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5 of the January 2019 homepage
archives. Friday 25
 Getting involved in an insurance claim scam,
whether intentionally or unintentionally, can profoundly affect the future of a
business. Mac McGregor, of course, would never consider bilking any customer be
it a person or
insurance company. Diligent bookkeeping, annotation, and on-the-record statements
from claimants seeking his repair services were in 1956 (when this story appeared
in Radio & Television News) and are today the keys to covering your
posterior. Also mentioned is a scheme to electromechanically make dynamic
adjustments to a tape recorder's read/write head in order to compensate for
minute skew angles of the magnetic tape media as it feeds through the machine.
Many of the topics covered in the Mac's Service Shop episodes concern real-life
products, research, or processes, so my guess is that Mac's reference to a
friend applying for a patent on this tape head scheme was an actual invention.
Reading about the dynamic head positioning idea reminds me of how all new giant
telescopes...
 The old saying that "Ground is ground the
world around" might be true in the general sense when referring to signals with
a large signal-to-noise ratio and impedances don't matter much, but when it comes
to having electrical signals and power sources keeping within their intended domains,
often times a simple, single ground plane connection is not the best solution. In
Part 4 of his series "The Chronicles of GND,"
author Kendall Castor-Perry discusses supply currents. Says Mr. Castor-Perry, 'I
was going to take a break from 'The Chronicles of GND.' But 'Push Me, Pull Me'
resulted in a surge of correspondence - much of it criticism that I had not
included any diagrams of the various forms of current flow in the output stages
I described in that post. So, the first thing I intend with this post is to
include diagrams to illustrate..."
 Unless otherwise annotated, U.S. Government
publications are deemed to be in the public domain for American citizens. Since
government websites are famous for moving pages around and/or eliminating them entirely,
I went ahead and captured this copy of the
wire-wrapping workmanship standards as defined by NASA. In fact, many moons
ago when working as an electronics technician at the Westinghouse Oceanic
Division in Annapolis, MD, I attended a week-long class learning to perform
soldering, wire-wrapping, and PCB rework per NASA standards. My work involved a
lot of building electronic and mechanical assemblies for DoD and aerospace
systems, and U.S. Navy inspectors were on-site to perform inspections on
everything I built...
 "Lockheed Martin and Penn State University have
developed an innovative antenna technology that is now under consideration for use
in next-gen GPS satellite payloads. They worked together to dramatically improve
the design of the conventional short
backfire antenna
by significantly increasing its aperture efficiency (gain), without affecting
its rugged and compact design, nor increasing its weight. This type of antenna
was originally developed in the 1960s at the Air Force Research Lab. Since then,
it has been used in many ground, sea and space applications, perhaps most
notably in the communication between NASA and the Apollo spacecraft, and it is
still in use on terrestrial communication antenna towers today..."
 Axiom 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!...
Thursday 24
 If you believe this 1953 advertisement in
Radio & Television News magazine, engineering at Bell Telephone Laboratories
invented the
wire-wrapping process. A little additional research shows that indeed it was
a Bell Telephone engineering team led by Arthur Keller who developed the method
and a wire-wrap tool to do the job. Field technician needed a fast, durable, and
reliable electrical connection when making hundreds or thousands of splices at
relay stations and while up on telephone poles. The key to making a good
wire-wrap connection is sharp corners on the wrapping post so that the corner
pushes through any oxidation or contaminant on the bare wire. NASA and the DoD
have exacting workmanship standards to guarantee...
 "Researchers at Intel and UC Berkeley are
working on a new transistor technology based on
magnetoelectric and spin-orbit materials that offers several
advantages over CMOS. According to Ramamoorthy Ramesh, a UC Berkeley professor
of Materials Science and Engineering, projections show that the explosion of
sensors and computing devices that will constitute the Internet of Things (IoT)
- numbering perhaps in the billions - could lead to such an increase in energy
demand that electronic devices could comprise as much as 20% of all energy
consumed. That's a drastic increase compared with 4-5% today. And just that is
enough to justify the search for a new, more energy efficient computing
architecture. However, a second challenge has to do with computationally
intensive..."
 In the light of recent urgent news about
an unexplained, sudden uptick in the migration rate of Earth's magnetic field, this
chapter on magnetism from the U.S. Navy's training course is especially interesting.
