Analog Is Back from the Future at CES
"Forget hoverboards, fridges that talk to the Internet, and self-driving cars.
Three of the most popular items at this month's annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas -- a cine camera, a record turntable and a new
Polaroid snapper -- suggest there's a back-from-the-future movement gaining ground that reflects a growing fatigue with the virtual world of
digital products, and a renewed enthusiasm for the old-fashioned analog experience ..."
Potential of Graphene Nanoribbons in Electronics Gets a Boost
"If graphene is going to make
a splash in electronics, it more than likely is going to be in the form of nanoribbons.
What makes them attractive is that their width determines their electronic properties: Narrow ones are semiconductors, while wider ones act
as conductors. This essentially provides a simple way to engineer a band gap into graphene. Last summer, this blog reported on news that a bottom-up
approach to manufacturing graphene ..."
I Think Therefore I Am … a Patent
This article by
Annie Dike, writing for IMS ExpertServices,
discusses patentability of computer algorithms and the mostly subjective tests applied by courts when determining veracity of claims. Per Ms.
Dike's assessment, a 'Thought Police' aspect of adjudication is employed by justices, often in courtrooms where the only people truly qualified
to render informed decisions are the plaintiff, defendant, and various experts in the field. For many judges, the 'you don't know what you don't
know' scenario exists, meaning that while he/she may be brilliant concerning objective law, not being well versed in requisite technical issues
can result in a judge not realizing how deficient in knowledge he/she is. The 'Alice' decision referenced in her article includes
...
Microbots Individually Controlled Using 'Mini Force Fields'
"Researchers
are using a technology likened to "mini force
fields" to independently control individual microrobots operating within groups, an advance aimed at using the tiny machines in areas including
manufacturing and medicine. Until now it was only possible to control groups of microbots to move generally in unison, said David Cappelleri,
an assistant professor of mechanical ..."
Tech News for 1/15/2016
Internet Set to Cut Cord with U.S. Government This Year
EU Rules Against Boss Snooping on Employees' Internet Activity
Huawei Shipped >100 Million Smartphones in 2015
Service leaders Call
for More Focus on EW Training
3D Mapping of Entire Buildings with Mobile Devices
Annihilating Nanoscale Defects
U.S. Government
Announces $4B Self-Driving Car Program
AppCAD 4.0: An Updated Blast from the Past
Many of the old-timers out there will fondly
remember Hewlett-Packard's AppCAD software back in the days when DOS was king. AppCAD was originally released in 1990 by Hewlett-Packard as
version 1.02. I remember receiving it on a 5-1/4" floppy disk from an HP application / sales engineer while working at GE in Utica, NY. Everyone
in the office wanted a copy. That was the era when IBM XT's ATs, Gateway, and Packard Bell PCs ruled. The latest version,
AppCAD 4.0, was released sometime in 2012 according to the copyright date listed in the Help->About
AppCAD window. It claims Windows 7/8 compatibility, and I've confirmed that it does just fine in Windows 10 as well. The original
...
Nano-Hybrid Materials Create Magnetic Effect
"Developing novel materials from the atoms up goes faster when some of the trial and error is eliminated. A new
Rice University and Montreal Polytechnic study aims to do that for graphene and boron nitride hybrids. Rice materials scientist
Rouzbeh Shahsavari and Farzaneh Shayeganfar, a postdoctoral researcher at Montreal Polytechnic, designed computer simulations that combine graphene,
the atom-thick form of carbon, with either carbon ..."
SimPLL Software URL Change
Thanks to RF Cafe visitor Dave D.
for letting me know about the URL change for downloading Applied Radio Labs' SimPLL
software. I had the old address with a '.co.au' domain extension listed on the 'Engineering, Scientific, & Hobby Software' page. "SimPLL is the
easy way to design, optimise and simulate PLL frequency synthesizers. SimPLL accurately predicts the phase noise, reference spurs, lock time,
modulation response and more. Use SimPLL and get tough PLL designs right first time ..."
Physicists Take Entanglement Beyond Identical Ions
"Quantum entanglement has
been created and measured between pairs of two different kinds of nuclei for the first time. Carried out by two independent research groups,
the work is a key step towards the creation of ion-based quantum computers, in which different nuclei perform different functions. One of the
groups is based at the University of Oxford in the UK and the other at NIST in Boulder, Colorado. Information in a quantum computer
..."
