See Page 1 |
2 | of the February 2025 homepage
archives. Friday the 28th
 Four new (old)
electronics-themed comics here for you from a 1964 issue of Radio-Electronics
magazine. All aptly represent the mindset of the public back in the day. As I have
noted many times before, television was a relatively new phenomenon for a lot of
households, especially the transition from black and white to color. It was a big
deal. Installation and repair constituted the two major causes of upset with TV
ownership. People were willing to put up with a lot of imperfections in reception
and performance before paying out money for professional help. When the situation
finally reached the point of intolerance, frustrations were often taken out on the
poor service man, whether in the home or in the shop...
 In a groundbreaking announcement that has
sent shockwaves through the scientific and law enforcement communities, researchers
at the cutting-edge biotechnology firm, Dynamic Nucleic Alteration (DNA) Solutions®©™,
have unveiled a revolutionary gene-editing technology. This new technique, known
as
CRISPR-Enhanced Genetic Obscuration (CRISPR-EGO)®©™, has the potential to alter
an individual's DNA to such an extent that it could prevent successful DNA matching
tests. While this technology offers numerous beneficial applications, it has raised
serious concerns among law enforcement agencies worldwide, who fear that well-financed
criminals may exploit it to evade justice. This new method enables scientists to
target specific sections of DNA and modify various characteristics, such as blood
type, fingerprints...
 At least 10 clues with an asterisk (*)
in this technology-themed crossword puzzle are pulled from this past
week's (6/4 - 6/8) "Tech Industry Headlines" column on the RF Cafe homepage. For
the sake of all the avid cruciverbalists amongst us, each week I create a new technology-themed
crossword puzzle using only words from my custom-created related to engineering,
science, mathematics, chemistry, physics, astronomy, etc. You will never find among
the words names of politicians, mountain ranges, exotic foods or plants, movie stars,
or anything of the sort. You might, however, see someone or something in the exclusion
list who or that is directly related to this puzzle's theme...
 "Astronomers from Brown University, sifting
through data from the Murchison Widefield Array, a radio telescope in Western Australia,
found themselves confronting an unexpected mystery. The telescope, which consists
of
4,096 spider-like antennas designed to detect radio wave signals from more than
13 billion years ago, appeared to have stumbled upon something far more local: a
television broadcast. This was puzzling, given that the telescope is located in
a designated radio quiet zone, where the Australian government regulates signal
levels from all radiocommunication equipment - including TV transmitters, Bluetooth
devices, mobile phones..."
 Here is an editorial excerpt from a 1965
issue of Electronics magazine that could be from a contemporary news publication:
"If U. S. manufacturers continue to abandon their engineering and production for
Japanese products, they are headed for oblivion because they cannot
compete with the purely merchandising organizations such as Sears, Roebuck &
Co. and Montgomery Ward* which buy Japanese products too." Of course you could easily
substitute South Korea, China, Taiwan, or any other now-prominent technology company
in place of Japan. American economic "experts" assured us in the 1990s that we no
longer needed to manufacture anything; rather, we would become a service and retail
economy. That worked out real well, eh?...
• AM
Radio Act Reintroduced in Senate
• Arm
to Cancel Qualcomm License
• Indichip to Construct
$1.4B Silicon Carbide Fab
• FCC
Investigating Audacy AM for Airing ICE Agents Locations
• 7
Troubling Tech Trends from 2024
Thursday the 27th
 The title of Radio-Electronics
magazine's breaking technical news column changed over the years, including "News
Briefs," and this one from the April 1969 issue, "New &
Timely." A lot of major science breakthroughs in materials, components, systems,
projects, regulations, and personality news happened between each month's selected
items. This month featured topics like digital TV transmission standards, new RFI
rules from the FCC, the high number of electrocutions occurring in hospitals due
to faulty wiring, a camera was developed for NASA moon missions, licensing of electronics
repairmen, and the increasing number of integrated circuits (ICs) being designed
into consumer product...
