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3 of the August 2018
homepage archives.
Monday 20
 If you are a fan of John T. Frye's "Mac's
Service Shop" series of technodramas, then you might also appreciate this short-run
stories by Bob Eldridge titled, "Another Day in the Shop." Up through maybe the early 1980s, every
town had at least one electronics service shop for taking care of televisions, radios,
record players, tape recorders and players, cameras, computers, and just about anything
else that might be fixed at less cost than buying a replacement unit. In the 1940's
through the 1960's, there was often good money to be made not only with in-shop
repair but also with doing house calls for repair and installation. Electronics
magazines of the era were filled with both self-help and tips for the professionals
regarding troubleshooting, use of test equipment, how to deal with customers, etc.
Electronics World even ran for a while a feature that suggested types and
quantities of replacement tubes, capacitors..."
 For as long as I can remember, having the
title of "engineer" without also holding some sort of 4-or-more-year degree meant
that those who do have the degree considered the
"non-engineer" engineer to be illegitimate. It used to be - and
might still be - that some government contracts (defense, aerospace, etc.) required
anyone listed as an engineer to have at least a 4-year degree. Lou Freznel has a
new article address in the topic. "Jobs are out there to be had, but if you don't
have a certain type of degree, it's very unlikely you'll land one. Lou Frenzel says
it's high time to look beyond that vaunted piece of paper. Is it possible for a
person to do actual electronic engineering work without a college degree? I say
yes. It's been done..."
 "In August 2017, London's first hybrid black
cabs hit the streets ahead of new legislation that came into effect this year, requiring
all new cabs to be 'zero emissions capable.' The TX can operate for around 70 miles
on battery power alone, with a petrol range extender allowing it to clock up around
400 miles before refueling. But London's very first electric cabs actually came
into service exactly 120 years earlier. 'Mr W H Preece inaugurated a service of
electrical cabs which are to ply for hire in the streets of London in competition
with the ordinary hackney carriages,' wrote The Engineer in August 1897..."
Rohde & Schwarz USA (R&S USA) is
now offering this free "Key Characteristics of Signal Generators and Modulation Methods: Pocket
Guide." Register for this pocket guide to receive fundamental information on
analog and digital modulation methods. The Pocket Guide is available as a spiral
bound hard copy (no PDF for download at this time). The guide also provides important
signal generator specifications and parameters that should be considered when choosing
a signal generator. This is another in a series of Pocket Guides being offered by
R&S. The "RF Component Pocket Guide," introduced earlier this year, is still
available. Rohde & Schwarz also has a downloadable PDF file titled, "Modulation
and Signal Generation with R&S® Signal Generators Educational Note Products"...
 "The Defense Department - and possibly any
iteration of a 'Space Force' - could benefit from having commercial satellite providers
host its sensors and communications payloads, according to the Government Accountability
Office. In a July 30 report submitted to Congress, GAO endorsed the Defense Department's
use of commercially hosted military payloads a way to save money and recommended
it consolidate the current decentralized program data. DOD has used three commercially
hosted payloads with another three planned or underway through 2022. In a letter
to House Armed Services Committee, GAO auditors..."
  Innovative Power Products (IPP) has over 30 years
of experience designing & manufacturing RF & microwave passive components.
Their high power, broadband
couplers, combiners, resistors, baluns, terminations and attenuators are fabricated
using the latest materials and design tools available, resulting in unrivaled product
performance. Applications in military, medical, industrial and commercial markets.
Take a couple minutes to visit their website and see how IPP can help you today...
 "At Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, researcher
says theoretical threat to ships, planes and military is 'no longer theoretical.'
The satellite communications that ships, planes and the military use to connect
to the internet are vulnerable to hackers that, in the worst-case scenario, could
carry out 'cyber-physical attacks,' turning
satellite antennas into weapons that operate, essentially, like
microwave ovens. According to research presented at the Black Hat information security
conference in Las Vegas, a number of popular satellite communication systems are
vulnerable to the attacks..."
