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Homepage Archive - December 2018 (page 1)
See Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 of the December 2018 homepage archives.

Friday 7

Build a Candle Snuffer Using a 555 Timer

Build a Candle Snuffer Using a 555 Timer (Delayed Light Turn-Off) - RF CafeA couple days ago I posted an update on the Watkins-Johnson databook page that had an unauthorized gag graph titled, "WJ-G1/SMG1 Phase vs. VCTL vs. Frequency vs. Phase of the Moon." When RF Cafe visitor and sometimes contributor Dr. Marek Klemes* read that, he sent me a note about remembering this "Delayed Light Turn-Off" circuit from the Signetics 555/556 Timer Databook. It took a bit of creative Googling, but he managed to find the datasheet (to the right). The text was a bit washed out from the original low resolution scan, so I reproduced the labels (green). This Rube Goldberg-ish contraption works thusly: After a delay determined by the values selected for R1 and C1, the output of the NE555 timer goes high and causes resistor RL to heat up enough to ignite match M1. M1 subsequently lights the fuse on firecracker FC1, which has tied to its body a string that wraps around a pulley and holds a rock (which weighs precisely 2π pounds...

RF Field Engineer Needed by PierCon Solutions

RF Field Engineer Needed by PierCon Solutions - RF CafePierCon Solutions is a solid, tenured, and proven wireless consulting and engineering firm based in Lincoln Park, NJ. PierCon is a recognized leader in the wireless designs of in-building coverage, broadband, WiMAX/LTE, microwave, cellular, public safety, PCS, iDEN, and WiFi. As a provider of world-class engineering and consulting services our team of dedicated RF Engineers is seeking additional talent to help us continue our path to success. This position acts as the Site Engineer and Site Inspector for a large scale Public Safety communications Project located in Harriman, NY. The Field Engineer will perform daily surveillance and inspections of contractors / sub-contractors in accordance with contract specifications...

A Brief Tutorial on Microstrip Antennas

A Brief Tutorial on Microstrip Antennas (Part 1) - RF CafeKenneth Puglia has a good article in Microwaves & RF magazine titled, "A Brief Tutorial on Microstrip Antennas - Part 1" (here is Part 2). Says Mr. Puglia, "This article, the first of a multi-part series on microstrip antennas, discusses antenna characterization - from antenna parameters to key attributes. A significant performance element in communication and radar systems - as well as wireless devices - is the antenna. It may be defined as a transducer between a guided electromagnetic (EM) wave propagating along a transmission line, and an EM wave propagating in an unbounded medium (usually free space) or vice versa. The antenna is required to transmit or receive EM energy with directional and polarization properties suitable for the intended application. This multi-part tutorial explores the radiation..."

Send Your Meters to War

Send Your Meters to War, November 1942 QST - RF CafeWith today being the 77th anniversary of America's entry into World War II with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, I thought this advertisement from a 1942 issue of the ARRL's QST magazine would be of interest. Most of us have heard about the neighborhood collections for tires, glass, newspaper, cans, and cloth in order to help support the war effort. Probably not many have also heard about the Signal Corps' call for milliammeters! That's right, the huge, rapid build-up of electrical and electronic equipment for radios, vehicles, and factory equipment. Many meters were needed for monitoring status and making process adjustments. America had an ample supply of meters in the hands of Amateur radio operators; all that was required was to separate the Hams from their meters. Fortunately, an appeal to patriotism was sufficient motivation back then...

Withwave Intros 2.92 mm Board Edge Connectors

Withwave Intros 2.92 mm Board Edge Connectors - RF CafeWithwave has introduced Board Edge 2.92 mm (SMA) connectors are specially designed for high frequency (DC-40 GHz) substrates to minimize electromagnetic transition effects from coaxial to Microstrip/CPW structure. We solve your performance and cost problems with various types of board edge connectors according to substrate clearance. Board clearances of 0.6 mm to 3.6 mm available...

ConductRF: Precision & Standard Grade RF Cable Assemblies

ConductRF coaxial cables & connectors - RF CafeConductRF is continually innovating and developing new and improved solutions for RF Interconnect needs. See the latest TESTeCON RF Test Cables for labs. ConductRF makes production and test coax cable assemblies for amplitude and phased matched VNA applications as well as standard & precision RF connectors. Over 1,000 solutions for low PIM in-building to choose from in the iBwave component library. They also provide custom coax solutions for applications where some standard just won't do. A partnership with Newark assures fast, reliable access. Please visit ConductRF today to see how they can help your project!...