 This
Marantz Model 2600 receiver is, as of this writing, advertised on eBay for $26,000
- that $10/model-number-number ;-). I had Archive.org store a copy of it so the
photos will be available in perpetuity (top,
rear,
inside) Note it has the oscilloscope tuning gauge. The Marantz models with a
built-in o-scope came to light recently in the July 1966 issue of Radio Electronics
magazine, which had an article on the
Model 10-B. Thanks for Bob Davis for the tip.
 Electrical noise problems in automotive
environments is almost never a problem now that most forms of communications therein
are fundamentally immune to ignition and even computer interference. We relics who
still listen to AM radio still sometimes suffer noise from lightning static, extreme
arcing from electric service connections, and, yes, even from
ignition sources. In fact, occasionally while listening to AM
radio in my 2011 Jeep Patriot I will detect a whine that is proportional to engine
speed. It is not annoying enough to warrant going to the trouble of chasing down
and mitigating the source; I can live with it. This 1966 Popular Electronics
magazine article presents a very thorough treatise on ignition noise causes and
cures. The techniques are still applicable to modern vehicles...
 Update:
Read a note sent by RF Cafe visitor
Paul Livio, who worked at Marantz in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including
a very interesting comment on CMOS ESD issues.
In 1966, when this feature article on the
Marantz B-10 FM stereo receiver appeared in Radio-Electronics magazine,
the home entertainment realm was hitting its peak. Audiophiles drooled over equipment
like this. The story goes into great depth about the amazing engineering that went
into the receiver. It even had a built-in mini CRT for analyzing signals and tuning
- a huge step above a cat's eye tube. Most stereo stacks - including mine - were
a Gypsy collection of non-matching brand names with quality levels slightly above
junk...
 The history of
DARPANET, the precursor to the modern Internet, is a tale of visionary engineers,
military funding, and technological breakthroughs that reshaped global communication.
It began in the late 1960s under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Defense's
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA, later DARPA), driven by Cold War imperatives
to create a robust, decentralized network resilient to nuclear attack. The concept
emerged from ARPA's Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO), established
in 1962 and led by Joseph Licklider, a psychologist and computer scientist from
MIT. Licklider envisioned a "Galactic Network" of interconnected computers...
 Hewlett Packard introduced their electronic
HP-35 Scientific Calculator in 1972. It was not the world's first
pocket-size electronic calculator - that distinction went to the Busicom LE-120A.
However it was the first to be designed for the science, engineering, and financial
communities with its many built-in math functions. Its use of Reverse Polish Notation
might have scared off many would-be users who were easily confused by anything other
than the traditional notation (algebraic) that mimics written form; i.e., 2 + 3
= 5 (ALG), as opposed to 2 3 + [=] 5 (RPN). Wisely, HP made both modes
selectable. Reading through the HP-35 manual makes it evident that this calculator
was not for the feint of heart as it presents concepts like memory stacks, imaginary
numbers...
Wednesday the 26th
 By 1961, when this items appeared in the
"News
Briefs" section of Radio-Electronics magazine, the "Space Race" was
moving into high gear to launch both commercial and military satellites. Telephone
companies figure out real quickly that the cost of building and launching satellites
for intercontinental and coast-to-coast communications was far cheaper than a terrestrial
build-out. Operational costs boiled down to primarily Earth station staffing and
maintenance (not including the distribution to "last mile" landlines). A U.S.-to-Brazil
bird was announced here. GaAs semiconductors were finding new applications in laser
work. Ferro-glass, a magnet glass, was announced, with planned...
 The phrase "World
Wide Web" first appeared in a formal document on March 12, 1989, when Tim Berners-Lee,
a physicist at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, submitted a proposal titled "Information
Management: A Proposal" to his supervisor, Mike Sendall. Written at CERN's Meyrin
facility near the Swiss-French border, this internal memo outlined a hypertext system
to manage the sprawling data of particle physics experiments. Berners-Lee didn't
use "World Wide Web" in the title, but within the text, he described "a large hypertext
database with typed links," envisioning a "web" of interconnected documents accessible
globally via networked...
