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See Page 1 of
the January 2016 homepage archives.
 Take a break and work this week's
RF Engineering-themed crossword puzzle. All the words are pulled
from a hand-built list of terms, names, and abbreviations that have only to do with
science, mathematics, and engineering. If you want a crossword with names of movie
stars and obscure countries, try the local newspaper.
Available in different versions the
IsoLOG 3D covers a frequency range of 9 kHz to 40 GHz. The array
consists of a total number from 16 to 40 directional antennas with horizontal and
vertical polarization. Additionally 8 to 16 special LF antennas can be added in
order to cover a frequency range starting at 9 kHz. Overall, the antenna can
be equipped with up to 64 independent antennas. The IsoLOG 3D achieves a high sector-resolution
of 22.5° without mechanical rotation. The extremely fast
 "Standard lasers are actually not useful for
secure communication because they emit what is called 'classical' light. Data eavesdroppers
could extract any data being carried via classical light without detection. In contrast,
a quantum Internet would be based on 'quantum' light, in which a single unit of
light -- a single photon -- cannot be measured without being destroyed. Therefore,
an efficient source of
..."
 This article by
Annie Dike, writing for IMS ExpertServices, discusses how the
use of technology might positively or negatively affect the jury, depending on the
 demographic represented. Her mention of the
'holey-shoed' lawyer trick, which I had not heard of, to appear
humble and hopefully illicit the sympathy of jurors, might be as ineffective with
Millennial type panel members as would pulling out an old-fashioned easel and paper
to illustrate a concept. In a world of 3-D printed mock-ups of crime scene or patent
infringement 'evidence,' legal teams must more than ever carefully
...
 "Ulrich Rohde, N1UL, has been honored with the 2016 Microwave Application
Award by the IEEE Microwave Theory
and Techniques Society. He was credited with 'Significant contributions to the
development of low-noise oscillators.' The Microwave Application Award recognizes
an individual, or a team, for an outstanding application of microwave theory and
techniques that have been put into practice within the past decade. Rohde will receive
the award at the annual IEEE MTT-S International Microwave
..."
Graphene Foam to Unlock New Applications in Collaborative R&D
Venture
Texting at Night Affects Teens' Sleep, Academic Performance
(this took research?)
FCC May Overhaul Rules for TV Set-Top Boxes
Internet May Soon Carry Traffic at Speed of Light
Apple Warns
iPhone Sales Set to Fall for 1st Time
Hams Turn out to Help as Massive Snowfall Stuns Several States
 "Smaller, faster, and more robust and energy
efficient electronic devices could be developed, thanks to research into an entirely
new form of digital memory. The new form of memory, known as antiferromagnetic spintronics,
was recently unveiled in the journal Science, by an international team of researchers
lead by Dr Peter Wadley at
..."
 December 1942 was just a year into America's
'official' involvement in World War II. Already, both wired and wireless communications
had made major advances and were indisputably vital in both the logistical and strategic
aspects of troop movement, supply chains, fighting battles, and evacuation of wounded
personnel. It also played a large part in propaganda campaigns. This was all true
for both Axis and Allied forces. Ham radio operators provided a huge boost to the
Signal Corps because they came at least partially trained for
the jobs. These dozen and a half photos from
...
 "In the brutal naval battles of the future,
the first clash of arms will be a clash of electrons. If you don't win the invisible
battle of the airwaves, you can't win the visible battle of missiles. Before warships
can concentrate their fire on the enemy, they first must communicate with each
other. Before they can fire at long range at all, they have to
..."
 This is a must-read article for all persons
interested in the history of wireless communications. Seriously. Stop what you are
doing and read it. I guarantee the vast majority have never heard of this challenge
to the veracity of
Mr. Guglielmo Marconi's bestowed title of "father of wireless
telegraphy." Most of us are at least passingly familiar with challenges to Samuel
Morse's, Thomas Edison's, and a few other notables' claims to being the first at
a particular technical breakthrough, but herein, as penned by of
Lieutenant-Commander Edward H. Loftin, is a first-hand account
of multiple successful challenges by the U.S. Patent Office against
...
 ""Common coaxial cables could be made 50 percent
lighter with a new nanotube-based outer conductor developed by Rice University scientists.
