Homepage Archive - October 2017 (page 1)

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.

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See Page 1 | 2 | 3 of the October 2017 homepage archives.

Tuesday 10

DARPA Tests Cloud-Penetrating Radar Tech

DARPA Tests Cloud-Penetrating Radar Tech - RF Cafe"DARPA's Video Synthetic Aperture Radar (ViSAR) program recently completed flight tests, successfully demonstrating a new sensor that can capture real-time video through clouds. The ViSAR program, which began in 2013, has been developing an Extremely High Frequency (EHF) targeting sensor to operate through clouds as effectively as current electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) sensors operate in clear weather. The program's goal is to develop a cloud-penetrating EHF sensor ..."

Notable Tech Quote: Elon Musk

Notable Tech Quote: Elon Musk - RF Cafe"I would like to die on Mars... just not on impact." - Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO, during 2013 South by Southwest (SXSW) interview. Begins at 44:15 in video ...

Mini-Circuits October News & Product Highlights

Mini-Circuits October News & Product Highlights - RF CafeIt's an exciting time for RF/Microwave design and test hardware to meet customer's requirements for 5G, IoT, Satellite Communications, etc. Mini-Circuits is pushing beyond 40 GHz and also focusing on 5G Applications at sub-6 GHz, 28 GHz and 39 GHz. Also working on custom designs. We recently announced in Mini-Circuits Components Now Available in Modular Drop-In Format from X-Microwave, that over 400 Mini-Circuits are available using X-Microwave blocks ...

Battery Types and Their Characteristics

Battery Types and Their Characteristics, April 1973 Popular Electronics - RF CafeEvidently in 1973 there were only about 400 different battery types to choose from when deciding what to buy for your automobile, electronic device, uninterruptible power supply, flashlight, etc. I don't know what the number of types is today, but the number must be in the thousands. Nominal voltage, case size and shape, energy capacity (amp-hour rating), current delivery capacity ("C" rating), environmental accommodation, connection type (contact, solder, screw-on, or push-on terminals), chemistry, number of recharge cycles (for secondary batteries), and a host of other choices are available nowadays ...

Skyworks Enables All-in-One Connected Car Solutions by ZTE

Skyworks Enables All-in-One Connected Car Solutions by ZTE - RF CafeSkyworks Solutions, an innovator of high performance analog semiconductors connecting people, places and things, today announced that ZTE is incorporating various products from its portfolio to power several of their all-in-one platforms for the connected car. Skyworks' innovative LTE and connectivity solutions help transform cars into rolling Wi-Fi hotspots, enabling vehicle tracking, diagnostics, safety and security features. To support the numerous wireless protocols and frequency bands required by advanced wireless networks ...

Tungsten Offers Nano-Interconnects Path of Least Resistance

Tungsten Offers Nano-Interconnects Path of Least Resistance - RF Cafe"As microchips become ever smaller and therefore faster, the shrinking size of their copper interconnects leads to increased electrical resistivity at the nanoscale. Finding a solution to this impending technical bottleneck is a major problem for the semiconductor industry. One promising possibility involves reducing the resistivity size effect by altering the crystalline orientation of interconnect materials. A pair of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute conducted electron transport ..."

Monday 9

Axiom Test Equipment October Specials

Axiom Test Equipment October 2017 Specials - RF CafeAxiom Test Equipment, a provider of efficient and cost effective solutions customers' test equipment needs, offer the following special deals on their inventory. Axiom offers our customers several practical, efficient and cost effective solutions for their business or projects' test equipment needs. Whether you need to rent & buy test equipment, repair test equipment, sell or trade equipment, we are committed to providing superior customer service and high quality electronic test equipment ...

Understanding the Junction Field Effect Transistor

Understanding the Junction Field Effect Transistor, April 1973 Popular Electronics - RF CafeAdolph Mangieri, who authored articles in electronic magazines in the 1970s and 1980s, provided a good introduction to junction field effect transistors (JFETs) in this 1973 piece in Popular Electronics. As mentioned, JFETs were a relative newcomer at the time to the commercial electronics world because of high fabrication costs. Obtaining consistent pinchoff voltages and gains was largely responsible for the costs. Semiconductor processing and some circuit application examples are included. One of the first big commercial applications of the JFET was probably transistorized multimeters in order to obtain ...