 "In a groundbreaking study, researchers
discovered how bilayer graphene could revolutionize data processing through
valleytronics, revealing how electron transport depends heavily on the state
of the material’s edges and the presence of nonlocal transport mechanisms. Their
findings pave the way for advanced research and potential breakthroughs in electronic
device designs. A recent study has revealed that electron transport in bilayer graphene
is strongly influenced by edge states and a unique nonlocal transport mechanism.
The research..."
 Robert Balin created this
Electronic Factor Quiz for the November 1966 edition of Popular
Electronics magazine. Your challenge is to match the drawing of a particular
electronics circuit or implement with the corresponding "factor." Examples are "current
amplification factor," "damping factor," "modulation factor," "duty factor," "form
factor," "quality factor," etc. There are ten in all. Of course on a quiz like this
you cannot get just one answer wrong - or any odd number for that matter. I managed
to reverse #5 and #10 (I and B, respectively). For some reason I couldn't remember
what "form factor" was, but was sure that #10 was a scale factor of sorts... wrong
- a clear case...
 The
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF),, a cornerstone of modern internet standards,
traces its roots back to the early days of networked computing, emerging from a
landscape where the "Internet" as we know it today was still known as DARPANET.
Its story begins in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the U.S. Department of
Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA, later DARPA) funded the creation
of DARPANET, the first operational packet-switching network and a precursor to the
global internet. However, the IETF itself didn't formally coalesce until January
16, 1986, when a group of 21 researchers gathered in San Diego, California, for
what would later...
 KR Electronics has been designing and manufacturing custom filters
for military and commercial radio, radar, medical, and communications since 1973.
KR Electronics' line of filters includes lowpass, highpass, bandpass, bandstop,
equalizer, duplexer, diplexer, 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. Update: KR Electronics
has been acquired by NIC, where KR Electronics'
legacy of quality and innovation will continue to thrive, offering the same trusted
products and services under NIC's leadership. For over three decades, NIC has delivered
high-quality component performance and reliability, ensuring the successful deployment
and operation of our clients' mission-critical solutions. Designed and manufactured
in the USA. Please visit NIC today to see how
we might be of assistance.
Tuesday the 25th
 The comic on page 98 of this 1962 issue
of Radio-Electronics magazine reminds me of how I am amazed that the "master-slave"
terminology is still used in today's electronics. The master-slave terminology in
technology, particularly in electronics and mechanics, describes a hierarchical
control relationship where one entity (the "master") governs the actions of one
or more subordinate entities (the "slaves"). In electronics, it is ubiquitous in
systems like flip-flops (e.g., master-slave JK flip-flops, where the master latches
data and the slave follows on clock cycles), communication protocols (e.g., I2C,
with a master device directing slave peripherals), and computer...
 Diode characteristics and their applications
have not changed fundamentally since this article was published in 1952. Sure, the
die are smaller, power handling and frequency range has increased, package styles
are greatly expanded, and the cost per unit is way down, but if you are looking
for some basic diode information, you will find it here in this 4th installment
of a multi-part series in Radio & Television News magazine. Don't let
the vacuum tubes in schematics scare you off and think that it makes the story irrelevant
for today's circuits. For purposes of illustration substitute a transistor's collector
(or drain) for the tube's plate, a transistor's base (or gate) for the tube's screen
grid, and a transistor's emitter (or source) for the tube's cathode...
 "Is the worldwide
race to keep expanding mobile bandwidth
a fool's errand? Could maximum data speeds - on mobile devices, at home, at work
- be approaching 'fast enough' for most people for most purposes? These heretical
questions are worth asking, because industry bandwidth tracking data has lately
been revealing something surprising: Terrestrial and mobile-data growth is slowing
down. In fact, absent a dramatic change in consumer tech and broadband usage patterns,
data-rate demand appears..."
