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Tech Headlines

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Berlin's Bid for London's Tech Talent

Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay Set to Launch Student-Built Pratham Satellite

Automotive Ethernet Needed for Adaptive Headlights

Momentum Building to Urge Senate Passage of the Amateur Radio Parity Act

Cuba to Install Wi-Fi on Havana's Iconic Malecon Seafront (Potemkin village for visiting foreign dignatories)

U.S. Needs Resilient Satellites, Nets to Avoid Space Crisis

Own a Piece of Your Vocation's History & Support RF Cafe at the Same Time

My collection of Vintage Electronics Magazines has grown very large. They are where I get the articles that I scan and post here on RF Cafe. It is really interesting to peruse the pages of these old magazines and see what was considered cutting edge technology in the day ...

Würth SMD Designer Kits for Sale

For Sale: Würth Electronics SMD 0402 Multilayer Ceramic Capacitor Design Kit, SMD Air Coil Inductor Design Kit, and Power Elements Design Kit. These are the kits - all unused - graciously provided by Würth for a product review. I have no need for them at this time, so this could be your lucky day. Full details are available here. They sell on Digi-Key for about $110 each, but you can buy all 3 of mine for a total of only $75 ... This is an incredible deal for designer kits!

Nano-Scale Canadian Flag Sets World Record

"The Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo set a world record for creating a Canadian flag measuring about one one-hundredth the width of a human hair. Guinness World Records granted the inaugural award for smallest national flag to the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at Waterloo for the flag measuring 1.178 micrometres in length. It is invisible without the aid of an ..."

Crosley Model AC-7 & Atwater Kent Model 30 Radio Service Data Sheets

Have you ever heard of a Mershon condenser? Me neither, but this Crosley Model AC-7 radio used one (or more). Ohio State University alums are familiar with the name Mershon, if not the man. Ralph Mershon was, among other things, an early manufacturer of electrolytic capacitors. This 1930 service sheet for a Crosley radio mentions the propensity of Mershon capacitors to experience breakdown of the electrolyte when the radio is not used for many months. Rejuvenation is necessary via a prescribed procedure to ensure ...

See also the Atwater Kent Model 30 Radio Service Data Sheet ...

On the Road to 5G, Advances in Enabling Technology

This online webinar will be broadcast on September 28, at 8am PT/ 11am ET. Sponsored by Rogers Corporation, presented by Art Aguayo. "Consumption of mobile data continues to grow at a rate exceeding 50% annually through 2020. In order to support this growth, mobile networks are going through evolutionary and revolutionary changes. We are all well aware of the evolutionary changes in the networks, 3G to 4G (FDD-LTE and TD-LTE) and how implementation of additional frequency bands, small cells, ..."

Notable Tech Quote: Simon Segars

"The ability to code is now as important as grammar and mathematics skills and it can unlock important new career options. I can easily imagine a new wave of design entrepreneurs looking back and citing today as the day their passion for technology began." - Simon Segars, CEO of ARM

"Real 5G" Will Broadcast Above 6 GHz

"Brace yourself - the debate over what should and shouldn't count as 5G has only begun. Defining the next generation of wireless networks is complicated, partly because engineers are developing so many exciting technologies at once and have yet to agree on the standards by which they will operate. Stéphane Téral, an analyst at IHS Markit, recently weighed in by criticizing the use of '5G' to describe sub-6 GHz developments in ..."

Withwave Intros 3.5 mm Compact Calibration Kit

Withwave's Compact Calibration Kits offer excellent performance characteristics for fine-tuning in production environments and quality testing facilities, using 50 ohm N-type & 3.5 mm connectors up to 6 GHz and 9 GHz respectively. These Cal Kits include all needed calibration standards (Open, Short, Load, and Through) in one unit. It is the best solution available for ease of use in VNA calibration, especially in the field. We solve your performance ...

Author:
Kirt Blattenberger

Bluetooth Toolkits to Make Developing for IoT Easier

"The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has released several updates to their developer Bluetooth toolkit line-up. The latest toolkits empower developers to build faster and smarter when creating things like mobile apps and low-cost beacons, as well as gateways that control IoT sensors. What developers can do today with Bluetooth far surpasses what they could do just a few years ago. Whether it’s connecting a Bluetooth device to the web, using beacons to develop unique ..."

AT&T Experimenting with Broadband Internet Delivery Using Power Lines

Hams take note! Here we go again with power line carrier schemes. "AT&T has unveiled its Project AirGig experimental program that aims to use power lines as a way to extend internet access to hard-to-reach users in urban, rural and underserved parts of the world. The first field tests involving Project AirGig technologies are set to begin in 2017 through AT&T Labs, the company said in a September 21 announcement, with the goal of eventually delivering low-cost, multigigabit wireless internet ..."

Complex to Real Digital Communications Tutorials

This is a great resource provided by Charan Langton, retired from Loral Space Systems. "Communications is not an easy science. The math is heavy, and intuition is slow to develop. To complicate things further, the field does not stay put. New concepts are always coming to the fore. This website offers tutorials I have written on various topics in analog and digital communications that will help you cut through this complexity. I keep adding to this collection ..."

Science & Electronics Crossword Puzzle for September 25, 2016

Avid cruciverbalists amongst us appreciate that each week I create a new crossword puzzle that has a theme related to engineering, mathematics, chemistry, physics, and other technical words. You will never be asked the name of a movie star unless he/she was involved in a technical endeavor (e.g., Hedy Lamar). Enjoy! ...

Chinese Radar Capable of Detecting 'Invisible' Targets 100 km Away

This is amazing! "A top Chinese military technology company shocked physicists around the world this week when it announced it had developed a new form of radar able to detect stealth planes 100km away. The breakthrough relies on a ghostly phenomenon known as quantum entanglement, which Albert Einstein dubbed 'spooky action at a distance'. China Electronics Technology Group Corporation said on Sunday that the new radar system's entangled photons had detected targets 100 km away ..."

