See Page 1 |
2 | of the December 2025 homepage
archives. Monday the 15th
 The dawn of the "Space Race" was in the
late 1950s, when the USA and USSR were vying to be the first to place a satellite
in orbit around Earth, and then to see who could exploit the communications benefits
of those platforms most advantageously. At the same time, radio astronomy was gaining
ground quickly as gigantic new parabolic dishes were being constructed to "listen"
to signals from stars and hot, nebulous gases deep in space. Early concepts for
communications satellites did not very accurately predict what real-world satellites
would look like, as can be seen in this 1959 issue of Radio-Electronics
magazine's "What
New?" feature...
 I stopped creating the RF Cafe
engineering
and science themed crossword puzzles at the end of January in order to test
the interest in them. Although not much feedback has been received, enough came
in to motivate me to resume creating them. I actually enjoy making them, but it
can take up to an hour to make each crossword by the time I decide which version
to use, and then go through and manually format the images and text. Enjoy....
 "Scientists from the University of Warwick
and the National Research Council of Canada have set a new record by creating and
measuring the highest 'hole mobility' ever observed in a material that works with
standard silicon technology. Today's semiconductor devices are typically built from
Silicon (Si). As these components become increasingly compact and tightly packed,
they generate more heat and begin to approach fundamental performance limits.
Germanium (Ge), which appeared in some of the earliest transistors of the 1950s,
is gaining renewed attention as researchers look for ways to take..."
 Carl and Jerry were early adopters of the
near field communications (NFC) craze that is going full-swing today. The often harmlessly
mischievous teenage duo used their combined grasp of modern electronics to pull
off gags on unsuspecting friends... and sometime adversaries. In this episode, a
near-field transmitter and receiver pair is designed to help Carl bedazzle a scientist
who was attempting to disprove the ability to use extrasensory perception
(ESP) to determining what another person was thinking
about. In this case it was detecting which playing card was being displayed on an
overhead projector. Of course Carl didn't really have "the gift," but relied on
his co-conspirator, Jerry...
 Release 12.14.2025 of RF Cafe's amazing
Espresso Engineering Workbook is now available for download. As always, it is
provided FREE of charge, compliments of my dedicated advertisers. The newest calculator
translates any text string into Morse code. I tried to get an audio output to work,
but Excel does not have a built-in sound generator, so the resulting noise it makes
is really awful; you would have hated it. You're welcome.
 It was not until 1963 that the International
Committee of Weights and Measures (CIPM) adopted the
cesium clock as the world scientific community's standard time
reference. It boasted an accuracy that kept it within 1.1 parts in 100 billion,
meaning it would not gain or lose more than a second in 3 thousand years. To show
how far technology has advanced since 1963, in April of 2014 the National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST) launched a new atomic clock called NIST-F2 (also
cesium-based) to serve as a new U.S. civilian time and frequency standard. NIST-F2
would neither gain nor lose one second in about 300 million years - a factor of
10 thousand. According to the U.S. Navy's official Time.Gov website, the Internet
time reported on my computer was 1 minute and...
Friday the 12th
 In his 1959 Radio-Electronics magazine
editorial, Hugo Gernsback envisioned a "National Facts Center" - a government-run
repository where all global scientific knowledge would be coded, cross-indexed,
and accessible via computers. He argued that researchers were drowning in uncoordinated
information, leading to wasted effort and redundant discoveries, like the "electronic
cigarette" concept which had been documented decades earlier. His solution anticipated
key aspects of the Internet: a centralized, searchable database that could deliver
relevant facts within seconds, drawn from worldwide sources. What he does not allow
for is the propensity for corrupt information - both intentional and not - to be
inserted into the system, thereby "poisoning the well...
 Long before there was Power Point, presentations
at training seminars were conducted using overhead projectors and larger-than-life
props of the devices being taught. The U.S. Navy, during World War II, set
up a special facility called the Visual Aid Model Shop located at
Radio Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. Its charter was to design and
build very large scale models of equipment and tools that service personnel used
while performing their duties. It is kind of funny to look at the sizes of some
of the items, like the 8x size radio chassis assembly shown in this article's main
photograph. As a life-long model builder myself, I would have loved to work in a
shop like that building torso-size electrolytic capacitors and potentiometer...
 Anatech Microwave Company (AMC) offers the
industry's largest portfolio of high-performance standard and customized
RF and microwave filters and filter-related products for military, commercial,
aerospace and defense, and industrial applications up to 40 GHz. Three new
models have been added to the product line in November, including a 1700-1900 MHz
directional coupler with a coupling of 20 ±0.5 dB, a 250 watt terminator
with frequency range from DC to 2.5 GHz, and a 2 dB SMA attenuator with
a frequency range...
