schematics created for Visio™. Each of the 1,000 or so symbols was exported individually from Visio in the EMF file format, then imported into Word on a Drawing Canvas. The EMF format allows an image to be scaled up or down without becoming pixelated, so all the shapes can be resized in a document and still look good. The imported symbols can also be UnGrouped into their original constituent parts for editing. Check them out!

Thanks to Anritsu for Their Support!

Anritsu (electronics test equipment)Anritsu has been a global provider of innovative communications test and measurement solutions for more than 120 years. Anritsu manufactures a full line of innovative components and accessories for RF and Microwave Test and Measurement Equipment including attenuators & terminations; coaxial cables, connectors & adapters; o-scopes; power meters & sensors; signal generators; antenna, signal, spectrum, & vector network analyzers (VNAs); calibration kits; Bluetooth & WLAN testers; PIM testers; amplifiers; power dividers; antennas.

Thursday the 17th

Cryogenics in Electronics

Cryogenics in Electronics, December 1965 Electronics World - RF CafeWho knew that Willie Nelson was, in addition to being a top country music star, was also an electronics expert? This article from the December 1965 issue of Electronics World included a feature by William Nelson entitled "Cryogenics in Electronics." OK, so it's probably not the same guy. Per the kTB equation governing the power level of thermal noise in a given bandwidth, thermal noise needs to be as low as possible to enable the smallest possible radio signal. "k" is Boltzmann's constant (1.3806503 × 10-23 m2 kg s-2 K-1), "T" is the temperature in Kelvins, and "B" is the bandwidth (BW) in hertz. If the required BW is fixed, and K is fixed, then T needs to be lowered below the ambient temperature. Cryogenics are required to do the job for meaningful results. Requirement for space exploration and space communications motivated a large scale effort to design extremely high sensitivity receivers...

Circuit Calculator App for Android

Circuit Calculator App for Android - RF Cafe Cool ProductRF Cafe visitor Dmitriy recently wrote to let me know about the extensive suite of electronics circuit design apps he created for Android smartphones. There is the Circuit Calculator app with 170+ circuits for design, 50+ electronics calculators, 20+ application notes, and a logic solver. The Power Stage Design Tool is for switch mode power supplies. Filter Designer handles multi-stage analog active filters, and there is a stand-alone Resistors app. He even has a Cost, Please! app for tracking travel-related costs. I could be wrong, but it appears most of the capability of the other two design apps is included in Circuit Calculator. All apps work offline without an Internet connection. Files sizes are significantly smaller than similar apps. Does the world need yet another circuit design app when so many already exist, you might ask? According to Dmitriy: "There is a list of well-known electronics design tools for Android which can be found in every review for the last 10 years: 'Electrodoc,' 'Every Circuit,' 'Droid Tesla,' 'Electronics Toolbox,' 'RF & Microwave Toolbox,' and so on. Also, there is a lot of trash on the market that turns finding a good tool into a quest..."

Students of Today - Technicians of Tomorrow

Students of Today - Technicians of Tomorrow, October 1948 Radio & Television News - RF CafeI was surprised to not find in this story any mention of military training as a possible pathway to a career in electronics. 1948, when this article appeared in Radio & Television News magazine, was a year when a plethora of highly trained and competent cadre of electronics technicians were available for exploitation by commercial industries. During the years of World War II, which came to a close in the Fall of 1945, most research, development, and production of high tech equipment resulted in major advancements in radio, television, radar, teletype, medicine, and creature comforts was operated and maintained by service personnel. Immediately after the war and even for many months prior to the surrenders of Germany and Japan, when the outcome became apparent, many commercial companies began training programs for accommodating a new era of technology for the civilian community...

ConductRF Flexible RF Cable Assemblies to 18 GHz

ConductRF Flexible RF Cable Assemblies to 18 GHz November 2022 - RF CafeConductRF's LSA series of Low Loss, Performance flexible RF cable assemblies, provide microwave system designers with a versatile solution for most applications, and are available immediately from DigiKey. Here we offer customers a solution for 0.086" dia. cable that facilitates greater flexibility and handling or, 0.141" dia. 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, these cables minimize the threat of cross-talk effect...

