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Appliances, & Proximity Fuses
 If you have any interest in vintage radios,
you undoubtedly are familiar with Crosley products. They were very different from today's
Crosley products in terms
of quality. My
 experience with
Crosley was while restoring a 1929 floor model that was given to me by my sister.
It was constructed of solid wood and a nice mahogany laminate. The face plate, dial,
and knobs were heavy gauge metal. Following the success of their radios,
 Crosley ventured into the
automobile market from
1939 through 1952. Little known even amongst Crosley fans is that they built
proximity
fuses during World War II. "Crosley's involvement began in late October
1941 when  they were contacted by the Bureau of Ordnance
and told that they would be contacted later that month concerning a 'top secret,
top priority' project." A Crosley VT (variable time) fuse was credited with the
downing its first Japanese dive bomber in 1943. The Brits used them against German
V-1 Buzz Bombs. Thanks to RF Cafe visitor Kevin A. for the tip.
Articles Available
 Some of the RF & microwave magazines have
updated their online editions for November, so here are a few you might like to
check out. A lot of the articles end up being way over my head in theoretical applications,
so I tend to stick with practical stuff that most of us can use. You be your own
judge, though.
•
Recovery Time of the Schottky-PIN Limiter, by Chin Leong Lim
•
How to Automate Testing of Military Avionics Devices, by William
Wargo •
Modular Instruments: Do They Have Any Limitations? Larry
Desjardin •
Playing with Antennas - Part 2, by Kenneth Wyatt •
Finding Fault with Traditional Test Pattern Types, by Ron Press •
Selecting a Handheld RF Analyzer for Tough Conditions, by Wilkie
Yu
 Did you know that RCA invented the LCD as
an electronic display device? If I did, I don't remember it. RCA had a research
center in nearby Princeton University. In 1962, RCA researcher Richard Williams
figured out that he could use electrical signals to coax liquid crystals into proper
alignment for creating an opaque or clear medium. By 1967, the invention was ready
for prime time. Quite a lot of effort was expended in publicizing and promoting
the LCD display, but ultimately infighting
between company divisions on issues of management, manufacturing , and engineering
killed a potential windfall for RCA. Eventually, Japanese firms developed their
own superior LCDs and because of process improvements were able to sell them at
a lower cost. An article in the November 2012 issue of IEEE's
Spectrum magazine goes into all the gory detail.
 "So the curious thing is that in the last
century, broadcast was all wireless and personal communication all wired; now it
is exactly the reverse..." -
Robert W. Lucky, November 2012 Spectrum.
for Long-Time Support
Skyworks Solutions, Inc. is an innovator of
high reliability analog and mixed signal semiconductors enabling a broad range of
end markets. Skyworks' product portfolio includes: Handset, Infrastructure, Automotive,
CATV / Satcom, Smart Energy Solutions / Wireless Home, Medical, Military, RFID,
Test Measurement, WLAN / WiMAX / WiFi
Dividers, Couplers, Combiners
 Passive Components: Dividers, Couplers, Combiners,
Tuesday, November 20, 11 AM ET. Presented by: Besser Associates. Power Dividers
2-way, 3-way and N-way. Isolation and loss Phase relationships. Uneven power division.
Combining RF power. Directional Couplers Properties. Coupling, Isolation, and Directivity.
Power Splitters and Resistive Dividers
Maneuvers in Tight Quarters
 You might recall
seeing the video of Boston Dynamics' "Big Dog" robot that is part of a DARPA project
developing battlefield automatons capable of carrying heavy loads at a swift pace
over rugged terrain. Their newest humanoid, called "Pet-Proto," is enough to
give you nightmares. Add a few lowpass filters on the joint mechanics and this boy
would look like it came straight out of the Transformers or Terminator movies. One
big hurdle that has to be overcome is the power source. Big Dog has an internal
combustion engine driving a hydraulic pump (electronics probably work on batteries),
and this Pet-Proto dude has hydraulic lines from an external supply. The robots
are capable of autonomous decision making and are guided and motivated by GPS, LIDAR,
ground sensors, gyroscopes, and other supersophisticated devices.
Appreciation of Their Support
BRL Test is a leading
dealer of new and reconditioned test and measurement equipment. We buy, sell, rent,
lease, repair and calibrate all types of general purpose test and measurement equipment.
BRL Test is your one stop
source for over fifty different manufacturers and thousands of different models
– specializing in Agilent, HP, Tektronix, Fluke, Anritsu, and Rohde & Schwarz.
All equipment is calibrated per order at an ISO9001:2000 Registered and A2LA Accredited
facility.
Technology as New Sponsor!