 There was a time when a sense of national
pride accompanied an ingrained a desire to perform a civic duty, particularly when
crisis or war was upon the country. Unlike today's environment of "rights" and entitlements
promised by politicians without any authority in the Constitution, people volunteered
to assist neighbors and friends for the good of not just their immediate neighborhoods,
but of their country. Rationing was imposed on many goods by the government for
the sake of the
war effort, but most folks were more than willing to comply since
nearly everyone had a son, father, uncle, or good buddy serving to defeat the Axis
powers. Recall the scene in "It's a Wonderful Life," where George Bailey and family
served as volunteers for the Red Cross, bottle and tire drives, and Civil Defense
block wardens, while younger brother Harry flew bombers...
Monday the 24th
 Back in 1962 when these "What's Your EQ?"
(EQ=Electronics Quotient, a la IQ) puzzlers appeared in Radio-Electronics
magazine, very few people had any exposure to
printed circuit boards. Most electronics assemblies were still using point-to-point
connections, with component leads soldered to terminal lugs on other components
(can capacitors, potentiometers, switches, lamps, fuse holders, etc.) or to terminal
strips. "A Tracking Problem?," while being a cinch to us nowadays, was not such
an intuitive task at the time. You will get it in mere seconds, but a technician
or hobbyist in 1962 might have scratched his bean a little. "Capacitance Problem"
is a run-of-the-mill first semester circuit analysis problem...
 As of February, 2025, when this is being
written, several major
artificial
intelligence engines are publicly accessible through free tiers, temporary free
access, or subscription-based models with broad availability. I have been evaluating
ChatGPT-4 (OpenAI) and very recently, Grok 3 (xAI). I requested from both ChatGPT
and Grok, tables of comparison and contrast between the two, based on "Aspect" criteria
I provided. Those results are presented below. They seem to be mostly honest assessments.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Grok 3 often invoked the name of its founder (Mr. Musk)
during my interactions with it on wireless communications topics. I will reveal
more on that later...
 "Potential threats from space weather to
satellites and spacecraft can be better mitigated against with a new space weather
monitor installed at a Met Office site in Cornwall. Lancaster University developed
and built the space weather monitor, which is the first in the UK for 40 years.
The
ground-based neutron monitor is a new improved design created by Dr. M.
Aspinall and a team from Lancaster's School of Engineering, in collaboration with
the UK Atomic Energy Authority and Mirion Technologies. It was tested on the ChipIr
beamline..."
 This is yet another example of humorous
- and clever - poetry written by Hams from back in the 1940s... November 1942, to
be exact. It, along with "''Somewhere in Australia," appeared in the ARRL magazine
QST. As alluded to in the title, "Ravin," it is a play on
Edgar Allen Poe's famous "The Raven" poem. A editorial note added, "QST's mail these
days is laden with [aspiring poets'] efforts. Of these, many are, of course, quite
devoid of merit; others, while readable, are unavailable simply because of space
limitations. Yet so strong a flood of contributions must indicate at least a partially
equivalent strength of reader interest. And so we present herewith a few offerings
from the top of the pile." Enjoy...
 No, the
electrolysis and corrosion of boat propellers is not really in
line with the theme of RF Cafe; however, it presents the same sort of problems that
grounding and anchoring systems for radio antennas and equipment shacks have. If
you bury a piece of metal in the Earth, it will, over time, magically disappear.
Much effort has been expended on the part of both amateurs and professionals to
mitigate the anodic action that occurs when dissimilar conductors come into intimate
contact because each metal - be it a base or an alloy - has an electric potential
relative to other metals. What happens when there is a difference of potentials
and a conduction path is present? Yep, current flows. Through that action, material
is physically transferred from the more positive metal to the less positive metal...
Friday the 21st
Update: Read a note sent
by RF Cafe visitor Paul Livio, who worked at Marantz in
the late 1960s and early1970s.