The Rice lab of Professor Matteo Pasquali has developed a coating that could replace
the tin-coated copper braid that transmits the signal and shields the cable from
electromagnetic interference. The metal braid is the heaviest component in modern
coaxial data cables. The research appears this month in
..."
Car Navigation Systems Easy Prey for Hackers
High-Temperature Electronics Operate at 300°C
Underground Ring Lasers to Put General Relativity to the Test
Ultra-High-Speed Chip Could Make the Spectrum Feel Less Crowded
Memristor Variants and Models from Knowm
South Korea May Pick 4th Mobile Operator This Week
 What could possibly go wrong with this? "With
the rise of social media, people have become more vigilant than ever about their
private information. Nowadays everyone knows that you have to be careful where you
put your address, phone number, or credit card info online, or else it might fall
into the hands of the wrong people. And now it's time to add one more item to that
list of private things to be careful about: your keys. The recently-started Japanese
online service Aikagi Kojo
..."
 An article title with both 'radar' and 'Great
Lakes' in the title is sure to catch my attention, as did this. Author Norman Schorr
reports on the state of the art of radar equipment and usage for the purpose of
maritime navigation. Research and development, along with an ample
surplus of components left over from World War II facilitated a rapid adaptation
of radar to many venues. Included among its applications were airway and waterway
navigation, rocket trajectory tracking, security systems, speed measurement, weather
observation, and aerial mapping
...
 Here is a spiffy idea. "Bespoke NFC tag supplier
and manufacturer RapidNFC has expanded its range to include
NFC asset tags that are designed to make it easy to tag a wide
range of assets from cables to shelving and machinery. 'If you have a scenario when
you're in a warehouse or you need to asset tag machinery or something like that,
sometimes putting a sticker or a PVC or ABS tag onto that isn't quite suitable,'
Jack Sage told NFC World
..."
Z-Communications, Inc. announces a new RoHS compliant Fixed Frequency Synthesizer
model
SFS6265A-LF in the C-band. The SFS6265A-LF is a low cost phase
locked loop that operates at 6265 MHz with an external 100 MHz reference oscillator
and features a typical phase noise of -89 and -90 dBc/Hz at the 1 kHz
and 10 kHz offsets, respectively. The SFS6265A-LF is designed to deliver a
typical output power of +3 dBm while operating off a VCO voltage supply of
5 Vdc and drawing 35 mA (typical)
 The fourth book in the bestselling Artech
House series by David Adamy. Like its predecessors,
EW 104 presents a series of highly informative and easy-to-comprehend
tutorials, along with insightful introductory and connective material that helps
you understand how each aspect fits together. This reference starts with a review
of the generalities of legacy threats, from the technical point of view, with a
focus on what makes the new threats more challenging. Readers are provided with
details of threats in three major areas - Communications, Radars, and IR Threats.
Market Engineers and managers responsible for designing or evaluating communications
electronic warfare
...
 "Currently, commercial wireless power transfer
is limited mainly to charging pads for phones: instead of plugging your phone directly
into the wall, simply place it on top of a wireless charging pad. In the future,
the same concept could be extended to much larger distances and higher transfer
efficiencies, enabling entire rooms and even buildings to serve as wireless charging
zones for phones, computers, and other electronic devices. Although wireless power
transfer (WPT) was famously
..."
 As mentioned many times in the past, I post
these online for the benefit of hobbyists looking for information to assist in repairing
or restoring vintage communication equipment. Here are the
Bendix Models 636A, C, D,
ECA Model 108, and
Zenith Models 5D011-5D027 schematics and parts lists as featured
in the February 1947 issue of
Radio-Craft magazine.
Internet Addiction Among Students Leading to Family Conflicts
Glass-Based Shield Protects Space Electronics from UV Rays
Flexible and Transparent Pressure Sensor
Mini Metal Blanket Foils Lithium Battery Freeze
Marvin Minsky, Pioneer in AI, Dies at 88
Mysterious Behavior of Quantum Liquid Elucidated
U.S. Navy's New Motto: "Run, Hide, or Fight"
(pathetic leadership)
 "This Thursday, the FCC is voting on extending
online local public file requirements to radio. As you may recall, several years
ago, television stations were required to convert over to an FCC web-based local
public file for most local public file materials. So, what does all of this mean
for you? The FCC is proposing to do the same for radio. Like TV, the FCC's radio
proposal is to require an upload only of documents that are not already in the Commission's
own database
..."