World's 1st Channel Sounder for Mobile Communications Above 100 GHz

World's First Channel Sounder for Mobile Communications Above 100 GHz - RF Cafe"NTT DOCOMO and Rohde & Schwarz have joined forces to set up the first ultra-wideband channel sounder for mobile communications exceeding 100 GHz. They conducted radio wave propagation experiments at frequencies up to 150 GHz. The frequency bands from 100 GHz to 300 GHz are expected to enable high-speed and large-capacity communication for the next generation beyond 5G. In the experiments, DOCOMO and Rohde & Schwarz measured and analyzed the effects of radio wave propagation characteristics and shielding effects in the mm-Wave range. As a result, the two companies pioneered new frequency bands and contributed to the realization of terabit-class mobile..."

Thursday 6

ABC's of Transistors

ABC's of Transistors, December 1968 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeAs with so many aspects of electronics, physics, economics, medicine (well, maybe not medicine), the basics do not change a whole lot since first being discovered. If you are a newcomer to the world of electronics and are trying to come up to speed on transistor fabrication and operation, even this article that appeared in a 1958 issue or Radio-Electronics magazine will be useful to you. Figure 1 reminds me of a situation I witnessed while working as a technician at Westinghouse Oceanic Division, in Annapolis, Maryland. If you've heard this before, please indulge me. One of the managers there, who was not a degreed engineer (although he held the title), one day while in the lab actually soldered a pair of 1N4148 diodes together back-to-back per Figure 1 and tried biasing it to function like a transistor. A "real" engineer, whom I greatly admired, stood watching with his mouth agape as he watched. Before he could politely explain why the diode pair is not the same as the intimate PN junctions of an actual transistor...

Anatech Electronics December 2018 Product Update

Anatech Electronics Product Update December 4, 2018 - RF CafeAnatech 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 three new filter designs: a surface mount 2050 / 2250 MHz Ceramic Duplexer, a surface mount 62.5 MHz IF SAW Filter, and a 537-563 MHz / 2432-2480 MHz Duplexer with N-type connectors. Custom RF filters designs are used when a standard cannot be found, or the requirements are such that a custom approach is necessary...

How the Cathode-Ray Tube Works

How the Cathode-Ray Tube Works, February 1955 Popular Electronics - RF CafeEven with the domination of LED, plasma, and LCD displays, there are still a whole lot of cathode ray tubes (CRTs) on the job. Hobbyists workbenches are filled with them for sure, but design and manufacturing facilities still have huge inventories of test equipment with CRTs, and a lot of computer equipment on the production line with CRTs sitting in racks. LED, LCD, and plasma displays all have their own claims to genius on the part of their designers, but cathode ray tube designers - and the designers of the driver circuits - deserve special recognition. Consider the physics and materials involved: glass, phosphor, magnetics, thermonics, electrostatics and electrodynamics, relativity (electrons traveling at relativistic speeds gain mass, requiring stronger deflection fields)...

Transient Specialists EN/IEC 61000-4-2 Setup & DIY Guide

Transient Specialists EN/IEC 61000-4-2 Setup, Rent & DIY Guide - RF CafeTransient Specialists, a leader in EMC rentals for over 30 years, announces that they will be offering rentals, sales and a set-by-step guide of the IEC 61000-4-2 setup including all components and cords. This complete ESD immunity setup includes vertical coupling plane (VCP), horizontal coupling plane (HCP), ground coupling plane (GCP), ESD table, and all required cords. EN/IEC 61000-4-2 puts forth specific requirements for all components of the setup for this electrostatic discharge (ESD) standard. This setup can be rented or purchased as a whole, or individually to enhance a preexisting test setup. The setup includes, an all wood table with removable legs, vertical coupling plane (VCP), horizontal coupling plane (HCP)...

