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4 of the August 2021 homepage archives. Tuesday the 31st
 It has been a while since posting on of these
Radio Data Sheet 333 that often appeared in vintage electronics magazines like
Radio-Craft. This one is for
General Electric Radio Models 100, 101, 103 and 105. The RadioMuseum.org website
has a very nicely restored General Electric Model 103 radio. Per their description:
"The General Electric 103 is an AC/DC operated 5 tube BC band receiver. The BC band
frequency tuning range is 540-1600 kHz. Has built-in loop antenna with provisions
for connecting an external antenna. The following models use the same schematic
and chassis but have different cabinets..." A few Model 100 versions show up on
eBay in case you might be interested in acquiring one...
 Exodus Advanced Communications introduces
the
AMP2123P-4KW, a robust 400-1000 MHz, 4 kW Pulse Amplifier for Pulse/HIRF,
EMC/EMI Mil-Std 461/464 and Radar applications. Up to 100 μsec pulse widths,
up to 6% duty cycles with a minimum of 66 dB gain. Providing superb Pulse fidelity,
excellent rise/fall times, monitoring parameters for Forward/Reflected power in
Watts & dBm, VSWR, voltage, current, temperature sensing for unprecedented reliability
and ruggedness, and local LCD & remote flexible interfaces, all in a compact
10U chassis 17.5"H x 19"W x 22"D nominally, weighing in at 45 kg 45 kg...
 The U.S. military is racing to deploy new
weapons to tackle the threat from small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). That means
countering several attackers simultaneously, and
microwave-based electromagnetic weapons are considered the obvious choice. Laser
weapons may look like a solution: precise, speed-of-light-operation, and an infinite
magazine, but they have a problem with dwell time. This is the amount of time necessary
to hold the laser on target to bring it down. A typical tactical laser can take
as long as five seconds. If a laser weapon only can acquire small drones from two
kilometers away, then a few dozen cheap drones will overrun the million-dollar laser.
Microwaves work differently. A burst of high-intensity microwaves will overload
electronics, causing many failures and knocking a drone out of the sky instantly.
The microwave weapon also can swat whole unmanned swarms at once...
 An extraterrestrial threat to existence,
be it an impending asteroid strike or an intelligent being's announced intention
to do harm to the earth, would probably be required these days to invoke the sort
of voluntary personal sacrifices of today's average citizen that was exhibited in
the enthusiastic, patriotic response by Americans to the
'V' for Victory campaign during World War II. You no doubt have seen pictures
of kids pulling wagons filled with metal scrap, rubber tires, and glass milk and
pop bottles collected for the war effort, and pickup trucks piled high with sections
of pipe, car parts, and retired furnaces. Resources were relatively scarce at the
time, and material was being consumed very quickly in the effort to beat back the
aggressive advances of Axis forces throughout Europe, northern Africa, and the South
Pacific. This article from a 1942 edition of Radio Retailing Today encouraged
radio repairmen to check with customers during service calls...
 Modelithics is pleased to announce the release
of
version 21.6 of the COMPLETE+3D Library for use with Ansys HFSS. The library
contains nearly 350 highly scalable Microwave Global Models™ for capacitor, inductor,
and resistor families from many popular vendors, plus Modelithics' collection of
nearly 500 3D geometry models for inductors, capacitors, filters, packages, and
connectors. This library now represents a total of more than 24,000 individual components
with circuit and 3D electromagnetic (EM) models. Version 21.6 adds 6 new part value-,
pad-, and substrate scalable Global Models for circuit models and 88 new full wave
3D EM models. New 3D EM models are available for 5 ATC capacitor series, 13 AVX
capacitor series, 18 Barry Industries packages, Johanson's R05L and R07S capacitor
series, 5 Kemet capacitor series, 11 Murata capacitor series...
 PCBONLINE supplies complex rigid and flex-rigid
printed circuit
boards (PCBs)，and one-stop production with maximum flexibility ranging from
prototype sample to mass production. Rigid-flex, HDI, multilayer, IC-loadboard,
LCP 5G optical module, ceramic, MCPCB. Materials include Rogers, Taconic, Arlon,
Isola, Bergquist, Kapton, Panasonic, and more. After more than 15 years of continuous
efforts, PCBONLINE constantly updates our equipment, improves our technology, and
serves you with the highest quality. Cost and delivery quotations online without
the need for multiple phone call and/or e-mails.