In 1966, when this feature article on the
Marantz B-10 FM stereo receiver appeared in Radio-Electronics magazine,
the home entertainment realm was hitting its peak. Audiophiles drooled over equipment
like this. The story goes into great depth about the amazing engineering that went
into the receiver. It even had a built-in mini CRT for analyzing signals and tuning
- a huge step above a cat's eye tube. Most stereo stacks - including mine - were
a Gypsy collection of non-matching brand names with quality levels slightly above
junk. My best receiver, which I still have, is a 30 W/channel Sansui TA-300
stereo receiver / amplifier. I bought it around 1980. Plugged into it was a Reader's
Digest C-141 turntable, a Radio Shack...
 "After Class" is a long-running feature of Popular Electronics
magazine that covered a very wide range of topics. In most instances a single major
theme is presented, but in this May 1955 issue there are five separate areas: the
Faraday shield, binary notation, using a tuning fork to resonate a tank circuit,
and two quizzes (one on resistance and capacitance and another on power supplies).
On the topic of Faraday shields, I have to tell you about an e-mail I recently received
from an RF Cafe visitor. He wrote asking whether there was any atmospheric pressure
at which satellite radar could not penetrate to the Earth's surface...
 "High
Frontier, Karman+'s first technical demonstration mission, set to launch in 2027.
High Frontier will aim to validate the company's approach to deep space mining,
testing autonomous navigation systems and zero-gravity mining equipment for asteroid
regolith excavation. In recent years, returning
material from asteroids has been demonstrated by multiple missions, including
JAXA's Hayabusa 1 and 2 and NASA's OSIRIS-REx. However, these ambitious missions
have come with significant costs. 'The idea of mining asteroids has moved out of
science fiction and academic research ..."
 You need to have your thinking cap on for
this article entitled, "The dispersion transmitter," which appeared in a 1944 issue
of Radio News magazine. It might be more aptly entitled, "The Dispersion Antenna," or "How to Use a Phase-Driven Horizontal
and Vertical Dipole Antenna Array to Effect a Circularly Polarized Transmission
Antenna Which Continuously Scans All Combinations of Azimuth and Elevation Thereby
Effectively Covering Every Point on the Earth's Surface Reachable by Ionospheric
Reflection." That last title describes the ingenious system devised by author H.W. Kline.
A description of tests run to verify the operation is included. He mentions that
the circularly polarized signals emitted by the transmitter are usually received
in a horizontally polarized orientation...
• Is
Net Neutrality Dead?
• High Praise Trump
FCC Commish Nominee Olivia Trusty
• UK Working on
CBRS-Style Dynamic
Spectrum Assignment
• ARRL
Club Grant Program Awards $½ Million
• 5G
Private Networking Dominant in U.S. by 2027
Thursday the 20th
 Carl Kohler's "Hi-Fi
Scheme and Variations" article from the July 1955 issue of Popular Electronics
magazine is typical of his masterful blend of technical enthusiasm and wry humor,
this time chronicling his quest to bring hi-fi audio into his home while navigating
the bemused skepticism of his wife. Kohler's self-aware passion for electronics
shines through as he humorously likens explaining hi-fi to his wife to lecturing
howler monkeys on sonar, a nod to both his technological zeal and her endearing
indifference. His playful interactions with her - peppered with exaggerated sales
pitches and theatrical flourishes - reveal a domestic dynamic where his geeky exuberance
meets her practical incredulity...
 "A renewed emphasis on 'America First' under
the latest U.S. administration has triggered a cascade of effects across the global
economy - most notably in significant
disruptions
to established supply chains. The technology and automotive sectors, deeply
embedded in intricate webs of international trade, are particularly vulnerable to
these shifts. As companies worldwide navigate this evolving landscape, trade wars
and economic coercion loom, forcing a fundamental re-evaluation...Bring it on"
 This is pretty much a ho-hum bit of information
for most RF Cafe visitors, but there are a lot of people searching the World Wide
Web (WWW - don't see that much anymore) for
abbreviations and definitions of electronics terms. Most are readily
available from multiple sources, but those which are more antiquated can present
a challenge. As is almost always the case, the most reliable authority for information
is from the original source, such as these lists in a 1955 issue of Popular
Electronics magazine. In fact, if you are a regular reader of these vintage
electronics article, then you might find an explanation of the abbreviations very
helpful...