Russia Shows Off New Laser Weapon After U.S. Threatens to Pull out of Missile Treaty

Russia Shows off Peresvet Laser Systems - RF CafeThat fully exposed cable harness seems like a major Achilles Heel to an otherwise hardened battle-ready system. "Russian state media published video earlier today of its latest laser weapons system, the Peresvet. The move comes just a day after the U.S. said it would likely pull out of a key arms treaty between the two countries, and the timing of the video's release doesn't appear to be a coincidence. 'Peresvet laser systems, based on new physical principles, entered combat service in [a] testing regime with the Russian armed forces,' Russian Defense Ministry's newspaper said, according to an English translation. When President Vladimir Putin made his annual address to Russia's Federal Assembly back in March..."

Rohde & Schwarz: RF & Microwave, Analog, Digital, & Optical Test Equipment

Rohde & Schwarz RM & Microwave Test Equipment - RF CafeRohde & Schwarz develops, produces and markets test & measurement, information and communications technology. Focus is on test and measurement, broadcast and media, cybersecurity, secure communications, monitoring and network testing. Markets serviced are wireless, the automotive industry, aerospace and defense, industrial electronics, research and education, broadcast and media network operations, consumer electronics, cybersecurity for business and governments, communications and security solutions for critical infrastructures and the armed forces, reconnaissance equipment for homeland and external security, and much more...

DARPA Looks to Machine Learning for RF Defense

DARPA Looks to Machine Learning for RF Defense - RF Cafe"BAE Systems has booked a $9.2M Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract to develop new machine learning algorithms and other related tools for users to better identify radio frequency signals. Phase one of the Radio Frequency Machine Learning System program will see BAE focus its creation work on using cognitive approaches to make the algorithms with feature learning techniques. Scientists will also work to create algorithms that help users determine signals that are important versus those that are not in real time through a deep learning approach, BAE said Tuesday. DARPA envisions this program as further advancing technology for autonomous vehicles and image and speech recognition..."

Wednesday 5

B-52 Bomb Navigation System

B-52 Bomb Navigation System, February 1957 Radio & Television News - RF CafeThe Boeing B-52 Stratofortress long-range bomber has been in continuous service since 1954. Production of new aircraft ran from 1952 through 1962. Now 59 years hence at version 'H,' it is still our nation's primary long-range bomber. That is a great testimony to the aircraft's initial design and construction, but a sad testimony to our ability to design and build a complete replacement. The B-1 bomber was a dismal failure and the B-2 Stealth bomber is too expensive to build and maintain in large quantities. This story from a 1957 edition of Radio & Television News reports on the "K-System" computerized bombsight gear installed in early B-52s that used radar for targeting. According to the writer, nearly 1,000,000 American defense company workers at companies like Eastman Kodak, General Motors, General Mills (yes, the breakfast cereal people), Motorola...

Skyworks Video: Sky5 Makes 5G Work

Skyworks Video: Sky5 Makes 5G Work - RF CafeSkyworks Solutions has created a video titled, "Sky5 Makes 5G Work Video." It provides a simple explanation of how 5G will work and explores how their Sky5™ platform resolves system complexities and enables this next generation communication standard. As a premier provider of wireless front-end solutions, Skyworks is an expert in connectivity. They are enabling the 5G evolution by advancing our technology leadership and extending our product reach to power some of the world's most exciting communication platforms. Skyworks is a member and key contributor to the industry's most influential standards organizations including ETSI and 3GPP...

The Color TV X-Ray Problem

The Color TV X-Ray Problem, November 1968 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeWhen you were a kid, did your mother warn you about sitting too close to the television because doing so would cause you to be near-sighted or otherwise "ruin" your eyes? Mine did, and I'm now very near-sighted, but it is doubtful that sitting too close to the TV is the reason. In fact, according to Linus Van Pelt's comments to his sister, Lucy, in this 1962 Peanuts comic strip, ophthalmologists tried to counter the misconception about too-close boob tube viewing. There is another strip where Linus challenges Lucy's assertion that reading in dim lighting can hurt your eyes. The real concern as it turns out, according to professional alarmists, was the massive doses of x-radiation pouring out of the front of the early color TV sets. To hear the distractors tell it, you could almost see the skeleton of anyone sitting in close proximity to a color TV screen. The high voltage (25-35 kV) on the cathode ray tube (CRT) produced x-rays...

Many Thanks to KR Electronics for Helping Deliver RF Cafe!

