|
 You know you've gotten old when you have
an "I remember when..." line for just about every kind of product or process mentioned
in a magazine article, video, or conversation. Here is mine for microwave ovens.
I remember that it was sometime around 1977-79 that my father gave my mother a
microwave oven for Christmas. It was the most expensive gift anyone in our household
had ever received. According to this 1971 Radio-Electronics magazine article,
household microwaves had only been on the scene for about a decade. A look at the
wiring diagram shown for this International Crystal microwave...
 Reading through this article reminds me
of studying for the amateur radio exams. In fact, the information presented in this
1940 QST magazine piece does not seem to be lacking anything that contemporary
discussions include. My point is that a great amount of knowledge had already been
amassed about earth's
upper atmosphere a mere four decades after the first transatlantic
radio communications were accomplished by Marconi on December 12, 1901 from Poldhu
in Cornwall, England, to Newfoundland, Canada. Considering that at the time no instrumented
sounding rockets had been launched into the extreme upper layers (F1 & F2, beginning
at around 120 mi | 200 km), a lot had been discerned about characteristics as they
pertain to radio communications. Balloons were...
 "We've seen the writing on the wall for
awhile that data centers need fiber and lots of it. Research from RVA LLC has now
done the math and worked out that providers need to build about
92,000 new route miles in the next five years to support that demand. Suffice
to say, the pressure is on for suppliers. 'Everybody talks about the constraints
of power, cooling, land and chips and so forth, but fiber is also a constraint,'
said RVA Founder and CEO Mike Render at a Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) webinar
Wednesday. He noted a single cable can contain 'hundreds or thousands' of fiber
strands and that cabling will only get smaller..."
 These three
electronics-themed comics appeared in the November 1948 issue
of Radio & Television News magazine. You don't need to be of the era
in order to appreciate the humor, but Millennials might need a little assistance
with the second one. That contraption sitting the desk is called a "turntable,"
and it used to play audio media called "records" by spinning them at a certain rate
(33-1/3 rpm, 45 rpm, 78 rpm), while that horizontal lever called
a 'tone arm' held a piezoelectric needle in the grooved tracks of the record. The
joke here is the guy having to spin his head while trying to read the printed label.
I'm just joshing the Millennials, of course, since they use spinning disks called
CDs and DVDs for listening...
 These are
close-up photos of common household objects. Your mission, should you decide
to accept it, is to identify each one. Most are fairly easy, but a couple are a
little outdated since they appeared in a 1939 edition of Boys' Life magazine.
Answers are way down at the bottom of the page. BTW, this January issue is the one
Ralphie Parker is reading in the movie A Christmas Story...
Exodus AMP20110,
0.5-6 GHz, 150 W SSPA
 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-6.0 GHz (P-, L-, S-band),
150 W minimum, and 53 dB gain. Excellent power/gain flatness as compared
to other amplifiers. Forward/Reflected power monitoring, VSWR, voltage / current
/ temperature sensing...
 This 1971 Radio-Electronics magazine
article provides a comprehensive technical overview of
laser theory and practical application. It explains that laser action requires
a population inversion within a medium, typically contained in an optical cavity
with reflective surfaces to amplify coherent light through stimulated emission.
The author distinguishes between three-level systems, such as the ruby laser, and
four-level systems, exemplified by the helium-neon gas laser. Advanced techniques
like Q-switching are described as methods to achieve high-power pulses by interrupting
the cavity. Beyond core physics, the text explores the diverse utility of lasers
in engineering and biology...
 Next Spring I will be installing an old-fashioned
(but newly manufactured)
Channel Master television antenna on a short tower with a rotator.
Here in Erie, Pennsylvania, under certain conditions I can receive broadcasts from
Erie and many of the cities that border close to Lake Erie like Toronto and Waterloo,
Canada and even Detroit. AM radio stations are easily pulled in from the same areas,
but FM does not do quite so well. I plan to also integrate some form of FM antenna
on the installation. There is something insulting about paying for cable or satellite
TV and then having to suffer the deluge of commercials as well (I have neither).