 This advertisement from
Thordarson is from one of my oldest editions of the American Radio Relay League's
QST magazine - December 1929. Thordarson Electric Manufacturing Company
was founded in Chicago, Illinois, by Chester H. Thordarson in 1895. He was the first
producer of industrial and commercial transformers. They are still in business today.
Thordarson patented more than 30 inventions for transformer design and manufacturing
back in its early days, including the still most popular form of laminations, the
scrapless "E and I." Many discussions are available on various transformer lamination
configurations, including the very common "E and I" types...
 News reports are full of features about
the wave of
radio controlled (R/C) "drones"
terrorizing citizens with their often inexperienced pilots navigating their camera-laden
craft to peer into bedroom windows, obtain "birds-eye" views of sporting events,
and to be a general pain in the posterior to people trying to enjoy their right
to privacy and safety (except, of course, unless it is the Government choosing to
violate them). Incredible advances in radio, navigation, and sensor systems has
facilitated a wide variety of very affordable multirotor (the correct term, not
"drone") aircraft that can literally fly themselves. For under $500 you can buy
a GPS-guided multirotor that can be programmed to fly to one or more waypoints and
return to the launch location, with range and flight duration limited...
 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. We have >500,000 RF and Microwave passive
components we can ship you today! We offer Quality Precision Parts, Competitive
Pricing, Easy Shopping, Fast Delivery. We're happy to provide custom parts, such
as custom cables and adapters, to fit your needs. Centric RF is currently seeking
distributors, so please contact us if interested. Visit Centric RF today.
Thursday the 11th
 This 1959 Radio-Electronics magazine
article details a
transitional phase in PCB technology, where manufacturers were responding to
service technicians' concerns by implementing significant usability improvements.
Key features included color-coded conductors for circuit tracing, board-edge connectors
for easy removal, and "road-mapped" overlays replicating circuitry on the component
side. Innovations like Westinghouse's "See-Matic" board functioned as a built-in
schematic with component symbols printed directly on the conductor side. Boards
were single or double-sided, utilized wax coatings and solder-resist...
 "The Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum (HNF), in
the city of Paderborn, Germany, occupies the former headquarters of the Nixdorf
Computer AG, the country's biggest computer builder of the 1970s and 1980s. Founded
in 1996, the HNF calls itself the largest computer museum in the world. HNF recently
opened a new gallery about
Silicon Valley and early microcomputers. In preparation for the gallery's opening,
some historical facts about the Valley and its name were researched for the HNF's
weblog. In 1977, West German newsmagazine Der Spiegel put 'Silicon Valley' in quotation
marks. It has since become a household name. Geographically, it refers..."
 For some reason the
subject of
grounding has been very prominent in my reading in the last few
days. The chapter I just finished reading in one of David Herres' books on the
National Electric Code (NEC) covering grounding of commercial and residential
services, an article by H. Ward Silver in QST titled, "Grounding and
Bonding Systems," and now this article by John T. Frye (of
Carl and Jerry fame) on grounding, makes for a wealth
of knowledge. Mr. Frye takes a unique approach at teaching by exploiting his gift
for story-telling. In this article, electronics repair shop owner Mac give technician
Barney a nice bit of tutelage on what constitutes a good Earth ground and what does
not. In some...
 Exodus Advanced Communications is a multinational
RF communication equipment and engineering service company serving both commercial
and government entities and their affiliates worldwide. Power amplifiers ranging
from 10 kHz to 51 GHz with various output power levels and noise figure
ranges, we fully support custom designs and manufacturing requirements for both
small and large volume levels. decades of combined experience in the RF field for
numerous applications including military jamming, communications, radar, EMI/EMC
and various commercial projects with all designing and manufacturing of our HPA,
MPA, and LNA products in-house.
 "These pulses speed toward the moon at the
fantastic speed of light... through the ionosphere and on into the unknown void
surrounding the earth's atmosphere [emphasis added]." Hard as
it might be to imagine nowadays, in 1946 there was no empirical data regarding the
Earth's upper atmosphere other than the few instrumented sounding rockets that had
been launched for studies. Orbiting man-made communications satellites were still
a decade away when engineers at the Evans Signal Corps Engineering Laboratory in
New Jersey made the first
Earth-Moon-Earth (EME, aka 'moon bounce')
signal bounce using a massive radar and antenna that blasted 10 MW EIRP pulse
at the lunar surface. It was a big deal then; it's no big deal today. Amateur radio
hobbyists routinely conduct EME...
 It came as no surprise to amateur radio
operators that their operational privileges would be curtailed immediately after
the United States was drawn into World War II following the Japanese Imperial
Navy's attack on
Pearl Harbor.
After all they were subject to the same kind of restriction during WWI. Just as
President Woodrow Wilson issued an executive order prohibiting unauthorized transmissions
by amateurs, President Roosevelt had the FCC ban the radio transmissions of Hams.