 If you're a newcomer to the game, it may
seem that radio theory already has enough mystery without adding more. True, the
technical journals - even QST, sometimes - do make it a mysterious subject with
their textbook language and complex notations. Radio isn't really any more mysterious
or complex than many a detective story - at least not after you've read the last
page and know "whodunit." The difference lies in the method of presentation. There
may be some utility, then, in the idea of presenting radio fundamentals in the manner
of detective fiction. That's what this is - a series of radio lessons in the guise
of a detective-mystery yarn. Instead of human characters we'll use another kind
- but we'll try to make the characterizations true and the background and incident
realistic. Our purpose is to divert...
Wednesday the 19th
 Three more "What's
Your EQ?" circuit problems await your solutions here. They appeared in the September
1966 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine. Most of these circuit analysis
/ design challenges are timeless in that successful completion does not require
an in-depth knowledge of components of yesteryear. Usually, when something like
a vacuum tube, neon lamp, or selenium rectifier shows up, you can take a reasonable
stab at the answer just by looking a the circuit, or thanks to the readily available
knowledge base of the Internet, discover what you need pretty quickly. The vast
majority...
 Sam Benzacar, of Anatech Electronics, an
RF and microwave filter company, has published his February 2025 newsletter that,
along with timely news items, features his short op-ed entitled "The
Rise of Non-Terrestrial Networks," which discusses the advantages and potential
stumbling blocks associated with a space-based communications system which handle
voice, text, and data. The global market could hit $60B/year. Starlink's Direct-to-Cell
(DTC) two-way network only supports texting at this point due to low data rates
and round-trip signal latency issues. The success with which cellphones manage to
communicate in both directions in the current cellular system is nearly miraculous,
given the small size, non-ideal form factor, and hostile environments...
 Note: This
conceptual
image was created by my instructions to ChatGPT. "Advanced small modular reactors
could be co-located with energy intensive data centres following a government pledge
to approve more nuclear power plants in England and Wales. The
mini nuclear power plants will now be included in planning rules as part of
the government's so-called Plan for Change. Other measures to speed up deployment
of nuclear power stations include scrapping the eight-site list, thereby widening
the areas for nuclear new build; removing..."
 Unless you live with or interact regularly
with someone who is blind, it is easy to forget the difficulty everyday life poses
for him or her. I do not know any blind people. A lot of effort has been put forth
to help facilitate those who are severely sight impaired or totally blind. Helen
Keller is probably the most well-known blind person (she turned out to be an outspoken
Socialist Party member - ugh), but I think of Ray Charles when the subject arises.
Melanie and I visited the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind while in St. Augustine
a few years ago, where we learned Mr. Charles was fortunate to have attended
as a child. His rendition of "America the Beautiful" is by far my favorite. This
article from a 1935 edition of Short-Wave Craft reports on efforts to make
the electronics trade accessible to blind people via, in this case,
pseudo-Braille versions of schematics. Although theoretical design
and analysis activities were possible, the potentially lethal...
 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. "We've Got You
Covered."
Tuesday the 18th
 In 1964 when this
News Briefs collection appeared in Radio-Electronics magazine, the
world was looking forward to the convenience of satellite-based Trans-Atlantic telephone
calls and live television programs sometime the following year. Intelsat 1,
aka "Early Bird," would perform the duty upon its launch on April 6th. Comsat performed
the orbital operations duties. A major announcement was made for a satellite stabilization
system which consisted fundamentally of a large electrically motivated, spinning
mass. The photo looks like a bicycle...
 Mixing a little fun with learning has always
been a good motivation for students. I have written in the past about a particular
electronic circuits professor I had that liked to play practical jokes during lessons
and exams. Including gag options on a multiple choice test is a great way to inject
a bit of tension-easing levity while at the same time eliminating one or more opportunities
to guess at a wrong answer (although no relief for the truly clueless). I sometimes
do that on the RF Cafe Quizzes that I generate. Radio-Craft printed a large
bunch of such quiz questions under the title "Radio WittiQuiz," where the questions and answers were provided
by readers. Here is one from November 1937...
