Puzzle for August 31, 2014
This week's crossword puzzle,
like last week's crossword puzzle,
and all the weeks before that, was custom made by me and contains only words and clues pertaining to science and engineering.
Print it out and take it to your next diversity in the workplace meeting so you can honestly say you got some mental stimulation
out of it. Enjoy!
& Electronics Training Ad
It wasn't all that long ago that deadlines for magazine printing cycles were measured
in months - unlike today where electronics on-demand printing has cut lead times to weeks and even days. Accordingly, this
National Schools advertisement pitching 'after the war' training in electronics servicing that appeared in the September
1945 edition of Radio Craft was likely designed and submitted two or three months ahead of the publication month
(e.g., in June or July). How could they be so sure that their scarce advertising dollars wouldn't
be wasted? Simple. By that time, the entire country seemed to have a sense that World War II would come to an end soon
since Hitler's, Mussolini's, Tojo's...
New Round of Magazine
Articles for 8/29/2014
After you've turned off all the lab equipment and are sitting
around waiting for the 3-day Labor Day weekend to start, kill some time with a couple of these new articles.
- Precision Validation
of Radar
System Performance in the
Field, W. Yu
- Why Are Oscilloscope Probe
Amps at the Tip?, A. Pini
& L. Jacobs
-
Selecting an RF Power
Meter
or Sensor (p.54), LadyBug
Technologies
-
Match Impedances When
Making Measurements,
S. Sandler
-
On-Site Testing of Lightning
Protection Devices, K. Rand
-
Next Generation
Communications for Next
Generation Satellites,
N. Kundtz
-
Analyzing Active
Cancellation Stealth,
X. Sheng & X. Yuanming
Sure, you do it all the time, but at some point either someone suggested and/or showed
you how to clip substitute components into a circuit in place of a suspected bad component while troubleshooting or maybe
during the design or tuning process. Miniature circuits of today pretty much rule out using alligator clips to patch in
a part, but sometimes it is possible to use miniature J clip leads or even pin probes to make the connection long enough
to take a measurement. Since I do a fair amount of circuit work on other-than-RF applications, I often find myself using
short insulated, stranded wires with mini alligator clips on each end to make connections.
for Their Support!
Anatech Electronics designs and manufactures
the industry's widest range of RF and microwave filters
at frequencies up to 40 GHz, as well as power dividers, directional couplers, and many other product types. We specialize
in standard and custom designs for commercial wireless, public safety, satcom, and defense applications, and we can meet
stringent military environmental specifications.
Series of Low PIM Connectors
Delta's
4.1 / 9.5 Mini DIN series of coaxial connectors are designed
to meet the growing demands of today's high performance mobile communications systems. Mechanically similar to the 7/16
series, the 4.1/9.5 Mini DIN's 30% smaller size and reduced weight, allow increased package density and flexibility in system
design. Delta offers a wide range of standard 4.1 / 9.5 Mini DIN configurations including: male and female
Audio crossover networks
have the same fundamental mission as RF multiplexer filters in radio systems, which is to separate and steer specific bands
of frequencies into two or more signal paths. While simple in concept, implementation in hardware can be a major challenge
depending on requirements for channel separation, feedthrough, phase and group delay, amplitude equalization, distortion,
and other factors. This article discusses some of the decisions used by crossover network designers when considering where
to make band breaks, while leaving actual circuit design rules to other authors. I built a set of custom speakers many moons
ago and went through the frustrating process...
ISO 9001:2008 Certification
Planar Monolithics Industries, Inc. (PMI)
announced that they have received their ISO 9001:2008 certification for
their Quality Management System. With the recent successful completion of the audit at the El Dorado Hills, CA facility,
now all three PMI facilities, including both facilities located in Frederick, MD, are ISO certified. ISO 9001:2008 certification
is a prestigious certification requiring companies to meet the complex and demanding documentation, quality system and continuous
process improvement requirements.
