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2 of the March 2018
homepage archives.
Friday 30
 "Today, together with its industry partners,
the Government of Canada and the provincial governments of Ontario and Quebec, Thales
Canada announced its $25M investment in
ENCQOR, a $400M public-private partnership in ultra-high-speed
communications infrastructure that will focus on research and innovation. ENCQOR
brings together governments, small and medium businesses, and academia to link research
facilities and laboratories across Eastern Canada to collaborate on 5G technology..."
 "The
semiconductor industry closed out 2017 in blockbuster fashion,
posting the highest year-over-year growth in 14 years, reports IHS Markit. Semiconductor
revenue grew 21.7%, reaching $429.1 billion. Recording year-over-year growth of
53.6%, and its highest semiconductor revenue ever, Samsung replaced Intel as the
new market leader of the semiconductor industry in 2017. Intel was followed by Hynix,
in third position. Among the top 20 semiconductor suppliers, Hynix and Micron enjoyed
the largest year-over-year revenue growth..."
 If you think the title of this piece has
anything to do with the story, think again, or at least as far as I can reckon.
Keeping in mind that this mini-novel appeared in the
April 1933 issue of QST magazine, wherewith the past
couple days of Fools' pieces accompanied it, I read with caution. The image of Queen
Elizabeth cradling a vacuum valve (not tube!) under her arm like a rugby football
(to continue the Eurocentric theme) in the comic certainly grabs one's attention,
as do the "250-watter lights" on the the royal bathroom wall. You need to switch
into a early twentieth...
 Skyworks Solutions is pleased to announce
that it has become a member of
ETSI, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute - an
independent, non-profit organization that establishes global standards for telecommunications,
broadcasting and other electronic communication networks and services. ETSI is a
key channel through which the 3GPP organization submits contributions for 5G requirements.
Membership is comprised of over 800 organizations from more than 60 countries across
five continents...
 "Out-of-control Chinese space station,
Tiangong-1, is predicted to reenter Earth's atmosphere at 6:33 am
ET on Easter Sunday. The space craft is carrying highly toxic chemicals and could
crash into a number of highly populated areas, researchers claim. Areas that could
be hit include New York, Barcelona, Beijing, Chicago, Istanbul, Rome and Toronto.
When the station does eventually enter the atmosphere it could unleash a 'series
of fireballs' that will be seen by observers. Scientists still do not yet know where
the satellite fragments are likely to land..."
 "A new experimental proton battery is capable
of achieving a promising energy density on par with commercially available lithium
ion batteries. A traditional
proton exchange membrane (PEM) hydrogen fuel cells uses platinum
catalysts to combine gaseous hydrogen and oxygen from the atmosphere to produce
electricity, water vapor, and heat. Producing, transporting, and storing hydrogen
gas, however, have proven to be speed bumps on the road to adoption of fuel cells
in the mainstream transportation sector. RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia
has announced a new a 'proton battery' that eliminates..."
Thursday 29
 Rohde & Schwarz is offering a free
Worldwide Spectrum Allocations Poster to the first 250 people
who request it. You'd better hurry because they won't last long...
 "Boeing announced its investment in Adelaide,
Australia-based Myriota, an Internet of Things (IoT) startup seeking to revolutionize
satellite communications by providing low-cost access to high-value data in remote
locations. Myriota developed technology enabling two-way communications between
ground-based micro-transmitters and low Earth orbit (LEO)
nanosatellites to securely share data over narrow bandwidths.
This direct-to-orbit platform enables applications across the logistics, defense,
utilities, agricultural, environmental and maritime..."
 "Edith Clarke was the world's first female electrical engineer
and Professor of Electrical Engineering. Her trailblazing career has long been an
inspiration for young women. Edith Clarke was the world's first female electrical
engineer. She later became the first female Professor of Electrical Engineering
at the University of Texas in Austin. Edith specialized in electrical power system
analysis and later wrote the seminal book Circuit Analysis of A-C Power Systems.
Born in February of 1883 she would lead a stellar career breaking many firsts for
women the electrical engineering community..."