Monday the 30th
 If you have seen many of the articles I post
from vintage electronics magazines, you know I often compare prices from the magazine's
era to today's prices. The online Inflation Calculator from the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) is as good as any, so it is used. This RCA advertisement in a 1946
issue of Radio-Craft magazine boasts of how drastically the
cost of
vacuum tubes has come down since 1923. It claims a $9 tube in 1923 costs a mere
80¢ in 1946; that is about 1/11th of the original price. Prior to around 1965, inflation
was very low, so the inflation-adjusted price for the $9.00 tube would be $9.80
in 1946 - a full 23 years later (a 9% increase, per the BLS). Therefore, the 80¢
price is an even better deal. Let us compare that to what a $9 item 23 years ago
(1998) from today (2021) would cost now. Per the BLS Inflation Calculator, it would
take $15.06 in 2021...
 The following article entitled "Circuit
Design: Analog Isolation Techniques for Your Next Circuit Layout" was prepared
for and submitted to RF Cafe by its author, Suresh Patel, of MerMar Electronics.
He wrote asking whether he could provide an article on an aspect of PCB design relevant
to RF Cafe visitors, so I suggested addressing the issue of placing digital and
analog / RF signals on a common substrate. Below is his submission which briefly
discusses that as well as power supply isolation. At MerMar Electronics, we have
a dedicated team of employees for manufacturing aerospace printed circuit boards
in California, USA. With 40 years of experience and an advancement in circuit board
technology, our team provides excellent DFM assistant, expert review of printed
circuit board design. We have an in-house engineering team & make sure the final
deliverables of aerospace PCB assembly are robust, secure and reliable...
 "The terahertz band promises multiple benefits
due to its potential for high-speed, wideband communications, but system designers
are hampered by a lack of basic electronic building-block components such as amplifiers,
switches, and multiplexers / demultiplexers. Among the reason for this component
'gap' is that these terahertz waves (generally considered as being between 100 GHz
and 10 THz, corresponding to wavelengths between 3 mm and 30 µm)
reside in the challenging spectrum zone between the more conventional RF frequencies
ranging into the tens of gigahertz and the optical world with its nanometer wavelengths.
This component shortfall is known to researchers who are striving to leverage silicon
and its related design and facilitation technology into optical physics to provide
useful THz-range components..."
 Some of us like seeing the old advertisements
from vintage era magazines. This
Taylor Tubes advertisement from the February 1941 edition of the ARRL's
QST magazine is a prime example. Vacuum tubes had a high degree of automation
for stamping out internal components, forming the glass shells and evacuation of
the air, but they still required human production line operators for assembling
the components prior to being encapsulated and sealed. National Instruments hadn't
invented LabVIEW yet to run the testing station, so people manually placed the tubes
into a board full of sockets for burn-in and testing...
 Fellow
USAF radar technician Charles Pritt
checked in with a plethora of info and photographs about his time in the 3rd MOB
(aka 3CCG or 3rd Combat Communications Group). Says Charles: "I attended Technical
training at Keesler, from April to September 1973, for Radar Repair. My first assignment
after Technical school was to the 1837th E&I squadron at Yokota AB, Japan starting
in October 1973. Since we were not supporting a daily operational radar system and
the only time we worked on Radar was when we went on TDY, we usually just sat around
the office, talking, drinking coffee or studying radar books for our promotions..."
 "On
3 September 1821, Faraday observed the circular rotation of a wire as it was
attracted and repelled by magnetic poles. He sketched in his notebook a clockwise
rotation around the south pole of the magnet, and the reverse around the north pole.
'Very satisfactory,' he wrote in his entry on the day's experiment, 'but make more
sensible apparatus.' The next day, he got it right. He took a deep glass vessel,
secured a magnet upright in it with some wax, and then filled the vessel with mercury
until the magnetic pole was just above the surface. He floated a stiff wire in the
mercury and connected the apparatus to a battery. When a current ran through the
circuit, it generated a circular magnetic field around the wire. (be sure to watch
the video)..."
Sunday the 29th
 This
Radio
Theme crossword puzzle for August 29th, 2021, contains only words and clues
related to engineering, mathematics, chemistry, physics, and other technical words.