Nobody likes sitting through commercials, but at least if the programming is being
delivered at no cost, it is not unreasonable for the broadcast...
 "Just when you thought it was safe to go
back into the networking waters, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) throws
a curveball. This one is directed squarely at the consumer-grade router industry.
The FCC on Monday announced that all
consumer-grade routers produced in foreign countries are banned from sale in
the United States – unless the supplier applies for and receives a 'Conditional
Approval' from the Department of War (DoW) or the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS). Existing Wi-Fi routers and those that were previously approved by the FCC
can continue to be operated and sold..."
 Before most people listened to radio and
television programming via cable, satellite, and/or the Internet, broadcasts were
received over the air, usually from local stations. A common problem in the days
of vacuum tube Ham transmitters back in the day was inadvertently causing
broadcast interference (BCI) or specifically in the case of television, TVI,
due to insufficient filtering, shielding, or design. Nowadays, we generally refer
to all such unintentional and incidental radiation as radio frequency interference
(RFI). Lots of articles were written on the subject in the 1940s through about the
1970s. Some RF spectrum is shared by more than one entity per FCC and other countries'
band plans, with primary and secondary allocations assigned...
 I have always been a stickler for creating
neat, orderly arrangements when building any type of circuit assembly. Many moons
ago when starting out as an electrician, I made a point of installing straight runs
of Romex type cable with no twists, evenly spaced staples, and keeping the identification
marking to the outside. Conduit was precisely bent and installed, again with organized
parallel runs and even spacing where possible. Circuit breaker panel wiring looked
like something seen in an Apollo space capsule. Electrical inspectors often complimented
my work. Moving on to an electronics career, the habits carried over when prototyping
and even when directing layout for production PCBs or chassis assemblies, including
cabling. The greatest enjoyment I had was when laying out runs of
waveguide...
 If you wanted to review a patent back in
1971, when this "Patent
Talk" article appeared in Radio-Electronics magazine, you would need
to submit a written request to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Washington,
D.C., and submit a payment to cover the cost. Sometime in 1999, the Patent Full-Text
and Image Database (PatFT) was made available on the World Wide Web (WWW, aka the
Internet), in a TIFF graphical file format. Google Patents came along around the
end of 2006; it was a much more user-friendly search system (still is). The USPTO
has put a lot of effort into making the patent application process simpler - even
approachable by non-lawyers. Hiring a patent application law firm is probably the
easiest - even the best...
 "A team of international researchers have
developed a breakthrough way to observe what is happening inside electronic chips
while they are operating - without touching them, taking them apart, or switching
them off. The new technique uses
terahertz waves, a safe and non-ionizing form of electromagnetic radiation,
to detect tiny movements of electrical charge inside fully packaged semiconductor
devices. For the first time, this allows scientists and engineers to monitor electronic
components as they function in the real world. The study, published in the IEEE
Journal of Microwaves, involves researchers from Adelaide University in Australia,
U.S. technology..."
 Here is Part 1 of a three-part article on
attenuator pad and impedance matching articles that appeared in
Radio-Craft magazine. Although the focus is on audio frequencies, the principles
apply in general. It is interesting to read about wavelengths expressed in units
of miles versus feet and meters like we are used to seeing for radio frequencies.
Keep in mind that most of the decibel formulas used here are for voltage and not
for power. As a reminder, the decibel representation of a ratio is always 10 * log10 (x).
If you have a voltage ratio of V1/V2 = 0.5, then 10 * log10 (0.5) = -3.01 dB.
If you have a power ratio of P1/P2 = 0.5, then 10 * log10 (0.5) = -3.01 dB.
Does that mean that -3.01 dB of voltage attenuation is the same as 3.01 dB
of power attenuation...