 The September 1932 issue of Radio Craft
contained an article titled, "Radio a la Cortlandt Street!," the original "Radio Row" located at the corner of Cortlandt and Washington Streets
in Manhattan. It was a mecca of new and used electronics components and assemblies.
After World War II there was a huge supply of surplus parts and equipment made
available to the public as a means to clear out inventory and also as a "thank you"
to the citizens who voluntarily donated critically needed panel meters, tuning capacitors,
connectors, and other items to the War Department. That really helped the market
boom. Post-war...
Please take a few moments to visit the
everythingRF website to see how they can assist you with your
project. everythingRF is a product discovery platform for RF and
 microwave products and services. They currently
have 213,080 products from more than 1090 companies across 267 categories in our
database and enable engineers to search for them using their customized parametric
search tool...
 Moral standards seem to rigidly obey the
second law of thermodynamics, which states that entropy (disorder) increases in
a closed system. Most people would say society is more rude and corrupt today than
in days gone by - count me among them. However, believing so does not obviate or
excuse acts of deviance in the past. Indeed, even esteemed organizations like the
ARRL seems to have been guilty of promoting dishonest acts. To
wit, consider this offer appearing in the "Strayed" column of the April 1933 issue
of QST magazine, "For Sale: QSL Cards of any country. Win your WAC..."
 "This video is part of a series of video
clips make while on my way to watch
Mad Mike Hughes
launch his steam-powered Flat Earth rocket on March 24th, 2018. I first met 'Mad
Mike' and his friend 'Pioneer Pat' back in 2017 during one of Mike's first launch
attempts. I decided to ride my motorcycle out to the desert to root him on for today's
planned launch. Go Mike!!! The launch was a perfect success!! 1872 feet! Mike's
hurt, but he will be alright. This was one of the most interesting and moving <video>"
Wednesday 28
 High quality
test equipment (TE) typically costs more than the knockoff stuff,
but a lot more of the former is still around in regular use compared to the latter.
The retained value of vintage TE can be quantitatively measured on eBay - as can
most things for that matter. An item is worth what the market will bear. Hewlett
Packard (HP), Tektronix, Bird, Simpson, B&K, Triplett, even Heathkit, typically
sell for often surprisingly high prices when in working order. Accordingly, a lot
of people are looking for specifications on the older equipment as well as schematics
and alignment manuals. A Google search almost always...
 IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) just
released a tutorial titled, "Recent Progress and Future Evolution of Massive MIMO for cm-wave and
mm-wave Bands" - sponsored by R&S. "Massive MIMO is considered as the main
game-changing technology from 4G to 5G. The benefits brought by Massive MIMO in
terms of capacity and coverage are key enablers towards significant spectral efficient
enhancements in cm-wave bands and the effective utilization of mm-wave bands for
mobile communications. In recent years, major advances have been made by mobile
vendors in order to bring Massive MIMO to reality...
 "Forty-five unmanned aerial vehicles and
drones fell out of the sky during a U.S. Army exercise after Raytheon's advanced
high-power microwave and laser dune buggy engaged and destroyed
them. These common threats were knocked down during a Maneuver Fires Integrated
Experiment at the U.S. Army Fires Center of Excellence. The event, known as MFIX,
brought military and industry leaders together to demonstrate ways to bridge the
Army's capability gaps in long-range fires and maneuver short-range air defense..."
 QST, the American Radio Relay League's
flagship monthly publication, has been around since December of 1915. It has for
decades included
Fools' articles in the April editions, as do many other magazines.
Each year I peruse April issues with a bit of trepidation for fear that I will not
be savvy enough to spot the phony article. Usually there is some aspect that is
clearly not right, thereby giving up the scam. This year's April QST arrived a week
ago and a quick scan has not revealed to me anything suspicious. Maybe this one
requires the knowledge of a seasoned, practicing Ham for detection; book knowledge
alone might not cut it this time...
 It is
fairly rare anymore to see dogs running loose in the neighborhood - unlike 40+ years
ago when I had a paper route and was harassed daily by rogue curs. Some municipalities
will fine or arrest you if your dog leaves your property unattended. Lawsuits have
ensued over Rover marking his assumed territory on someone's car tire. For the safety
of both your dog and your neighbors, train him/her to remain within the confines
of your yard. Both
wireless (far field) and
wired (near field) systems have been used extensively and successfully
to help with training, and do not harm your dog...