Established in November 1999,
WOKEN is a Taiwan-based company
that specializes in Microwave/RF coaxial connectors, cables, cable assemblies, Microwave/RF
antennas and RF accessories. With the experienced R&D engineers & technicians,
active marketing staff, up-to-date production equipment and measuring instruments,
WOKEN designs its own RF / Microwave products for meeting all kinds of requirements
demanded by its customers at communication markets.
Crossword for 11/18/2012
For the sake of avid cruciverbalists, 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).
 "Build a Small Radar System Capable of Sensing Range, Doppler, and
Synthetic Aperture Radar Imaging." That is the title of a course offered by
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory. It is a 3-week
class in the design, fabrication, and test of a
laptop-based radar sensor capable of
measuring Doppler, range, and forming synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. Teams
of three students will receive a radar kit and will attend a total of 5 sessions
spanning topics from the fundamentals of radar to SAR imaging. A final SAR imaging
contest will test your ability to form a SAR image of a target scene of your choice
from around campus; the most detailed and most creative image wins. However, it
is not necessary to attend the class to build the radar because all of the material
is available online for garage (or basement, attic, closet, etc.) experimenters.
David Schneider did just that and wrote an article about
his experience for the November 2012 edition of IEEE's Spectrum magazine.
Trekkies will appreciate the reference therein.
Truck Was a Magnetized Mess
 Sherlock Ohms is a regular feature of Design
News that presents submissions from readers about troubleshooting challenges and
how they were solved. This one is titled "The Dodge Truck Was a Magnetized Mess." This is a troubleshooting
problem that separates the men from the boys. It is quite amazing that Bob Humphreys
had the tenacity and knowledge to find the culprit.
Microwave for Support
American Microwave Corporation
(AMC) uses a state-of-the-art clean room to manufacture all of it's products, as
well as a fully automated machine shop. AMC is a leader in the design and manufacturing
of DC to 40 GHz solid state control components for commercial and military
grades. Solid state switches & attenuators, phase invariant digital programmable
attenuators, detector log video amplifiers (DLVAs) in active and passive RF / microwave
components and assemblies.
German Users Group Meeting
 AWR Corporation,
the innovation leader in high-frequency EDA software, announces the agenda for the
AWR Design Forum and 2012 German Users Group Meeting being held November 28, 2012
in Munich, Germany. The ADF/German Users Group Meeting is a free, one-day event
that provides an opportunity to view presentations of interesting and informative
papers from customers and partners working in the microwave & RF industry, as
well as from research and educational institutions. It also provides an excellent
opportunity to network and collaborate on industry issues and trends.
Metering/Energy and ISM Band
 RF Micro Devices announces the availability
of the
RFFM6903 front end module (FEM) that meets or exceeds the system requirements
for AMI/AMR smart meter applications operating in the 868–960 MHz frequency
band. The FEM supports multiple applications, including Smart Energy/advanced metering
infrastructure (AMI), portable battery-powered equipment, and general 868/915 MHz
ISM band systems. The feature-rich
RFFM6903 integrates a +30.5 dBm power amplifier (PA) with a Tx harmonic
output filter in the transmit path, a Tx path bypass mode with harmonic filter,
and a low-noise amplifier.
Continued Support!
Planar
Monolithics Industries has been set up to manufacture and market various MIC/MMIC
Components, Supercomponents, and Subsystems for applications in Telecommunications,
Terrestrial, Satellite, and Mobile-Radio Communications, Defense (ECM, ECCM, ESM,
Radars, and Electronic Warfare), Cable-TV, Navigation and Marine Electronics, FAA/DOT-Avionics,
Ground Based Systems, and Microwave Landing Systems.
Senior RF PA Design Engineer
 Technalogix is a leading provider of cost-effective
and ultra-reliable wireless components, assemblies, and turn-key systems. They specialize
in broadcast, broadband, industrial, scientific, and medical applications. As a
member of our Industrial, Scientific, and Medical amplifier division, you will work
on the
design of high power amplifier pallets and associated RF components and technologies.
You will be responsible for designing, building and debugging amplifier chains capable
of handling rugged RF power conditions for unique applications in the range of 25
to 1,000 MHz. Individual amplifier pallets will be combined into multi-kilowatt
power systems and paired with RF designs to protect against high and continuous
reflected power, in pulsed, CW, or other modulations.
(RCA) Advertisement
 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...
in Appreciation of Support
 Triad RF Systems was formed with the objective
of solving the problem of high power amplifiers (HPAs) being the Achilles heel in
most RF radios. We have solutions for integrating high performance HPAs into sophisticated
RF systems and subsystems without sacrificing efficiency and linearity. They serve
all areas of the RF and microwave industries including military, satellite and commercial
communications, operating from 10 MHz to 14 GHz.