KR ElectronicsKR Electronics designs and manufactures high quality filters for both the commercial and military markets. KR Electronics manufactures all filter types: lowpass, highpass, bandpass, bandstop and individually synthesizes filters for special applications - both commercial and military. State of the art computer synthesis, analysis and test methods are used to meet the most challenging specifications. Please visit their website today to see how they might be of assistance...

How to Recondition Vise Grip Pliers

How to Recondition Vise-Grip Pliers - Airplanes and RocketsMy Vise-Grip pliers have performed a lot of hard duty over the decades. Many rusted nuts and bolts would still be unremoved if it weren't for their sharp, corrugated locking jaws. I have 10", 7", and 4" w/cutter, and 6" long nose models. These are all manufactured under the Petersen Manufacturing Company name, before they bought Irwin, who now manufactures Vise-Grips. Even high quality tools eventually show signs of wear after decades of use and abuse. A few of mine had jaws worn down to the point where they no longer would "bite" into the bolt head or nut being clamped. I was about to buy a couple new pairs of Vise-Grips, but then wondered if I could recondition the jaws to put the pointed shape back on the jaws with a triangle file. Being hardened steel, a lot of times a standard file will barely scratch the surface, but in this case I managed to dress the jaws of four pairs of Vise-Grips before the file (double taper triangle) got dull...

Copper Mountain Technologies: Vector Network Analyzers

Copper Mountain TechnologiesCopper Mountain Technologies develops innovative and robust RF test and measurement solutions for engineers all over the world. Copper Mountain's extensive line of unique form factor Vector Network Analyzers include an RF measurement module and a software application which runs on any Windows PC, laptop or tablet, connecting to the measurement hardware via USB interface. The result is a lower cost, faster, more effective test process that fits into the modern workspace in lab, production, field and secure testing environments...

The Case Against Quantum Computing

The Case Against Quantum Computing - RF Cafe"The proposed strategy relies on manipulating with high precision an unimaginably huge number of variables. Quantum computing is all the rage. It seems like hardly a day goes by without some news outlet describing the extraordinary things this technology promises. Most commentators forget, or just gloss over, the fact that people have been working on quantum computing for decades - and without any practical results to show for it. We've been told that quantum computers could 'provide breakthroughs in many disciplines, including materials and drug discovery, the optimization of complex manmade systems, and artificial intelligence.' We've been assured that quantum computers will “forever alter our economic, industrial, academic..."

Tuesday 4

Practical Applications of Simple Math

Practical Applications of Simple Math - Part II, June 1944 QST - RF CafeRecognizing that many people were reluctant to approach the theoretical aspect of electronics as it applied to circuit design and analysis, QST magazine (the American Radio Relay League's monthly publication) included equations and explanations in many of their project building articles. Occasionally, an article would be published that dealt specifically with how to use simple mathematics. In this case, the June 1944 edition, we have the second installation of at least a four-part tutorial that covers resistance and reactance, amplifier biasing (tubes since the Shockley-Bardeen-Brattain trio hadn't invented the transistor yet) oscillators, feedback circuits, etc.  In the July 1944 edition is the third installation of at least a four-part tutorial that covers resistance and reactance, amplifier...

New York Times Articles About Color TV - 1949-53

New York Times Articles About Color TV (1949-53) - RF CafeThe Early Television Foundation is dedicated to the preservation of the technology from the early days of television. Our website's mission is to preserve and make available to the public the history of early television, from the mechanical systems of the 1920s through the introduction of color television in the 1950s...

Many Thanks to Axiom Test Equipment for Continued Support!

Axiom Test Equipment - RF CafeAxiom Test Equipment allows you to rent or buy test equipment, repair test equipment, or sell or trade test equipment. They are committed to providing superior customer service and high quality electronic test equipment. Axiom offers customers several practical, efficient, and cost effective solutions for their projects' TE needs and is committed to providing superior customer service and high quality electronic test equipment. Please check out Axiom Test Equipment today!...

WJ-G1/SMG1 Phase vs. VCTL vs. Frequency vs. Phase of the Moon

WJ-G1/SMG1 Phase vs. VCTL vs. Frequency vs. Phase of the Moon - RF CafeRF Cafe visitor and former Watkins-Johnson engineer Paul Johnson (no relation to the "J" in WJ), recently sent me this note regarding the Watkins-Johnson catalog page that contained the famous "Phase vs. VCTL vs. Frequency vs. Phase of the Moon" graph on the WJ-G1/SMG1 Voltage-Controlled Attenuator Module (5 to 2,000 MHz). We all suspected it was not an officially approved feature, but now a first-hand account of the prank confirms it...