Therry and the Pirates
You can still buy from Moog today the same sort of
Theremin that was described in this 1961
Carl & Jerry episode. Ever the early adopters of breaking technology, the teenagers exploit the motion-sensitive
feature of the Theremin in hopes of improving Carl's basketball game. As usual the boys, in mock dialog, describe the Theremin's
operational theory for the benefit of readers not familiar with the musical instrument. They do not, however, mention that
the device is named after its Russian inventor, Léon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928. Read on to discover how
a Theremin strapped to Jerry's back...
Connection for Support
Test Equipment Connection Corporation is your
single source test & measurement solution. We
offer over 300 test equipment manufacturers including Agilent, Tektronix, Anritsu, 
Rohde &
Schwarz, Advantest and Fluke, plus thousands of New, Used, Second Hand, and Refurbished test equipment products. We buy
and sell bench top, general-purpose test and measurement equipment. $2M is budgeted each month for the purchase of surplus
equipment.
Power Amplifiers
Envelope Tracking Power Amplifiers
for Wireless Communications, by Zhancang Wang. Envelope tracking technology is seen as the most promising efficiency
enhancement technology for RF PA for 4G and beyond wireless communications. More and more organizations are investing and
researching on this topic with huge potential academic and commercial values. This is the first book on the market to give
complete introduction, theory, and design considerations on envelope tracking for wireless communications...
at 18,000 M.P.H.
These days,
I'm always a bit hesitant to publish or do Internet research on items mentioning chemical compounds any more toxic than
rubbing alcohol. This article reports on early plans of the Vanguard satellite launch platform for America's first orbiting
satellites. Although the main focus is on the
electronic
steering and stabilization systems, it mentions the fuel composition of nitric acid and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine.
That's probably enough to cause a federal agent to come knocking on my door... or at least put me on some sort of surveillance
list. Less exotic fuels like LOX (not to be confused with the fish
used on bagels), kerosene...
in Demand at This Plant
"He no sooner gets alone with a
sweater
girl than he's trying to pull the wool over her eyes." That's a really old joke that only old guys remember. 'Sweater
girl' was a term used to describe... how do I properly put it?... Dolly Parton types (you know, having
a good singing voice 
). Anyway, I thought you might need
to be apprised of the origin of the term to appreciate the title of this article from a 1944 edition of Radio Craft. You're
welcome.
Contest Winners Awarded
NI
(formerly AWR Corporation) awarded the first-, second- and third-place winning teams of the
IMS2014 Student Design Contest for High-efficiency Power Amplifier and High-sensitivity Radar complementary
one-year licenses of NI AWR Design Environment™ software.
Thomas Edison
"It is apparent to me that the possibilities of
the aeroplane, which two or threes years ago was thought to hold the solution to the [flying machine] problem, have been
exhausted, and that we must turn elsewhere." - Thomas A. Edison, New York World, November 17, 1895. This, from
the man who reportedly tried more than 1,000 different materials for his incandescent light bulb before arriving at a coil
of carbon filament.
Here is a little more
tech comic artistry from Bill Hutchinson. Bill created a lot of work for Popular Electronics over the years in
addition to his semi-regular
Hobnobbing with Harbaugh series. One of the comics mentions an operator being referred to as a 'lid.'
In Hamdom, the term means a person who is incompetent or stupid. The history of 'lid' is
apparently uncertain (as is 'Ham') per many sources I checked, but two explanations seem the
most feasible to me. The first is that in the olden days of land telegraphy, less skilled Morse code operators supposedly
placed the lid of a tobacco...
This first of a two-part
"Radar Principles"
article by British engineer and researcher Dr. R.L. Smith-Rose. Dr. Smith-Rose explains the basics of radio detection and
ranging using simple illustrations and calculation examples. When these articles were written, radar had recently been credited
with playing a major role in helping the Allies successfully wage war against aggressive Axis powers that were ravaging
London and other European cities with air attacks comprised of both manned and unmanned vehicles. While the principles of
radar were somewhat familiar to people...