Anatech Electronics Newsletter January 2016
Anatech Electronics,
a manufacturer of RF and microwave filters, has published its January
2016 newsletter. As always, it includes both company news and some tidbits about relevant industry happenings. This month, Sam Benzacar's
main story surveys last year's RF-related news-making happenings and prognosticates about the year ahead - all from the perspective of what
amateur radio operators call QRM, or manmade interference. Sam is in the business of building filters, so he is well
...
Millimeter Wave Active Component Characterization for 5G
This "Millimeter Wave Active Component Characterization for 5G"
presentation by IEEE COMSOC and Keysight Technologies will explore the tools that enable the performance verification of millimeter wave active
devices and will address the challenges with making a single connection measurement for multiple measurements of transceiver modules designed
for the 5G environment. We will discuss the measurement of E-band transceivers as well as the measurement of the performance of a millimeter
...
Tech Headlines for 1//14/2016
Palm-Sized Atomic
Clock Could Reduce Reliance on GPS
Semi
Capital Spending to Decline 4.7% in 2016
FCC Publishes Broadband Report
DoD Working on A/D Converters for Adaptive Radar and EW
Bronx Science Bans Cellphones from Wi-Fi as Students Devour It
IBM Granted Most U.S. Patents in 2015
ARRL
President Kay Craigie, N3KN, Concluding Nearly 3 Decades
Airbus Reveals 'Drone Killer' Camera System
"Now, Airbus has revealed a new 'drone
killer' system that can automatically monitor an area - and disable the drone by jamming its signals if it spots one. The system can even
analyse signals from the drone to work out exactly where it is being controlled from. It uses operational radars, infrared cameras and direction
finders from Airbus Defence and Space's portfolio to identify ..."
Has GPS Security Been Compromised?
Has the security of the United States' Global Positioning System
(GPS) been compromised? In 2011, the Iranians successfully hijacked our most high tech and top secret
RQ-170 drone and landed it unscathed on their soil. Now, the U.S. Navy's top
riverine craft with advanced technology has been captured by the Iranians. We have recently agreed to give Iran billions of dollars
in seized funds and assist them with their nuclear program. Videos show Iranian military types surveying their spoils of war. Our sailors suffer
the disgrace of being shown on their knees, hands over their heads. The girl sailor is forced to wear an Islamic hijab while the Navy commander
apologizes. Then, we thanked them. What's going on here?
Lazy Susan Cabinet Converted to Fixed Shelves
I know there are some DIY types out there who like reading house renovation project stores, so here is a continuation
of mine. Our kitchen is pretty small by 2016 standards. For that matter, our entire 920 sq. ft. rancher house is pretty small by 2016 standards.
Melanie does a lot of baking and needed to store a lot of supplies in the basement because they would not fit in our cabinets. We considered
trying to shoehorn another cabinet into the kitchen area somehow, but there was no reasonable location. So, she came up with the idea of converting
the base corner cabinet from its original Lazy Susan configuration to fixed shelves.
Lazy Susan units are convenient in terms of not having ...
Autonomous Maxwell's Demon Displays Chilling Power
"A 'Maxwell's demon' that operates
without external control has been created by physicists in Finland. The device separates electrons in terms of their energies and prevents the
higher-energy electrons from reaching a transistor – thereby cooling the transistor. The process occurs without the direct exchange of heat
between the demon and the transistor and uses information about the energies of the electrons. While the demon does not ..."
PMI Intros an Absorptive, High-Speed SPST Switch for 12-18 GHz
PMI Model No. P1T-12G18G-65-T-SFF is an absorptive, high speed, single pole single
throw switch capable of switching within 50 ns maximum. The frequency range is 12.0 to 18.0 GHz. This switch has a minimum of 65 dB
isolation ...
Transmit Receive Modules for Radar and Communication Systems
The use of electronically
scanned phased arrays is increasing in systems such as radar, wireless networks, and satellite ground terminals. An important and necessary
component for these systems is the transmit receive (T/R) module,
which provides the amplification and electronic beam steering that is required for proper function. This new resource presents a comprehensive
overview of all design, fabrication, integration, and implementation issues associated with T/R modules for radar and communications. This book
provides engineers and researchers with practical designs and 44 examples of analysis, circuits, and components ...