Figure 83 is a snapshot of the
magnetic variation (aka declination) isogonic lines as they were around
1945, when this manual was published. I say "snapshot" because those lines are
constantly changing. Magnetic declination (variation) is the difference between
magnetic north (or south) pole as indicated by a magnetic compass, and the true
geographic north (or south) pole around which the earth rotates. Magnetism
records locked up in rocks and plants, combined with records kept by ancient
mariners who compared compass readings with those obtained from sextants provide
the data. As you can see in the animation posted on Wikipedia, the magnetic
declination changes significantly. The advent of satellite-based navigation...
 This new
hybrid detector design from the folks at Sandia National Laboratory
is a combination of a high dynamic range linear amplifier and a logarithmic amplifier.
"Many applications require detection of both very small and very large signals.
High-gain detector amplifiers provide low noise, but are easily swamped by large
signals. Logarithmic amplifiers provide a wide range, but contribute to distortion.
Auto-ranging circuits lose data when switching between low and high gain. Detecting
over a wide range is especially challenging for modern, low-supply-voltage integrated
circuits. Transimpedance amplifiers can be used to convert an input current
signal into an output voltage signal. This is useful for processing current
signals generated by photodetectors..."
 "Chinese officials on Friday released more
imagery from the Chang'e 4 mission, a robotic lander and rover exploring the far
side of the moon after a successful landing January 3. The imagery released Friday
included a new view of China's
Yutu 2 rover captured by a camera aboard the Chang'e 4 lander,
a panoramic vista of the austere lunar landscape, and a sped-up video showing the
spacecraft's final descent to the moon from the view of the probe's descent camera.
Chang'e 4 was set to enter a low-power sleep mode Sunday as the sun set on the
landing site in Von Karman crater, a bowl-shaped depression measuring around 110
miles in diameter located in the southern hemisphere of the far side of the
moon..."
 Centric RF is a company offering from stock
various RF and
Microwave coaxial components, including attenuators, adapters, cable assemblies,
terminations, power dividers, and more. We believe in offering high performance
parts from stock at a reasonable cost. Frequency ranges of 0-110 GHz at power
levels from 0.5-500 watts are available off the sheld. Order today, ship today!
Centric RF is currently looking for vendors to partner with them. Please visit
Centric RF today...
Wednesday 23
 Other than for DC power supply applications
where you might need to implement current steering and/or redundancy schemes, there
are not too many times when a combination of transistors and/or diodes would be
used for logic circuitry in place of integrated circuits. That has not always been
the case. Early packaged IC blocks were expensive compared to discrete components,
so both hobbyists and professional designers often used a combination of technologies.
Resistor-transistor logic (RTL) and diode-transistor logic (DTL), emitter-coupled,
logic (ECL), and other variations were covered in a 1969 Radio-Electronics
article by titled "How IC's Work: Integrated Circuit Logic Families." This piece
provides a little more insight into the construction of those families and shows
how to construct logical combinations using diodes and NOR gates...
 The January issue of NASA Tech Briefs
magazine has an article titled "3D Printing: The Impact of Post-Processing," which discusses
the common misconception that incorporating 3D printing into a manufacturing process
is a guaranteed time and money saver. In reality, most 3D components require some
post-processing that can be very labor-intensive, which can wipe out any anticipated
savings. Fine modeling skills are often needed for those tasks, meaning good jobs
for people with modeling building skills. A couple months ago Glenn Robb, of
Antenna Test Lab,
published a couple articles on his efforts to 3D-print feed horns.
Post-processing included smoothing the printed layer ridges and painting the
surfaces with metallic paint. 3D printing in most cases still has a long way to
go before the ultimate finished-product output is realized...
 "The prospective peacetime applications of
radar are beyond prediction. Among the more obvious are those relating to navigational
aids and collision prevention. In some of these uses it will be a case of radar
replacing radio." That was 74 years ago when real-world radar was still in its infancy
that futurists were prognosticating on potential uses for radar beyond its use for
the war effort. Just a month after the April issue of QST was published, the war
in Europe ended (V-E Day, May 8, 1945), and four months after that the war in Japan
ended (V-J Day, August 14, 1945). Editor DeSoto would be utterly amazed at just
how widespread radar is today. It not only surveys the airways for commercial,
military, and civilian craft, but also for marine and land traffic, orbiting
spacecraft, and planetary science...