Noise Gain Blocks in Die Form
RFMW, Ltd. announces design and sales
support for four new high-linearity,
low noise gain blocks from TriQuint. Offered as DIE, they target hybrid assembly designs requiring the highest level
of performance unencumbered by package parasitics. All devices cover applications from 0.05 to 4 GHz such as commercial
and military radar receivers, EW, communication LNA designs and general purpose LNA designs needing highly linear amplifiers
Technologies for Support!
Parsec specializes in embedded
passive and active antenna modules for GPS, GNSS, M2M, IoT
(Internet-of-Things) and LTE. Parsec also has a full line of high performance, LNA ICs for
wireless and mobile markets. Parsec's offerings significantly improve system performance and signal integrity with high
efficiency embedded antennas using smaller ground planes, higher gain, and higher IP3 performance while insuring low noise
and excellent Rx abilities.
for August 25, 2014
LinkedIn's CEO Jeff
Weiner hit a home run with his recent post titled
The 3 Qualities of People I Most Enjoy Working With. The article's content is undeniably interesting,
but I guarantee the fame factor is based on the Venn diagram that he created. It's simple and sure to get a chuckle out
of you. Here are a few more useful articles:
— Running an
Effective
Long-Distance
Job
Search
—
5 Ways New Grads Can
Get a Boost up the
Corporate Ladder
— Fired at 50? Now What?
— How
to Answer the 'Tell Me
About Yourself' Interview
Question <more...>
Crossword Puzzle for 8/24/2013
This week's
science and engineering-themed
crossword puzzle, like last week's crossword puzzle, and all the weeks before that, was custom made by me and contains
only words and clues pertaining to science and engineering. Print it out and take it to your next diversity in the workplace
meeting so you can honestly say you got some mental stimulation out of it. Enjoy!
Historical Development
This second part of the
"Radar Principles"
article by British engineer and researcher Dr. R.L. Smith-Rose provides a historical perspective of the very beginnings
of radar systems. Although alluded to by technical visionaries like Hugo Gernsback, George Orwell, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells,
et al, for use in target detection and ranging (but rarely speed, oddly enough). According
to Dr. Smith-Rose, the first use of radio waves for detection and distance measurement was in atmospheric studies to characterize
the ionosphere, in a bistatic configuration. It is an interesting and quick read, and you might even be introduced to the
concept of a "squegging"
(self-quenching)...
Director of Systems & Services
Thanks to our 50 years of industry experience, Aviat Networks knows microwave transmission better than anyone, and now
we are delivering the next generation of LTE proven microwave networking solutions that bring together high performance
radio transmission and smart network evolution to all-IP. Aviat has an opening for a Systems & Services Networks Director,
responsible for developing and executing a services strategy that supports the existing customer business and the sector's
growth strategy. Please see description for details if interested
to Eliminate Interference
QRM and QRN (manmade and natural interference, respectively)
has been a problem to be dealt with since the beginning of radio communications. Amplitude modulation
(AM) was and is still the most vulnerable because there are so many sources of electrical
and electromagnetism generation - both intentional and unintentional. Filters can take care of out-of-band noise, but inband
noise needs to be dealt with differently. Some inband interference can be reduced in effectiveness with circuits using specific
time constants that address specific noise types. One of the most successful methods for mitigating generic noise is to
limit the opportunity for noise signals to enter the system by employing directional antennas...
Signal multiplexing was
originally performed using a rotating mechanical device with commutator contacts. Such a contraption suffered from a number
of limitations including contact wear, noise, speed, size and weight. Probably the most limiting were contact wear and switching
speed. Bulk could be accommodated because back then everything was bulky. Standard
vacuum tube switches
were eventually used to build multiple (n) input / multiple (m)
output switching circuits, but the space needed to contain them grew exponentially with the...
for Their Support!