Tech News for 1/13/2016
Nearly
1/2 of College Grads Are Underemployed (not much demand for <fill-in-the-blank> Studies degrees)
Wi-Fi Device Shipments Expected to Surpass 15 Billion by End
of 2016
Army Adding Gigabit Wireless
to Its Tactical Network
Chip Forecasts, Drivers Diverge
Samsung
Gives Ground over Chip Workers' Cancers
Static Electricity
Generator Harvest 1 mW
Gravitational
Wave Rumors Ripple Through Science World
Skyworks High Power Shunt PIN Diodes for T/R Switch, Attenuator Apps
Skyworks introduces two high power, surface
mount, series connected PIN diodes suitable for high-power, high-volume, large signal switch and attenuator applications ranging from 10 MHz
to beyond 6 GHz. Typical resistance for the SMP1331-085LF
and SMP1331-087LF is 0.50 Ω at 100 mA is and the maximum
capacitance is 0.35 pF at 30 V. The low capacitance, low parasitic inductance devices are ideal for use in land mobile radios and
...
How to Make the World's Smallest 3-Tube Radio Set
My first thought
when seeing the cover for this edition of Radio-Craft magazine was that it was an April Fools gag, but it turns out the 'hat' being worn by
the radio receiver's designer is a
loop antenna for AM reception. In a way it is the opposite of a tinfoil hat in that this headgear invites electromagnetic energy around
the wearer's head rather than shielding it. Back in 1936, being seen in public donning a contraption like this radio would have been akin to
Google Glass today - you'd be a superhero to fellow nerds, and just be confirming your otherworldly nerd status to non-nerds
...
Selective Filter Could Revive the Incandescent Light Bulb
This, I'd like to see succeed. The cost, manufacturing complexity, hazardous
materials needs, the huge amount of RFI generated, power factor corruption, and eventual e-waste generated by all the CFL and LED replacement
bulbs is ridiculous. Overall electricity savings is found somewhere in the 4th or 5th decimal point of worldwide consumption. A lot of dummkopfs
feel better about themselves for using them, though. "Incandescent lighting could make a comeback
thanks to a technological breakthrough in the U.S. The development, from Purdue University and MIT, is said to recycle infrared photons and
improves efficiency.' 'Researchers have now developed a potential solution in the form of a new type of filter to recycle wasted photons that
is made out of alternating layers of materials including silicon dioxide and ' ..."
Notable Tech Quote: Dick Rutan
"Burt and I were issued flight
plans instead of birth certificates." - Dick Rutan, record-setting test pilot
and brother of equally accomplished flyer and aircraft designer Burt Rutan.
This comment is the opening sentence in an article in the October 2015 issue of Popular Science magazine. Scaled Composites is responsible for many aerospace and aviation 'first,' with a concentration on composite
airframes.
Metallic Glue May Stick It to Soldering and Welding
"'MesoGlue was founded by Huang and two of his PhD students: They had
a dream of a better way of sticking things together.' Those 'things' are everything from a computer's central processing unit and a printed
circuit board to the glass and metal filament in a light bulb. The 'way' of attaching them ..."
Tech Headlines for 1/12/2016
Mathematicians Reveal Perfect Way to Cut Pizza
UK Astronaut Tim
Peake, KG5BVI, Notes Death of Space Oddity's "Major Tom"
HASC StratForces Chair
Slams Air Force Space Management
IoT Will Drive Consumer Tech Industry to $287 Billion in Revenues
U.S. Lab
Generates 1st Space-Grade Plutonium Sample Since 1980s
Battery Shuts Down at High Temp, Restarts When Cool
1st Mention of Electric Light in The New York Times
Thomas Edison applied on November 4, 1879 to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
for a patent on his "Electric-Lamp." Patent
number 223898 A was awarded on January 27, 1880. Remember those years. While searching for technical headlines today, I ran across an article
in the New York Times where they point out the first-ever mention of electric lights in their newspaper. Per the article "The Arrival
of Electric Light," The New York Times first wrote of the technology on April 15, 1858. On that day, 'Our Own Correspondent' in Havana
described celebrations of Holy Week that included 'an electric light' cast across the harbor
...
Going Beyond GaN Transistor State-of-the-Art Performance
"The imec
research center in Belgium claims beyond state-of-the-art performance for a p-type gallium nitride (p-GaN) high-electron-mobility transistor
(HEMT) on silicon operating in enhancement-mode (normally-off). The threshold voltage was +2V. Low on-resistance of 7Ω-mm enabled high drive
current of 0.4A/mm at 10V drain bias. imec presented its results at the IEEE ..."