Friday 17
 Dang, I swapped two answers and scored an
80%. Haste makes waste, as the saying goes. Don't rush through this 1967 Popular
Electronics "Electronic Angle Quiz" like I did and you'll probably ace it with
the greatest of ease - especially if you have been in the electronics realm at least
since the 1980s. Generation X'ers can have a two-question handicap (might never
have seen real-life example of drawing "A" or "E") and Millennials (might never
have seen drawing "A," "B," "D," or "H") get a four-question handicap...
 With more than 780 custom-built
symbols, this has got to be the most comprehensive set of
Visio Stencils available for RF, analog, and digital system and
schematic drawings! Every object has been built from scratch to fit proportionally
on the provided A- and B-size drawing page templates (you
can use your own page if preferred). Components are provided for equipment
racks (EIA and ETSI) and test equipment, system block
diagrams and conceptual drawings, and for schematics...
 Messrs. Ben Thomas and Scott Vasquez, both
with Qorvo (formerly RFMD), write about "Evolving 5G Landscape Creates New RF Challenges," in the July
2018 issue of Microwaves & RF magazine. A bevy of new technology
- beam steering, massive MIMO, high linearity, etc. - has been and/or is in the
process of being invented in order to accommodate extreme performance specifications.
Phones, base stations, and small cells must all interact in concert for the 5G scheme
to work. The industry hype has been huge. Say the authors, "5G is approaching rapidly,
with the first deployments expected in 2019. Initially, mobile operators are targeting
specific applications where they see considerable potential demand and opportunity.
However, 5G will expand the global uses of wireless communications. A second wave
of applications in 2020 and beyond will include automotive communications..."
 Once World War II and the Korean War
were through consuming a large percentage of the world's material and labor resources,
technology focus shifted largely toward inventing and manufacturing consumer goods.
It was a period similar to the Roaring Twenties, after World War I where innovation
and high employment fueled good times for a lot of the population. Creature comforts
like indoor plumbing, refrigerators, electric toasters and can openers, radio, affordable
automobiles, were appearing in the majority of homes. Unfortunately, not all countries
enjoyed the upturn during those eras, usually because of continued war and/or oppressive
Communist / Socialist / Marxist regimes.
Israel did not formally become a country again until 1948, having
been ruled...
Since 2003, Bittele Electronics has consistently provided low-volume, electronic
contract manufacturing (ECM) and turnkey PCB assembly services. It specializes in
board level turnkey PCB assembly for design engineers needing low volume or prototype
multi-layer printed circuit boards.
Free Passive Components: Bittele Electronics is taking one further
step in its commitment of offering the best service to clients of its PCB assembly
business. Bittele is now offering common passive components to its clients FREE
of Charge...
 "The physical structure of
liquid metal is altered by incorporating a conductive nano- or
micro-nickel filler. Liquid metal printing is integral to the flexible electronics
field. Additive manufacturing enables fast fabrication of intricate designs and
circuitry. The field features a range of products including electrically conductive
textiles; bendable displays; sensors for torque, pressure, and other types of strain;
wearable sensor suits, such as those used in the development of video games; antennae;
and biomedical sensors. Soft robots, flexible computer screens, and other stretchable
electronic devices also can be created..."
Thursday 16
 "Discovery may herald high-performance computer
hard disks where lack of friction enables greater data storage. It has long been
known that layered solid materials, particularly graphite, can act as lubricants.
A joint project between Tel Aviv and Tsinghua Universities has now found that the
interface between graphite and a two-dimensional material, hexagonal boron nitride,
exhibits a property known as
superlubricity where friction between two surfaces virtually disappears
altogether. 'Superlubricity is a highly intriguing physical phenomenon, a state
of practically zero or ultra-low friction between two contacting surfaces,' said
Prof Oded Hod..."
   Windfreak Technologies designs, manufactures,
tests and sells high value USB powered and controlled radio frequency products such
as RF signal generators, RF synthesizers, RF power detectors, mixers, up/downconverters.
Worldwide customers include Europe, Australia, and Asia. Please contact Windfreak
today to learn how they might help you with your current project...