As always, this crossword contains no names of politicians, mountain ranges, exotic
foods or plants, movie stars, or anything of the sort unless it/he/she is related
to this puzzle's technology theme (e.g., Hedy Lamarr or the Bikini Atoll). The technically
inclined cruciverbalists amongst us will appreciate the effort. Enjoy!
 LadyBug Technologies was founded in 2004
by two microwave engineers with a passion for quality microwave test instrumentation.
Our employees offer many years experience in the design and manufacture of the worlds
best vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, power meters and associated components.
The management team has additional experience in optical power testing, military
radar and a variety of programming environments including LabVIEW, VEE and other
languages often used in programmatic systems. Extensive experience in a broad spectrum
of demanding measurement applications. You can be assured that our Power Sensors
are designed, built, tested and calibrated without compromise.
Tuesday the 27th
 Transistors always have been and always will
be prone to damage or destruction if operated at temperatures higher than their
designed ranges. Modern foundry processes have made it possible for greater heat
tolerances for a given transistor size, but care must be taken during circuit design
to assure that the devices will under normal ambient conditions not exceed their
intended temperature range. Often a
heatsink is required in order to use a transistor at its full rated temperature,
and sometimes extensive measures are needed to keep the heatsink within an acceptable
maximum temperature. Take a look inside your computer for an example of how far
heatsink technology has come. The liquid-cooled (desktop) and heat pipe-cooled (laptop)
schemes are amazingly efficient and capable of dissipating heat from the CPU package,
which would otherwise fry in milliseconds without it...
 "A highly efficient way to convert optical
photons into
terahertz radiation has been developed by researchers in the US and Germany.
The team, led by Mona Jarrahi at the University of California, Los Angeles, showed
how the electric fields associated with semiconductor 'surface states' can be used
to create electrons that emit radiation in the terahertz range. Terahertz radiation
falls between infrared light and microwaves in the electromagnetic spectrum and
has a range of potential applications including security scanning and medical imaging.
However, creating practical sources of terahertz radiation is challenging..."
 Slide rules have come in different formats
over the years. The most familiar is probably the 3-part model with a fixed outer
frame and a sliding inner rod, and a sliding clear window with a reticle line etched
into it for aligning numbers (the cursor). While far from being any type of "collection,"
I do have a couple nicely preserved models. The ones from Keufel & Esser (K&E)
are at the top of the table below. The Beginner's slide rule model is very basic
with graduations on one side and some conversions on the other. The best of all
is the Pickett N600-ES
Log-Log that is in new condition and actually still has the box, leather case,
instructions and certificate. The Pickett N600-ES is the slide rule model that went
to the moon* with the Apollo astronauts (not the one I own, of course)...
 Ribbon cable has been around and familiar
to most of us for as long as we can remember. The advent of personal computers in
the 1980s brought ribbon cable into the homes of millions of people in the form
of the interface to disk drives. In 1957, however, when this news story appeared
in Popular Electronics, ribbon cable, known initially as "tape cable,"
was just being introduced to industry. There was also a story on what might have
been the first flat panel display screen, the "Sylvatron,"
photoconductance device developed by Sylvania. Commercial versions for TV sets were
at least four or five years away (more like three decades away). Finally, we have
a report on bouncing radio signals off the moon for calibrating newly commissioned
satellite tracking stations, which, at the time the story was written, was waiting
for the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, to launch...
 It was a lot of work, but I finally finished
a version of the "RF & Electronics Schematic & Block Diagram Symbols" that
works well with Microsoft Office™ programs Word™, Excel™, and Power Point™.
This is an equivalent of the extensive set of amplifier, mixer, filter, switch,
connector, waveguide, digital, analog, antenna, and other commonly used symbols
for system block diagrams and schematics created for Visio™. Each of the 1,000 or
so symbols was exported individually from Visio in the EMF file format, then imported
into Word on a Drawing Canvas. The EMF format allows an image to be scaled up or
down without becoming pixelated, so all the shapes can be resized in a document
and still look good. The imported symbols can also be UnGrouped into their original
constituent parts for editing. Check them out!
 Withwave manufactures an extensive line of
metrology quality coaxial test cable assemblies, connectors (wave-, end-, vertical-launch,
board edge, panel mount), calibration kits (SOLT), a
fully automated
4-port vector network analyzer (VNA) calibrator, between- and in-series connector
adaptors, attenuators, terminations, DC blocks, torque wrenches, test probes &
probe positioner. Special test fixtures for calibration and multicoax cable assemblies.