The Shive Wave Machine
Sometime around 1985, I was enrolled in a second-semester physics class while
working on earning my BSEE. Along with covering topics like electricity, magnetism, heat conduction, optics, etc., my professor, a moonlighting
oceanography instructor from the nearby U.S. Naval Academy, conducted a laboratory exercise wherein he wanted to demonstrate the action of sea
waves breaking against the shore and underwater shelf discontinuities. He used an impressive contraption that was comprised of coplanar parallel
metal rods that were attached in their centers to a spring steel bar for torsional continuity. The tips of the rods were painted white so that
when the end bar was perturbed ...
Report Reignites Engineering Salaries Debate
The Engineer website, which I visit daily looking
for tech news, posted this Executive
Summary on the outlook for manufacturing in 2016. The report begins: "In the fifth year of our survey, an annual look at manufacturing executives'
views of the years ahead, we see a muted outlook for 2016 with business confidence subdued under the lingering cloud of risks across the global
economy." The report ends: "The outlook for manufacturers is much the same as it was a year ago, with expectations of a slowing global economy
and at best minimal growth in the UK ..."
Tech News for 1/11/2016
Chip
Market Shrank 1.9% in 2015
2/3 Americans Have Back & Eye Pain,
Headache from Computer Use
Professional Women Find Strength in Numbers
ARRL Files Complaint
with FCC over Electronic Lighting Ballasts
When
Will the Stock Market Eliminate Your Job?
Flexible Hybrid Electronics
Market Heating up in 2016
The Yagi Antenna
Contributors
to the Wikipedia article on the Yagi-Uda antenna credit Japanese professor Shintaro Uda primarily for the antenna's development, with Hidetsugu
Yagi having played a 'lesser role." Other sources assign the primary role to Yagi. Regardless, history - and this article's author, rightly
or wrongly, has decreed that this highly popular design be referred to commonly as the
Yagi antenna and not the Uda antenna. I don't
recall seeing advertisements for 'Uda' television or amateur radio antennas. Harold Harris, of Channel Master Corporation, does a nice job explaining
the fundamentals of the Yagi antenna ...
Carlisle Intros Field Replaceable SMA Flange Connector to 27 GHz
RFMW, Ltd.
announces design and sales support for Carlisle Interconnect Technologies enhanced
performance H5610 series, SMA field replaceable connectors. The H5610 series provides mode free performance to 27 GHz. Drilled for standard
SMA, 0.5 inch, 4-Hole flange mounting, these connectors support use in military, defense, space and commercial systems for applications that
include phased array radars, missiles, satellites, and test instruments. Low RF leakage (less than 90 dB) is combined with ultra-low VSWR performance
(typically ...
Eastern Iowa DX Association Crossword Puzzle
Jerry
Rappel (WWØE), current VP of the Eastern Iowa DX Association
(EIDXA) and newsletter editor, contacted me about using one of the weekly engineering-themed crossword
puzzles
in the group's newsletter. I responded by offering to create a custom crossword for them. The result is this week's puzzle. Clues for words
specific to EIDXA have asterisks (*) after them. All the rest of the words are related to engineering and
...
Tech News for 1/10/2016
Kid Spends $5900 Playing Jurassic World on Dad's iPad
Graphene-Like Boron
Made for 1st Time
BlackBerry Moving
to Android over BB10 for Smartphones in 2016
Most Americans
Just 1 Paycheck Away from the Street (wait... Fed's raising interest rates due to strong economy)
Mac's Radio Service Shop: Something Borrowed
It's Friday
afternoon as I post this installment of
Mac's Radio Service
Shop from a 1952 edition of Radio & Television News magazine - the perfect way to burn off the last few minutes of your
work week while waiting for the shift-ending whistle to blow. John T. Frye authored many of these stories that used main characters Mac
McGregor, proprietor of Mac's Radio Service Shop and sidekick technician Barney to set up a situation and dialog whereby the highly experienced
Mac imparts sage advice to Barney regarding things electronics in nature. Topics range from safely troubleshooting a high voltage power supply
to tracking down noisy capacitors and how to treat customers equitably. Today's lesson is on the employment of 'repurposed'
(a term not yet invented in 1952) implements for use other than their original intended uses. One
...
New York Turning Payphones into Free Wi-Fi Hotspots
"Phone booths: they're so retro. So inextricably tied to Clark Kent and the quick donning
of leotards. Wherever you find them, payphones seem antiquated
in this era of cellular telephones. But in a sprawling metropolis such as New York, even though they're outdated, they're still ubiquitous.