Empower RF Systems' 2126 RF Amplifier System Tested to Mil-Std 810

Empower RF Systems' 2126 RF Amplifier System Tested to Mil-Std 810 - RF CafeEmpower's Model SKU 2126 was mounted in the test fixture undergoing 40g shock testing while operating uninterrupted at full rated output power. The amplifier system was tested for MIL-STD-810E Method 514.4 vibration 40 g Peak while operational for 270 minutes in each axis. The unit also passed Shock – MIL-STD 810F Method 516.5 3 Axes, Quantity 18 pulses per direction 11 mSec Sawtooth Pulse / 40g Peak. Keep in mind this is not a custom design. This is our COTS model with a dust filter added ...

Boy Scouts of America's "Jamboree on the Air" 1958-2017

Boy Scouts of America's "Jamboree on the Air" 1958-2017, Kirt's Cogitations #293 - RF CafeFrom May 9th through the 11th in the year of our Lord 1958, the very first "Jamboree on the Air" (JOTA) was held by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The American Radio Relay League (ARRL), in conjunction with the BSA, is promoting this year's 60th anniversary event occurring from October 20-22. As you might imagine, quite a lot has changed over 59 years in terms of equipment, but the basics in terms of encouraging and assisting the next generation of licensed Hams remains as always the primary goal of organizers. The Boy Scouts, of course, join in for the fun and learning experience. Jamboree on the Air events, held in October ...

1st Look at Electrons Escaping Atoms

1st Look at Electrons Escaping Atoms - RF Cafe"Researchers have taken a first step toward controlling electrons' behavior inside matter - and thus the first step down a long and complicated road that could eventually lead to the ability to create new states of matter at will. This drawing illustrates the path of packets of light waves (blue dashed line, moving right to left), as they hit an atom (white sphere with green nucleus) and an electron is knocked free (purple dashed line ..."

Sunday 8

RF Cafe Engineering Crossword Puzzle w/Weekly Headlines October 8

RF Cafe Engineering Crossword Puzzle w/Weekly Headlines October 8, 2017For the sake of avid cruciverbalists amongst us, each week I create a new engineering and technology themed crossword puzzle, mathematics, chemistry, physics, and other technical words. At least 10 clues in this puzzle with an asterisk (*) are pulled from this past week's (10/2 - 10/6) "Tech Industry Headlines" column on the RF Cafe homepage (see the Headline Archives page for help). Enjoy! ...

Friday 6

KR Electronics Intros 455 MHz BPF for Positive Train Control

KR Electronics Intros 455 MHz Bandpass Filter for Positive Train Control - RF CafeKR Electronics part number 3012-455 is a 160 MHz bandpass filter designed for Positive Train Control (PTC) applications. Encapsulated for enhanced shock and vibration resistance, 50 Ω source and load, N(F) to N(M) connectors. The filters are encapsulated/ruggedized for enhanced shock and vibration resistance. Thousands are currently installed and operating successfully in the field with major rail companies. Other frequencies and bandwidths are available ... 

Free Engineering Magazines & Whitepapers

Engineering White Papers & Books, October 2017 - RF CafeWhitepapers, pamphlets, books, magazines, and chapter examples listed here are a small sample of a lot of new items that are offered for FREE through TradePub. The publishers make them available to qualifying people as a promotional campaign for their full line of offerings. Whitepaper topics include careers, manufacturing, and engineering, while magazine titles include Microwave Engineering Europe, Electronic Design, and Microwave Product Digest ...

Electronic Circuit Analogy Quiz

Electronic Circuit Analogy Quiz, April 1973 Popular Electronics - RF CafeHere is a good end of week task for you. In this challenge by Popular Electronics' quizmaster Robert Balin, you have to match each electronic circuit on the left with its mechanical analog on the right. Mechanical equivalent "H" can be a bit tricky depending on whether you consider the material that gets through the sieve or what gets trapped in it, or for that matter whether you consider wavelength or frequency. Personally, I think he has the analogy backwards ...

Reducing Costs for GaN Schottky Diode Fabrication

Reducing Costs for GaN Schottky Diode Fabrication - RF Cafe"The University of Sherbrooke and École de Technologie Supérieure in Canada have developed a gallium arsenide (GaAs) Schottky diode fabrication technique aimed at low-cost sub-millimeter wave performance. The researchers used photolithography rather than the more expensive electron-beam patterning that is often used. Also, the number of metallization steps was reduced from five to two, reducing lithography alignment complexities from eight steps to five ..."

Many Thanks to ConductRF for Continued Support!