(formerly Peregrine Semiconductor),
introduces the world's first monolithic, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) Wi-Fi front-end
module (FEM)—the
PE561221. Ideal for Wi-Fi home gateways, routers and set-top boxes,
this high-performance module uses a smart bias circuit to deliver a high linearity
signal and excellent long-packet error vector magnitude (EVM) performance. The PE561221
combines the intelligent integration capabilities of pSemi's SOI technology and
Murata's expertise in Wi-Fi connectivity solutions and advanced packaging. This
2.4 GHz Wi-Fi FEM integrates a low-noise amplifier (LNA), a power amplifier (PA)
and two RF switches...
 Maybe at one time I knew this, but the claim
by Fairchild Semiconductor in this 1965 Electronics magazine advertisement
took me by surprise. They claim to have invented the
dual-inline-package (DIP) format. According to Wikipedia, a trio
of chaps - Don Forbes, Rex Rice and Bryant Rogers - all Fairchild engineers, developed
the DIP package in 1964, a year prior to the ad. Previously, a round can designated
TO# (Transistor Outline) with # (number) leads around the perimeter was used for
integrated circuits, but as the I/O pin count increased, that form factor became
unwieldy. An extensive search for a patent on the DIP, assigned to Fairchild and/or
the three inventors, did not turn up anything...
 "Researchers in the U.S. have developed a
way to manipulate and mix droplets of fluids by having them surf on
acoustic waves in oil. The group, from Duke University in North
Carolina, claims that the technology could form the basis of a reusable and programmable
biomedical chip for applications ranging from diagnostics to laboratory-based research.
So-called lab-on-a-chip systems have played an increasingly important role in the
biomedical and pharmaceutical sectors, but because these devices rely on solid surfaces
their application has been hindered by problems related to surface absorption..."
Wednesday 15
 Color television was a big hit with homeowners
and was adopted fairly rapidly in the 1960s even considering the relatively high
cost and low number of network color broadcasts in the beginning years. The enthusiasm
underwent a severe reduction when word got out that large doses of
x-rays were streaming out of the front of the CRT for sets that
did not take precautions to prevent it (which was the majority of sets initially).
The major cause was extremely high voltages applied between the electron gun and
phosphorescent raster grid - in the neighborhood of 35 kV or more - when the
high voltage regulator circuit malfunctioned. Note that even when everything was
working properly...
Pasternack, a leading provider of RF, microwave
and millimeter wave products, has unveiled a new line of
SPDT high-power PIN diode RF switches that offer desirable performance
for transmit and receive signal routing applications. Typical applications can involve
use in radar systems, EW applications, base station infrastructure, repeaters, military/microwave
radios, public safety/land mobile radios, UHF/VHF radios, and test and measurement
applications. Pasternack's new line of SPDT high-power PIN diode switches consists
of 7 different models that offer excellent power handling and isolation with broadband
performance and fast switching speed. Ideal for transmit and receive applications,
these solid state PIN diode switches...
 Believe it or not, there was a time when the
Internet did not exist and getting quality information could be difficult. Offices,
cubicles, laboratories, company technical libraries, even hallways, were piled high
with reference books, magazines, component books, applications notes, datasheets,
white papers, and every other form of information that might be useful.
Watkins-Johnson Tech-Notes were particularly notable for their
practical design and application content. Thanks to Mr. Larry Jugler for providing
these three new Watkins-Johnson Tech-Notes for adding to my collection of PDF files:
-
Competitive Receiver Technologies
-
RF Signal Processing Before the Receiver
-
Software Design of Microprocessor-Controlled Receivers
 This news tidbit appeared in a 1953 issue
of Radio-Electronics along with an editorial by Hugo Gernsback titled "Transistor
Transition." RCA had just developed its first
fully solid state - except for the cathode ray tube (CRT) - television.
Note that at the time the CRT was still often referred to as a kinescope. In fact,
the word "kinescope" was coined and trademarked by RCA, so they had a vested interest
in perpetuating its usage. Jerry Herzog, shown in the photo, was one of the engineers
responsible for the design and construction of the television...