 Keysight Technologies is proud to be working
with IEEE Communications Society to share
complimentary access to a few of the most popular topical research
papers each month. This month, our focus is on Millimeter-Wave. We hope you find
this content useful as we strive to provide the information, design and test solutions
that enable your next insight. Get complimentary access to 4 papers: Millimeter-Wave
Beam Forming as an Enabling Technology for 5G Cellular
...
 "The
Pythagoras theorem has changed. Better yet, our understanding
of it has changed – from two to three dimensions. For the past 2,500 years, the
Pythagoras' theorem, arguably the most well known theorem in the world, has greatly
helped mankind to evolve. Its useful right angles are everywhere, whether it is
a building, a table, a graph with axes, or the atomic structure of a crystal. It
is universally applicable, but still it is exclusively bound to two
..."
Improve Satellite Communications
 "Penn State engineers have used a tunable,
lightweight
metamaterial to build an antenna system that could improve satellite
communications. Previously, metamaterials and small antennas have both been considered
to be limited by their narrow operating bandwidths. However, the researchers found
that by tuning a metamaterial and an antenna in tandem, they were able to create
a small antenna that can operate at lower frequencies. To make it work, they used
modern digital radios
..."
 Not surprisingly, there is a website dedicated
to only the
Regency TR-1 transistor radio and its history from development
through retail sales. As reported in this January 1955 issue of Radio and Television
News, The TR-1 was the world's first commercially available, fully transistorized
portable radio. A complete schematic and functional description is provided. It
used four germanium transistors and operated on a 22-1/2 volt battery, which provided
about twenty hours of listening pleasure. The unit weighed eleven ounces and cost
$49.95
...
 "It's an incredible success, and we physicists
can boast about it." -
Hitoshi Murayama, theoretical physicist at the University of California,
Berkeley, in the October 2015 issue of Discover magazine, regarding "Pretty
much everything is explained by the Standard Model" of quantum physics. The
Large Hadron
Collider (LHC) is considered to be the complex machine ever built. It's prime
motivation for being built was to find the Higgs boson, which is responsible for
the Higgs field that is thought to give mass to particles by virtue of how they
interact with it ...
 "Software engineers Jay Flatland and Paul
Rose built the
Rubik's cube-solving machine In a YouTube video the robot unscrambles
the cube in just 1.047 seconds. The Guinness World Record for fastest time to solve
a Rubik's cube is held by a robot that solved the puzzle in 2.39 seconds in November
Flatland and Rose's machine uses the Kociemba Rubik's cube solving algorithm to
solve
..."
Rehab Camp for Internet-Addicted Teenagers
Ham Radio Operators Have Been Design Engineering Innovators
Qualcomm, TDK Prep $3B RF Joint Venture
Norway Consults on Fresh Radio Spectrum Auction
Consolidation Paces Quickens in Cyber Defense Market
Facebook's Friend Finder Found Unlawful by Germany's Highest Court
 An ample supply of surplus
coaxial cable after the end of World War II provided an inexpensive
and easy to use form of transmission line. Not having to worry about cable routing
and unintentional radiation makes transitions through walls, running along metal
surfaces, and routing high power transmission lines near habitable areas a no-brainer.
Issues like power handling, bend radius, and higher attenuation need more attention
during the installation design phase, but that pales in comparison to coaxial cable's
advantages. Author Byron Goodman addresses some of the issues Hams accustomed to
using flat transmission lines ...
 "The largest-ever prime number has been discovered
in Central Missouri - and oh, what a number it is: 274,207,281 - 1. The
record number, nicknamed
M74207281, has more than 20 million digits. That's nearly 5 million
digits longer than the previous
record. If you printed each digit 1 mm wide, the number would stretch for more
than a half marathon's 13.2 miles. So how can a number be 'discovered?' It happens
when a human notices
..."