The fear was that enemy intelligence gathering posts would be able to divulge sensitive
information via "coded" broadcasts, as well as the unintentional providing...
Wednesday the 10th
 The electronics and communications worlds
were on fast-forward in 1959 when this "News
Briefs" column was published in Radio-Electronics magazine. Space exploration
featured Explorer VII's launch to study radiation belts with advanced instrumentation.
A pioneering "Stratovision" project planned airborne educational TV broadcasts across
six Midwestern states using DC-7 aircraft. Communications developments included
the world's most powerful naval transmitter in Maine for submarine communication
and Bell Labs' experiments with passive satellite balloons for intercontinental
microwave...
 New! Reset button
to put all user parameters at default values, streamlined
VBA code, updated Help, and more... For
more than two decades,
RF Cascade Workbook™ has been the de facto standard for
spreadsheet-based RF system cascade analysis. Chances are you have never used a
spreadsheet quite like this. Extensive use of VBA code enables complex calculations
and automated user interface features that make the experience more like a software
program than a spreadsheet. Using RF Cascade Workbook™ is as easy as any
other Excel spreadsheet, and it allows you to make modifications to the cells and
charts if your expertise is sufficient...
 Grid dip meters, aka grid dip oscillators
(GDO in this article), are extremely useful for determining when a circuit is functioning
at resonance. In the words of Sherlock Holmes, "It is simplicity in itself" the
way a GDO operates. The grid dip oscillator emits power at a calibrated frequency
which is absorbed (or not) to a degree depending on how close to resonance the external
circuit under test is to that frequency. The nice thing about this type of instrument
is that it does not need a wired or other type of physical connection to the circuit.
Of course modern day GDOs do not use vacuum tubes with grids that register relative
current levels as an indication of resonance, but the nomenclature has persisted...
 "James
R. Biard and Gary E. Pittman, Texas Instruments engineers, accidentally created
the first
LED in 1961. At the time, they collaborated on a project, developing low-noise
parametric amplifiers for X-band radar receivers, and found a diode they created
on a gallium-arsenide substrate that emitted infrared light. In 1962, the SNX-100
GaAs LED, the first commercial LED, was released. That same year, GE physicist Nick
Holonyak created the first red LED. Producing various LED colors involved applying
electric currents to materials with distinct molecular structures. Researchers observed
how the energy bandgap of each material influenced wavelength, and therefore..."
 Research has shown over and over again that
engaging in mental exercise is a good way to stave off senility in old age. Playing
musical instruments, writing software, working
crossword puzzles, and other types of activities that require
logic, physical dexterity, and memory recall are often cited as examples. There
is no guarantee these things will prevent or even delay cerebral atrophy, but why
take a chance? Work this crossword just to make sure. Disclaimer: I am not a doctor
and am not prescribing this challenge as a remedy for potential future imbecility,
daftness, tendency to dodder, mental infirmness, or senescent gray matter accumulation,
nor do I suggest that starting now will reverse...
 Early investigations into RF signal atmospheric
"ducting" was reported in this 1956-era article in Popular Electronics. Ducting effects were first noticed during World War II when
Nazi broadcasts from occupied Paris were received occasionally in London. Scientists
discovered that a small change in the humidity of the air near the surface has the
effect of trapping radio waves, a trapping process dubbed "ducting." These waves
are conducted as if they were inside of a metallic waveguide. Research by the U.S.
Army Signal Corps determined a sudden temperature rise of around 50 to 200 feet
above the surface appears...
Tuesday the 9th
 Tom Jaski's 1959 article in Radio-Electronics
magazine explains how
traveling-wave tubes (TWTs) solve the critical transit-time problem in amplifying
signals above 1,000 MHz. Conventional vacuum tubes fail at these frequencies
because electron movement becomes too slow relative to signal cycles, causing phase
shifts and reduced amplification. TWTs cleverly use this slow electron transit to
their advantage. A helical delay line slows incoming waves to match electron beam
velocity. The wave's electrostatic field bunches electrons, which then transfer
energy back to the wave in the retarding field phase, resulting in amplification.
Magnetic focusing maintains beam integrity. With gains up to 70 dB and tunable...
 If you ever have the opportunity to read
the history of the engineering efforts that went into designing and building the
Saturn V rocket, you will be amazed at the ingenuity and
incredible work that went into its creation. Margins of error approached single
digits in some instances, like with some of the fuel tanks. According to the book
NASA Apollo 11: Owner' Workshop Manual, re-design was constantly required
to remove weight from already-completed assemblies in order to compensate for overweight
components that could not be kept within their budget allocations. Some portions
of fuel tanks were so thin that a finger poke would deform the container. This news
item from a 1965 edition of Electronics World magazine reports on work...