What to do with all that infrastructure? In New York, you replace them with Wi-Fi hotspots. On Monday, the city finally launched LinkNYC: a
plan ..."
Ramsey Electronics Stops DIY Hobby Kit Production
The death knell has sounded for Ramsey Electronics Kits production. It all started
with the
LED Blinky Kit and ended on December 31, 2015. Per their website, "For more than 4 decades, the name Ramsey Kits has been synonymous with some
of the neatest and the greatest electronic products and hobby kits for the do-it-yourself hobbyist." "The rapid
changes in technologies have made it difficult for the do-it-yourself hobbyist. You just don't go out and build yourself an 802.11ac wireless
router these days! You buy one at the corner big-box store for fifty bucks!" That about summarizes the situation. Some
Ramsey Kits are still available on Amazon.com, but hurry.
Defense Engineering Corporation Looking for an Antenna Engineer
Defense Engineering Corporation has an immediate opening
for a full time Antenna Designer. Responsibilities
include researching and designing advanced conformal and other antennas for military applications, developing prototypes using state of the
art additive manufacturing and other technology, and characterizing antenna performance via anechoic chamber experiments. Candidates should
have a BS or MS in Electrical Engineering and 5+ years of experience with antenna design including familiarity computational electromagnetic
tools such as HFSS, CST, and FEKO. The job location is in Dayton, Ohio at Wright Patterson Air Force Base
...
Tech Headlines for 1/8/2016
New iPhone Feature Can Drive Bill Up
Hackers Caused
a Power Blackout for 1st Time
Global Semiconductor Sales
Dip Slightly in November
Nanowalls for Smartphones
Digital Eye Strain Worse
for Multitaskers
Recipe for
New Materials Includes Dash of Statistical Physics
Google Translates Russia to 'Mordor' in 'Automated' Error
Why Wireless Power
Is the Most Exciting Thing at CES 2016
Computers & Health: Sitting at Computer '1 Step Above Being Dead'
"Our digital lifestyles
and desk-based workplaces are contributing to serious health problems and could be shortening our lives, technology's wellness firms want us
to believe. 'Americans will risk their lives for convenience,' Philo Northrup told the Consumer Electronics Show on Wednesday. Slouching over
his chair and hanging his head down, he said: 'When you say digital lifestyle, we're talking about sitting, and over the day gravity is doing
this to you ...'"
Adson Radio & Electronics Co. Ad January 1949 Radio & Television News
Here's
another advertisement that you probably wouldn't see in a contemporary RF / microwave engineering magazine. For that matter you probably wouldn't
see it on a contemporary RF / microwave engineering website ... except on RF Cafe where political correctness gets no respect. Adson Radio &
Electronics was located on Fulton Street in New York City, just a block from the 911 Memorial. the original building might have been destroyed
when the ...
Microwave Klystron Oscillators
The microwave
klystron was invented in 1937 by brothers
Russell and Sigurd Varian.
If you have been in the microwave design business for a couple decades, you undoubtedly recognize the company name of Varian Associates, especially
if you worked in the aerospace or defense electronics business. There is a
video on YouTube
of a segment on Varian done sometime around 1990 by Walter Cronkite. There is also a historical piece on Varian Associates on the Communications &
Power Industries website. This circa 1952 article covers the fundamentals of klystron operation and reports on the increasing use of klystrons
in high
frequency application - including by amateur radio operators exploring
... Update:
Joe Molon
sent photos of klystron he used at TV station WEDW.
UCLA Develops 1st THz VECSEL Laser
"Funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF), researchers at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and
Applied Science at UCLA have identified a new way to make a semiconductor laser that operates at terahertz frequencies . Using the UCLA Nanoelectronics
Research Facility for device fabrication, a team led by ..."
Triad RF Systems 6 GHz RF Power Amp Module Produces 1W COFDM
Triad RF Systems today introduced the Model TA1167, a compact GaAs RF power amplifier
module that delivers over 5 W peak power from 6400 to 7200 MHz (other bands available) and is designed for wireless communications applications
that require a boost in linear RF power. The TA1167 incorporates circuits that produce over 1 W of linear COFDM power when amplifying a +19
dBm signal. It has gain of ...