 When I first saw an
Erie Resistor Corporation advertisement in the December 1958 issue
of Popular Electronics, I decided to research its history here in Erie,
Pennsylvania, where I live. Click on that hyperlink if you are interested in what
I discovered. This advertisement appeared in the January 1952 issue of Radio &
Television News, so I figured I'd post it as well
...
Advanced Test Equipment Rentals (ATEC) now rents
Fluke 1736 power loggers for data collection of power, voltage,
current, harmonics and other power quality values. ATEC - a leading rental company
of test and measurement equipment for a variety of industries including power, energy,
and utility - has added the Fluke 1736 to an extensive inventory of rental equipment.
The Fluke 1736 is the latest in a line of Fluke power loggers. This three-phase
power
Woman Strangled with Mobile Phone Charger Cable
Google 'Paid
Apple $1B in 2014 to Keep Search on iPhone'
Weaving a New Story for COFS and MOFs
Semiconductor R&D Growth Slows in 2015
Nitrogen Supercharges Supercapacitors
China's Chip Jackpot Teases
 "Fragments of spent rockets and other debris
orbiting the Earth pose 'special political danger' of damage to satellites being
misconstrued as attack. The steady rise in
space junk that is floating around the planet could provoke a
political row and even armed conflict, according to scientists, who warn that even
tiny pieces of debris have enough energy to damage or destroy military satellites.
Researchers said fragments of spent rockets and
..."
 For the sake of avid cruciverbalists amongst
us, 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). Enjoy!
Are You Suffering from 'Smartphone Pinky'?
Congressman Intercedes with FCC Chairman on Amateur Radio Interference
Concerns
Pentagon Eyes Laser-Armed Drones to Shoot Down Ballistic Missiles
Google to Pay the UK $185M in Back Taxes
Antenova Ltd, manufacturer of
antennas and RF antenna modules for M2M and the Internet of Things,
is adding two new positioning antennas, Bentoni and Asper, to its range of flexible
FPC antennas. Bentoni is a positioning antenna for all of the global public satellite
constellations: GPS, GLONASS, Beidou and GALILEO. It is designed to be used in trackers,
portable devices, network components, and wearable electronics. Asper is a dual
antenna
 "Defence, which brings in one of the widest
ranges of engineering disciplines of any sector, offers graduates a host of opportunities
at the cutting edge of technology. The UK defence sector sits at the cutting edge
of technology and needs high-calibre engineers from a myriad of disciplines to help
uphold operations in-theatre (that's military speak for on the battlefield) manufacture
and maintain new and existing platforms, and design the weapons for tomorrow's battlespace
..."
 Most people know this, but chose to conveniently
'forget' when buying and using their handy electronic devices.
OWS protestor types are among
the most hypocritical (see
The Real Price
of Gold). "Illegal child labor runs rampant at mines in the Republic of Congo,
where a key ingredient used in rechargeable batteries is often found in popular
electronics made by Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., HP Inc. and Samsung Electronics,
according to a recent report by Amnesty International. The allegations are just
the latest to showcase unfair labor
...
 Here, for your Friday, end-of-the-work-week
enjoyment, are a half dozen
electronics-themed comics that appeared in the January 1950 edition
of Radio & Television News. When is the last time you saw a comic in
a technical magazine? I particularly like the one with the 'green worm' displaying
on the television. There is a list of other comics at the bottom of the page
...
 "The very first experimental observations
of knots in quantum matter have just been reported. The scientists created knotted
solitary waves, or knot solitons, in the quantum-mechanical field describing a gas
of superfluid atoms, also known as a Bose--Einstein condensate. Visualization of
the structure of the created quantum knot. Each colorful band represents a set of
nearby directions of the quantum field that is knotted
..."
Fast Way of Electron Orbit Simulation in
Complex Magnetic Fields
 "The design of advanced synchrotron radiation
sources requires precise algorithms for the simulation of electron trajectories
in complex magnetic fields. However, multi-parameter studies can be very time consuming.
Now, a team has developed a new algorithm which significantly reduces the computation
time. In a storage ring like BESSY II electrons circulate nearly with
..."
