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Today in Science History -
 Heathkit's claim to fame was that it was
able to offer user-assembled kits of high quality electronic products at a price
lower than what equivalent factory assembled equivalents would cost. While that
is probably generally the case, it is difficult to gauge what the relative quality
really is. Some of the kits were easy to assemble for even people with little experience,
but a good portion of them required familiarity with soldering and how electronics
were put together. The instructions provided were very thorough, complete with photos
and drawings of how each step should look. In fact, according to a 1972 installment
of Mac's Service Shop entitled "Philosophy of a Kit Manufacturer," every Heathkit
kit instruction booklet goes through a rigorous cycle of writing, testing, and rewriting
before being released for production...
 Axiom Test Equipment, an electronic test
equipment rental and sales company has published a new blog post entitled "Practical
Solutions for Measuring Phase Noise" that examines phase noise, what it is,
why too much noise and frequency instability can be a problem in testing, and how
to find the right method and equipment for measuring it. Phase noise can often be
measured directly using different measurement approaches such as residual and cross-correlation
techniques, which are explored more in-depth in the blog. Most importantly, the
blog explains what specifications to look for in a spectrum or signal analyzer to
ensure the best fit for the job. A few equipment examples are given as guides...
 "Scientists said they had discovered a way
to
detect space debris even in daylight hours, potentially helping satellites to
avoid the ever-growing cloud of junk orbiting the planet. Defunct rockets, satellites
and spacecraft parts continue to orbit Earth after they are discarded. The estimated
500,000 objects circling the globe range in size from a single screw to an entire
rocket fuel tank. Travelling at thousands of miles an hour, they pose a huge and
rising collision risk to satellites. Using lasers, it is possible to detect the
debris from the ground..."
 One very satisfying aspect of 'rolling your
own'
audio frequency coils (aka chokes, aka inductors), is how well the simple inductance
equations match measured end results. Unless you really manage to mangle the job,
if you use the right equation and are reasonably careful to observe wire size, spacing
(including insulation), and core diameter, you will be amazed at how close practice
matches theory. Although strictly speaking audio frequencies run from a few Hertz
up to maybe 15 kHz for people with really good hearing. My experience is that
similar success can be had even into the low MHz realm with just a little tuning
required. It's not until you get into the realm of self-resonance that everything
starts falling apart...
 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. The P/N AE1200-1400DB5450
passes DC-1200 MHz and 1400-3000 MHz with a crossover insertion loss of
5 dB at 1300 MHz crossover frequency at 1300 MHz and in band insertion
loss of less than 1 dB. The AE2310B11640 passes the LTE band of 2305-2315 MHz
with an in-band insertion loss of less than 1 dB. The 2305-2315 MHz bandpass
filter exhibit a very sharp transition to the rejection band with a power...
Reactel has become one of the industry leaders in the design and manufacture
of RF and microwave filters,
diplexers, and sub-assemblies. They offer the generally known tubular, LC, cavity,
and waveguide designs, as well as state of the art high performance suspended substrate
models. Through a continuous process of research and development, they have established
a full line of filters of filters of all types - lowpass, highpass, bandpass, bandstop,
diplexer, and more. Established in 1979. Please contact Reactel today to see how
they might help your project.
 An engineer friend wrote saying he is in immediate need of 50 pieces
of the Cree
CMPA0060025F, 25 W, 20-6000 MHz, GaN MMIC power amplifier. If you
can supply any quantity, please contact me at kirtrfc@aol.com
to let me know. Time is of the essence. Thank you very much!
 This "Electronic
Crossword" appeared in the September 1958 issue of Radio & TV News magazine.
Its creator, John Gill, designed specialty theme crossword puzzles for many other
editions of Radio & TV News and Electronics World (see the big list at the bottom
of the page). He considered this crossword to be a "fooler" because he claims
to include many "unusual definitions and a number of obscure words which you will
have to work around if your vocabulary of 'exotic words' is rusty." It really doesn't
seem so difficult to me, and anyone used to working my custom RF Cafe Crosswords
will have no problem with it.
 To meet the challenging requirements of cellular
LTE and 5G NR infrastructure applications, Skyworks has released the
SKY67183−396LF and SKY67189−396LF low noise amplifiers (LNAs). These LNAs feature
ultra low-noise figure, exceptional linearity, and operate over a wide range of
frequencies. To reduce PCB board space, these devices are housed in an ultra-compact
2 x 2 mm plastic surface mount package. The SKY67183−396LF and SKY67189−396LF are
ideal for 2G/3G/4G/5G TDD and FDD infrastructure applications, including small cell,
massive MIMO, and macro base...
 "After completing a countdown dress rehearsal,
Astra is gearing up for its first orbital launch attempt this week from Kodiak Island,
Alaska, but company officials said it will likely take multiple test flights before
the new
small satellite launcher successfully reaches orbit. Astra's small satellite
delivery vehicle was set for liftoff from the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Alaska
during a two-hour window opening at 10 p.m. EDT Sunday, or 6 p.m. local time in
Alaska. In social media updates, Astra said it fueled the small satellite launcher
with liquid propellants Sunday. But officials said out-of-limits upper level winds
and a boat in restricted waters offshore..."
 When someone with the first name of "True"
writes an article about transmission line feeds for short-wave antennas, you should
probably take note. This very topic has been covered in detail many times since
the use of impedance-matched transmission lines have been in use (more than a century),
but since there are always people new to the concept, it is good to keep introducing
the topic on a regular basis."Transmission-Line
Feed for Short-Wave Antennas" appeared in a 1932 issue of QST magazine.