ConductRF coaxial cables & connectors - RF CafeConductRF is continually innovating and developing new and improved solutions for RF Interconnect needs. See the latest TESTeCON RF Test Cables for labs. ConductRF makes production and test coax cable assemblies as well as standard & precision RF connectors. Over 1,000 solutions for low PIM in-building to choose from in the iBwave component library. They also provide custom coax solutions for applications where some standard just won't do. Please visit ConductRF today to see how they can help your project!

China Builds World's 1st Space-Ground Quantum Communication Network

China Builds World's 1st Space-Ground Quantum Communication Network - RF Cafe"The first quantum-safe video conference was held between President Chunli Bai of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and President Anton Zeilinger of the Austria Academy of Sciences in Vienna, as the first real-world demonstration of intercontinental quantum communication on September 29th. Private and secure communications are fundamental ..."

Thursday 5

European Telcos Sulk over EU Direction on Regulation and Investment

European Telcos Sulk over EU Direction on Regulation and Investment - RF Cafe"Following an opaque and arcane ruling from a European Parliament committee there is concern that the continent is losing its way on telecoms. The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy voted on a broad range of issues surrounding the involvement of the Eurocracy in the telecoms business. Among the conclusions of the vote were a move to reduce the cost of long distance calls within Europe, which seems to be an ideological ..."

The Rechargeable Alkaline Battery

The Rechargeable Alkaline Battery, November 1972 Popular Electronics - RF CafeNickel cadmium (NiCd or NiCad) and nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries are classified as secondary cells because they are rechargeable. Primary cells like carbon and standard alkaline are not rechargeable. Those were the most common types of batteries- at least for consumer products - up through the late 1980s. The now-common lithium ion (Li-Ion or LiIon) and lithium polymer (Li-Po or LiPo) are also secondary types. Devices designed to use either lithium chemistry are meant to work at integer multiples of the nominal 3.7 V cells potential. In the mid 1980s, when NiMH was gaining popularity as a high energy density rechargeable battery, a lot ...

How to Inspire the Next Generation of Engineers

How to Inspire the Next Generation of Engineers - RF Cafe"First the good news. School students have a positive view of science and engineering. About 70% say they learn interesting things in school and that scientists make a difference in the world. 71% of the students about to take part in our event 'I'm an Engineer, Get me out of here' think that Engineers have an interesting job. Sorted. What's the problem? The problem is that according to ASPIRES project ..."

Microwave Filter Company Intros Line of Broadcast Products

Microwave Filter Company Intros Line of Broadcast Products - RF CafeMicrowave Filter Company (MFC) introduces their complete line of broadcast filter products. Competitive pricing, exceptional quality, short lead times. Contact our experienced staff to discuss your requirements. Download their full MFC catalog.

Laser Weapons to Help Defend Tactical Aircraft

Laser Weapons to Help Defend Tactical Aircraft - RF Cafe"Laser weapons experts at Lockheed Martin Corp. are helping the U.S. Air Force develop a compact, ruggedized, high-power laser to defend tactical aircraft flying at or above the speed of sound from enemy aircraft and missiles. Officials of the Laser Division of the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., announced a $26.3M contract Tuesday to Lockheed Martin Aculight ..."

Wednesday 4

RF Emission Concerns Continue to Thwart Equipment Deployments

RF Emission Concerns Continue to Thwart Equipment Deployments - RF Cafe"As the industry struggles to get small cells and related infrastructure deployed across the U.S., it was reminded that some barriers are about more than aesthetics or registration fees. There's a pending action at the FCC to take another look at RF emissions, and that can be a great shield for local government officials, said Steve Traylor, executive director, National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, during a panel hosted by Telecommunications Industry Association ..."

Southwest Antennas Intros Compact 2x2 MIMO 56° Sector Antennas

Southwest Antennas Intros New Compact 2X2 MIMO 56° Sector Antennas for S- and C-Band Communication - RF CafeSouthwest Antennas, an industry leader in innovative MIMO antenna solutions, is pleased to introduce two new compact MIMO sector antennas to their existing line-up of directional antenna solutions. Designed for 2 port (2X2) MIMO and MANET radios, these compact sector antennas feature 10 dBi of peak gain and 56 degrees of horizontal and vertical beamwidth. Measuring only 4.3" in length and height and 2.9" wide, these small antennas ...