 "Scientists from IDLab, a core IMEC research
group embedded in the universities of Ghent and Antwerp, are working on an innovative
system for wireless networks to enable smooth communication even in crisis situations.
The project recently received $750k from DARPA, the American
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, through the DARPA Grand
Challenge. The prestigious DARPA challenges are global competitions in which teams
of researchers work around a specific theme to overcome a problem that affects the
entire world..."
Tuesday 27
 "Researchers from the MIT, Harvard and the
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have announced that they have created an exotic
new material as 'kagome metal.' This is an electrically conductive crystal consisting
of layers of iron and tin atoms arranged in a kagome lattice pattern. Kagome is
derived from traditional Japanese basket-making techniques. The kagome pattern consists
of interlaced, symmetrical triangles arranged in a lattice. Physicists have been
fascinated by this pattern for decades and they..."
 It's a good thing that ferric chloride does
not turn unstable and explosive after sitting in the dark for many years or I might
be in trouble. My bottle was bought back when Radio Shack was the electronic hobbyists
local source for project parts. There is probably not much demand for either ferric
chloride, FeCl3, or ammonium persulfate, (NH4)2S2O8,
these days since fewer people are making their own printed circuit boards (PCB's)
and there is a host of companies who offer low quantity
PCB fabrication at a good price. However, for those who still
engage in home brew projects and want an alternative to point-to...
 Lou Frenzel - who writes on various topics
du jour - has a short article titled "How Low (in Frequency) Can You Go?," on the Microwaves &
RF website. He gives a few examples of application of the electromagnetic spectrum
bands below 15 MHz. Among them is the 160/190 kHz band, which is a Part
15 unlicensed region for ISM applications. It is fairly empty and begging for use.
Of course the AM commercial radio broadcast band still occupies 535-1,705 kHz
(I listen there daily). Also mentioned is the newly
salvaged (after the USAF abandoned it), 33-acre High
Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) antenna in Alaska.
Per Lou, "HAARP research is not for weather control" --- That's a joke, son...
 "Scientists from the National Institute of
Standards and Technology as well as John Hopkins University have discovered a powerful
phenomenon that could improve memory and computing devices in a number of ways.
This phenomenon is known as
zero field switching (ZFS). Scientists believe it could be key
to creating smaller, lower-power computing and memory devices than ever before.
The phenomenon begins with a layering of platinum and tungsten over a cobalt-iron-boron
magnet. This is sandwiched between gold electrodes that have been placed..."
Monday 26
 While I don't agree with everything Elon
Musk says and does, I have a great deal of respect for his technical acumen and
willingness to push the frontiers of technology forward. He has helped to fill the
gap in space vehicle research while NASA concentrated instead on reaching out to
a particular religious group. Musk made electric cars cool. He recently announced
his intention to remove SpaceX and Tesla
Facebook pages after news broke of continued massive data breeches
on the social venue. RF Cafe no longer posts there, either BTW - only on LinkedIn
and on Twitter...
 "These two technologies have long been hyped,
and proponents of each are finally starting to work together.
Graphene has been heralded as a 'wonder material' for well over
a decade now, and 5G has been marketed as the next big thing for at least the past
five years. Analysts have suggested that 5G could be the golden ticket to virtual
reality and artificial intelligence, and promised that graphene could improve technologies
within electronics and optoelectronics. But proponents of both graphene and 5G have
also been accused of stirring up hype. There now seems to be..."
 As one who enthusiastically followed the
manned space program from its early days in the 1960's, reading
news stories and magazine articles on new technology and research never ceases to
amaze me. When China or Russia flies the next man to the moon, the level of fanfare
will be more focused on how the U.S. is no longer considered the leader than on
how much more improved technology is and how much lower the risk is. We now have
over a million total hours of men living in space versus a thousand or so in 1969.
Semiconductors have totally replaced vacuum tubes - with vastly better capability
and ruggedness. Mechanics and...
 ConductRF 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
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. Please
visit ConductRF
today to see how they can help your project!