Bismuth-Based Nanoribbons Show 'Topological' Transport
Semi-Polar GaN on Sapphire Long-Wavelength LEDs
U.S. Military Bases Not Accepting Driver's Licenses from 5 States
as ID
U.S. New Poll: Germany #1, Canada #2, UK #3, US #4, Sweden #5
Apple Stock Near Freak-out Level
China, Russia Plan Floating Nuclear Power Plants (Trojan horse?)
 e2v is looking for an RF Applications Engineer
that will support high performance RF IC products and Broad Band Data Converters.
This position will provide application support for RF switches, mixers, PLLs, DSA,
and prescalers in challenging environments for defense an space systems. High speed
data converters with industry leading performance will also be a key focus. The
position will also require the candidate to take the lead role in assessing and
understanding Aerospace and Defense Electronics customers' system requirements and
provide guidance to the R&D teams to develop successful semiconductor products.
This position provides a unique opportunity to support current and new cutting edge
technology that supports some of our nation's ...
Anatech Electronics, Inc. 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 : a 136 MHz highpass filter, a 200 MHz highpass
filter, and a 3500 MHz lowpass filter. Custom design are available
 "About 600 miles from Earth's surface is
the first of two donut-shaped electron swarms, known as the
Van Allen Belts, or the radiation belts. Understanding the shape
and size of the belts, which can shrink and swell in response to incoming radiation
from the sun, is crucial for protecting our technology in space. The harsh radiation
isn't good for satellites' health, so scientists wish to know just which orbits
could be jeopardized in different situations. Since the 1950s, when scientists first
began forming a picture of these rings of energetic
..."
 This episode of "Mac's Radio Service Shop" goes down a drastically different path
than most, at least until the very end where a completely unrelated anecdote about
interference with a remote garage door opener is told by Mac. Although the exact
issues chanted by electronics technician cum repairman Barney Gallagher regarding
many manufacturers' penchant for designing and selling unserviceable equipment is
dated, the principle remains the same. We have all wished a designer had to service
the product he/she has designed and sold to us
...
Pasternack, a leading provider of RF, microwave and millimeter wave products,
introduces a brand new
rackmount variable gain RF amplifier with performance from 100
MHz to 18 GHz. This 19-inch rack mounted RF amplifier is designed for lab use and
various test and measurement applications. Normally this type of test equipment
commands long lead-times for delivery often exceeding several months; however, Pasternack
has made this product available from stock for immediate shipment
China Mobile Surges Past 300M 4G Customer Milestone
Yahoo Staffers Fear 20-25% Workforce Layoff
Philippines to Launch Its 1st Satellite in April
UK Government's Migration Bill Will Hit Manufacturing
(egad! welfare class might have to work)
Can Wikipedia Live Forever?
The Forgotten Pieces of AM Revitalization
 If this Radio-Craft article article
is accurate, it was sometime around 1935 that the
8-pin glass-encased vacuum tube base came into existence. The
glass-metal designation refers to these being glass enclosed equivalents to otherwise
metal encased vacuum tubes. Evidently, the relatively new
(and expensive) line of metal tubes sported 8-pin bases so these glass tube
designs had to conform in order to be suitable substitutes
...
X-COM Systems, LLC, a
subsidiary of Bird Technologies, today introduced the latest version of its Windows-based
signal analysis software that adds new features to tools for developing and testing
radar, ELINT, SIGINT, ECM, ESM, commercial and military communications systems.
The latest version of the software makes it easier to quickly find signals of interest
and pinpoint them in time, enhanced broader pulse signal analysis and waveform search
capability, and filtering of export
 Although the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
on December 7, 1941, was a complete surprise and shock to the nation, that fact
that the United States would eventually be drawn officially into World War II
was well known. The
amateur radio community had begun talking about the potential
impact on radio communications hobbyists earlier in the year, as evidenced by articles
printed in QST and other magazines. Within a couple weeks of Congress declaring
war, all unauthorized transmissions from Ham stations were terminated in order to
prevent both intentionally and unintentionally conveyance of information that could
proves useful by the enemy. Along with being a patriotic bunch that were eager to
help defeat Axis powers, they also
...