Mac's Service Shop: Electronics in Automobiles

Mac's Service Shop: Electronics in Automobiles, September 1973 Popular Electronics - RF CafeElectronic ignition, computer-controlled fuel injection and air intake, alarm systems, radar, rear back-up cameras, GPS, stereo sound systems, Bluetooth tire pressure monitor, hands-free telephone, automatic headlight directors, drowsy driver detectors, collision avoidance, anti-lock brakes, fuel efficiency management, air bag deployment, self-parking and even self-driving features are now or soon will be standard features in automobiles. Mac McGregor and Barney hit upon a lot of these items - some explicitly, some implicitly - in this 1973 installment ...

The Space Race Begins on October 4, 1957!

The Space Race Begins on October 4, 1957! - RF CafeSixty years ago today, on October 4, 1957, the Space Race began with Russia's launch of the Sputnik satellite. Ham radio operators across the globe tracked its flight. Here are some articles I have posted on Sputnik:

- Sputnik Watch in Erie, PA

- QSL from Sputnik

- Electronics News

- Satellite Electronics

Dennis Lazar has a nice article titled, "First CW from Space: Sputnik Turns 60," in the October 2017 QST.

Planar Monolithic Industries (PMI) October Product Announcement

Planar Monolithic Industries (PMI) October 2017 Product Announcement - RF CafePlanar Monolithic Industries (PMI) recently introduced four new products in their extensive line of RF and microwave components. Included are a 1-18 GHz low noise amplifier; a 1 to 18 GHz, 10-bit digital RF attenuator; a 1 to 12 GHz high speed threshold detector; and a 2 to 18 GHz SP6T PIN diode RF switch. Contact PMI today for more information ...

USAF Intensifies Testing of High Powered Electromagnetic Weapons

USAF Intensifies Testing of High Powered Electromagnetic Weapons - RF Cafe"The Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., is turning to radio frequency and microwave experts at companies such as Raytheon and Booz Allen Hamilton to conduct experiments with high power electromagnetic (HPEM) technology for such applications as disrupting computers, aircraft, or electric grids. HPEM EW has attracted the attention of the U.S. Air Force's Directed Energy Directorate's ..."

Tuesday 3

5G: How Do You Test for a Standard that Doesn't Exist?

5G: How Do You Test for a Standard that Doesn't Exist? - RF Cafe"5G NR is ascending rapidly as the 5G technology of choice, but it turns out lots can be done to get ready as it goes through the formal 3GPP channels. The Qualcomm-led 5G New Radio initiative is accelerating through the 3GPP wormhole and should start emerging as a formal specification in two stages in 2018. But how do we test to it in the meantime? Well, I asked the experts at Keysight. This isn't a new problem, of course. Designers and developers have been ..."

No FM Radio in iPhones Decried in Hurricane Aftermath

No FM Radio in iPhones Decried in Hurricane Aftermath - RF CafeHere is a prime example of how a primitive and outmoded form of communication like over-the-air FM broadcast radio can make its value apparent. "FCC Chairman Ajit Pai renewed his call for Apple to activate support for FM radio in its iPhones, citing safety concerns in the wake of a rash of hurricanes. But Apple said some of its latest iPhone models simply can't receive FM broadcasts. Like almost all smartphones, iPhone models include a chip that could enable users to access broadcasts ..."

Dry Process for Making PC Boards

Dry Process for Making PC Boards, October 1969 Electronics World - RF CafeThe October 1969 issue of Electronics World contained no fewer than nine separate articles on the relatively new technology of printed circuit boards (PCBs). Through the mid 1960s, many, if not most, electronic assemblies used all point-to-point wiring connections, or a majority of point-to-point with a minor circuit or two on a PCB. Multilayer PCBs were being routinely manufactured for defense and aerospace applications, but more than two or three layers was a rarity in an AM/FM radio, television, or smart appliance (just kidding about the last one). This "dry process" for PCBs, costing $6k ($41k in 2017 dollars), was pitched as a low cost method for manufacturing ...

Combo Version of Smith Chart for Excel Now Available - Free

Smith Chart™ for Excel™ Combo Version - RF CafeThis combo version of Smith Chart for Excel™ includes both versions in a single workbook. The original version, which I created in 2004, allows you to enter a set of s-parameters at each frequency, and then a second version allows you to enter a set of real and imaginary impedances at each frequency for plotting on the Smith Chart. While there is nothing new about Smith Chart plotting software, what makes Smith chart for Excel unique is that rather than tying up processor resources plotting the resistance circles and impedance arcs, I set a Smith Chart graphic as the background image for the chart ...