 Before there was radio, it really didn't
matter much how much electromagnetic energy at any frequency was spewed into the
air and into electric wires as long as the amplitude was not great enough to physically
damage affected equipment. There was no need for an FCC or unintentional radiation
limit regulations. It was not long after radio came along that the presence of
electromagnetic interference (EMI) made itself painfully obvious
due to its presence on audio as static. Motor brush arcing, electrical atmospheric
phenomena (lightning, meteors), switching on and off of circuits, intermittent connections,
nearby radio spurious emissions, high voltage transformers, and in this case, neon
lighting were among...
 Complex numbers have served the function
of weeding out prospective electronics technician and electrical engineer degree-seeking
people for a long time. I do not recall ever seeing such a beast until taking college
courses. In high school and USAF tech school, we calculated reactive circuit parameters
using well-established formulas that already accounted for the "imaginary" part
of
complex impedance. You can only go so far with circuit analysis without complex
number math, though. All of the electronics magazines at some time (often every
couple of years) ran articles introducing readers to the manipulation of the real
and imaginary parts of reactive impedance. I have posted many of them here on RF
Cafe...
 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics'
Inflation Calculator, this
Crosley
"Fortyfive" tabletop radio advertisement appearing in a 1932 issue of Radio-Craft
magazine which was priced at $45 (which coincidently happened to be the name of
the model) at the time would cost more than a kilobuck in 2025 dollars. That's
a lot of money for a tabletop radio - even for a fine quality floor model console
- but after all it was a newfangled superheterodyne model containing seven vacuum
tubes. The superhet feature made tuning a lot easier since baseband filters could
remain fixed. Cheaper models were available at about half the price, but even that
was a lot of dough to lay out for entertainment. Radios were considered a luxury
item - like a third car is today...
 "A new ultrathin photodetector captures
light across the full spectrum in just 125 picoseconds, opening the door to faster,
smarter imaging technologies. Engineers at Duke University have built the fastest
pyroelectric photodetector ever demonstrated, a device that senses light by
capturing the heat it produces when absorbed. This ultrathin sensor can detect light
across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. It runs at room temperature, requires
no external power, and can be integrated directly into on-chip systems. The technology
could lead to a new generation of multispectral cameras with applications in skin
cancer..."
 By the early 1930s when this
Stenode vacuum tube article appeared in Radio-Craft magazine, commercial
broadcast stations were still working out what would be the best combination of
channel bandwidth and spacing to enable a maximum number of adjacent transmissions
while achieving sufficient selectivity to enable acceptable reception. 5 kHz
was deemed reasonable to reproduce the human voice as well as musical instruments.
An accompanying 10 kHz channel separation (still in effect today) was adopted
to accommodate upper and lower sidebands that amplitude modulation creates. Interestingly,
if you read carefully, the Stenode's high level of selectivity, made possible
by an integrated crystal, was intended to remove modulation sidebands and thereby
significantly narrow the required bandwidth...
 2.1 GHz (5.6-inch, or 14 cm wavelength)
radio waves were an almost totally unexplored realm in 1930, with it and higher
frequencies being the domain of theoretical research laboratories. Signals generators
capable of producing much more than a few hundred megahertz were rare even in commercial
applications. As reported here,
centimeter-length electromagnetic waves were "according to the
theories of Barkhausen and Kurz, [the] result of purely electronic vibrations, whose
frequency was determined only by the operative data of the tube and was not dependent
on any internal or external oscillation circuit." A half-wave receiving antenna
picked up the transmitted signal with a simple diode detector to enable, after a
couple...
 Anatech Electronics (AEI) manufactures and
supplies RF and microwave
filters for military and commercial communication systems, providing standard
LP, HP, BP, BS, notch, diplexer, and custom RF filters, and RF products. Standard
RF filter and cable assembly products are published in our website database for
ease of procurement. Custom RF filters designs are used when a standard cannot be
found, or the requirements dictate a custom approach for your military and commercial
communications needs. Sam Benzacar's monthly newsletters address contemporary wireless
subjects. Please visit Anatech today to see how they can help your project succeed.