Innovative Power Products has more than
30 years of experience designing and manufacturing RF passive
components. 
Our couplers, combiners, baluns, resistors, and terminations incorporate the latest
technology in materials available, which equates to unrivaled product performance.
for India Locations
NI (formerly AWR Corporation)
has added three locations in India during the first week of September to its
2014
AWR Design Forum (ADF) tour. The event agenda has been set and registration is now open.
Agenda highlights include: New Innovations and Technologies in the NI AWR Design Environment™ Microwave Cavity Filter Design
Transceiver Module and Multi-Element Phased Array Design Cree GaN Models and Process Design Kit for First Pass MMIC Designs
RFIC Design 3D EM Simulators for PCB Design
Gen Design & Engineering
Frontiers in Antennas: Next
Generation Design & Engineering, by Frank Gross. Edited by one of the world's foremost authorities on smart antennas
and featuring contributions from global experts, Frontiers in Antennas discusses the latest advances in antenna design and
engineering. This pioneering guide deals primarily with frontier antenna designs and frontier numerical methods. Many of
the concepts presented have emerged within the last few years and are still in a rapid state of development. Each chapter
provides in-depth details on a unique and modern antenna technology.
Anyone who has done a lot of
electronics
troubleshooting - especially on a wide variety of hardware - knows that proficiency depends on acquiring a 'feel' for
how things ought to be. An oft-given example is that bank tellers and store clerks are taught to spot counterfeit bills
not by showing them what all the different phony currency looks like, but what real money looks like. That way, anything
that does not look familiar is readily apparent. The same philosophy has served technicians and engineers well since the
beginning of electrical and electronic circuits. The more senses that can be drawn upon to facilitate troubleshooting, the
more quickly you are likely to pinpoint the problem. Depending on the symptoms of the failure, sniffing the assembly for
toasted or...
High Isolation RF Switches
Pasternack Enterprises, an industry-leading
manufacturer and supplier of RF, microwave and millimeter wave products, debuts an entirely new family of
high isolation
PIN diode switches consisting of three low insertion loss, high isolation and high speed modules, covering a frequency
range of 1 to 12 GHz. When signal integrity and performance are a critical component of system functionality, the higher
the isolation figure, the better the overall performance will be
Antenna Systems for Support
Specialising in the design
and development of high gain, printed circuit arrays, ultra
wide-band directional antennas, multi-
octave bicones and
high gain collinear omni-directional antennas. Large catalogue of antenna designs. Specialist development projects from
250 MHz to 40 GHz. Communication industry awareness and expertise in antenna physics ensure customer satisfaction.
Sir Oliver Lodge
Radio
Craft magazine ran a monthly series of short articles paying tribute to some of shakers and movers in the field of
science - this time it was
Sir Oliver Lodge. "While Hertz was discovering radio waves in air, Lodge was determining the laws of the
corresponding activity which takes place in electrical conductors. It was Lodge who demonstrated the possibility of radio
communication, experimentally, as Marconi did its commercial value - just as Henry created the telegraph and Morse made
it of practical utility."
...well, a human handful with a complete compliment of four
fingers and a thumb. I have no idea who first thought of these jokes, but thanks to whoever did. I especially like the
iPod joke!
Radio Service Edition
Once
mobile and other high-vibration and impact operational environments became the norm for communications, it became necessary
to design hardware so that electronic components would not work themselves loose and cause intermittent or total failure.
With vacuum tubes, placing locking shields over them did the job, but that caused other issues such as increased cost, poor
cooling, and increased chassis size and weight. Some circuits with high power and/or frequency benefited from shields, but
most did not need them. Sylvania introduced a scheme called "Lock-In" (trademark name of "Loktal")where
the center pin incorporated a circumferential groove that latched into a capturing mechanism. It was strong enough...
180-Degree Hybrid Coupler
Werbel Microwave is developing a standard line of
narrowband 180-degree hybrids.