Using Selenium Rectifiers

Using Selenium Rectifiers, October 1947 QST - RF CafeThe advent of selenium rectifiers in the 1940s was a very welcome new option to circuit designers, consumers, and servicemen. Before that, vacuum tubes did the job (with some use of copper oxide rectifiers). Selenium rectifiers have the advantage of ruggedness and reliability over tubes (~85% vs. ~60%, respectively). Not requiring a heater voltage eliminates needing to create heat in excess of that dissipated due to the innate inefficiency. Voltage and power handling is adjusted by stacking appropriate layers and adjusting the physical size, respectively. A failed selenium rectifier reportedly often emitted a very foul odor, which although offensive to the user, proved to be a nice bonus for the serviceman since it immediately gave a clue as to what went wrong...

RF & Electronics Stencils for Visio

RF & Electronics stencils for Visio r4 - RF CafeWith 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 stencil symbol has been built to fit proportionally on the included A-, B-, and C-size drawing page templates (or use your own page if preferred). Components are provided for system block diagrams, conceptual drawings, schematics, test equipment, racks (EIA 19", ETSI 21"), and more. Test equipment and racks are built at a 1:1 scale so that measurements can be made directly using Visio built-in dimensioning objects. Page templates are provided with a preset scale (changeable) for a good presentation that can incorporate all provided symbols...

Many Thanks to San Francisco Circuits for Continued Support!

San Francisco CircuitsSF Circuits' specialty is in the complex, advanced technology of PCB fabrication and assembly, producing high quality multi-layered PCBs from elaborate layouts. With them, you receive unparalleled technical expertise at competitive prices as well as the most progressive solutions available. Their customers request PCB production that is outside the capabilities of normal circuit board providers. Please take a moment to visit San Francisco Circuits today. "Printed Circuit Fabrication & Assembly with No Limit on Technology or Quantity."

Wednesday the 16th

Iron-Core Inductance Design Chart

Iron-Core Inductance Design Chart, November 1946 Radio-Craft - RF CafeThis iron core inductance design chart was included along with an article in the November 1946 issue of Radio-Craft magazine entitled, "Coils, Cores and Magnets." Iron-core inductors, with their high permeability and loss factor (due to eddy currents), can only be used in power supply filtering, audio, and other relatively low frequency (<~500 kHz) applications. Ferrite cores are compressed from slurries of iron, nickel, cobalt, and other metallic elements, all of which experience lower eddy current losses because they are generally not electrically conductive. With lower permeabilities, ferrites can operate into the few hundreds of MHz realm. Physical configuration of the core and conductors wrapped around the core can have a large influence on the electrical parameters of power loss, impedance, frequency of operation, linearity (due to saturation), heat dissipation...

2022 Salary & Career Survey: Compensation

2022 Salary & Career Survey: Compensation - RF CafeElectronic Design has the Compensation portion of the 2022 Salary & Career Survey. Along with charts with numbers, it also presents how survey respondents felt about their compensation, what kinds of bonuses were received, and the current state of the engineering shortage. 70% report they had greater compensation in the last year, but less that ¼ will beat out the massive inflation rate, so effective earnings are less than the previous year. About 64% get paid between $100k and $200k per year. 10% are above $200k. I'm in the remaining 26% (advertise on RF Cafe or buy my stuff to help fix that ). Median bonuses are $2k-$3k (pretty lame, really). 2/3 of engineers believe they are adequately compensated - a good thing. See the entire report...

Radio and Atom Busting

Radio and Atom Busting, March 1942 QST - RF CafeConnecting a diode backwards across a solenoid coil to shunt potentially damaging current and/or voltages when the supply is turned off is a common trick for saving connected circuitry. Depending on the magnitude of the magnetic field and how quickly the field collapses, some really high voltages can be produced. In fact, the ignition coil and point (now solid state) system in exploits exactly that principle to turn the 12 volts from your car battery into 20-40 kV for firing the spark plugs. Engineers that designed this early cyclotron had limited options for what to use given the state of the art in the early 1940s, and chose to keep the generator permanently connected to the coil (no switch) so that if the controller failed, the coil's energy 15 kgauss magnetic field) would flow back into the generator. That, of course, is the equivalent of refrigerator magnet compared to magnetic fields set up by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the EU in search of the Higgs boson...