 "Cornell University's 'ChipSat'-equipped
light sail was successfully deployed on December 3 and several dozen telemetry signals
from its ChipSat flight computers have been received and decoded. This is the first
time that orbit-to-ground ChipSat data has been fully decoded, which Ph.D. candidate
Joshua Umansky-Castro, KD2WTQ, calls 'a huge milestone for the technology.' Student
researchers at Cornell still
seek help from amateur radio operators equipped with satellite receive stations
to continue monitoring for signal from the 100-milliwatt transmitters on 437.400
MHz, using the LoRa® digital protocol. It is estimated that the light sail will
deorbit within 48 hours..."
 RF Cafe visitor Rick M. was kind enough
to send me this message and info re the
TYPIT® product: "Years ago you posted about Typit, these accessories for typing
scientific characters. My father was a physics prof and academic dean at a small
college in Kansas, which apparently made him a prospective customer for them. In
Dad's papers I found their materials and a sample Typit. Just thought you might
be interested." Turns out using them is different that what I had envisioned, involving
replacing keys. It is actually a very convenient scheme with no key replacement
required...
 Always the consummate story teller,
John T. Frye began his writing career long before his "Carl & Jerry" electronics adventure series that ran monthly
for many years in Popular Electronics. His style featured creating a dialog
between instructor and student, serviceman and customer, husband and wife, father
and son, etc., in order to present an educational experience with back-and-forth
inquiry and responses. In the ended, the reader learns something about both sides
of of the situation. In this story, electronics service shop owner Mac reassures
technician Barney that given time and patience, he will grasp the circuit concepts
of the...
 Do you know what a "gimmick" is in the RF circuit world? If you have ever had the
occasion to repair or recondition inductors (coils, chokes, etc.), then you have
probably seen one and probably didn't know what it was. Read on to learn about a
gimmick capacitor. Working with the tiny wires on those old coils can be a real
challenge. Words you hadn't uttered in a long time tend to move to the forefront
of your memory in the process. Having struggled with a few multi-layered
RF coils from old radios, I am familiar with the intricacies of
trying to use fat fingers to wind and splice 40-gauge enameled wire in spaces 1/8-inch
wide. Many of those older coils are wound in thin, tall rings whose wires have a...
Monday the 8th
 The "Space Race" was in full swing when
this "Space
Relay Station" article appeared in a 1959 issue of Radio-Electronics
magazine. The Russkies launched Sputnik into Earth orbit on October 4, 1957. The
U.S, to its shame, didn't orbit a satellite until January 31 of the next year (Explorer 1). In
December 1958, Project SCORE marked the first successful demonstration of space-based
communications using an orbiting relay station aboard an Atlas missile. This military-industry
collaboration proved the feasibility of global communication via satellite, transmitting
both voice recordings and multi-channel teletype signals. The 35-pound communications
package operated in three modes: storing messages on magnetic tape for delayed broadcast,
instantly relaying signals, or broadcasting...
 "This is the sixth of seven articles devoted
to the topic of shielding to prevent electromagnetic wave radiation. The first article
discussed the reflection and transmission of uniform plane waves at a normal boundary.
The second article addressed the normal incidence of a uniform plane wave on a solid
conducting shield with no apertures. The third article presented the exact solution
for the shielding effectiveness of a solid conducting shield. The fourth article
presented the approximate solution obtained from the exact solution. The fifth article
discussed the wave impedance of electric and magnetic dipoles. In this article,
we will use the concept of wave impedance to determine the shielding effectiveness
in the near field..."
 Instrument Landing Systems
(ILS) has been around since the early 1930s, as made
apparent by this article in Short Wave Craft magazine. Frequencies, circuits,
and infrastructure equipment have evolved over the years, but fundamentally, landing
an aircraft (airplane, helicopter, dirigible) under
'blind' flying conditions has not changed. Two precision beams - one in elevation
and one in azimuth - broadcast by ground-based installations are detected by airborne
receivers and relative positions are displayed for the pilot's use in navigation.
ILS does not help the pilot fly the aircraft; it only leads him to the runway threshold.
In the past couple decades, space-based Global Positioning System
(GPS) equipment has increasingly been used to...
 Are you a
project builder? If so, then you probably make a point of reading
hints and tips offered by fellow aka do-it-yourselfers. Even with the ready availability
of just about anything you need already pre-manufactured, there are still times
that you either just want to figure out a better way of doing something or happen
to have a challenge that does not have a solution that can be purchased from a catalog
or on eBay. I have posted a few DIYer features from some of the vintage electronics
magazines, many of which are still relevant, or might at least give you an idea
for how to accomplish...