  SF Circuits' specialty is in the complex,
advanced technology of
PCB fabrication and assembly, producing high quality multi-layered
PCBs from elaborate layouts. With them, you receive unparalleled technical expertise
at competitive prices as well as the most progressive solutions available. Their
customers request PCB production that is outside the capabilities of normal circuit
board providers. Please take a moment to visit San Francisco Circuits today...
 "ABI Research estimates the smart home segment
could potentially be worth in the region of $11.2B by 2022, but the diversification
question still remains for the telcos. The smart home is a concept which has been
on the horizon for some time, we've been debating the merits of talking fridges
for years, but until recently it has perhaps been little more than a gimmick. The
advantages of the expensive upgrades were limited, and in all honesty, there seem
like little point in connecting your toilet to the internet. That said, during the
last 12-18 months applications and services have started to appear to make the prospect
genuinely interesting..."
Tuesday 14
  Alliance Test sells
used / refurbished test
equipment, we offer short- and long-term rentals. They also offer repair, maintenance
and calibration. Prices discounted up to 80% off list price. Agilent/HP, Tektronix,
Anritsu, Fluke, R&S and other major brands. A global organization with ability
to source hard to find equipment through our network of suppliers. Please visit
Allied Test Equipment today to see how they can help your project...
 Hugo Gernsback was well-known not just for
his technical prowess, but for an uncanny ability to predict future developments
in electronics, transportation, and production methods. Barely three years had passed
since Messrs. Bardeen, Shockley, and Brattain, announced their invention of the
transistor when this editorial titled, "Transistor Transition" appeared in Radio-Electronics
magazine. Gernsback mentions the concept of "appliqued circuits" (i.e., printed
circuits) and "roll-up display" transistor picture tubes (i.e., flexible displays),
and "pocket radios" that can be held up to the ear. Production prices for transistors
at the time were about $8 apiece, which is the inflation-adjusted equivalent of
$76 in 2018. At that price point, who could blame the pro-tube, never-transistor
crowd from denying the possibility of transistors ever replacing tubes...
 Please welcome
Rohde & Schwarz as RF Cafe's newest Banner Advertiser in a
160x600-px slot! R&S has been a long-time supporter. Dr. Lothar Rohde and
Dr. Hermann Schwarz founded the company Munich, Germany, in 1933. Per a Wikipedia
entry, R&S received a electronics equipment depot maintenance contract in 1945
from the U.S. Army, which might be their first presence here in the U.S., providing
serious competition to Hewlett Packard. I found this
Rohde & Schwarz ad in a 1965 issue of Electronics
magazine. Rohde & Schwarz is now a premier player in the communications test
equipment realm. Lab benches and production test stations have taken on a noticeably
blue hue thanks to all the R&S equipment in use...
 If the December 13, 1965, edition of
Electronics magazine had a theme, it was undoubtedly reporting on the current
state of
Japanese technology. The cover photo is a shot of a microwave
antennas dominating Tokyo's skyline. Japanese technology companies worked hard to
overcome the largely undeserved negative connotation that a "Made in Japan" label
carried in the day. Do you remember the scene in the movie "Back to the Future Part
III" where Doc, having traveled back in time from the 1950s, is trying to fix his
DeLorean time travel car and discovers a burnt out circuit and claims, "No wonder
this circuit failed, it says made in Japan?" Marty, who travelled from the 1980s,
replied, "What do you mean doc, all the best stuff is made in Japan." There is no
denying the Japanese people succeeded at their goal...
 Greg Boone was in technical school at Keesler
AFB, MS, during my time there in 1989. We were both AFSC 303x1 radar maintenance
techs, although he began a couple months before I arrived. His service info is now
in the USAF Radar Techs
list. Greg was part of a group of guys, including
Jim Flinn and me, who
used to take stashes of firecrackers and bottle rockets to a road construction site
in the Biloxi, Mississippi, area and play "war games" against opposing sides. As
far as I know, none of us ever face any real fire while in the service. At least
back in the era, a commonly repeated saying was that the Air Force is the only branch
of service where the officers are sent into the heat of battle while the enlisted
stay safely behind the lines...