Frequency ranges from DC through 110 GHz. Please contact Withwave today to
see how they can help your project succeed.
Tuesday the 26th
 Until seeing this Bell Telephone Laboratories
promotion in a 1960 issue of Electronics World magazine, I never considered
that programming an autonomous missile for long distances and long flight times
in the days before GPS required compensation for the Earth's rotation. Also, even
though an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) would spend a relatively small
amount of time in the atmosphere during boost and reentry / terminal phases, wind
effects would also need to be factored in to the onboard
inertial guidance system's navigation program. Bell Labs was evidently tasked
to design a system which could launch from the U.S. and fly to a target 6,000 miles
away, and hit a designated spot closely enough to do the intended damage. According
to the online great circle distance calculator, the trajectory from Lincoln, Nebraska,
to Moscow, Russia (USSR in 1960) is 5,258 miles, so it is reasonable to assume the
chore had similar start / stop locations in mind...
 "Saga
University in Japan has reported work towards
white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) based on rare-earth (RE)-doped gallium oxide
(Ga2O3). The researchers adopted a vertical integration strategy with Ga2O3 layers
doped with thulium (Tm), europium (Eu) and erbium (Er) grown on top of each other.
The team comments that 'films grown by lateral integration are deposited side-by-side,
while the co-doping of multiple rare earth elements into the same host will unavoidably
degrade the crystal quality and, thus, induce undesirable threshold voltage and
luminous efficiency.' The team adds: 'On the other hand, compared with phosphor-assisted
WLEDs, direct white light emissions are achieved from single-material-based LEDs..."
 Precision Ruggedized VNA Cables from ConductRF
offer RF Engineers great alternatives to costly OEM cables that are now past their
best days. We have standards for applications at 18 GHz, 27 GHz, 40 GHz,
50 GHz & 70 GHz. Our torque resistant connector heads and phase stable
constructions ensure great performance for many tests to come. ConductRF VNA series
provides customers with reliable ruggedized solutions for Lab and Production Vector
Network Analyzer testing. With options for 18 GHz, 26.5 GHz, & 40 GHz,
these cables offer cost leading alternatives to original OEM VNA cable solutions.
VNA Series cables are enhanced with a stainless steel spiral armor, providing protection
from excess bending and crushing forces. A black non-conductive outer cover completes
the product. These cables are phase stable during flexing and have an operating
life cycle...
 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. Since the conception of WFT, we have introduced products that have
been purchased by a wide range of customers, from hobbyists to education facilities
to government agencies. Worldwide customers include Europe, Australia, and Asia.
Please contact Windfreak today to learn how they might help you with your current
project.
 Paul Rockwell wrote a 4-part series on station
design for
long
distance communications (DX) that covered antenna selection and siting (Part
I), economics and construction (Part II), station configuration and receiver topics
(Part III), and propagation quirks and operating tips (Part IV). This first part
goes into some of the gory detail of surrounding terrain considerations and necessary
antenna launch angles, complete with equations. Most of the work is based on multi-element
horizontal Yagi antennas. The term "forezone," of which a formal definition is not
locatable in a Google search (no reference to it at all), is used throughout the
series, and refers to the radiation area in the forward direction...
 I was in the USAF in 1979 when the
U.S. embassy in Iran
was captured and its personnel were held hostage. Some members (not I - too new)
of the 5th Combat Communications Group deployed to set up forward communications
in Saudi Arabia. We all got a briefing on how to destroy equipment if forced to
abandon it due to enemy action. Page IV of the recently posted WWII era
Keyer TG-10
tech manual contains a Destruction Notice in case of imminent capture. The military
has been doing this for over half a century. Why, then, did they just abandon
$billions$ worth of state-of-the-art aircraft, land vehicles, communications
equipment, and armament in the hands of Al Qaeda and the Taliban? What the &*#%^!
is going on here?
 This assortment of custom-designed themes
by RF Cafe includes T-Shirts, Mouse Pads, Clocks, Tote Bags, Coffee Mugs and Steins,
Purses, Sweatshirts, and Baseball Caps. Choose from amazingly clever "We Are the World's
Matchmakers" Smith chart design or the "Engineer's Troubleshooting Flow Chart."