 We're excited to invite you to the Annual
AOC International Symposium & Convention 2025! Visit Anatech Electronics
at Booth 1013 to explore our latest RF and microwave
solutions, meet our experts, and discover how we can support your next project.
When: December 9-11, 2025 Where: Booth 1013 Gaylord National Resort &
Convention Center, National Harbor, MD Amidst this dynamic environment, Anatech
Electronics remains a reliable partner. Whether your platform operates on the
ground, at sea, or in space, Anatech Electronics offers tailored solutions
for all your filtering needs. See you at the show!
 By 1946, radio and television manufacturers
were scurrying to supply the huge, pent-up demand for
communications and entertainment systems that accumulated during
World War II. Fortunately, the dearth of electronics components, raw materials
for chassis fabrication, and available labor was suddenly and significantly turned
around by late 1945. Wanton destruction of entire cities in Europe left citizens
without many basic creature comfort items like radios, televisions, refrigerators,
vacuum cleaners, toasters, automobiles, and other things taken for granted a decade
earlier. As with any well-executed plan, manufacturers endeavored to survey the
market demand for such products and then devised...
Friday the 5th
 In his 1959 Radio-Electronics magazine
editorial, noted futurist Hugo Gernsback identified
millimeter waves as an undeveloped frontier with immense potential. He accurately
stated the technical hurdles: inefficient generation, atmospheric absorption by
oxygen and water vapor, and the need for waveguides and horn antennas instead of
conventional cables. Gernsback predicted these waves would solve spectrum congestion
by enabling hundreds of thousands of telephone and television channels on a single
line. He foresaw space applications, suggesting millimeter-wave transmitters could
communicate across interstellar distances...
 I started collecting Social Security a little
less than a year ago, at age 66 years and 8 months - full retirement age for being
born in 1958. If I had begun earlier, the payments would have been lower, and the
SSA would deduct $1 in benefits for every $2 earned above $21,240 (in 2025). I could
end up with $0 from SSA. Sucks, right? That's while Billion$$$ are being stolen
through immigrant fraud programs. As if that isn't a big enough kick in the posterior,
SSA announced a 2.80% cost of living increase
for 2026 - while raising the Medicare cost by 9.68%
(deducted from my SS check). That is the reward for half a century of hard work
and honest living. This is why working people despise politicians and bureaucrats
(and why freeloaders love them).
 In that these
comics from Radio-Craft magazine have an electronics theme, you can
claim looking at them is work-related. The themes of the comics reflect common scenarios
of the 1944-1945 era in which they were published, but with not much modification
can be applied to today's environment. People will always expect more features from
products, will be critical of everything presented to them, and will want to haggle
for the best deal from the used camel salesman. You might consider using one of
them for your next conference or project status presentation. I missed the comic
on page 32 on the first posting of this page, but it's at the top now...
 It'll take selling a lot of EBT cards to
buy one of these -- "The
Galaxy TriFold costs $2440. When unfolded it has a ten inch display. 'I believe
the foldable market will continue to grow, and the TriFold in particular could act
as a catalyst that drives more explosive growth in key parts of the segment,' says
Samsung evp Alex Lim. Currently, foldables have only 2% of the market.' The phone
is 3.9 mm thick at its thinnest point. It uses a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and
has a 200 MP camera and a 5,600 mAh three-cell battery. 45 W charging can charge
the TriFold to 50% in 30 minutes. Samsung refined the Armor FlexHinge for the TriFold.
Two differently sized hinges with a dual-rail..."
 Electroluminescent (EL) devices were patented
by General Electric back in 1938, but it was not until the 1960s that the fabrication
process, involving copper-doped zinc sulfide (ZnS) as the light-emitting compound,
had developed to the point where high volume production was feasible. Early EL displays
exhibited short lifetimes and low efficiencies. EL panels are also referred to as
light-emitting capacitors because of their construction geometry. Some of the first
commercial applications for such EL panels were as back lighting in automobiles.
Electroluminescence can also be obtained in semiconductors in the III-V group class
like indium phosphide (InP), gallium arsenide (GaAs), and...
 1945 or 2025? Seventy years have passed
since this photo of a
vacuum tube manufacturing facility in China was taken. Given that
most new vacuum tubes are made in China, and that the labor work conditions have
not changed much in the intervening time period (except in high-profile plants like
Foxconn where Apple products are made), this might very likely represent a modern
day operation. BTW, most of the vacuum tubes not being made in China are made in
Russia... to assure their antiquated infrastructure has an ample supple of replacement
parts. I say that only partly in jest. The largest market for new vacuum tubes is
music amplifier equipment and a few...