Advertisement
 Here is an advertisement for
Delco
radios that I scanned from page 91 of my copy of the April 1945 QST
magazine. "'Control the Air' has a new meaning today," that's the tag line referring
to the need to dominate wireless communications in the effort to conduct effective
warfare. Radio certainly wasn't a new science in 1945, but secure communications
- including spread spectrum techniques - was a vital technique both for transmitting
and receiving messages and for jamming the communication of our enemies. Delco,
as was common in the World War II era, encouraged citizens to buy War
Bonds.
  Expert
witnesses play a big role in most of the court cases that get reported here.
IMS ExpertServices is a law firm specializing in expert witnesses.
Every month or so they send me an article about specific court cases that could
be of interest to RF Cafe visitors. This particular installment is titled, "Death
of the ITC?," and deals with a recent editorial in the National Law Journal
that was written by a trade policy analyst who challenged the propriety of the U.S.
International Trade Commission (ITC) in the U.S. patent law system.
 Over
five thousand years ago, Moses said to the children of Israel, "Pick up your shovels,
mount your asses and camels, and I will lead you to the Promised Land." Nearly 75
years ago, Roosevelt said, "Lay down your shovels, sit on your asses, and light
up a Camel, this is the Promised Land." Today, the Government has stolen your shovel,
taxed your asses, raised the price of Camels and mortgaged the Promised Land! I
was so depressed last night thinking about Health Care, the economy, the wars, lost
jobs, savings, Social Security, retirement funds... that I called a Suicide Hotline.
I had to press 1 for English. I was connected to a call center in Pakistan. I told
them I was suicidal. They got excited and asked, "Can you drive a truck?"
Using Amalfi CMOS PA
RF PA Design Series P4: RF Module Design Using
Amalfi CMOS PA, Thursday, November 15, 1 pm ET. Designing CMOS RF Power Amplifiers
is a complex task, which requires various simulation technologies. In this webcast,
we will present a comprehensive CMOS Power Amplifier design methodology based on
a real world example: Amalfi's dual band PA module, AM7802. You will learn how CMOS
Power Amplifiers ICs are modeled with X-parameters, how to model laminates and packages
with advanced EM simulation technologies, and how to integrate all of these results
for complete module design verification.
Continued Support!
Comdel designs
and manufactures RF and DC power supplies and process instruments for the semiconductor,
solar cell/photovoltaics, flat panel, and industrial heating industries. Comdel
products are in use worldwide by the industry's major equipment and IC fab manufacturers.
Comdel is ISO 9001:2000 certified.
of Amalfi Semiconductor
RF Micro Devices announced today a definitive agreement to acquire
Amalfi Semiconductor, a leading fabless semiconductor company specializing in
cost effective, high performance RF and mixed-signal ICs for the rapidly growing
entry-level smartphone market. RFMD intends to significantly accelerate the market
adoption of Amalfi's RF CMOS and mixed-signal ICs by combining Amalfi's targeted
product portfolio and proprietary RF CMOS and mixed-signal expertise with RFMD's
deep customer relationships, broad product portfolio, extensive in-house manufacturing
scale, and robust global supply chain.
to Gov't-Funded Research
 The White House website has a
Petition area where anyone can start a petition for any cause,
and then try to get the 25,000 signatures required for it to be brought to the attention
of White House officials... who then subsequently officially ignore it. This particular
one showed up on a
science website,
but I figured I'd link directly to the source website rather than to a story about
it. In part the petition reads, "We believe in the power of the Internet to foster
innovation, research, and education. Requiring the published results of taxpayer-funded
research to be posted on the Internet in human and machine readable form would provide
access to patients and caregivers, students and their teachers, researchers, entrepreneurs,
and other taxpayers who paid for the research..." As of this writing the tally is
36,194 - which exceeds the triggering threshold. I'm sure we'll be seeing action
on it within days.
iPhone Case
 Be the first in your office to own an iPhone
case with a built-in pepper spray dispenser. For just $39.95 you can own a
weapon of personal destruction.
A 3-step firing process helps prevent accidental triggering. "Spraytect's pepper
spray is a proprietary blend that uses habanero pepper, one of the hottest peppers
available, as the main ingredient. This blend is the same formulation used by organizations
like Homeland Security, US Military, FBI offices, Police Departments across the
country as well as Corrections Officers. " For the ladies, the
Spraytect iPhone pepper
spray case comes in four colors, including
 pink
which will go perfectly with your pink Ruger® 380 LCP.