 Rohde & Schwarz is running a new promotion
called "Buy a Scope – Get a Probe!"
Purchase an R&S®RTM3000 or an R&S®RTA4000 and get a probe for free. High-quality
measurements require the right probing solution. With this promotion, customers
get a free oscilloscope probe if they buy an R&S®RTM3000 or R&S®RTA4000 with the
R&S®RTM‑PK1 or R&S®RTA-PK1 application bundle. They can choose one of six
different probes that are specially designed for specific applications. Their
individual parameters are optimized for digital protocol decoding applications,
power integrity analysis or power electronics measurements...
 "To better protect the global electronics
and IT supply chain, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is looking at
solutions that can track and authenticate computer hardware components as they are
manufactured, shipped and assembled around the globe.
Resold and recycled components
degrade the reliability and security of many systems used by the Defense
Department. The Pentagon has known about the problem for decades and in 2012
issued comprehensive guidance to DOD program and procurement managers to crack
down on the problem, with a particular emphasis on electronic parts and
components. However, the increasingly complex nature of the global supply chain
means that even primary government contractors have difficulty..."
 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
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!
Tuesday 22
 "Scientists at the Harvard A. Paulson School
of Engineering and Applied Sciences have created a new way to store light in an
integrated circuit. The integrated photonics platform also allows them to electronically
control the frequency of thelight being stored.
Scientists believe their new system could have a vast array of applications
including microwave photonics, photonic quantum information processing, and
optical signal processing, to name a few. Scientists have long hoped to harness
microwave signals for such work. Unfortunately, they had always proven to
interact far too weakly with electrons to prove effective. That's what led
scientists to try a different method, using lithium niobate. This is a material
with powerful electro-optic properties..."
 Sam Benzacar, of RF and microwave filter
company Anatech Electronics, has penned this piece titled, "5G
Fact and Fiction" as part of his January newsletter. Sam keeps abreast of
all the latest news in the wireless world, which is not unexpected given his
company's long-time involvement in helping others make their products play well
together in an increasingly crowded electromagnetic spectrum - both licensed and
unlicensed. The term "5G" is still a relatively fuzzy entity whose definition is
still being constructed by the telecom industry's engineers, marketeers, and the
news media. Also included are a few other topics including Google's high power
automotive radar, 5G at this year's CES show, Ford's cellular
vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) scheme, and the Bluetooth SIG push for IoT...
 On January 29, at 11 am ET, Rohde & Schwarz's
Reiner Stuhlfauth will present a free webinar titled, "How LTE-A Pro Paves the Way for 5G New Radio."
This webinar provides a technology dive into the LTE-A Pro features, showing the
flexibility and variety of LTE use cases and service scenarios. The features are
presented from the perspective of the 5G service triangle - supporting higher
data rates including LAA, enhanced CA, LWA, MUST and SC-PTM, massive machine
type communications including LTE-M and NB-IoT enhancements and ultra-reliable
low latency services such as C-V2X. LTE-A Pro will play an essential role in 5G
deployments. For example, option 3, the non-standalone (NSA) mode...
 January's
first full moon, known as the Wolf Moon, is the biggest and brightest full moon
of 2019 - a 'supermoon'
in modern parlance. It was also a long duration (1 hour and 2 minutes) total
lunar eclipse. The technical name for this special combination is the
perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. The moon reached fullness at
00:17 EST and perigee at 14:59 EST on the 21st. The moon is full when the earth
is between the sun and the moon, and the moon is new when it is between the sun
and Earth. The picture below was taken out of my back door, at around 9:30 pm
local time (Erie, PA), at the beginning of the penumbral phase of the eclipse
(not apparent in the photo). The outside temperature was about 5 °F and the wind
was howling pretty good - quite appropriate for this Wolf Moon...
 "In the 1970s, at the height of the Cold
War, American military planners began to worry about the threat to U.S. warplanes
posed by new, radar-guided missile defenses in the Soviet Union and other nations.