 "A new type of
semiconductor laser has been created using the unique electronic
properties of graphene. Designed in the UK by researchers at the University of Manchester,
the prototype operates in the terahertz band and can be easily tuned to output radiation
at specific wavelengths. The team says that its research could lead to the development
of compact devices for a variety of different applications, from security scanning
to medical
..."
Z-Communications, Inc. announces a new RoHS compliant VCO (Voltage-Controlled
Oscillator) model
SMV4350A-LF in the C-band. The SMV4350A-LF operates from 4345
to 4355 MHz within a tuning voltage range of 1 to 4 Vdc. This low cost VCO features
phase noise performance of -110 dBc/Hz @ 100 kHz offset and covers the frequency
range with an average sensitivity of 50 MHz/V. The SMV4350A-LF is designed to deliver
-0.5 ±2.5 dBm of output power into a 50 Ω load while operating over the
industrial temperature range of
Antenna Physics: An Introduction:
Delve Deeper into Antenna Theory
 Antenna Physics: An Introduction is written
to bridge the gap between basic theory and graduate-level engineering texts.
Robert J. Zavrel, Jr, W7SX, well-known author and professional
antenna engineer, explains many of the underlying principles of antennas and antenna
physics and introduces the mathematics behind these principles. Radio amateurs are
familiar with antennas and use them every day to communicate on the air. We know
how long to make a dipole or vertical antenna for a particular frequency, but do
we know how the antenna really works? Note that this is not a book of "how-to" projects,
but rather a theoretical and mathematical approach to the topic
...
Intel Metamaterials Breakthrough for EMI Field Shunt
Startup Develops Room-Temp Metallic "Velcro" Glue
UK Teams up to Bridge LED Green Gap with 3C GaN
Baby Boomers Slow to Sell Businesses as Retirement Looms
Sensors Slip into Brain, Dissolve When Job Is Done
(sounds like the perfect crime)
Many Young People Fear Losing Their Jobs to Robots
 Compiled by Rob Spiegel, Senior Editor,
Design News - "Here is the 2016 data on the best engineering schools by
mid-career pay. This year's list is quite different from the 2015 list -- you'll
find some unusual schools producing high-earning grads. Engineering schools in general
usually win top marks in PayScale's annual College Salary Report. Engineering graduates
get a head start by leaving school with a specific, applicable set of in-demand
skills
..."
offers high performance "SMD"
Circulators and
Isolators with LOW IMD. This rugged design uses a screwed in cover and machined
housing. Units are fully tested to perform vibration, thermal shock and moisture
making suitable for base station and other infrastructural environments
 The cover of this month's Radio &
Television News magazine is part of the issue's story on performance testing
of resistors. The author was an engineer for
International Resistance Company (IRC), which is still in business
as part of TT Electronics. The massive ovens were used for load-life testing to
certify resistor products for both military and commercial uses. When required,
humidity enclosures subjected resistors to increased levels to test for insulation
breakdown at high voltage. As the article observes, since a 10-cent resistor can
take down a multi-thousand system, it is important to guarantee every component's
integrity
...
 The first article in the list, "Basic Rules
for Anechoic Chamber Design, Part One: RF Absorber Approximations," will be of interest
to anyone thinking about implementing a test area for electromagnetic field testing,
whether for measuring EMI or measuring radiation patterns. If you
like reading about 'squegging' in oscillators, then you won't want to miss "Chasing
Wild Ghosts." Enjoy
...
•
Basic Rules for Anechoic Chamber
Design, Vince R.
•
Statistical Pulse Measurements
Using USB Power Sensors, Orwill H.
•
Chasing Wild Ghosts, Glen C.
•
Pulse Compression Radar System
Analysis, Herbert S. <more>
 "I would have been sorry for the Dear Lord
because the theory is correct." - Albert Einstein, in response to a student's question
regarding what he would have thought if the observations of astronomers did not
agree with general relativity's prediction. This was part of a story in the October
2015 issue of
Smithsonian magazine. 2015 marked the 100-year anniversary
of Einstein's public presentation of his theory of general relativity.