 Werbel Microwave is a manufacturer of RF
directional and bidirectional couplers (6 dB to 50 dB) and RF power dividers
/ combiners (2- to 16-way) with select models operating up to 26.5 GHz and
100 W of CW power (3 kW peak). All are RoHS and REACH compliant and are
designed and manufactured in our Whippany, NJ, location. Custom products and private
label service available. Please take a couple minutes to visit their website and
see how Werbel Microwave can help you today.
Thursday the 4th
 In 1959, RCA introduced the
nuvistor, a vacuum tube featuring a metal-ceramic envelope, cantilevered cylindrical
electrodes, and fully automated brazed construction. Designed for shock resistance,
low power consumption, and miniaturization, it offered improved gain and noise figures
over conventional tubes, with applications ranging from TV tuners to military equipment.
RCA positioned the nuvistor as a superior alternative to transistors. Despite advantages
and initial optimism that it would prolong the vacuum tube era, the nuvistor ultimately
failed to halt the transistor's advance. Solid-state technology rapidly...
 All types of
sales and repair services get accused of ineptness of skill which
requires more time than necessary, overcharging for parts and/or labor, underhandedness
in faking problems and selling unnecessary replacement parts, improper customer
interfacing, sloppiness in appearance and/or work environment, failure to arrive
on time for appointments, etc. Some of the most often cited these days are auto
mechanics, cellphone repairers, home improvement contractors, lawn care, and builders.
Up until about a decade ago when cellphone repair began to dominate over computer
repair, the latter was a big source of complaints. In the 1950s and 60s, it was
TV and radio repairmen who took a lot of abuse not just from their customers...
 "November
2025 marked a pivotal turning point in U.S. economic history, signaling a significant
shift driven by an unprecedented alignment between federal power and private investment.
This pivotal moment saw the world's leading technology and semiconductor giants
pledge massive investments - from Amazon's colossal $50B commitment to U.S. government
AI infrastructure to Samsung's $310B chip fab investment - highlighting the scale
and importance of private sector engagement in shaping U.S. industrial strategy.
Yet, this 'Great Reallocation'
is not a triumph of free-market forces..."
 These custom-made
engineering and science-themed crossword puzzles are done weekly
for the brain-exercising benefit and pleasure of RF Cafe visitors who are fellow
cruciverbalists. The jury is out on whether or not this type of mental challenge
helps keep your gray matter from atrophying in old age, but it certainly helps maintain
your vocabulary and cognitive skills at all ages. A database of thousands of words
has been built up over the years and contains only clues and terms associated with
engineering, science, physical, astronomy, mathematics, chemistry, etc. You will
never find a word taxing your knowledge of a numbnut soap opera star or the name
of some obscure village in the Andes mountains. You might, however, encounter the
name of a movie star like Hedy Lamarr or a geographical...
 Empower RF Systems is proud to announce
the release of its latest
C-UAS RF amplifier module, Model 1211, engineered for robust performance in
demanding military and defense applications. Operating across 500 to 2500 MHz
frequency range the Model 1211 guarantees a minimum of 100 watts of output
power while typically delivering up to 125 watts. With efficient class AB GaN
on SiC design, the 1211 supports CW, AM, FM, and pulse signals while maintaining
high reliability, low harmonics, and ruggedness under extreme conditions. For complete
20 to 6000 MHz coverage, this module can be partnered with the 1193 and 1212
modules. Each in the same form factor with a common digital interface...
 Maybe it comes from having crossed the half-century
Rubicon, but with increasing frequency I find myself seeking out vintage magazines
to learn how the world used to be. I am a realist who has no misconceptions about
how idyllic things used to be and that today is utter debauchery, but it is apparent
from a lot of the publications that we surely have changed significantly in the
last 50+ years - better in some ways, worse in others. For many years I have been
purchasing of WWII era QST magazines off eBay. As I have been doing for a while
on my Airplanes and Rockets website, I am going to begin scanning and posting vintage
electronics magazine advertisements and articles. A lot of the information is timeless
in its application, especially since vacuum tubes are still in widespread use in
the Amateur Radio realm. Of course electronics...
Wednesday the 3rd
 You can tell by the fact that four out of
five of these
tech-themed comics from Radio-Electronics magazine concerned the repair
of television that TVs were a big thing in 1957. The relatively recent end of World
War II and more recently the Korean War, left a lot of highly trained and skilled
troubleshooters and operators, so the field was fairly flooded with qualified people.
Men's magazines (Mechanix Illustrated, Popular Science, Popular
Electronics, etc.) were always chock full of full-page advertisements for learn-at-home
television repair courses for becoming a serviceman. A successful electronics repairman
could earn as much as $40 per week or more! As the comics imply, there was a fairly
significant love-hate relationship between TV owners...