Even in this era of prefabricated everything, it still often comes down to winding
coils and adjusting cable lengths to get optimal impedance matches between transceivers
and antennas.
 I have extolled the virtues of Aerospace &
Defense Technology magazine many times for its variety of extremely interesting
articles on a wide range of topics. The August issue has a story on the
element Vanadium (atomic number
23) and the critical role it
plays as an alloy component of metals. At concentrations of less then 0.1%, vanadium
can nearly double the strength of steel and aluminum, as well as increasing resistance
to corrosion. It is also used as a catalyst (sometimes a substitution for nickel
and platinum), in electronics components, and in ceramics. Use of vanadium is considered
"green" because most of it is obtained from byproducts of other industrial processes
like ash from coal burning. Vanadium is the earth's 22nd most abundant element and
is found everywhere, but as you might suspect China provides 61% of the supply while
the U.S. does a mere 3% (Russia makes 14%). Fortunately, part of the Dept. of Interior's
2018 charter was to include vanadium on its list of critical commodities and must
act to significantly increase domestic production rather than be dependent on foreign
sources. It's long past time.
 Manufacturing
of all our products continues to operate at full capacity as part of the "Essential
Business" community. Professional high frequency
TSA89 series of RF test cables with performance to 40 GHz. Precision connector
choices include; SMA, Type-N, 3.5mm, 2.92mm, & 2.4mm. Key features: High-frequency
point to point cable, light weight rugged double-shielded, flexible cable, low loss <0.68 dB/ft
@ 40 GHz, low VSWR < 1.35:1 (Typical < 1.25:1), RF leakage >−100 dB
to 18 GHz, temperature rated from -55ºC to 125ºC. 100% factory VSWR and insertion
loss tested. Cables are in stock and available immediately from Digi−Key. Made in
the USA.
 Electro-Photonics is a global supplier of
RF & Microwave components.
Their products include SMT hybrid and directional couplers, wire bondable passive
components, mounting tabs, filters, transmission lines, and very useful test boards
for evaluating components (spiral inductors, single-layer capacitors). The Electro-Photonics
team can support your small R&D design requirements with RF & Microwave
test fixtures and save you valuable design and characterization time. Please take
a moment to visit Electro-Photonics' website and see how your project might benefit.
 The word prefix "para" can mean "above and
beyond" or "resembling" or "abnormal or incorrect." Ward Products probably preferred
first two be inferred by potential customers when naming their
PARA−CON television antenna, although it actually is a shortening of "parabolic."
The "con" part is a shortening of "conical." After reading the text of this full-page
advertisement from a 1951 issue of Radio & Television News magazine, I'm inclined
to assign the third prefix meaning of "para" to it. Then, add in the "con" part
where "con" can take on either the noun form meaning of "disadvantage" or the verb
form definition of "to trick or defraud," and you get what this antenna truly represented
in terms of achieving superior performance. At best the PARA−CON exhibited the characteristics
of a phased pseudo-[bi]conical antenna. The allusion to a parabolic antenna...
 With more than 1000
custom-built symbols, this has got to be the most comprehensive set of
Visio
Symbols available for RF, analog, and digital system and schematic drawings!
Every object has been built to fit proportionally on the provided A-, B- and C-size
drawing page templates (or can use your own). Symbols are provided for equipment
racks and test equipment, system block diagrams, conceptual drawings, and schematics.
Unlike previous versions, these are NOT Stencils, but instead are all contained
on tabbed pages within a single Visio document. That puts everything in front of
you in its full glory. Just copy and paste what you need on your drawing. The file
format is XML so everything plays nicely with Visio 2013 and later...
 "Sensing devices have a range of industrial
uses - from carrying out ground surveys to monitoring volcanoes - and scientists
are developing ways to improve their sensitivity with quantum technologies that
are based on cold atoms. Machines using quantum technology are, however, bulky and
difficult to transport, making current designs unsuitable for most industrial uses.
According to Birmingham University, the researchers have used a new approach that
will enable
quantum sensors to shrink to a fraction of their current size. The research
was conducted by an international team led by Birmingham University and SUSTech
in China in collaboration with Paderborn University in Germany. Their results are
published..."
 Not everyone who visits websites like RF
Cafe is a seasoned electronics veteran. While I and most likely you, too, can do
series and parallel circuit analysis (and series/parallel for that matter, possibly
using Fourier or La Place transforms for reactive AC circuits) in our sleep,
many are recently getting into the wonderful world of electronics who are just coming
of age or have suddenly at a later point in life developed a passion for the craft.
Accordingly, this article from Radio News magazine provides yet another
tutorial on the fundamentals of series and parallel circuit analysis. Only resistors
and basic Ohms law are covered...
 Withwave's Precision
1.0 mm to 1.0 mm Adapter Series are designed based on precision microwave
interconnection technologies. Configurations include 1.0 mm (F) to 1.0 mm (F),
1.0 mm (M) to 1.0 mm (F), and 1.0 mm (M) to 1.0 mm (M).
These Adapters are manufactured to precise microwave specifications and constructed
with male and female gender on both side. The precision microwave connector interfaces
ensure an excellent microwave performance up to 110 GHz. Features: Frequency
range = DC to 110 GHz, VSWR (max) = 1.30:1, Body = stainless steel (passivated)...
 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.
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