Design Considerations for High Frequency Transformers

Design Considerations for High Frequency Transformers - RF CafeAgile Magnetics is offering this "Design Considerations for High Frequency Transformers" e-book as a free download. Taking a look at the principles and calculations associated with custom high frequency transformers With the need for more efficient and smaller power supplies providing power to electrical equipment, high frequency transformers are a critical component of supplying power to modern electronics. The book takes a look at the principles and calculations associated with these types of custom transformers. This guide will discuss: Basic Principles, SMPS Topology, Off Grid Energy Production, Designing...

San Francisco Circuits Launches New Customer-Centric Website

San Francisco Circuits Launches New Customer-Centric Website Showcasing Their Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing Capabilities - RF CafeSan Francisco Circuits' (SFC) new website provides customers with the information and tools necessary to effectively work with SFC to build Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) that meet demanding design requirements. The site enables users to get a quote online by providing specifications and uploading designs to SFC using a password protected customer area of the site. In addition, the website hosts an educational PCB School, a password-protected learning environment where engineers, designers, and others involved in the design and use of PCBs can learn about the intricacies of their creation, integration, testing and more. A number of PCB guides and explainers on key topics are also available...

Many Thanks to Rohde & Schwarz USA for Continued Support!

Rohde & Schwarz USA Pocket Guides - RF CafeRohde & Schwarz develops, produces and markets test & measurement, information and communications technology. Focus is on test and measurement, broadcast and media, cybersecurity, secure communications, monitoring and network testing. Markets serviced are wireless, the automotive industry, aerospace and defense, industrial electronics, research and education, broadcast and media network operations, consumer electronics, cybersecurity for business and governments, communications and security solutions for critical infrastructures and the armed forces, reconnaissance equipment for homeland and external security, and much more...

Electronic Warfare: A Battlefield on a Different Wavelength

Electronic Warfare: A Battlefield on a Different Wavelength - RF Cafe"Soldiers on the ground are now capable of rapidly reacting to electronic and cyber data rather than waiting on their higher echelons. Soldiers assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, currently deployed in Poland, are among the first brigades supporting Atlantic Resolve to train on a new system that enables a team to forward deploy and respond to enemy frequencies using new electronic warfare, or EW, technology. Electronic warfare, known as the battle in the electromagnetic spectrum, relies on data and signals to survey, fight and defend. Collecting enemy radio signals, sensing radar of an incoming threat, and utilizing radio waves..."

Monday 3

Mass Confusion: The End of the Kilogram as We Know It

Mass Confusion: The End of the Kilogram as We Know It  - RF CafeNuts & Volts magazine has an article by Clark Hamilton titled, "Mass Confusion: The End of the Kilogram as We Know It," that reports on the newly adopted standard for mass that is based on a quantum mechanical property rather than a physical metal bar (which, BTW, has inexplicably been losing mass over time). "This November, in Versailles, France, representatives from 57 countries are expected to make history. They will vote to dramatically transform the international system that underpins global science and trade...."

The IEEE also has a news story titled, "Historic SI Unit Overhaul Redefines Kilogram, Ampere, More" on it. "The International Bureau of Weights and Measures will redefine four base units in terms of fundamental constants in nature. A governing body unanimously voted Friday for the biggest ever overhaul of the international system of units (SI), which will redefine four base units: the ampere, kelvin, kilogram, and mole. 'It's a moment of quite major significance in our obsessive little world of metrology..."

RF Cascade Workbook 2018

RF Cascade Workbook 2018 Is Available Now! - RF CafeRF Cascade Workbook 2018 is the next phase in the evolution of RF Cafe's long-running series, RF Cascade Workbook. It is a full-featured RF system cascade parameter and frequency planner that includes filters and mixers for a mere $45. Built in MS Excel, using RF Cascade Workbook 2018 is a cinch and the format is entirely customizable. It is significantly easier and faster than using a multi-thousand dollar simulator when a high level system analysis is all that is needed. An intro video takes you through the main features...

Please Welcome PCB Directory as RF Cafe's Newest Advertiser!