 As
is frequently the case, John T. Frye's intrepid teenage technophile experimenters,
Carl Anderson and Jerry Bishop, find themselves in an unplanned
adventure. Often times they end up applying their electronics knowledge to bail
themselves out of trouble, but this time the pair - and a friend - ended up helping
the police catch some bad guys (an oft-occurring theme). As you will
see after reading "All's Fair --," the device used would some day (today)
be used by automobile manufacturers, at the behest of law enforcement agencies,
to enable remote control of somebody else's...
 Here
is some irony for you. I just posted an article from a 1966 issue of
Electronics magazine predicting future use of glass substrates for semiconductors,
and now this. Better late than never. "Glass
wafer revenues are expected to grow with a 9.8% CAGR (2024–2030), confirming
glass's transition from niche to mainstream. CIS (CMOS Image Sensors) remains the
dominant segment, accounting for about 2/3 of 2025 revenue. The structural shift
to 300 mm wafers and the emergence of panel formats are transforming upstream melting
capacity and midstream finishing. 'Glass is transitioning from a specialty material
to a foundational process platform..."
 Jules Antoine
Lissajous was a French mathematician who in the days before oscilloscopes concerned
himself with patterns (waveforms) that would be generated as the result
of two separate functions (signals) driving both the x- and y-axes.
Lissajous used mechanical vibration devices connected to mirrors to bounce light
beams onto a projection surface, so his results were not merely hand-drawn plots
on graph paper. He was probably as mesmerized with them as we are today when they
appear. Sci-fi movies have used Lissajous patterns in the background to 'wow' the
audience into thinking it is witnessing futuristic, cutting-edge technology. When
troubleshooting analog circuits...
 In
the episode embedded below, titled, "Sweatwork," (a takeoff on the 1976 movie "Network"),
produced from my purchased copy of the
Welcome Back, Kotter DVD set, is about the Sweathogs running
a radio station in the school. On the blackboard outside of the broadcast studio
is a schematic for a vacuum-tube-based AM transmitter. It looks legit, and includes
all the components to form a basic transmitter, including the audio input. I could
not make out the manufacturer of the transmitter cabinet in...
 The geographic
center of the 48 contiguous (conterminous) states in America is located
about 2.6 miles northwest of the center of Lebanon, Kansas (39° 50' N,
98° 35' W). That is about 85 miles from the FCC's first central
frequency monitoring station at Grand Island, Nebraska. I have
driven by that spot a couple times while traveling on Interstate 80. Grand Island
is probably not much bigger today than it was in 1932 when this story was published
in Radio-Craft, although it boasts being the state's 4th largest city (population
48,000). "Island" must have a different definition in Nebraska than in the
rest of the world ;-) Because of its remoteness - 6 miles from town to minimize
electrical noise - a diesel generator (chosen to...
Tuesday the 2nd
 As Radio-Electronics magazine publisher
Hugo Gernsback stated in his "Transistor
Growth" article, the transistor had been invented by Bell Laboratories' Drs.
Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley less than a decade prior to his 1957 writing. Being
the visionary that he is, Mr. Gernsback foresaw many of the implications of
wonderful new products that would be enabled by semiconductors. Not only would transistors
and semiconductor diodes totally replace all current uses where vacuum tubes were
employed, but untold new applications would ensue as well. Relatively high cost
of production (due partly to rejects), low power, low frequency, and lack of ruggedness
were barriers...
 "Sending spacecraft into low Earth orbit
could transform
next-generation telecommunications, space exploration and national security.
But that altitude - which begins roughly 60 miles above the planet's surface - is
a fickle place due to atmospheric drag, and spacecraft would require a new kind
of propulsion system to remain in orbit there. 'At the boundary of space, there's
still enough residual atmosphere that a spacecraft traveling at hypersonic speeds
is going to be slowed down by the atmosphere, and it needs a propulsion system to
keep it aloft, otherwise those collisions with residual air will deorbit your spacecraft
very quickly,' said Elaine Petro, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace
engineering in Cornell Engineering. 'And there's no good propulsion solutions right
now to do that..."
 The June 1945 edition of
Radio-Craft published a death notice for diode electron tube inventor
Sir Ambrose Fleming. The date given was April 19th, but every
source I can find says he died on April 18th. With having been born on November
29, 1849, that made the good fellow 95½ years old. According to a calculator
on the TimeAndDate.com website, that's a grand total of 34,900 days. Who's going
to argue over a potential 0.00287% error?
 Werbel Microwave began as a consulting firm,
specializing in RF components design, with the ability to rapidly spin low volume
prototypes, and has quickly grown into a major designer and manufacturer with volume
production capacities. Werbel is proud to announce its model WMRD16-7.2-S, a
16-way resistive power splitter that covers up to 7.2 GHz with ultra-wide
bandwidth. This unique design accomplishes extremely flat frequency response in
a small radial package. Our unique design approach provides higher than expected
isolation between outputs at far ports than would be achieved in a typical star
topology. It has applications in markets such as CATV, test and measurement, and
military radio. Its small size makes it easy to integrate into compact systems.