RFMW and Southwest Antennas Announce Distribution Agreement
RFMW Ltd. and Southwest Antennas of San Diego, CA, have announced
a distribution agreement effective November 30, 2015. Southwest Antennas manufactures over 600 RF and microwave antennas and accessories operating
in frequencies up to 8.5 GHz, with capabilities beyond 20 GHz. RFMW Ltd. is a specialized distributor providing customers and suppliers with
focused distribution of RF and microwave components as well as specialized component-engineering support. Under the agreement, RFMW is
...
Tech News for 1/7/2016
Apple Stocks Dip Below $100
Mothers Using Cellphone During Child Care Affects Brain Development
Redesigned
FCC Website Makes it Easy to File Interference Complaints
Private Firms Shun Italian Broadband Plan
'Holy Grail' New
State of Hydrogen Found at Sun's Core
5 Technologies
to Watch in 2016
ESA Announces Plans to Build
a 'Moon Village' by 2030
Universities Come Together for New IoT
Hub
How to Live with an Engineer
How to Live with an Engineer, by Camille Minichino Ph.D. If you are
visiting RF Cafe, somebody you know can probably use this book ;-) "It's hard to escape the techies that surround us, both at work and at home.
We wouldn't want to live without them: They're immensely helpful in this high-tech world, but when it comes to social and personal interactions,
engineers' skills and training often work against them.
How to Live with an Engineer is a blueprint for understanding and dealing with the slightly peculiar traits of
the techies we can't live without
..."
Phantom Phone Vibration Syndrome
"'Phantom vibration syndrome,' or perceived vibrations from a device
that is not really vibrating, is a recent psychological phenomenon that has attracted the attention of the media and medical community. Most
(89%) of the 290 undergraduates in our sample had experienced phantom vibrations, and they experienced them about once every two weeks, on average.
However, few found them bothersome. Those higher in conscientiousness experienced ..."
Electronics-Themed Comics January 1949 Radio & TV News
Here is
a batch of electronics-themed comics that
appeared in the January 1949 edition of Radio & Television News. The scene seen (hey, homonyms) on
the page 138 comic was commonplace in the 1940s when televisions were relatively new and not every household had a set. The scenario repeated
itself in the 1960s when color sets were hitting the consumer market. Now, people can watch TV on their smartphones while not at home so gathering
'round the television display in a store is relegated pretty much to little kids watching the Disney movies that seem to always running on them.
There is a growing list of other comics at the bottom of the page
...
Apple Falls on Nikkei Report That Sees iPhone Production Cut 30%
"Apple
Inc. fell after Japan's Nikkei Asian Review reported the U.S. company would reduce the output of its latest iPhones by about 30 percent in the
first quarter of 2016. Shares of the world's most valuable company dropped 2.8% to $102.42 at 12:17 p.m. in New York. They declined 4.6% in
2016. Apple had initially told parts suppliers to keep production of the ..."
Long-Lost Nikola Tesla Drawings Reveal Genius Map for Multiplication
Thanks to Joe
Cahak for alerting me to this: "As of late researchers found arrangements of unique Nikola Tesla drawings that uncovers
a guide to increase that contains all numbers in an easy to utilize framework. The drawings were found at a relic shop in focal Phoenix Arizona
by neighborhood craftsman, Abe Zucca. They are accepted to have been the aspiration in most recent years of Tesla's Free Energy lab, Wardenclyffe.
The composition is thought to contain numerous answers for unanswered inquiries regarding math. The Sketches ..."
Please Welcome VidaRF as a New RF Cafe Supporter!
VidaRF serves the
Microwave and RF industry with high performance Isolators, Circulators, Power Dividers, Couplers, RF
Connectors, Adapters, Cable Assemblies, Attenuators, and Terminations. VidaRF was founded
on a simple premise – service. Sure, we offer reliable, high quality RF components that
are cost 
effective and custom built to fit each customer's application. From the beginning, our
goal has been to make VidaRF different by way of an overwhelming commitment to our customers' RF component needs.
Tech Headlines for 1/6/2016
ARRL Board
of Directors to Elect New President, Officers in January
Wi-Fi Alliance Introduces Low Power, Long Range Wi-Fi HaLow
Twitter Now Considering 10,000-Character
Limit for Tweets
Samsung, LG, Sony and Panasonic TVs Adopt HDR
Army 2016 Forecast: A Year of Peril
Indian Navigation
Satellite to Launch on January 20
U.S. Engineers Hail Ceramic 3D
Printing Breakthrough
Faraday's Futuristic Concept Sees Car As Rolling Smartphone
"Talk about a flight of fancy. Faraday Future Inc., the
electric vehicle startup backed by Chinese Internet billionaire Jia Yueting, showed a concept car that would probably struggle to gain mass
acceptance even if produced. For starters, the FFZero1 concept car,
shown Monday for the first time in Las Vegas before the Consumer Electronics Show this week, has but one seat. The car's space-age style white
cockpit was inspired by NASA ..."