Parallel Water Filters Increase Flow Like Parallel Resistors

Parallel Water Filters Increase Flow Like Parallel Resistors - RF CafeThe municipal water supply here in Millcreek, PA, leaves a bad taste in my mouth - literally. It's hard to make a good cup of coffee with bad water, so I decided to install a high quality water filter. The water pressure for the supply line is pretty good, so I figured that pressure reduction due to the filter's presence would not be too bad. I was wrong. In retrospect, this was not really a surprise since I have installed the same type of filters in other houses and had a reduction, but the street pressure is higher here so I thought the output would be high enough. After about two years of having about half the water flow from the cold water faucet as from the hot, I decided to do something about it. Changing the filter helped a bit, but not much. So, I figured it was time to test the theory of equivalency between water pressure and electromotive force pressure (voltage) when applied through parallel resistances. In this case the resistance is provided by the water filters and the pressure is provided by the town's water supply. The picture below shows how I accomplished the plumbing (equivalent of wiring in an electrical circuit). A couple "T" fittings provided the connection nodes. The water supply can be thought of as the positive terminal of a battery (anode) and the sink's drain can be considered the negative terminal (cathode). Theoretically, if each filter dropped the output pressure by a half...

SOLiD Adopts Picocom for Nex-Gen Open RAN

SOLiD Adopts Picocom for Next-Generation Open RAN Products - RF CafePicocom, the 5G Open RAN baseband semiconductor and software specialist, today announced that SOLiD, a global leader in cellular in-building mobile coverage, has selected Picocom silicon and software to power its next generation of 5G Open RAN Radio Units (O-RUs). Picocom PC802, 5G Open RAN Radio Units (O-RUs) "SOLiD is at the forefront of, and continues to be committed to, being a worldwide leader in in-building cellular technology. Partnering with Picocom to purchase PC802 devices and license its 5G NR O-RU software gives us the confidence that SOLiD will maintain the edge over our competition. This agreement will enable us to be competitive in the ever-evolving Open RAN market with our next-generation O-RUs," said HyunChae Kim, Vice President at SOLiD...

Electronics-Themed Comics, January 1945 Radio News

Electronics-Themed Comics January 1945 Radio News - RF CafeHere is a batch of electronics-themed comics that appeared in the January 1945 edition of Radio News magazine. The editors must have been frisky and into the holiday spirit(s) when choosing comics that month. You'll see what I mean. Marvin Townsend, one of the artists, was a frequent contributor to electronics magazines. As with Townsend and those drawn by Frank Beaven and others, you can usually tell who drew the comic by the character forms. There is a huge list of other comics at the bottom of the page...

Many Thanks for Alliance Test Equipment's Support!

Allied Test Equipment Products - RF CafeAlliance Test Equipment sells used / refurbished test equipment and offers short- and long-term rentals. They also offer repair, maintenance and calibration. Prices discounted up to 80% off list price. Agilent/HP, Tektronix, Anritsu, Fluke, R&S and other major brands. A global organization with ability to source hard to find equipment through our network of suppliers. Alliance Test will purchase your excess test equipment in large or small lots. Blog posts offer advice on application and use of a wide range of test equipment. Please visit Allied Test Equipment today to see how they can help your project.

RF Cascade Workbook

RF Cascade Workbook - RF Cafe RF Cascade Workbook 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...

Tuesday the 15th

Bell Telephone Laboratories - PV Arrays

Bell Telephone Laboratories - PV Arrays, January 1956 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeThe trend toward solar power is nothing new. Engineers and scientists have been working for decades to develop photovoltaic (PV) cells for converting sunlight into electricity. The challenge has been primarily a semiconductor compound and construction issue. Modern high efficiency solar cells are not the simple silicon types of yesteryear. Modern PV cells use a complex mixture of atoms and die layer configurations. The process for today's most efficient examples is difficult and expensive. There is also the problem of degrading performance over time with continued exposure to sunlight and environmental contamination (dust, dirt, rain, pollution chemicals, etc.). Newly installed array systems might boast 20%-25% efficiency, but five years later it is down measurably. After a decade and longer things can get really bad. This Bell Telephone Labs infomercial from a 1956 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine show a lineman installing a "solar battery" atop a pole...