"No Worries with Werbel!"
 88 K on a P. 27
V of H K. 24 H in a D. Do you remember those kinds of puzzles where you have to
figure out what is being referred to? The first one is 88 Keys on a Piano, the second
27 Varieties of Heinz Ketchup, and the last is 24 Hours in a Day. If you like tackling
such challenges as associating
familiar quantities with their corresponding subjects, then you'll
want to check out the list I created below that all have science and engineering
themes. If this proves to be popular, I'll do another - hopefully including suggestions
from y'all. Good...
 The Douglas DC-3 revolutionized commercial
air travel with its introduction in 1935, and the military version, the C-47 Skytrain
(aka Dakota), proved an invaluable workhorse for the U.S. Army Air
Force during World War II. Without reliable and effective radio communications,
the aircraft's success would have been much less. Companies like
Bendix Radio led the way with rugged avionics that could take
the harsh conditions of flight that include vibration, shock, pressure changes,
and temperature variations. Replacement parts were usually not conveniently on-hand
and the radio operator often needed to also be a trained electronics technician
or engineer. "Necessity is the mother of...
Monday the 1st
 This "Harmonic
Analysis Made Easy" article from a 1957 issue of Radio-Electronics
magazine presents a brilliantly clever graphical method for performing harmonic
analysis without complex mathematics or the aid of a computer. By breaking down
a waveform into discrete ordinates every 30 degrees, the technique transforms Fourier
analysis into a manageable visual process, and skipping the messy math. Author Arthur
Shulman's approach is particularly ingenious in how it handles vector addition:
plotting each ordinate's value at its corresponding phase angle on a vector diagram
automatically accounts for trigonometric multiplication. The resultant vector's
length and direction directly reveal the harmonic's amplitude and phase. This method
makes visualization remarkably simple even without computational aid. By constructing
vector polygons, engineers could approximate a square wave using its fundamental
and third harmonic components
 It
is the opinion of historians that in order to understand the present, you need to
know the past. Searching for one's roots in this world is big business. Online family
tree type websites are used by thousands of people to research their family histories,
and some services don't come cheap. You can even pay someone to dig into your past
to assimilate all available information and put it in a bound, printed volume. Here
on RF Cafe, I research and post a lot of our profession's past. While
the individual topics themselves might no bear significantly on the present, having
an insight into the people's mindsets and progression of technology is...
 "Israel's high-powered laser interception
system, dubbed
Iron Beam, will be delivered to the military at the end of the month, the head
of the Defense Ministry's Directorate of Defense Research and Development said Monday.
Speaking at the DefenseTech Summit, DDR&D head Danny Gold said that 'with development
complete and a comprehensive testing program that has validated the system's capabilities,
we are prepared to deliver initial operational capability to the IDF on December
30, 2025.' ... 'The Iron Beam laser system is expected to fundamentally change the
rules of engagement on the battlefield. Simultaneously, we are already advancing
the next-generation systems..."
 Good, clean humor has always been a welcome
addition to my day whether it come in the form of a printed comic strip, a TV show,
or someone's mouth. My father's side of the family was populated with many jokesters
who could be counted on to deliver an ad hoc pun or zinger at the appropriate moment.
The environment instilled a great appreciation for such entertainment, so these
electronics-themed comics that appeared in editions of Radio-Electronics,
Popular Electronics, et al, are a refreshing distraction from the workaday
world. An old saying claims "laughter is the best medicine," and while it cannot
cure cancer, a good dose of humor often helps ease the pain...
 Exodus Advanced Communications, is a multinational
RF communication equipment and engineering service company serving both commercial
and government entities and their affiliates worldwide.
Exodus' AMP20110 is a rugged ultra-broadband solid state power amplifier (SSPA)
designed for all applications. Frequency range of 500 MHz to 6.0 GHz,
150 W minimum power and 53 dB of gain. Excellent power and gain flatness
as compared to other amplifiers. Forward and reflected power monitoring, VSWR, voltage,
current, and temperature sensing for superb reliability and ruggedness. The nominal
weight is 23kg in a compact 4U...
 $15.1 billion was a lot of money back in
1963 when this story was published in Electronics World magazine. It was
the
value of the electronics market at the time. $15.1 billion is still a lot of
loot today, but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Inflation Calculator
it is now the equivalent of $147 billion. The Consumer Electronics Association projects
a 2015 electronics gadget market value of $223B, which does not include military,
medical, and industrial electronics. The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics group
predicts a $333B semi market value for 2014...
These archive pages are provided in order to make it easier for you to find items
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way to find anything on the website is to use the "Search
RF Cafe" box at the top of every page.
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