HEMT Power Amplifiers
 RFMD's new
RFHA104x series of high-power GaN broadband power transistors
(BPTs) are optimized for military communications, commercial wireless infrastructure,
and general purpose applications. Using an advanced 65 V high power density
GaN semiconductor process optimized for high peak-to-average ratio applications,
these high-performance amplifiers achieve high power with high efficiency and flat
gain over a broad frequency range in a single amplifier design.
RFICs for WB Infrastructure
 Hittite has released a new receiver and transmitter
RFIC chipset which is ideal for frequency conversion applications in wireless infrastructure
equipment such as base transceiver stations, remote radio units, small cells and
repeaters from 700-3500 MHz. The
HMC1190LP6GE
is a high linearity dual channel downconverter with integrated PLL/VCO which operates
from 700 to 3500 MHz. The
HMC1190LP6GE
RF and LO inputs are single-ended while an enable/disable pin makes it possible
to reduce power consumption dynamically as conditions allow.
11th Month, 11 Day, 11th Hour
 Veterans
Day, Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, whatever your country calls it, this is the
time we have chosen to honor our countries' veterans for the service given to help
maintain our own freedoms and to gain and protect the freedoms of those in other
parts of the world. This music video by Canadian Terry Kelly, titled "A Pittance of Time,"
is one of the best tributes and conscience grabbers available. Freedom is hard won
and easily lost. The world will soon feel effects of a selfish, ignorant populace's
decision.
Crossword for 11/11/2012
For the sake of avid cruciverbalists, 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).
Uses 256-Point FFT
 This FFT development board from RHDC Services
features a fully functional audio band spectrum analyzer for just £59.95 ($95.35). An ultra
low power Sharp 96x96-pixel display and judicious selection of processor and peripheral
components yields a module that consumes only 3 μA in a static state and
1.3 mA while FFT'ing. Per their website, "The FFTD1A can typically display
an image and maintain a
real time clock
using less than 10µW. Assuming a CR2032 coin-cell delivers 200mAh, that's around
6 years battery life." FFT
Designer software together with the FFTD1A development board allows users to
develop application software that performs Fourier analysis with a 12-bit, 200 ksps
input and a 50 dB SFDR. Add a simple mixer, LO, and filter to extend the useful
range to just about any frequency band. RHDC Services also provides RF R&D and
communication systems engineering services.
Low Noise Amplifier
PMI Model No.
PEC-60-10K40M-3R5-14-12-SFF is a low noise amplifier that operates from 10 kHz
to 40 MHz. This amplifier provides over 60 dB of gain and offers a low
noise figure of 3.5 dB maximum. The output power at 1 dB gain compression
is +14 dBm minimum.
Samsung Galaxy S3
 As you might expect, the BlendTec blender
guy couldn't resist an opportunity to see how Apple's new iPhone 5 would fare when
put up against his company's Total Blender. But wait, this time the
"Will It Blend"
contest isn't limited to just the Total Blender and a single challenger. Adding
to the excitement is a third contender - the Samsung Galaxy S3. The question before
Tom the blender guy is which phone will succumb to the ravages of the blender's
mighty cutters the soonest? I was not surprised at the outcome when considering,
present company excluded of course, the typical Apple product user versus the rest
of us. Let's just say Siri lost her soothing voice early in the game. I hope that
last comment didn't spoil the suspense.
Underestimate Stealth Variable
 EDN has a troubleshooting story-telling feature
called Tales from the Cube similar to the Sherlock Ohms feature
by Design News. This one, titled "Don't Underestimate
Stealth Variable."
This one really reaches back into another era when terms like "cordwood" meant something
other than fireplace fodder to electronics techs and engineers. The lesson, though,
is still applicable today.
Design Flow Models
This application note reveals the benefit
of combining Modelithics Global Models™ for passive RLC components with
AWR's Microwave Office™ high-frequency design software. The
improved design flow solution maps the impact that individual components have on
sub-system performance such that trade-offs can be made with regard to component
values and tolerance, enabling lower manufacturing costs and improved yield. The
solution requires accurate passive component models that enable yield analysis by
means of a tolerance setting, something that is nearly impossible with commonly
used S-parameter file-based component representations.
Linear PA Modules
The parts in RFMD's new
RF73xx series of high-power, high-efficiency linear power amplifiers
are designed for use as the final amplification stage in 3 V, 50 Ω LTE
mobile cellular equipment developed for E-UTRAN\LTE band operation. These parts
are developed for 5 MHz to 20 MHz LTE channel bandwidths. Each has two
digital control pins to select one of three power bias states to optimize performance
and current drain at lower power levels. Each also has an integrated directional
coupler which eliminates the need for an external discrete coupler at the output.
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