Revised ARRL Frequency Chart Now Available

Revised ARRL Frequency Chart Now Available - RF CafeAn updated ARRL frequency chart is now available for printing and downloading. The chart has been updated to include the new bands at 2,200 and 630 meters. The new chart is available for printing in the following PDF formats: 8.5" x 11" gray scale, 8.5" x 11" B&W, 8.5 x 11 color, and 11" x 17" color ...

Graphene Forged into 3-Dimensional Shapes

Graphene Forged into 3-Dimensional Shapes - RF Cafe"Researchers from Finland and Taiwan have discovered how graphene, a single-atom-thin layer of carbon, can be forged into three-dimensional objects by using laser light. A striking illustration was provided when the researchers fabricated a pyramid with a height of 60 nm, which is about 200 times larger than the thickness of a graphene sheet. The pyramid was so small that it would easily fit on a single strand of hair. The research was supported by the Academy of Finland and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of China ..."

Monday 2

Advancements in Spintronics

Advancements in Spintronics - RF Cafe"Applications now include nanoscale spintronics sensors that further enhance the areal density of hard disk drives, through MRAMs that are seriously being considered to replace embedded flash, static random access memories (SRAM) and at a later stage dynamic random access memories (DRAM). Spintronics is the concept of using the spin degree of freedom to control electrical current to expand the capabilities of electronic devices ..."

Pasternack Intros Hi-Rel EM Switches with up to 10M Cycles

Pasternack Introduces New Electromechanical Switches Designed for High Reliability with up to 10 Million Switching Cycles - RF CafePasternack, a leading provider of RF, microwave and millimeter wave products, has unveiled a new series of low insertion loss repeatability electromechanical switches. Test and measurement applications require signal processing component performance to be highly accurate and repeatable over long periods and under extreme conditions. In automated test systems where electromechanical switches are used for signal monitoring and routing applications, every switch will add repeatability error ...

Satellite Pictures Show Earth's Resources

Satellite Pictures Show Earth's Resources, November 1972 Popular Electronics - RF CafeEver since the advent of Google Earth in 2001, high resolution photos from orbiting satellites has become routine, expected technology rather than awe-inspiring technology. In 1970 when this article appeared, however, satellite imagery was still in its infancy. The TIROS 1 weather satellite, with a mere 78-day lifespan, had been launched just a decade earlier. Nations' militaries had the biggest and best platforms, and pictures like those now routinely seen on Google Earth were highly classified. If you recall, governments had conniption fits over Google's photos taken of secret installations. Civilians ...

Do You Use the "Backrub" Search Engine?

Do You Use the "Backrub" Search Engine? - RF CafeAccording to Google's "About" page, founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin originally called their search engine "Backrub." Funny quote: "Soon after, Backrub was renamed Google (phew)." The name was a play on the mathematical expression for the number 1 followed by 100 zeros and aptly reflected Larry and Sergey's mission "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful ..."

Empower RF Systems' 1 kW Power Amplifier Tested Tough to MIL STD 810

Empower RF Systems' 1 kW Power Amplifier Tested Tough to MIL STD 810 - RF CafeEmpower's tested and field proven rugged design is common across all our Next Generation Family of amplifiers and is the result of our patented architecture and design goal to minimize RF power losses along the internal signal path, simplify manufacturing and provide for ease of servicing. The consequence of this elegant electro-mechanical compact structural design is a COTS amplifier that is inherently durable. Empower's family of solid state power amplifiers is thermally and structurally designed to meet today's stringent ...

Sibling Startup Movandi Offers RF for 5G

Sibling Startup Movandi Offers RF for 5G - RF CafeMovandi brings innovative RF front end technology to emerging high frequency, millimeter wave networks for 5G and beyond. Internationally recognized siblings, leaders and innovators, Maryam and Reza Rofougaran introduce innovative approach to RF and antenna design, announce new company, Movandi, a venture-backed startup with a mission to revolutionize millimeter wave networks, today announced BeamX technology, a scalable RF front ..."

Sunday 1

RF Cafe Engineering Crossword Puzzle w/Weekly Headlines October 1

RF Cafe Engineering Crossword Puzzle w/Weekly Headlines October 1, 2017For the sake of avid cruciverbalists amongst us, each week I create a new engineering and technology themed crossword puzzle, mathematics, chemistry, physics, and other technical words. At least 10 clues in this puzzle with an asterisk (*) are pulled from this past week's (9/25 - 9/29) "Tech Industry Headlines" column on the RF Cafe homepage (see the Headline Archives page for help). Enjoy! ...

Friday 29

ConductRF Low PIM RF Cable Assembly Solutions for DAS and Cellular