Videos for Engineers Archive - 26

Videos for Engineers - RF CafeThis archive links to the many video and audio files that have been featured on RF Cafe.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
16 | 17 | 18 |19 | 20 | 21 | 22
23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |

Note: There have been other videos posted, but I often forget to link to them on this page. Please use the website Search box at the at the top of the page to look for something you don't see here since many of the videos I have featured are not on these archive pages. Thanks.

 

Transistor Development History Videos

Transistor Development History - RF Cafe Video for EngineersA few days ago Bob Davis sent me a link to a YouTube video documentary, "Transistorized," of the development of the transistor. It was originally produced in 1989. Narrator Mr. Ira Flatow begins by saying that the story behind the transistor, arguably one of the most important inventions of the 20th century, was one of "clashing egos and top secret research." Anyone familiar with the collaborative effort of Drs. John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain, at Bell Telephone Laboratories (aka Bell Labs). I will not attempt to embellish the huge amount of information presented; you will get all you want to know from the film. As you might expect, in addition to the "Transistorized" video there are other videos telling the story of the transistor's history. A couple really good ones are also embedded below. One covers Japan's successful climb to the top of the electronics product food chain based on their early adoptation of transistor...

LadyBug Technologies RF Power Measurement Videos

LadyBug Technologies RF Power Measurement Videos - RF CafeFounded in 2004, LadyBug Technologies has quickly built a reputation as one of the world's premier (they would argue "the" world's premier) manufacturers of RF and microwave power measurement test equipment. Their line of fast, accurate and NIST-traceable power sensors cover the 9 kHz to 50 GHz frequency range with 86 dB of dynamic range. In the process, LadyBug engineers have produced many very helpful instructional and educational videos for the benefit of their customers who use the power sensors, but also for anyone interested in making precision power measurements. A few of the videos are presented below, including titles such as "Peak and Pulse Power Demonstration," "Making Autonomous Unattended RF Power Measurements," and "75 Ohm RF Power Measurements." and you can access the entire collection on LadyBug Technologies' YouTube channel...

Vintage Radio Shack TV Commercials

Vintage Radio Shack TV Commercials - RF CafeThere are still plenty of us around who remember seeing Radio Shack commercials on TV back in the days when all television sets had at least on vacuum tube in them - the CRT (cathode ray tube). As evidenced by the huge number of vintage Radio Shack commercials posted on YouTube, and the amount of views for them, there is still a desire by people to take a nostalgic trip back in time to see the content they remember. Of course at the time we usually considered all commercials an imposition on our TV program watching. One of the annoyances of modern TV programming is that even though you have to pay for the service, you still have to sit through even more commercial time per show that was imposed when reception was free (over the air). I have to be honest and admit that I don't recall ever seeing any of the Radio Shack commercials in this collection of videos, but they definitely have the "look" of the ones I do remember from the days of yore. I used to visit...

"This Is Ham Radio" ARRL Promotional Film

"This Is Ham Radio" ARRL Promotional Film - RF CafeThis promotional film (now an online video) entitled "This Is Ham Radio" was produced by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) circa 1970. It shows the many aspects of amateur radio including building and operating transmitters and receivers, erecting antennas, and engaging in contests - in both fixed and mobile venues. At that time, entrance into the world of Ham radio was tougher than it is nowadays because proficiency at Morse code was required - a minimum of five words per minute sending and receiving. The entire pool of questions and answers was not readily available for studying for the written exam either, like it is today. For those who like to accuse organizations of ignoring and/or discouraging the participation of anyone other than White males, please note care was taken to include Blacks, Latinos, Asians, women and girls, youngsters and seniors. That was more than half a century ago. In fact, some of this footage is borrowed from an earlier ARRL film made in the 1960s and narrated by Senator Barry Goldwater (K7UGA), demonstrating an even longer-ago inclusionary effort. Since that time, many more resources have been invested...