 Call to action - contact NIST to continue
WWV and WWVH broadcasts. "The National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST) FY 2019 budget request includes shutting down NIST radio stations
in Colorado and Hawaii - in other words, WWV and WWVH. Radio amateurs, HF listeners,
and others around the world routinely make use of the time and frequency standard
signals, which also include propagation information. NIST said eliminating funding
currently 'supporting fundamental measurement dissemination' would include putting
WWV and WWVH off the air for a saving of $6.3M. The NIST FY 2019 budget request
for efforts related to Fundamental Measurement, Quantum Science and Measurement
Dissemination is $127M..."
Monday 13
 "The Aerospace Corporation announced a milestone
with the Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration (OCSD) mission. The laser
communication system, carried by the two low-Earth-orbiting OCSD
CubeSats also known as AeroCube-7B and Aerocube-7C, successfully
transmitted data at a rate of 100 megabits per second which is 50 times greater
than typical communication systems for this size spacecraft. 'This is a significant
achievement, given that high speed laser communications is mostly done from larger
satellite systems,' said Steve Isakowitz, Aerospace president and CEO..."
EDI CON USA, the industry event that brings
together RF/microwave and high-speed digital design engineers and system integrators,
announces its plenary keynote speakers - and - for the 2018 conference, which will be held
in Santa Clara, CA October 17 and 18. All pass holders will be eligible to see these
talks, each happening at 11:30AM. On Wednesday, October 17, 2018, Ovi Jacob, Director
of Business Development at Vayyar Imaging, will provide a fascinating glimpse at
technology that is changing the world, and our ability to survive in it. In his
talk, "Looking Deeper: Using Radar to Save Lives and Improve the World" Jacob will
address how radar is being used for life-saving cancer detection, as well as in
everyday applications...
 Electrocution has always been - and always
should be - a hot topic (pun intended) in the realm of electrical and electronics
servicing and usage. Trade and hobby magazines have dedicated many column inches
to it over the years. A lot of people are deathly (there I go with the puns again)
afraid of being anywhere in the proximity of an exposed electrical connection. My
father, a newspaper classified advertising manager, was one of those people. He
would cringe when I took the cover off the fuse panel in the house to work on it.
He could barely bring himself to replace a blown fuse, which was not a completely
unjustified fear given the low standards of older electrical wiring. Those screw-in
fuses had a threaded metal perimeter around the bottom portion with a button connection
at the bottom center. Theoretically, that threaded metal perimeter is at ground
potential...
 RF Cafe typically receives
10,000-15,000
website visits each weekday and about half that on
weekends. RF Cafe is a favorite of engineers, technicians, hobbyists, and students
all over the world. With more than 7,000 pages in the Google search index, RF Cafe
returns in favorable positions on many types of key searches, both for text and
images. New content is added on a daily basis. Items added on the homepage are broadcast
on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Banner advertising begins at $150/month...
 At VidaRF, the phrase 'Providing Simple Solutions
for Complex Connections' is more than just a slogan – it's a mindset, a mission,
and a driving force behind everything we do. Their pledge is to design and distribute
high performance, cost effective
RF Microwave products to fit each customer's unique applications.
Please visit VidaRF today to see how their lines of attenuators & terminations,
directional couplers, power dividers, coaxial connectors, and circulator & isolators
can be of use to your project. "When the standard just will not do, VidaRF has the
solution for you!"...
 "Topology is a global aspect of materials,
leading to fundamental new properties for compounds with large relativistic effects.
The incorporation of heavy elements gives rise to non-trivial topological phases
of matter, such as topological insulators, Dirac and
Weyl semimetals. The semimetals are characterized by band-touching
points with linear dispersion, similar to massless relativistic particles in high
energy physics. The interplay of symmetry, relativistic effects and, in magnetic
materials, the magnetic structure, allows for the realization of a wide variety
of topological phases through Berry curvature design. The Berry curvature describes
the entanglement..."
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