PCB  Directory - RF CafeThanks to PCB Directory for deciding to help deliver RF Cafe to you, my visitors. PCB Directory is the largest directory of Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Manufacturers, Assembly houses, and Design Services on the Internet. We have listed the leading printed circuit board manufacturers around the world and made them searchable by their capabilities - Number of laminates used, Board thicknesses supported, Number of layers supported, Types of substrates (e.g., material, flexible, rigid), Geographical location, and more...

Fairview Offers Expanded Line of Coaxial RF Probes to 40 GHz

Fairview Microwave Offers Expanded Line of Coaxial RF Probes to 40 GHz - RF CafeFairview Microwave has recently expanded their line of RF coaxial probes into the 40 GHz frequency range for use in high-speed communications, microwave components and networking applications. Fairview Microwave's expanded line of coaxial RF probes now includes four models that deliver 10 dB maximum return loss over a broad frequency range of DC-40 GHz. These new RF probes are offered in GS and GSG configurations with a pitch of 800 or 1500 microns and a 2.92mm interface; they are gold-plated and feature compliant pogo pin contacts that allow for a wide range of probing angles. These coaxial probes can be used by hand, with or without a probe positioner, and can be cable mounted or mounted with Fairview's multi-axis probe positioner. These coaxial RF probes are ideal for signal integrity...

Color TV - The Field Sequential System

Color TV, October 1953 Radio & Television News - RF CafeIf the technology futurists of the 1970s had been correct, by now we would be reading historical articles on the early days of holographic television. I have read, though, that any day now a battery-powered flying car with a holographic dashboard / instrument panel display is going on sale. Not. The Sadly, the Ercoupe (pronounced "air coupe") is still the closest thing to "an airplane in every garage." But, I digress. This story from a 1953 issue of Radio & Television News magazine reports on the roll-out of the country's first color television system: The field sequential system (aka the CBS system). It was a fine system, but unfortunately the modulated signal format was not backward compatible with the existing B&W system. That meant separate receivers for B&W and color televisions. Even as CBS TV sets were being produced, the NTSC was working on a replacement system that permits co-existence of B&W and color signals. Note the mention of how the DPA, in 1951...

Concentric Technology Solutions: RF Shield Boxes & TEM Cells

Concentric Technology Solutions RF Shield Box Products - RF CafeConcentric Technology Solutions is your one stop source for RF shield boxes, RF enclosures, Bluetooth testers, WiMax testers, RFID testers and RF power amplifiers. CTS can supply off-the-shelf or custom products for your testing needs requiring maximum RF shielding in order to produce repeatable results in laboratory and production environments. Manual and pneumatic operation is available. TEM cells, glove boxes, forensic enclosures, and special purpose per your requirements...

Millimetre Waves for the Last Mile

Millimetre Waves for the Last Mile - RF Cafe"Reseachers at ETH Zurich have developed a modulator with which data transmitted via millimeter waves can be directly converted into light pulses for optical fibers. This could make covering the "last mile" up to the internet socket at home considerably faster and cheaper. The high oscillation frequencies of light waves make them ideally suited to fast data transmission. They can be sent through optical fibers and easily carry hundreds of billions of bits (gigabits) per second. The "last mile" from a central fiber optic cable to the internet socket at home, however, is the most difficult and expensive. Some alternatives, for instance 4/5G mobile telephony, are cheaper, but they cannot provide all users simultaneously with the extremely high transmission rates required by today's data-hungry applications such as streaming TV..."

Sunday 2

Engineering & Science Crossword Puzzle for December 2

Engineering & Science Crossword Puzzle - December 2, 2018 - RF CafeEach week, for the sake of all avid cruciverbalists amongst us, I create a new technology-themed crossword puzzle using only words from my custom-created lexicon related to engineering, science, mathematics, chemistry, physics, astronomy, etc. You will never find among the words names of politicians, mountain ranges, exotic foods or plants, movie stars, or anything of the sort. You might, however, see someone or something in the exclusion list who or that is directly related to this puzzle's theme, such as Hedy Lamar or the Bikini Atoll, respectively. Enjoy...

Windfreak Technologies Frequency Synthesizers - RF Cafe
Werbel Microwave (power dividers, couplers)

Innovative Power Products (IPP) Directional Couplers

Innovative Power Products (IPP) RF Combiners / Dividers