My "Matchmaker's" design has been ripped off by other people and used on their products,
so please be sure to purchase only official RF Cafe gear. My markup is only a paltry
50¢ per item - Cafe Press gets the rest of your purchase price. These would make
excellent gifts for husbands, wives, kids, significant others, and for handing out
at company events or as rewards for excellent service. It's a great way to help
support RF Cafe. Thanks...
 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 (FR-4, Rogers,
flexible, rigid), Geographical location (U.S., China), kinds of services (manufacturing,
fabrication, assembly, prototype), and more. Fast turn-around on quotations for
PCB fabrication and assembly.
Tuesday the 25th
 Often I have said I would like to have been
born three decades earlier to have lived during the
golden era of radio and TV, and owned a local service shop. Having arrived on
Earth in 1958, by the time I was old enough to consider electronic servicing as
a career, the industry was in full transition mode to solid state electronics. I
remember the TV repair guy working in our living room with tools and test equipment
spread out on the floor. Growing up in a lower middle class (or maybe it was an
upper lower class) household, our television and radios (both in the house and in
the old 6-cylinder Rambler) used vacuum tubes until sometime in the 1970s. Transistorized
stuff was for the rich folk in the neighborhood over. Upon enlisting in the USAF
in 1978, the air traffic control radar I worked on used vacuum tubes for the primary
airport surveillance (ASR) radar and for the precision approach radar (PAR)...
 "Nobody really understands why cuprates -
highly-doped copper oxides - are
high-temperature superconductors, and researchers in the UK and the Netherlands
have now discovered that the materials don't conform to conventional theories in
their metallic state either. Instead, the researchers suggest that cuprates may
contain a mix of 'strange' and conventional metallic components, but this only poses
a further question: which component is responsible for the cuprates' superconductivity?
Superconductivity occurs when a material loses all resistance to an electrical current
below a certain critical temperature. Conventional theory states that at this critical
temperature, the electrons in the material overcome their mutual repulsion..."
 Most
professional engineers and technicians will never have the need to calculate the
capacitance, inductance, or impedance of a
coaxial cable since they are
usually designing systems using well-defined components that are manufactured to
exacting specifications. Students, hobbyists (Ham radio operators), and research
types are probably the ones most likely to actually plug numbers into a calculator.
For those people, I present these equations. Be very careful to realize that at
frequencies far from DC, factors like skin depth and effective inner and outer conductor
diameters may be significantly different than the physical measured values, and
that can significantly affect real world results. Therefore, be sure to consult
manufacturers' published data before making a final decision. I leave it to other
sources to provide the complex equations needed to precisely model coaxial cables...
 Aegis Power Systems is a leading supplier
of AC-DC and
DC-DC power supplies for custom and special applications. Aegis has been designing
and building highly reliable custom power supplies since 1995. They offer a complete
line of switch mode power supplies and power converters for a variety of markets
including defense, industrial, aircraft, VME, and telecom. Supports military, aircraft,
EV, telecom, and embedded computing applications. Design and manufacture of custom
power supply solutions to meet each customer's exacting specifications. Please visit
Aegis Power Systems today.
 Skyworks is pleased to introduce its
L, S and C Band Ceramic RF Band Pass Filters for GPS, TCAS, Portable Transceiver,
Homeland Security Radio, 5G, IOT and medical-based systems. These products are in
production and loose samples are currently available. Skyworks offers a family of
ultra-small profile filters available in surface-mount technology (SMT) designs.
We can design and manufacture filters from 200 MHz up to 8 GHz, with high power
handling ability up to 10 W, continuous wave (CW). We also offer rapid response
times on all filter design requirements. The small-profile ceramic filter designs
offer customers the option to go with a lighter weight, and reduced X-Y-Z dimensions
as solutions to their requirements. These ceramic filter solutions allow design
flexibility beyond traditional ceramic styles...
 Triboelectric charging is the phenomenon
whereby adhesion forces between two surfaces causes the dislodging of electrons
from nearby atoms, with those electrons being attracted to the material with the
highest positive potential as the interface attempts to neutralize itself. Relative
contact motion (friction; e.g., walking across a carpet) is most often the cause
of triboelectric charge transfer, but simply pulling apart two dissimilar surfaces
can also be the mechanism (e.g., pulling a wool sweater off or lifting a polymer
type fabric blanket away from a bed sheet) for charge transfer. Electrostatic discharge
(ESD), a manifestation of triboelectric charging, can damage or destroy electronic
components...