 <-- This is the colorized and enhanced
AI-generated version of one of the drawings in the story. John Frye routinely used
his Carl and Jerry column in Popular Electronics magazine to mix various
assortments and portions of science, humor, adventure, ham radio, and human nature
in what I have dubbed a technodrama. Sometimes the topics are a little off-beat,
as with this "Parfum Elektronique" story - that's French for "Electronic Perfume,"
although you probably already guessed that. The pair of high-school-aged electronics
experimenters enlisted the assistance of classmate Norma, a babe who often agreed
to help them with boy-girl relationship pranks, to try out their odor-producing
contraption. Integral in Mr. Frye's lesson is that there are seven categories
of odors...
 This week's engineering crossword puzzle
features the names of some of the
world's oldest electronics companies. Many of them began life
with a primary business focus other than electronics, then ended up being known
universally for their high tech products. If you're like me, until now you had no
idea that one of the world's leading cellular equipment makers originally was a
wood pulp mill, and another made playing cards. Clues with asterisks (*) are the
featured companies...
 "This article series on
gallium nitride (GaN) fundamentals described crystal structures and the formation
of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG), along with material figures of merit
and the transition from depletion-mode to enhancement-mode GaN HEMTs. Part 2 will
outline hybrid structures and the RDS(on) penalty, as well as provide further details
on GaN HEMTs and substrate choices for GaN. It will also make the case for the path
to monolithic integration while showing how ohmic contacts, metallization, and packaging
advantages are facilitating this design roadmap. An alternative to monolithic enhancement-mode
GaN transistors is the hybrid cascode..."
 Included in this first of a series of the
"Simple Mathematics for the Serviceman" articles that ran in
Radio-Craft magazine is another "cheat sheet" full of oft-used formulas.
It begins with basic Ohm's law, resistance, inductance, and capacitance, then builds
from there. What was valid in 1930 is still valid in 2022. Prior to a smartphone
in every pocket, notes were pinned to a lab wall or kept in a hand-written notebook...
 NASA
(and its predecessor NACA), and private and public operators have been monitoring
solar events in the optical realm for many decades while attempting to correlate
terrestrial phenomena with it. Auroral light displays in the extreme polar regions
have long been known to be caused by solar flare and
coronal mass ejections
(CME). With the advent of radio, the electrical nature of the upper atmosphere became
evident when static (AM) and long range propagation affected long range communications.
Extreme CME activity eventually was associated with behavior of the electrical power
grid; indeed, massive blackouts and brownouts are to blame for many. Last but not
least came concern for sun-sourced electrons regarding satellites...
 This 1958 Popular Electronics magazine
article provides practical instructions for constructing high-gain antennas to receive
108 MHz satellite signals, detailing four designs ranging from simple folded
dipoles to complex Yagi arrays. The author emphasizes that success requires precise
impedance matching, careful orientation, and weatherproofing, often utilizing modified
television hardware to capture weak transmissions from early space vehicles. While
the fundamental RF physics of signal gain and directivity remain unchanged,
"listening" to satellites today has shifted from manual, labor-intensive construction
of metal arrays...
|
 • UK, US, Others
Set
6G Security Principles
• AI
Boom Drives Memory Shortage
• FCC
Deauthorizes Chinese Testing Labs
• How Ukraine
Electrical Engineers
Fight a War
• U.S.
Outspends Europe on Wireless
 The
RF Cafe Homepage Archive
is a comprehensive collection of every item appearing daily on this website since
2008 - and many from earlier years. Many thousands of pages of unique content have
been added since then.