5/2/2022

"Back on the Air" Musical Tribute to Ham Radio

"Back on the Air" - Musical Tribute to Ham Radio - RF CafeThe "Up Front" page of the May 2022 issue of QST magazine mentions a musical tribute to ham radio entitled, "Back on the Air," by Allen Chance (W2BUZ) and Paul Rogers. It has a soothing melody and the video is accompanied by photos matching the lyrics as it goes along. You probably have to be a Ham operator to appreciate the message and visuals. A repeating CW CW CW in Morse code can be heard in the background. Warning: If you are easily triggered by a couple "guy" pictures, this video is not for you; please move on...

4/15/2022

Intel's "Evolution of Transistor Innovation"

Intel's "Evolution of Transistor Innovation" - RF CafeOne of the news websites I frequent had a note about this "Evolution of Transistor Innovation" video produced by Intel. In a span of five minutes you are taken on a journey from the early planar MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) days to today's world of 3-dimensional, non-planar FINFET (fin field effect transistor). Physical layout, materials, and lithography advances allowed gate lengths to shrink from 12 μm in the early 1970s to a mere 10 nm by 2020. Switching speeds have gone up, die sizes have gone down, power consumption per gate has decreased, and reliability has increased. At every juncture we have been served stories of a certain end to Moore's law (a doubling of gate count every 18-24 months), and thanks to dedicated engineers and scientists the prognosticators have been proven wrong...

3/8/2022

Horse Farm Property for Sale in Greensboro, NC

Horse Farm Property for Sale in Greensboro, NC - RF Cafe Cool ProductA lot of people are desiring to leave the city and suburb environment with ever-increasing crime rates and exorbitantly high taxes. If for that or any other reason you or someone you know is considering buying a country home with horse facilities, please take a look here. Located in a quiet area about 10 miles from Greensboro, NC, you will find that an affordable, comfortable, convenient, safe family life is still possible! My daughter, Sally, has decided to put her horse farm property up for sale. She built a very successful horse riding, training, and boarding business - Equine Kingdom - around it from the ground up over a period of eleven years. Due to a debilitating back injury, she can no longer perform the duties and maintenance necessary to sustain the operation. Formal lessons and long-term boarding ceased at the end of 2021, and now the entire property is being offered as a private home with extensive horse facilities. Of course you could re-establish it as a fully outfitted income-producing business with on-property living. At the time Equine Kingdom closed, Sally had more than 80 students and 5 part-time instructors...

3/1/2022

Ham Radio Documentary Videos

Ham Radio on TV, in Movies, & Documentaries - RF CafeThe first video below is my favorite. It is a one-minute clip from a 1960s episode of "The Twilight Zone" television show. It is an outrageous slam on amateur radio operators by a couple neighbor family whose radio and TV shows are being interrupted by interference. Dad looks out the window and sees what are actually television antennas on the guy's roof and when Mom asks if there is anything they can do about the neighbor, he walks toward the telephone saying he can at least check to find out whether neighbor man has a license to operate. Mom then says, "Do you think you should, Stu? Those men seem kind of...threatening somehow." Those d**n evil Hams! As you might expect if your are familiar with the series, it turned out to be aliens making contact with Earthlings...

3/30/2020

Highway Patrol TV Show: "Radioactive"

Highway Patrol TV Show: "Radioactive" - RF Cafe Video for EngineersQST reader Dave Berman, WA2PAY, wrote in the March 2020 issue's "Letters from Our Members" column about an episode of the old "Highway Patrol" television show entitled, "Radioactive," wherein the ARRL (American Radio Relay League" is mentioned and Ham radio operator Pat Conway plays a lead role in the show. Broderick Crawford stars as head highway patrolman Dan Mathews. I did some screen shots of Mel's shack showing the massive transmitter cabinet and the receiving station desk. On a table across the room is a Precision Apparatus Co. E-200-C Signal Generator. Do you recognize any of the other equipment? Note on the chalkboard that the nuclear scientist has beryllium misspelled as "berilium," unless he happens to be an Indonesian, in which case it's OK...