 You might have noticed that since last November
the engineering and science themed daily RF Cafe header images have been much larger
than those which graced the pages in the past. The change was motivated mainly by
a desire to make them more viewable on the tiny screens of mobile phones. It also
gave me the opportunity to include more information. In the process, I took the
occasion of being on each daily
engineering and technology history page to check on the validity
of the long ago included hyperlinks to pages which validated dates of events. Use
Wikipedia was avoided because of the joke-worthy reputation it had for bogus...
 "The head of U.S. Strategic Command said the
nation doesn't need a 'Space Force' right now. 'I think that someday we'll have a Space
Corps and Space Force in this country. But I don't think the time is right for that
right now,' STRATCOM's Commander Gen. John Hyten said during a Senate Armed Services
Committee hearing March 20 to discuss fiscal 2019 budget priorities. Hyten's response
followed comments President Donald Trump made earlier this month in a speech to
the military in San Diego..."
Sunday 25
 Each 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...
Friday 23
 Popular Electronics reader Frederic
D. Barber, Jr., was having none of the newfangled designations for standard
physical units as reported in the April 1966 issue. He, and evidently
many others, was not ready to accept the replacement of terms such as cycles per
second (cps) with Hertz (Hz), or seemingly any other change that included honoring
a person by using his/her name. We don't know whether...
"The head of U.S. Strategic Command said the
nation doesn't need a 'Space Force' right now. 'I think that someday we'll have a Space
Corps and Space Force in this country. But I don't think the time is right for that
right now,' STRATCOM's Commander Gen. John Hyten said during a Senate Armed Services
Committee hearing March 20 to discuss fiscal 2019 budget priorities. Hyten's response
followed comments President Donald Trump made earlier this month in a speech to
the military in San Diego..."
 Making format changes to magazines after many
years of an established standard always ruffles the figurative feathers of a significant
portion of regular readers. Two magazines I read monthly, Model Aviation
and QST, recently underwent a format change - both of which I considered
very nice. However, reader comments in the aftermath showed a few who were not impressed.
Popular Electronics magazine in 1966 made announcements regarding plans
to adopt some of the newer base units for physical measurements, including this
one for beginning to use "Hertz" (Hz), along with its various...
 Three new application notes are available from
Rohde & Schwarz on the topics of:
- Envelope Tracking and Digital Predistortion for RF Amplifiers,
Outphasing
- Envelope and Doherty Transmitter T&M
- Wideband mm-Wave Signal Generation and Analysis.
As always, they can be downloaded at no charge.
 "When he's not on ham radio, Scott Tilley,
VE7TIL, an amateur astronomer, hunts spy satellites. Using an S-band radio from
his home in Roberts Creek, British Columbia, Tilley routinely scans the skies for
radio signals from classified objects orbiting Earth, according to a recent article
on Spaceweather.com. Since starting 5 years ago, Tilley has located dozens of secret
or unlisted satellites. Earlier this month, while hunting for ZUMA - an undisclosed
US government spacecraft lost in a January 8 launch mishap - when he saw the signature
of
IMAGE (Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration)..."
Thursday 22
 "It defies conventional wisdom about semiconductors.
It's baffling that it even works. It eludes physics models that try to explain it.
This newly tested class of
light-emitting semiconductors is so easy to produce from solution
that it could be painted onto surfaces to light up our future in myriad colors shining
from affordable lasers, LEDs, and even window glass. These materials are very radiant.
The nagging question of whether hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites (HOIPs) could
really work just..."
 The metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect
transistor (MOSFET) was patented in its present form by Bell Labs in 1959,
following the original patent by inventor Julius Edgar Lilienfeld, in 1925. It had
only been on the open market for designers to use for a bit over a decade when this
article appeared in Popular Electronics. Adolph Mangieri wrote a number
of articles for the magazine in the early 1970s introducing readers to the many
new types of semiconductor devices coming out of research laboratories and into
the commercial marketplace; e.g., "Understanding the Junction Field Effect Transistor."
MOSFET's are nowadays the primary building...