 This
Engineering Theme crossword puzzle for August 8th, 2021, contains only words
and clues related to engineering, mathematics, chemistry, physics, and other technical
words. As always, this crossword contains no names of politicians, mountain ranges,
exotic foods or plants, movie stars, or anything of the sort unless it/he/she is
related to this puzzle's technology theme (e.g., Hedy Lamarr or the Bikini Atoll).
The technically inclined cruciverbalists amongst us will appreciate the effort.
Enjoy!
 When I saw this photo of a man holding a
fluorescent light bulb in the beam of a radar antenna, it reminded me of how
we used to do the same thing on our AN/MPN-14 radar system in the USAF. The unit
in the photo is a General Electric's FPS-6 height-finding radar, which operates
in the S-band 2,700-2,900 MHz region. The AN/MPN-14 is a mobile ground control
approach (GCA) with both an S-band airport surveillance radar (ASR) and an X-band
precision approach radar (PAR). Our S-band radar had a 600 kW peak power whereas
the FPS-6 put out a couple megawatts, but 600 kW was enough to light the bulb.
Of course these days you would never see a company-sponsored photo of a man standing
in front of a high power radar antenna with a fluorescent light bulb in his hand...
 Dave Harbaugh created a great many
electronics-themed comics back in the 1960s for magazines like Popular
Electronics, QST, "73",
and others. His "Hobnobbing
with Harbaugh" series usually depicted hobbyists and technicians in a state
of surprise and/or dismay over some event while in the act of pursuing his
passion (electronics, that is, not a woman). Although I have never run across
any evidence of it, I wonder how many of the scenarios are derived from personal
experience. Many do not have captions. I have to admit to being stumped at what
he is trying to convey in the comic where the guy is staring into the back of
the TV while his wife...
 The monthly "Solid State" column in Popular
Electronics reported on all the wonderful new germanium- and silicon-based devices
being prepared for the brave new world of electronics. It is a good resource for historical
research. For instance, did you know that the unijunction transistor was originally going
be called a "double-base
diode?" How about a feeble attempt to integrate solid state and vacuum tubes by incorporating
a "semiconductor cold cathode" to replace the standard 6.3 V or 12.6 V heated
cathode for supplying an electron source? Have you ever heard of a "spacistor?" A 1957
edition of "Proceedings of the IRE" published a paper by Pucel and Statz titled, "The
Spacistor, A New Class of High-Frequency Semiconductor Devices." The summary
statement says..."
 In the pre-VHS era, companies were vying
to create and set standards for the
home-based video recording and playback industry. The same sort of scenario
played out over color television standards a decade earlier, and over B&W television
a couple decades before that. Such battles for dominance in emerging technologies
were not new, and continue into the current time. Various schemes for Electronic
Video Recording systems were being used by commercial media, but creating devices
affordable to Harry and Harriet Homeowner was a challenge. Betamax, produced by
Sony, hit the store shelves in 1975, then VHS a year later. A sort of 8-track vs.
compact cassette battle ensued, but VHS clearly emerged as the winner - followed
by DVD and Blu-ray. Also reported was the world's most expensive - and feature-filled
- color TV, built by Philips, that was "more computer than television," being able
to operate on eleven different modulation standards...
 If you look through the hundreds of
technology-themed comics that appeared various electronics
magazines, many deal with the trials and tribulations of television repair and
service. That is because in the introductory era of TVs, people were,
understandably, infatuated with being able to not just hear but see what was
happening in the broadcast. Radios and phonographs got a lot of coverage as
well. Storylines involving a guy on the roof installing or repairing an antenna
were considered particularly funny, especially if it depicted someone hanging
precariously from a lead-in cable or a ladder rung. This comic addresses the
all-too-common situation where sometimes a better picture was obtained using a
makeshift antenna than with a bona fide, professionally designed antenna...
 By 1944, the U.S. and its Allied partners
were occupied full-time beating back the forces of Communism, Fascism, Socialism,
and many other 'isms.' A vast majority of active service members were men who were
either training on domestic soil or fighting on foreign soil. That left sisters,
mothers, and grandmothers to conduct a lot of the business and work production jobs
that historically had been the near sole purview of men.