2/22/2020

Hazel TV Episode "Stop Rockin' Our Reception"

Hazel TV Episode "Stop Rockin' Our Reception" - RF Cafe Video for EngineersQST reader George P. Orphan, KG4DXJ, wrote in the February 2020 issue's "Letters from Our Members" column about an episode of the old "Hazel" television show entitled, "Stop Rockin' Our Reception," where interference on the Baxters' TV set was blamed on the "shortwave set" operated by a teenager, Bruce, who had recently moved in down the street. George Baxter, the household's impulsive lawyer father, was convinced enough that Bruce, a friend of his son, Harold, was responsible that he paid a visit to the boy's house and spoke to his father about it. Bruce politely informs Mr. B that unless his television was was manufactured before 1950, it was unlikely that his operations on the 10−meter band would be causing the interference, but it fell on deaf ears. Shortly thereafter, a power company investigator was seen walking around the front yard with a box bearing a loop antenna on the top of it. At the request of Bruce's father...

1/20/2020

Top 20 Countries by Number of Internet Users

Top 20 Countries by Number of Internet Users - RF Cafe Video for EngineersHere is a really interesting animation of the world's top 20 country ranked by the number of Internet users in those countries. It runs (as of this posting date) from 1990 through 2019. I have not verified the numbers used by the Animate Stats producers, but the results do not seem unreasonable. Given the the U.S. Department of Defense's research arm, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), created the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) that eventually became the Internet, showing the U.S. as the run-away leader in the beginning is not surprising. Around 1996, things begin to change quickly as Japan advances, but it is in 2000 when the Internet user landscape really becomes dynamic ...

9/16/2019

Changing the Light Bulb on a 1,500' Tower - A Drone's-Eye View

Changing the Light Bulb on a 1,500' Tower - RF CafeBack in 2012, I posted a video of the PBS "Frontline" show (Cell Tower Deaths) that highlighted the dangers cell tower climber technicians face while working for very low wages. Other news stories since then have reported on new regulations from OSHA and other agencies that have helped make the safety issue better, but I haven't seen anything on whether the pay has gotten any better. There are lots of videos and photos online of tower climbers all over the world, but this one showing tower climber Kevin Schmidt making the ascension to the very top of the now inactive KDLT TV analog broadcast antenna near Salem, SD, is unique in that the recording was made from a drone platform. It has more than 12 million views. Capturing this kind of video requires a drone with a wireless live feed so the pilot ...

5/17/2019

Acorns in Microwave Antenna

Acorns in Microwave Antenna - RF Cafe Video for EngineersThis you need to see. The full story behind this video is unknown, but supposedly customers were complaining about poor reception associated with the Bear Creek Road microwave station somewhere in northern California. Upon inspection, the technicians discovered a small hole in the radome. When the cover was pulled away, according to the video somewhere between 35 to 50 gallons of acorns spilled out. You can see the bulge in the radome before emptying. The tech probably thought the water drain hole was clogged and it was full of water. From a National Geographic story: "Walter Koenig, a senior scientist with the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, says he's pretty sure the the acorn woodpecker ..."

5/16/2019

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story - RF Cafe Video for EngineersBy now, most people involved with spread spectrum communications are (or should be) aware that Hollywood starlet Hedy Lamarr is credited for being the first to suggest a frequency hopping scheme for secure communications. If you do a Google search on Hedy Lamarr and spread spectrum, you see that except for a few mentions on tech websites, it has only been in the news since the end of the last decade. Scientific American magazine ran an article titled, "Hedy Lamarr: Not Just a Pretty Face," in 2008. Google honored her in 2015 with a Doodle on their homepage. "The most beautiful woman in the world," with the assistance of her co-inventor-composer George Antheil ...

1/23/2018

Lenny & the Squigtones - "The Jolliest Fat Man"

Lenny & the Squigtones (The Jolliest Fat Man) - RF Cafe Video for EngineersMost people who were around in the 1970s remember the sitcom "Laverne & Shirley." It was popular as a part of the whole 1950s renaissance that was happening with shows like "Happy Days," "Grease," "American Graffiti," et al, that captured the attention of the parents of us teenagers as well as us. I was being held against my will at Southern Senior High School at the time, and many of the kids adopted a "greaser" lifestyle that included cigarette packs rolled up in t-shirt sleeves and Brylcreem in the hair (mainly just the guys), leather jackets and Keds high-top sneakers (guys and gals), and poodle skirts and saddle Oxford shoes (mainly just the gals). Two weirdo characters, Lenny and Squiggy, made cameo ...

12/15/2017