A signal applied to the sum port produces two outputs of equal amplitude and phase, while a signal applied to the delta
port produces output signals of equal amplitude but opposite phase. The model 2Q11 was designed to fulfill a custom requirement
from 2.2-2.3 GHz. Measured return loss was 1.2:1 or better, 25 dB isolation and 0.3 dB insertion loss. Phase
balance was within ±5 degrees
"Stationary waves in the earth mean something more than mere telegraphy without wires
to any distance. They will enable us to attain many important specific results impossible otherwise. For instance, by their
use we may produce at will, from a sending-station, an electrical effect in any particular region of the globe; we may determine
the relative position or course of a moving object, such as a vessel at sea, the distance traversed by the same, or its
speed; or we may send over the earth a wave of electricity traveling at any rate we desire... " -
Nikola Tesla describing a future technology called
radar. "The Problem of Increasing Human Energy,"
The Century, 1900.
Covers Current Events
Anatech Electronics, a manufacturer
of RF and microwave filters, has published its August 2014 newsletter. As always, it includes both company news and some
tidbits about relevant industry events. This month, Sam Benzacar offers his views on the subjects of Fiber: Too Slow for
Wall Street, NASA Examines Microwave Propulsion, Report: Northeast Has "Fastest" Broadband. It also pays tribute to Dr.
Norman Abramson, founder of ALOHAnet as part of his theme on "Wi-Fi's Changing the Wireless Playbook."
for Long-Time Support
For over 40 years KR Electronics
has designed and manufactured high quality RF & microwave filters
for the commercial and military markets. KR Electronics manufactures all filter
types and individually synthesizes filters for
special applications. State of the art computer synthesis, analysis and test methods are used to meet the most challenging
specifications.
Success won in the
realm of space-based communications has been fraught with many failures. As with most endeavors, it is thanks to
the relative few who have sacrificed and endured against overwhelming odds to bring significant technological advances in
communications to the many. Space presents a particularly difficult venue because of the harsh deployment and operational
environment, and inaccessibility after deployment. Personal sacrifice has taken the form of depression, financial ruin,
lost opportunity for other endeavors, broken families, sickness, substance abuse, and other maladies...
and Musician
Lester William Polsfuss is credited with being a major player in the pioneering of
electric guitars with his solid-body (no acoustic resonance chamber) model... but you probably
knew that. As if being a popular musician and, along with wife Mary Ford, selling millions of records wasn't enough,
Les Paul was an experimenter and inventor in the electronic music realm. Here is what was at the time
a contemporary look inside his home-workshop-studio. Mr. Polsfuss designed and built the record cutter that he used in his
early days out of scrounged automobile...
for Their support!
RIGOL Technologies is
an emerging T&M leader and a technology innovator in electronic measurement. RIGOL's
line of products including: Digital o-scopes,
RF spectrum analyzers, DMMs, programmable
power supplies, signal generators, and waveform generators. The
DSA800 Spectrum Analyzer redefines the product
category by setting new standards for performance and price.
Well, almost free. The price paid is providing your email address so they can be sent to you. In >5 years of recommending
these books and white papers, I have never had anyone complain about spam after requesting them. I make a few ¢ on
each, so please help yourself to any or all of these offered by TradePub.
Signals and Systems for 
Dummies
Optics for Dummies
Cover Letters for Dummies
Job Seeker Strategies to Stay Ahead of the Career
Curve
You - According to Them: Uncovering blind spots that impact your reputation and
your 
career
Find - and Get - The Job You
Want: 12 Steps to Job Search Success
Crossword for August 17, 2014
Every Sunday I create an
engineering-themed crossword
puzzle using a word list that I personally created and added to during over a decade of making puzzles. All of the words
are related to engineering, science, mathematics, chemistry, astronomy, etc. There are no numbnut clues about movie stars
or clothing designers. Enjoy.