 "A study from Canada has found a 26% annual
chance that space debris will re-enter the atmosphere and
pass through a busy flight area. The chance of space debris hitting an aircraft
is very low, but the research from a team at the University of British Columbia
highlights that the potential for uncontrolled space debris to disrupt flights and
create additional costs for airlines and passengers is not. The research is published
in Scientific Reports. In 2022, a re-entering 20-tonne piece of rocket prompted
Spanish and French aviation authorities to close parts of their airspace. With rocket
launches and flights increasing, UBC researchers said policymakers need..."
 Bypass capacitors play a vitally important
role in electronic circuit design. Many people do not know the proper way for deciding
which capacitor or capacitors is/are needed for effective noise and/or signal bypassing
without either overdoing or underdoing it. Needs change over the years as frequencies
and signal characteristics occupy new realms of the spectrum. A Fourier analysis
of some of today's complicated waveshapes for switching power supplies shows how
sometimes tailored responses to bypassing is required. This article from the January
1962 Popular Electronics magazine does not delve into the intricacies of
complex filters, but it does provide a nice introduction to the need for bypassing
and how to stand a good...
 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. Manufactured in the USA.
Monday the 17th
 I have to admit to not feeling up to taking
the challenge on all of these "What's
Your EQ?" circuits appearing in Radio-Electronics magazine. Usually,
I dive right in and give them a shot. The first is just an explanation for a problem
which appeared in an article the June 1964 issue entitled "Double Bridge Sensitivity."
You can read it at the link provided. Ferris Wheel is simple enough if you carefully
note the connections. Don't make it more difficult than it really is. "Two Meters"
is worded a bit deceivingly by stating "two pulsating contacts," when it would be
more helpful to call it a single set of pulsating contacts. That's it...
 "Registration is now open for the
IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS2025), a major Microwave event
that is set to take place from June 15-20, 2025 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
IMS2025 is sponsored by the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society (MTT-S)
and will bring together leading experts to showcase innovations shaping the future
of microwave and radio frequency (RF) technology. Register now for IMS 2025 With
over 550 exhibitors and a robust technical program, IMS 2025 offers attendees a
unique opportunity..."
 When semiconductor devices first came onto
the electronics scene, there was a lot of resistance (pun intended) to adopting
and designing them into circuits. Some of the reluctance (doh, another intentional
pun) was justified in that reliability could be an issue, due primarily to the mechanical
contacts that interface wire leads to the semiconductor elements. In an effort to
mitigate some of the fear of a new type of component, often times familiar names
were given to them, such as with this
duo-diode. Duo-diode vacuum tubes, the integration of two separate
diodes into a single glass enclosure, were commonly used in balanced signal detectors
because it was a way to achieve nearly exact performance in the pair that would
track equally even as the tube degraded...
 Sequential logic is a fundamental concept
in digital circuit design, referring to logic circuits whose output depends not
only on the current input but also on past inputs. This distinguishes it from combinational
logic, which produces outputs solely based on present inputs without any memory
of previous states. Sequential logic circuits incorporate storage elements such
as flip-flops, latches, or registers to retain information, enabling them to perform
functions that require memory and timing coordination. The history of sequential
logic traces back to the early development of digital electronics and computer science.
The theoretical foundations were laid in the 1930s by pioneers like Claude Shannon,
who applied Boolean algebra to electrical...
 Radio & Television News magazine
ran a two-part article on the state of the art of computers in the late 1950s. It
had only been since ENIAC's (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) debut in 1946 at
MIT that the public was getting used to regularly hearing about computers in the
news. By 1957 there were many companies popping up with electronic computer offerings.
Originally the exclusive purview of university research labs and defense installations,
the size and cost of computers was moving into the realm of affordability by corporations
that used them for accounting and bookkeeping, and in some cases even rented idle
time to outside users. Desktop PCs and notebook...
 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 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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13 (no archives before 2012)
- Christmas-themed
items
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