Please Welcome Anatech Electronics as RF Cafe's Newest Sponsor!
Anatech Electronics (AEI) manufactures and supplies RF and microwave filters for military and commercial 
communication
systems, providing standard 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.
NXP Radar Technology Accelerates ADAS Adoption
"NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI), global market leader in secure connected
car technologies, today announced the next step in innovation for its market-leading automotive radar portfolio: the world's smallest single-chip
77 GHz radar transceiver (7.5x7.5
mm) with very high resolution performance. Radar is a core technology in existing and future Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), as it
..."
The Junction Transistor
In April of
1952 when this article appeared in Radio & Television News magazine, the
bipolar junction transistor (BJT) had
only made it out of the experimental laboratory of Messrs. Bardeen, Shockley, and Brattain at Bell Labs a mere three years earlier in December
of 1948. It did not take long for commercial production to begin. Along with being a great primer for anyone new to transistors, herein is also
some background on how the now ubiquitous BJT schematic symbol was created. Interestingly, only Dr. William Shockley is mentioned, making me
wonder whether the contributions of Dr. John Bardeen, and Dr. Walter H. Brattain was not widely publicized early on. Not to worry, though,
because all three were duly ...
Notable Tech Quote
"There's more
than one way to look at a problem, and they all may be right." -- General Norman Schwarzkopf, U.S. Army, leader of all Coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War.
Anatech Electronics Intros 3 New Cavity Bandpass Filter Designs
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. Anatech has introduced 3 new filter designs: a 2450 MHz cavity band pass filter, a 5550 MHz cavity band pass
filter, and a 1593 MHz cavity band pass filter. Custom design are available
...
LG to Unveil Roll-up Flex Screen
"LG is set to unveil at the world's first 18-inch display that can be rolled-up
like a newspaper. The paper-thin product was announced by the Korean giant ahead of the CES technology show taking place in Las Vegas this week.
Details of the
foldable display have yet to be released, but experts suggest the technology could soon be used on smartphones and in-car screens that curve
around a vehicle's
..."
Many Thanks to everything RF for Continued Support!
Please thank everything RF for continuing
to help deliver RF Cafe. everything RF is a product discovery platform for RF & Microwave products/Services. They list over 169,000 Products
from more than 700
Companies across 188 Categories in their database and enable engineers to search
for them using a customized parametric search tool. The parametric product search tool on everything RF has been designed to replace paper and
PDF catalogs. It is fast, easy to use and very powerful – You can enter your specs and find products from multiple manufacturers that meet your
requirement ...
Tech Headlines for 1/5/2016
• Hamvention Seeks 2016 Award
Nominations
• Net Reaches New Addressing
Scheme Milestone
• 4G Smartphone Shipments
Overtake 3G Devices for 1st Time
• Navy Awards Big Deal to Upgrade
Satellite Communications
•
5G's Impact on IoT
•
New Electronics Technologies to
Spur Auto Sales for Decades
(hasn't that been so since tube radios?)
•
Solid State Technology
2015
Year in Review
China Readies for Space Warfare
"The Chinese military is undergoing a gradual shift to cyber and space warfare, and the move is more visible now
as a new command structure has been created. After testing an anti-satellite weapon last fall, China moved one step forward in its preparations
for future warfare, with the emergence of a brand-new Space Force, as reported by Washington Times ..."
Dow Has Worst Start in 84 Years!
"This isn't exactly how Wall Street was hoping to kick off 2016: The Dow Jones Industrial Average has plummeted
more than 450 points at one point on reignited fears about China's economy. Joining
the Dow industrials's DJIA, -2.02% carnage are the S&P 500 SPX,
-1.98% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -2.45% which are both tumbling the most since last ..."
QuickSmith Online Interactive Smith Chart SnP Data Plotter
There's a new online interactive Smith chart s-parameter plotter in town, and
it goes by the name of QuickSmith. Justin Coulston, designer of QuickSmith,
sent me an e-mail asking that I take a look at it. I did, and I like what he has done. Assuming that anybody reading this is already at least
somewhat familiar with the Smith chart, this report will concentrate on the features of QuickSmith. Keep in mind while checking out
QuickSmith for yourself that it is still in Beta phase, so your feedback
to Justin will be appreciated. An overall screen shot is provided below. QuickSmith takes as an input standard format SnP s-parameter files and plots them on the graph. 'n' is
the number of ports, so S2P would be a 2-port s-parameter file. A reliable source for
...