Rosie the Riveter was a very familiar symbol of that new paradigm, while less
known and celebrated were the women who handled building and servicing electronics
products. I have posted many articles that appeared in magazines...
 This is Part 2 of Mr. Joseph F. Verruso's
"Patent
Information for the Inventor" series in Electronics World magazine.
In the Part I write-up I included a little historical information on the Patent
Office. Searching on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website can be
less than satisfying - especially since some browsers don't handle the TIFF image
files - so you might want to start with Google Patents where you can enter a more
verbose search string (and you can display the search results as a page of images).
See also "Infringers Beware," July 1966 Popular Electronics, Worldwide
Patent & Invention Resources, and RF Cafe Visitors' Patents...
 A controversy brews over the merits of breeding
plants that glow like a lightning bug. Proponents say
glowing
trees could eventually replace electric street lights, thereby reducing pollution
created by generating stations. Opponents say messing around with tree genes is
dangerous and should be disallowed since it could lead to unanticipated environmental
ramifications on both plant and animal species. The unique aspect of this effort
is that it is being pursued primarily by genetic hobbyists rather than corporations
- at least for now. There is bound to be a huge financial potential for such a copyrighted
line of plants. My opposition to the concept is primarily a concern for light pollution
projected skyward. Astronomers have a difficult enough time with ever-encroaching
sources of ambient light...
 Most Ham radio operators know that Franklin
D. Roosevelt issued an order during World War II that effectively suspended
the hobby of amateur radio for the duration of the war. Many guys sold or donated
equipment to the military and/or civil defense organizations out of a sense of patriotism.
The
Radio Corporation of America (RCA) gave a symbolic tip of the hat to them in
this advertisement that I scanned from the back cover of my copy of the April 1945
QST magazine. Of course RCA pitched the ruggedness of its vacuum tubes
in the process. By this edition's printing, there was a general sense that the war
was nearing an end and eager Hams would not have to wait much longer to re-engage
in their beloved hobby. Indeed, the next month Germany surrendered and four months
after that Japan surrendered. WWII was over at long last...
 This series of comics describes the reactions
you might expect to receive from various kinds people who, while visiting your home,
are introduced to your new stereo setup. Although they appeared in a 1959 edition
of Popular Electronics magazine, the scenarios still hold true today, only
now you can extend the equipment types to include a gaming computer, a wide screen
television, a personal robot, and other modern electromechanical wonders. Now, however,
while "admiring" your equipment, he/she will simultaneously be referring constantly
to his/her smartphone. It is rare to see this kind of entertainment in newer publications
- probably for fear of being sued by an overly sensitive person who sees himself/herself
as being lampooned...
 The mystery of the
origin of
the term "ham" for amateur radio operators never has, after more than a century,
been absolutely settled. Be thankful, though, for being this day referred to as
a "ham" and not a "plug." Waaaay back in 1976, the year I graduated from high school
(wow), Mr. Bill Johnston wrote this article for QST magazine which
presented his research into the etymology of "ham." According to his information,
both "ham" and "plug" were terms applied to fledgling wireless operators on trains
and ships. "Plug" is a term often applied to a worn out horse or defective item,
so it was an appropriate enough derogatory word for a newbie. The author claims
that as of 1976, some dictionaries list as an alternate definition of plug, "an
inexperienced telegrapher." I just checked my c1976 Webster's New Collegiate
Dictionary and it does not include that definition. None of the most prominent
online dictionaries...
 Before there were side-view neon numerical indicator
vacuum tubes there were top-view neon
numerical
indicator vacuum tubes. Nixie tubes and pixie tubes were featured in "Readouts and
Counter Tubes" in the October 1959 issue of Electronics World magazine. At the
time, most were top-view designs whose size was restricted by the diameter of the tube
(typically about 0.8"). Switching to a side-view format did not enable the overall width
to increase much, but the aspect ratio permitted taller displays with characters that
appear as normally seen (rather than being squashed in height). This advertisement in
a 1965 issue of Electronics magazine for numerical indicator tubes from
Raytheon were likely some of the first side-view models available from any
manufacturer...