 Transient Specialists, a leader in electromagnetic
compatibility rentals for over 30 years, announces that they will be offering rentals
of the
NSG 5500 by Teseq this coming May. This compact Automotive immunity
transient test generator allows for testing for to meet standards of ISO, SAE, DIN
and JASO, and many others. Transient Specialists, conveniently located in the mid-west,
offers a variety of EMC test equipment rentals to accommodate your testing needs.
Our rentals include technical support on the equipment, weekly and monthly...
 Not everyone who visits RF Cafe is a seasoned
hobbyist, technician, or engineer. Some are newcomers to the realm and are in search
of knowledge to educate and encourage them. This 3-volume set of
Encyclopedia of Electronic Components is a contemporary printing
of modern day parts. All standard passive and active types are covered, as are topics
like sensors and human input, audio, heat, light, sound, and much more. A couple
hundred reviewers give the books 4.5 stars...
 Believe it
or not Radio Shack is still
open for business both online and in some brick and mortar locations. They have
some really good prices on clearance (aka going out of business) parts that you
might need. I just ordered some connector adapters, coin cell batteries, and antenna
mount kit for dirt cheap. Shipping is free for a minimum $39 purchase. Use coupon
code RADIO15 to get an additional 15% discount...
 "Millimeter wave signals were more found to be more robust than
expected and provided high speeds - although not gigabit speeds - at distances of
several thousand feet from a node, Signals Research Group found in recent testing
of Verizon's 28 GHz fixed wireless access network in Houston. 'Millimeter wave signals
are far more resilient than we expected, even at distances exceeding several thousand
feet. Tree foliage, passing school buses, buildings, glass..."
Wednesday 21
 Anatech Electronics,
a manufacturer of RF and microwave filters, has published its February newsletter.
In it, Sam Benzacar notes the impressive of rapid transformation of T-Mobile from
virtual insignificance in the wireless world to the top of the hill. He cites Open
Signal's January 2018 report titled, "State of the Networks: USA" as evidence. Sam
offers his take on the reason for T-Mobile's success and for why Verizon and AT&T
fell behind. As usual, it's a worthwhile read...
Spark Kicks off 5G Era in New Zealand
with Live Trial
 "New Zealand telecom operator Spark announced
what it claims to be the country's first
live 5G mobile test site in Wellington. The 5G trial used
equipment and technical support from Chinese vendor Huawei. It will test speeds,
coverage and the parameters of the spectrum in a real-world environment, and run
throughout March connecting equipment in a specialized vehicle drive-testing the
streets of Wellington. 'We intend to be at the forefront of deploying this technology
in New Zealand once..."
 Admittedly, I needed to look up the meaning
of "connubial" when seeing the title of this tongue-in-cheek article
by Carl Kohler in the July 1969 issue of Popular Electronics magazine.
Nobody knows for sure whether the over-enthusiastic starring male in the series
of techie stories that ran in Popular Electronics magazine in the 1950s was actually
Carl himself or an alter ego version of himself. Carl was also the artist of numerous
tech-related comics. This episode deviates a bit from the already-married type to
report on the exploits of born loser Otto Tronix...
 "It seems like the FCC's recent interest
in doing an in depth study of the growing RF spectrum
noise
floor has taken a new twist. The FCC's apparent lack of real action in gathering
the data needed to make serious inroads into RF noise pollution has drawn the attention
of the ARRL, which voiced their concerns in a recent ARRL Letter as well as in their
formal response to the FCC. The ARRL 'took the opportunity to strongly urge the
FCC to reinstate a 2016 TAC noise floor study, which, ARRL asserted, apparently
was terminated before it even got started.' It would seem..."
 The available bandwidth of RF channels are
often limited by the bandpass characteristic of filters, amplifiers and mixers.
Detecting amplitude flatness and
phase distortion is crucial in characterizing the quality of a
transmission channel. The amplitude flatness within the used bandwidth may have
an influence on the signal quality. Knowledge about phase distortion is essential
to maintain low bit error rates in data transmissions and VNAs commonly perform
amplitude flatness and phase distortion measurements...