CDC Debates Cellphone Radiation Risks
"When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published new guidelines
18 months ago regarding the radiation risk from cellphones, it used unusually bold language on the topic for the American health agency: 'We
recommend caution in cellphone use.' The agency's website previously had said that any risks 'likely are comparable to other lifestyle choices
we make every day ..."
Yortec Custom Waveguide Machining Added to Manufacturers' List
At Yortec, we enjoy a good challenge! Bring us your precision machining requirements. Small lots, or large, we will deliver to your schedule and offer the quality
and price you require to meet your goals. Catering to the telecommunications industry, we understand the quality and tollerancing requirements
involved in machining housings and components for microwave filters, LNAs, diplexers, SSPAs, receivers, amplifier housings, circulators and
isolators, waveguide, antennas, and custom components to your specifications.
Tech News for January 4, 2015
• Anadigics Receives 'Superior
Offer'
of 58¢
per Share
• Optoelectronic μprocessors
Built
with Existing Chip Manufacturing
• NewYork Payphones Become
Wi-Fi Hot Spots
•
Technology Trends to Look for
in 2016
Slowdown in Chinese Manufacturing Deepens Fears for Economy
"A further
slowdown in China's vast manufacturing sector has intensified worries about the year ahead for the world's second largest economy. The latest
in a string of downbeat reports from showed that activity at China's factories cooled in December for the fifth month running, as overseas demand
for Chinese goods continued to fall ..."
U.S. Stocks Post Worst Annual Losses Since 2008
"U.S. stocks had their worst annual performance since 2008, closing out a rocky
year that tempered investors' expectations for gains in 2016. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, a basket of 30 stocks, lost 2.2% in 2015, while
the broader S&P 500 fell 0.7%. The S&P's loss ended three years of double-digit gains for the index, but was far from the nearly 40%
dive it took in 2008, a year
..."
RF & Microwave Engineering Crossword for January 3, 2016
This first
crossword puzzle of 2016, as with all past RF Cafe puzzles, uses only
words pertaining to engineering, science, mathematics, mechanics, chemistry, astronomy, etc. You will never find a reference to some obscure
geological feature or city, or be asked to recall the name of some numbnut movie star or fashion designer. Enjoy
...
UK Government Wants Your Ideas
"Government plans for the next frontier in the UK's digital revolution early next year in a new Digital Strategy
for the UK. Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey has called on public and industry to share their ideas on how the UK's digital revolution can
be taken to the next stage. In 2010 changes were afoot in east London as a cluster of tech start ups began a digital transformation. Tech City
UK was born and in the last five years, the UK's digital economy ..."
Advanced Test Equipment Corporation Seeks Technical Marketing Writer
"ATEC is seeking multiple
Entry Level Inside Sales candidates.
Our growing company is seeking multiple strong individuals that can assist our Inside Sales Department with serving our customers in a fast
paced environment. You will receive and distribute inbound and make outbound calls, via phone and or web from our customers such as Qualcomm,
NASA, Boeing, and other military and contract work. This position can lead into career path to a Sr. Sales position
..."
Spain Gets New 5 MHz Allocation for 2016
"Temporary permission for radio amateurs in Spain to operate at 5 MHz ended in
November, but World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 established a new 15 kHz Amateur Radio allocation at 5 MHz. At the request of URE, Spain's
IARU member society, the secretary for telecommunications and information in the Ministry of Industry, Energy, and Tourism has authorized
..."
Tech Headline News for 1/1/2016
Japanese Research Institute Earns Right to Name Element 113
Microsoft
to Warn Email Users of Suspected Hacking by Governments
Australia: Debate Down Under
Russian Manufacturer to Make 16 Satellites to Fulfill 2015 Contracts
China's Internet Tightrope Walk
Carbon Doped w/Nitrogen Dramatically Improves Supercapacitors
"A team of researchers working in China has found a way to dramatically improve
the energy storage capacity of supercapacitors - by doping carbon tubes with nitrogen. In their paper published in the journal Science, the
team describes their process and how well the newly developed supercapacitors worked, and their goal of one day helping supercapacitors compete
with ..."