Rohde & Schwarz Technology Academy

Rohde & Schwarz Technology Academy - RF CafeRohde & Schwarz offers a huge selection of products and services to the RF, microwave, and wireless industries free of charge. Posters, Pocket Guides, whitepapers, equipment manuals (many of which include extensive tutorials and equations), etc., can be downloaded from their website. Webinars are available for a wide variety of topics. For a nominal fee, online courses from their Technology Academy such as RF & Microwave Basics ($190), RF & Wireless Transceiver System Architectures ($120), and RF & Microwave Connector Types and Connector Care ($120) can be attended. High priced courses targeting specific industry topics like Automotive Radar - Basics, Technology and Test Equipment ($780) are also available. Aside: R&S just informed me that a new version of the Radar & Electronic Warfare Pocket Guide.

Many Thanks to KR Electronics for Long-Time Support!

KR ElectronicsKR Electronics designs and manufactures high quality filters for both the commercial and military markets. KR Electronics' line of filters includes lowpass, highpass, bandpass, bandstop and individually synthesized filters for special applications - both commercial and military. State of the art computer synthesis, analysis and test methods are used to meet the most challenging specifications. All common connector types and package form factors are available. Please visit their website today to see how they might be of assistance. Products are designed and manufactured in the USA.

Engineering Website Traffic Summary: 2022

Engineering Website Traffic Summary: 2022 (SEMRush.com) - RF CafeAs a rule, I do not spend much time wondering what other engineering websites are doing or what their visitor traffic might be. Instead, I spend my time creating a format and content that caters to the needs of RF Cafe visitors - engineers, technicians, students, hobbyists, researchers, etc. I do not use pop-up windows for ads, announcements, cookie warnings, or anything else. I have never betrayed the trust of visitors by selling or trading their IP addresses, e-mail addresses, or any sort of statistical data. Doing so is rewarded with a good flow of website traffic. The graphs are screen captures from the SEMRush webpage. The results were a bit surprising in some instances, but expected in others. For reference, RF Cafe gets an average of 29,539 "organic traffic"/month. By comparison, the IEEE website has 2,879,641/month (97x more). The ARRL website sees 146,616/month (49x). Microwave Journal is at 5,916/month (1/5th). Microwaves & RF shows 9,366/month (1/3rd). Two what might be considered competitor websites, everythingRF and Microwaves101, are at 164,110/month (5x) and 24,750/month (7/8ths), respectively...

Tracking the Man-Made Satellite

Tracking the Man-Made Satellite, July 1957 Radio & TV News - RF CafeHere is a great look inside the planning and operation of the "Minitrack" systems used for Project Vanguard to track the Sputnik, Echo, Explorer, and other early Earth artificial satellites during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) activities. From a 1957 issue of Radio & TV News magazine: "Essentially, the [IBM 704's] storage function works by means of doughnut-shaped cores, about the size of pinheads, which are strung on a complex of wires in such a way that several wires pass through each core. Combinations of electrical impulses on these wires alter the magnetic states of the cores. A line of cores, some magnetized and some neutral, represents a number or other collection of symbols in much the same way as a combination of dots and dashes stands for a word in Morse code. Up to 32,768 of these 'words' can be stored in the 704's high-speed magnetic core memory. Additional 'words' can be held..."

Promote Your Company on RF Cafe

Sponsor RF Cafe for as Little as $40 per Month - RF CafeNew Scheme rotates all Banners in all locations on the page! RF Cafe typically receives 8,000-15,000 website visits each weekday. RF Cafe is a favorite of engineers, technicians, hobbyists, and students all over the world. With more than 12,000 pages in the Google search index, RF Cafe returns in favorable positions on many types of key searches, both for text and images. New content is added on a daily basis, which keeps the major search engines interested enough to spider it multiple times each day. Items added on the homepage often can be found in a Google search within a few hours of being posted. I also re-broadcast homepage items on LinkedIn. If you need your company news to be seen, RF Cafe is the place to be.

Please Thank RF Superstore for Their Continued Support

RF Superstore coaxial cable, connectors, adapters - RF CafeRF 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!

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. About RF Cafe.

Homepage Archive Pages

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

- Christmas-themed items

LadyBug LB5954L Power Sensor with LAN Option - RF Cafe
Werbel Microwave (power dividers, couplers)



Windfreak Technologies Frequency Synthesizers - RF Cafe