 "Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) has
reached critical mass as network operators all over the world have announced their
deployment plans. Last year, the NB-IoT market was driven by a handful of operators,
primarily in Asia and Europe. U.S. operators Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile have started
to fast track their
NB-IoT development. By the end of 2018, most of the U.S., Europe
and Asia Pacific will be covered by at least one NB-IoT network. Despite the early
lead by unlicensed Low Power Wide Area..."
Tuesday 20
 "In a new study, researchers from the U.S.
Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne and Brookhaven National Laboratories observed
the formation of two kinds of defects in individual
nanowires, which are smaller in diameter than a human hair. These
nanowires, made of indium gallium arsenide, could be useful for a wide range of
applications in a field scientists have termed optoelectronics, which encompasses
devices that work by converting light energy into electrical impulses. Fiber optic
relays are a good example..."
 "Miniature MEMS-based speakers could revolutionize
speech and music reproduction in mobile communication devices. They combine the
advantages of a large frequency bandwidth and high acoustic quality with the ability
to generate very high sound levels. Nevertheless, they are so tiny that they can
be integrated into headphones. Such micro-loudspeakers were developed by the Fraunhofer
Institutes for Digital Media Technology (IDMT) and Silicon Technology (ISIT). MEMS
technology stands for microelectromechanical systems and combines classical..."
 Everyone who is interested enough in microwave
diodes to read this article surely knows* what IMPATT, GUNN, and PIN diodes are,
but have you heard of Read-effect, TRAPATT, LSA, or QMD diodes? If not, it is likely
because you entered the microwaves field long after 1969 when this edition of
Electronics World was mailed to subscribers. Device improvement and obsolescence
accounts for familiarity with the former and unfamiliarity with the latter, respectively.
The article below by two Sylvania Electronic Products engineers describes the properties
of various up-and...
 Microwave Journal is conducting along with
National Instruments and Wolfspeed a webinar titled, "Introduction to Radar," on Wednesday, March 28, 2018, at 11:00
AM. Mr. Scott Bullock presents on the topics of radar detection and ranging, pulse
vs. CW, radar modulation, radar path budget, basic radar equation, radar range equation,
range ambiguity and mitigation, maximum and minimum detectable range, and more...
 Here is a brand new book being offered by
the ARRL:
Receiving Antennas for the Radio Amateur, by Eric P Nichols
(KL7AJ). "Although the fundamental characteristics of antennas apply to both transmission
and reception, the requirements and priorities of receiving antennas can be vastly
different from those of transmitting antennas. Receiving Antennas for the Radio
Amateur focuses entirely on active and passive receiving antennas and their associated
circuits. There are relatively few cases where a radio amateur..."
 "While
the mobile industry is done with its annual Mobile World lovefest - held last month
in Barcelona - tech suppliers, system OEMs, and mobile operators now face a host
of 5G obstacles not yet overcome. In fact, they're just getting started. The technical
issues of 5G are manifold. Among them, smart antennas and
RF front
ends for 5G mmWave - typically expected to operate at frequencies such as 28
GHz, 39 GHz, or 60 GHz - could seriously affect the performance of yet-to-emerge
5G mmWave mobile phones..."
Monday 19
 "Satellite communications have been in use
for decades now, providing connectivity to remote areas, acting as backup in disaster
relief situations, and being a major access mechanism for TV in certain parts of
the world. Satellite use has been vital for government, military, and remote operations,
while geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites are providing global coverage for voice,
TV, and, in some cases, broadband Internet services. The
telco industry is now working toward the standardization and commercialization
of the next generation of cellular standards..."
 In an ongoing effort to provide the best
return on investment to RF Cafe website sponsors (aka advertisers), I have decided
to allocate the 728x90-pixel banner ad slot at the bottom of all web pages to companies
who participate in the
High Exposure plan. That is in addition to the other features
that have always been included. The cost is still only $150 per month; i.e., no
price increase. A full list of advertising options is available on the
Sponsorship
Rates page, but just the features which are part of the High Exposure plan are
highlighted in the screen capture...