 By 1953,
General
Electric had already been in business for 75 years, according to this full-page
advertisement that ran in the American Radio Relay League's (ARRL) QST
magazine. It highlights a few key electronics-related accomplishments by the company
since Thomas Edison in 1883 built the first electronic tube as the result of a discovery
that came to be termed the "Edison effect." Interestingly, the terminology "a founder
of G.E." is used to describe Edison. Upon researching the company's origin, I found
this on Wikipedia: "In 1889, Drexel, Morgan & Co., a company founded by J.P.
Morgan and Anthony J. Drexel, financed Edison's research and helped merge those
companies under one corporation to form Edison General Electric Company, which was
incorporated in New York on April 24, 1889..."
 Balsa is one of the lightest woods available,
and in many respects has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any wood - even
oak. The chart at the right gives a comparison of a few familiar wood types. Hobby
grade balsa is harvested in the jungles of Ecuador, kiln dried, cut into large blocks,
and shipped to the U.S. for final cutting and sanding. Most balsa from hobby shops
is in the 8-10 lbs/ft3 realm. The rock-hard stock that nobody wants is sent to the
airplane kit manufacturers ;-) The vast majority of the balsa wood I use for building
model airplanes comes from Sig, Midwest, and Balsa USA. Other suppliers have materialized
in the past few years. Since the rise of mammoth wind turbines for electricity generation,
balsa's use as a core material for blades has caused a severe shortage in the modeling
realm. Balsa prices have skyrocketed in the past decade..
 In Spring of 2018, I installed an old-fashioned
(but newly manufactured)
Channel Master CM3020 Advantage 100 television antenna on a short tower (maybe
just a pole) with a vintage Alliance Model U-100 Tenna-Rotor. While living in Erie,
Pennsylvania, under certain conditions I could receive broadcasts from Erie and
many of the cities that border close to Lake Erie like Toronto and Waterloo (home
of Blackberry), Canada and even Detroit, Michigan. AM radio stations are easily
pulled in from the same areas, but FM does not do quite so well. I plan to also
integrate some form of FM antenna on the installation. There is something insulting
about paying for cable or satellite TV and then having to suffer the deluge of commercials
as well (I have neither). Nobody likes sitting through commercials, but at least
if the programming is being delivered at no cost, it is not unreasonable for the
broadcast companies to be paid by product sponsors...
 Female RF Cafe visitors might be interested
to learn from this "Within the Industry" column which appeared in the 1958 Radio &
TV News magazine of
Helen Staniland Quam being elected president of the Association of Electronic
Parts & Equipment Manufacturers, Inc. She was the first woman to head a major
trade group in the electronics industry. A couple pages away in the same issue carried
a half-page advertisement for her Quam-Nichols Company. The company was a primary
supplier of audio speakers for radio and television original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs) and for commercial loudspeaker installations. Sadly, other than a mention
or two in vintage electronics magazines, there is not much about her accomplishments
to be found on the Web.
 This custom made
Engineering Theme Crossword Puzzle for June 12th is provided compliments of
RF Cafe. All RF Cafe crossword puzzles are custom made by me, Kirt Blattenberger,
and have only words and clues related to RF, microwave, and mm-wave engineering,
optics, mathematics, chemistry, physics, and other technical subjects. As always,
this crossword puzzle contains no names of politicians, mountain ranges, exotic
foods or plants, movie stars, or anything of the sort unless it/he/she is related
to this puzzle's technology theme (e.g., Reginald Denny or the Tunguska event in
Siberia). The technically inclined cruciverbalists amongst us will appreciate the
effort. Enjoy! |