In response, engineers at places like U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin's famous
Skunk Works stepped up work on stealth technology that could shield aircraft from
the prying eyes of enemy radar. This advantage is now under threat. In November
2018, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, China's biggest defense electronics
company, unveiled a prototype radar that it claims can detect stealth aircraft in
flight. The radar uses some of the exotic phenomena of
quantum physics
to help reveal planes' locations..."
Since 1961, MECA
Electronics has designed and manufactured an extensive line of
RF & microwave
components for in-building, satellite, radar, radio, telemetry, mobile radio,
aviation & ATC. Attenuators, directional & hybrid couplers, isolators &
circulators, power dividers & combiners, loads, DC blocks, bias-Ts and
adapters & cables. MECA has long been the 'backbone' of high performance wired
and air-interfaced networks such as in-building applications, satellite
communications, radar, radio communications, telemetry applications, mobile
radio, aviation & air traffic communications...
Monday 21
 Here is a little technology humor to help
easy you into the week ahead. Ironically, the themes of the three
comics (by three separate artists) represent an evolution of the electronics
realm over the past few decades, although almost certainly not planned by the
editors. The first has to do with a couple TV servicemen installing an antenna,
the second is of an out-of-work TV repairman, and the third is what might be
considered a drone by today's norms. There is a huge list of other comics at the
bottom of the page...
 If the history of radar intrigues you, then
you will not want to miss this article titled "Radar:
The Silent Weapon of World War 2," from the October 1945 edition of
Radio News. There are a couple dozen photos of early radar equipment
installations on land, ships, and aircraft. Radar pioneers Dr. A. Hoyt Taylor,
Chief Consultant and Chief Coordinator of Electronics at Naval Research
Laboratory, and Leo C. Young are pictured reminiscing over the "scope" of
radar's history beside the first radar set at the Research Laboratory. In 1922,
while experimenting with communications equipment for the Navy, the two men made
the initial discovery of distortion in radio reception caused by the intrusion
of objects between the transmitter and receiver. Working from this discovery,
they and a number of associates made great strides forward into the vast sphere
of scientific fields covered by the word "radar" today. Do you see the name(s)
of anyone you know?...
 There is no shortage of vintage electronics
aficionados who love nothing more than to spend countless hours - and sometimes
dollars - restoring and preserving the memory of the products that appeared along
the evolutionary path leading to modern electronics. David Goodsell documented his
Heathkit EC-1 Analog Computer project on the Nuts &
Volts magazine website. He, as do many hobbyists, even stuffed the
cardboard cases of the original electrolytic capacitors with modern replacements
in order to retain the authentic look. Prices on eBay for some of the vintage
equipment has gotten pretty outrageous. He paid more than $400 for this
example...
 RF Superstore, an RF and microwave component
supply outlet created by Pasternack founder Murray Pasternack, announces the
V60-282 Transmitter and
V60-283
Receiver. They are advanced, highly integrated V-band waveguide modules that
meet the demanding high-speed, low-cost production requirements of today's
developers. These silicon-based 60 GHz waveguide modules utilize the
license-free V-band millimeter wave spectrum of 57 GHz to 64 GHz. Low Cost, Easy
Integration The cost-effective V60-282 and V60-283 silicon germanium (SiGe)
chip-based waveguide modules are easy to integrate. Small and lightweight, the
waveguide modules feature a unique chip to waveguide transition. This radio
transmitter operates in the license-free frequency range of 57 to 64 GHz...
 "Despite limited space within a single
mobile device, one group of researchers has identified a new dual antenna design
that could allow phones to access both LTE and 5G networks. With any transition
between old and new generations of technology, there are compatibility issues.
The transition to 5G wireless communication is no different. One hurdle to be
overcome in this transition involves incorporating, within a single phone, new
antennas that can support the millimeter wavelengths of signals on 5G networks
alongside existing antennas that support the longer wavelengths transmitted by
LTE networks. In a new proof-of-concept study..."
 Rohde & 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...
Sunday 20
 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 Lamarr or the Bikini
Atoll, respectively. Enjoy...
These archive pages are provided in order to make it easier for you to find items
that you remember seeing on the RF Cafe homepage. Of course probably the easiest
way to find anything on the website is to use the "Search
RF Cafe" box at the top of every page.
About RF Cafe.
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