Japanese Company Makes World's 1st Washable Smartphone
Annihilating Nanoscale Defects
Self-Organised Photoresist Boosts Lithography
In Taiwan, Survivor Mentality Stymies Tech Innovation
First All-Antiferromagnetic Memory Device
Researchers May Have Licked Flaming Lithium-Ion Battery Problem
NI announces its slate of activities at
IEEE Radio & Wireless
Week 2016 (RWW2016), being held in Austin from January 25 to 27. Featured in
NI booth #308 will be the latest V12 release of
NI AWR Design Environment™,
inclusive of Microwave Office for circuit design, Visual System Simulator™ (VSS)
for system design, and AXIEM and Analyst™ electromagnetic simulators. In addition,
NI AWR software will be showcased in several other events, including a technical
presentation and hands-on workshop
 "A professor in mathematics, Kokichi Sugihara, from Meiji University in Tokyo has created
an optical illusion that seems to defy gravity. In his demonstration, there seems to
be four planks that are connected to a central point, which seems to be at a higher
level compared to the other sides of the planks as shown
..."
 In case you don't already know, a grown-up's
version of the much-ballyhooed
littleBits electronics building block system is available. Instead
of assembling snap-together functional blocks for making LEDs flash or robotic carts,
X-Microwave's system provides a relatively simple and inexpensive
venue for designing and building RF and microwave circuits based on a selection
of component blocks for frequencies ranging from hundreds of kHz to tens of GHz.
As you can see in the X-Microwave video, functional blocks are screwed to a base
plate with optimized interconnects providing low-VSWR, low-loss interfaces between
blocks. Package sides, isolation compartment walls, and lids complete the system
package with coaxial connectors at the I/O ports
...
 "Portuguese OSATS company Nanium S. A. has
pushed its wafer-level packaging expertise to 3D SiPs, under a new packaging technology
dubbed
WLSiP / WL3D for 3D Wafer-Level System-in-Package. The new packaging
technology was initiated from a specific customer requirement to move from a SMD-populated
printed circuit board to a more compact SiP. Integrating more than 40 different
components
..."
PMI Model No.
DP-5700M-6500M-CD-SFF is a diplexer with a low passband of 5700
to 6500 MHz and high passband of 13750 to 14500 MHz. This unit offers
SMA female connectors, power handling of 20 Watts, channel to channel isolation
of >70 dB and passband insertion loss of <1 dB
 "The ARRL Board of Directors has elected ARRL
First Vice President
Rick Roderick, K5UR, of Little Rock, Arkansas, as the League's
next president. The Board took the action as it convened for its 2016 Annual Meeting
in Windsor, Connecticut. Roderick, 63, will officially assume office for a 2 year
term at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting, which wraps up on January 16. He will
become ARRL's 16th president, succeeding Kay Craigie, N3KN, of Blacksburg, Virginia,
who is completing her third term as the League's president. The Board also
..."
5G
Hurdles Gauged at DesignCon
Middle East Stock Crash £27B off as Tehran Enters Oil War
Standing Desks May Help Students Improve Grades
Profitability Concerns Spark a Rethink Among Global Telcos in Africa
(rest of the world pays for most of it)
U.S. Military Wants a Photon Detector
Nanodevice, Build Thyself
IEEE Society: Data Science, 5G, Virtual Reality Among Top Tech Trends
in 2016
Consumers Feel Perils of Connectivity
Is Space-Time Like a Rainbow?
Woman Sues Twitter for Helping ISIS Spread Globally
 You've no doubt heard the old admonition that
too much of a good thing can be bad. Ignore that warning when working this week's
RRF Cafe Crossword Puzzle. Coming or going, forward or backward,
there is no such thing as too much of this theme. As always, only engineering and
science words are used throughout. !yojnE
 A couple weeks
ago, Erie, Pennsylvania experienced a major wind storm with lots of rain. Living
just a mile from the shores of Lake Erie means that we typically get the worst of
the winds. The street we live on has overhead power distribution, telephone, and
Internet lines, so they are more vulnerable than underground buried lines. During
the aforementioned storm, a very tall pine tree in the yard right on the corner
where the main feeder branches to our road snapped about halfway up and pulled the
lines right out of their connections on the mains as it fell. To make a long
(45 hours to be exact) story short, our entire street
was
without power for nearly two days. That is an unacceptable situation
when you run your business from home, as I do
...
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