 A lot of RF Cafe visitors might not be familiar
with some of the electronic devices presented in this
Electrochemistry Quiz by Popular Electronics' resident
quizmaster, Robert Balin (a big list of his other quizzes is at the bottom of the
page). I offer my assistance. A is a photocell, B is an early type of rectifier,
C is a varistor, D is a cathode ray tube (CRT), E is an electrolytic capacitor,
F is a heated cathode in a vacuum tube, G is a flashlight battery, H is an early
receiver crystal detector, I is a magnetic audio recording tape, and J is phonograph
cartridge. I scored...
 "During Exercise Northern Warrior 2018, 35
Canadian Brigade Group (35 CBG) Communications Detachment did an impressive job
of testing and solving problems. The detachment's two objectives were to provide
high-quality communications to the Arctic Response Company Group (ACG) personnel
and test new equipment in an arctic environment. 'The arid and austere environment
of the Canadian Arctic requires effective communications. The work done by the G6
35 GBC team has undoubtedly demonstrated the relevance of the
HF communications that are essential to operate effectively in
this hostile climate..."
 "Measurements of the three-dimensional structure
of the earth, as opposed to the one-dimensional models typically used, can help
scientists more accurately determine which areas of the United States are most vulnerable
to blackouts during hazardous
geomagnetic storms. Space weather events such as geomagnetic storms
can disturb the earth's magnetic field, interfering with electric power grids, radio
communication, GPS systems, satellite operations, oil and gas drilling and air travel.
Scientists use models of the earth's structure and measurements of Earth's..."
Sunday 18
 Earthlink no longer provides Internet service
in the Erie area, and they want to charge a monthly fee to retain the current e-mail
address, which is not worth the expense. Accordingly, please note that effective
immediately RF Cafe's primary e-mail address will be kirtrfc@aol.com.
The Earthlink e-mail will be kept for a month or two so as not to miss any useful
message, but please begin using the Yahoo e-mail now. I apologize for any inconvenience.
 For the sake of all the avid cruciverbalists
amongst us, each week 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!...
Friday 16
 Steve Ellis, product manager at Pasternack,
wrote an article titled, "Methods of Suppressing PIM in Multicarrier Systems," that appeared
in the February 2018 issue of Microwaves & RF magazine. "Passive intermodulation
distortion (PIM) - the nonlinear effects that are observed from the passive components
(i.e. antennas, cables, connectors, power dividers, and mixers) of a system at high
signal levels - is a phenomena of particular relevance in wireless infrastructures
dedicated to the propagation of vast amounts of traffic. Cellular and...
 Here are a couple more
electronics-themed comics from the March 1967 issue of Popular
Electronics magazine for your TGIF enjoyment. The comic on page 100 especially
appeals to me since I am finishing the installation of a Channel Master CM-5020
antenna. It has been a long time since I installed a traditional style TV antenna
- about 40 years ago when I put a Radio Shack antenna on the roof of my mother's
house. The entire 109" long by 100" wide antenna, including mounting hardware, weighs
only 11.5 pounds and presents a wind resistance of 30 pounds. This is Channel
Master's best antenna...
 "Researchers have produced a 'human scale'
demonstration of a new phase of matter called quadrupole topological insulators
that was recently predicted using theoretical physics. These are the first experimental
findings to validate this theory. The researchers report their findings in the journal
Nature. The team's work with QTIs was born out of the decade-old understanding of
the properties of a class of materials called topological insulators. 'TIs are electrical
insulators on the inside and..."
 The 8th RF & Microwave Paris Exposé will be held March 21 &
22, 2018, at Porte de Versailles, Paris, France. Vendors will have products on exhibit,
and conferences include EMC and RF simulation, IoT and Radio, Reliability of Components
and Electronic Systems, GaN for Microwave Applications , Antennas Made by 3D Printing,
GaN for Microwave Applications, Evolution...
 "The
Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico has been saved following an
agreement signed by a consortium led by the University of Central Florida (UCF)
in Orlando. The announcement was made on 22 February by the National Science Foundation
(NSF), which has been looking for an alternative sponsor for the iconic, 305 m-diameter
radio telescope since 2006. The NSF currently spends around $8M a year to keep Arecibo
operating. The final impetus for the NSF to find new funding sources came in September
2017 when the telescope was damaged by Hurricane Maria..."
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