Voltage-Multiplying Circuits

Voltage multipliers were found in nearly every form of battery-powered electronics in the days of vacuum tubes, because of the 100-volt or more requirement for plate voltages. Primary batteries in 30, 45, and 67½ volt sizes were produced by Eveready, Burgess, and a few other companies in order to help simplify biasing circuits. They were bulky and heavy, often comprising a significant portion of the assembly's volume. Heavy transformers contributed mightily to the weight and size as well. Exell still manufactures 30, 45, and 67½ V ...

Anatech Electronics Intros 3 New Filter Designs

Anatech Electronics 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. Anatech has introduced 3 new filter designs: a 32 MHz IF SAW filter in an SMD package, a 564 MHz cavity bandpass filter with N connectors, and a 417 / 427 MHz ceramic duplexer in an SMD package ...

Water-Powered CubeSat Satellite Shoots for the Moon

"A cereal box-size satellite, fueled by water power, is in the running for the first tiny satellite to orbit the moon. A Cornell University student team called the Cislunar Explorers is developing the little orbiter as part of NASA's Cube Quest Challenge, which is offering $5.5 million in total to teams that build small satellites known as cubesats. Cislunar means 'between Earth and the moon,' which is exactly where the winning ..."

EE Times Silicon 60: 2016's Emerging Companies to Watch

"It has been a year since EE Times produced a version16.1 of the Silicon 60. Over that time while the global economic situation can - at best - be said to have stabilized the semiconductor and electronics industries are on the edge of 'great expectations.' There seems no doubt that the Internet of Things will have a revolutionary impact on how people can live their lives, but exactly how that will manifest itself ..."

Tribute by Hugo Gernsback to Guglielmo Marconi upon His Death

Dang, I meant to post this article on July 20th. It is an editorial commemoration written by Radio-Craft publisher Hugo Gernsback to radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi, who died on that day in 1937. He was only 63 years old. Gernsback states, "The debt which the world owes to Marconi is staggering - if you figure only one single result of his accomplishments - the saving of tens of thousands of lives which would have perished in the sea and otherwise, if had not been for Marconi." The January 1939 issue of Radio-Craft featured an article titled, "Marconi - Father of Radio?," wherein author Edward H. Loftin challenges the veracity of Marconi receiving ...

BAE Communications and EW Radio Systems IC Adapts in Nanoseconds

"To address the need for radio systems that can adapt to changing environments on the fly and that can be easily reconfigured once they're in the field, our engineers have developed the innovative MATRICs (Microwave Array Technology for Reconfigurable Integrated Circuits) chip. MATRICs helps address the future requirements of communications, electronic warfare, and signal intelligence systems. The new, general-purpose chip enables engineers to develop customized radio systems without the need ..."

Skyworks GPIO-Controlled RF Cellular Switches/h4>

Skyworks is pleased to introduce a family of GPIO-controlled, high performance RF cellular switches for LTE and GSM applications. The SKY13581-676LF (SP2T), SKY13582-676LF (SP3T) and SKY13626-685LF (SP4T) are for LTE, while the SKY13597-684LF (SP4T) is for GSM. This new family of switches is ideal for smartphones, data cards and MiFi® hotspot applications. These devices are designed to operate over the complete cellular frequency range including support for ...

What Can Stop a Bad Guy (or 3) with a Gun?

This video is going viral. Three thugs bust into a house with guns drawn and move like a SWAT team. The lady living there comes out firing and the trio of heroes scatter like cockroaches when a light is turned on. One runs right through a glass door pane as he flees. What would likely have happened to the woman if she hadn't taken control? Death? Rape? Mortal wound? "When seconds count, the cops are just minutes away."

Saelig Intros 5-in-1 PC-Hosted Test Scope with Signature Analysis

Saelig Company has introduced the Syscomp SIG-101 Signature Analyzer - a PC-based two-channel 200 kHz oscilloscope, sampling at 2MSa/s, that includes an arbitrary waveform generator, and an 8-bit digital I/O port. Building on the CGR-101, its successful predecessor, the SIG-101 also adds calibrated signature techniques to the oscilloscope waveform display capabilities for quickly troubleshooting circuit boards. Unlike most PC-based oscilloscopes with 8-bit A/D sampling, the SIG-101 has an 11-bit A/D that gives eight times ...

TV Energy Efficiency Ratings 'Flawed'

This story is reminiscent of the VW EPA scandal. My 2008 model Sharp 26" LCD, is rated at 120 W. Here is a table of power usage for various TV sizes and display types. "The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) said many sets were designed to perform well in government tests, but used more energy in regular use. It said energy consumption could be twice the expected amount. But the U.S. Consumer Technology Association said modern TVs were an 'efficiency success story.' The NRDC said it found many television sets disabled energy saving features ..."

Work Experience for Students Essential Say Engineering Employers

"62% of engineering employers say graduates don't have the right skills for today's workplace, while 68% are concerned that the education system will struggle to keep up with the skills required for technological change, according to the 2016 Skills and Demand in Industry report, published by the Institution of Engineering and Technology today. To address these growing concerns over skills ..."

Antenova's Beltii Antenna for Small PCBs in GNSS Devices at 1559-1609 MHz

"Antenova Ltd, manufacturer of antennas and RF antenna modules for M2M and the Internet of Things, is announcing Beltii, (P/N SR4G013), a brand new embedded antenna which measures only 15.6mm x 3.3mm x 4.4mm, and operates with all global public satellite constellations. The antenna has been cleverly designed to work over a very small ground plane on a small PCB, where it can be placed in a corner position, and does not need any ground ..."