 With more than 1000
custom-built symbols, this has got to be the most comprehensive set of
Visio Symbols available for RF, analog, and digital system and schematic
drawings! Every object has been built to fit proportionally on the provided
A-, B- and C-size drawing page templates (or can use your own). Symbols are provided
for equipment racks and test equipment, system block diagrams, conceptual drawings,
and schematics. Unlike previous versions, these are NOT Stencils, but instead are
all contained on tabbed pages within a single Visio document. That puts everything
in front of you in its full glory. Just copy and paste what you need on your drawing.
The file format is XML so everything plays nicely with Visio 2013 and later...
 Empower RF Systems is a global leader in
power amplifier solutions. Empower RF Systems is an established and technologically
superior supplier of high power solid state RF & microwave amplifiers. Our offerings
include modules, intelligent rack-mount amplifiers, and multi-function RF Power
Amplifier solutions to 6 GHz in broadband and band specific designs. Output
power combinations range from tens of watts to multi-kilowatts. Unprecedented size,
weight and power reduction of our amplifiers is superior to anything in the market
at similar frequencies and power levels.
Tuesday the 24th
 I though this editorial from the September
1960 issue of Electronics World magazine was going to be a eulogy to some
dearly departed electronics industry titan, but thankfully it was a changing-of-the-guard
announcement. Those of you who have followed the many articles scanned and posted
from my copies of vintage Electronics World are familiar with the name
Oliver Read (Dr.) as having been the publication's editor for many years (22 in
fact, per the article). W.A. Stockton took over Dr. Reads editorial duties
when he retired from the position. Dr. Read was a ham radio enthusiast and
formerly worked as a designer of amateur radio build-it-yourself kits. He was also
one of the few people permitted to witness and report on the Bikini Atoll atom bomb
test...
 Contrary to what the president and others
have said, the Pfizer mRNA shot was NOT approved
by the FDA yesterday. The FDA issued a press release that said it was approved but
all they did was to revise the Emergency Use Authorization
(EUA). From page 2 of letter to Pfizer: "On August 23, 2021, having
concluded that revising this EUA is appropriate to protect the public health or
safety under section 564(g)(2) of the Act, FDA is reissuing the August 12, 2021
letter of authorization in its entirety with revisions incorporated to
clarify that the EUA will remain in place for the
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for the previously-authorized indication
and uses, and to authorize use of COMIRNATY (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) under this
EUA for certain uses that are not included in the approved BLA." Page 12: " This
product has not been approved or licensed by FDA,
but has been authorized for emergency use by FDA, under an EUA to prevent Coronavirus
Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for use in individuals 12 years of age and older."
 Aside from the storyline, one notable aspect
of this installment of "Carl &
Jerry" is one of the illustrations used in it. Jeff Duntemann (K7JPD), himself
a sci-fi and technical book author, wrote a piece on the evolution of John T. Frye's
Carl & Jerry series in Popular Electronics, and in it he commented on the changes
in drawing styles and character appearances over the many years that Frye inked
his illustrations. I read Duntemann's article a while ago, but remembered the picture
of Norma and Carl's dog Roscoe when I saw it again just now. The format obviously
departs from the vast majority of Frye's typical works due to its distinctly cartoonish
look. As for the plot of the story...
 "For many people, the phrase "Internet of Things"
probably brings to mind either smart city efforts such as streetlamps with traffic
cameras and air-quality sensors, or connected devices in their own homes. And a
very natural question is, why would you ever want to use satellites to connect any
of those devices? The answer is - you don't. It doesn't make sense to try. But the
satellite-based IoT network industry is building steam nonetheless. Although in
many ways it's like satellite broadband - itself a last resort for people who have
no other connectivity options - IoT networks and satellites are, in some ways, a
better match for each other. The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, for
example, recently announced that its terrestrial IoT technology, mioty (massive
IoT), could be easily used by satellites..."
 The Source Today logistics website
posted their "2021
Top 50 Electronics Distributors List." The date says May 26, but it just appeared.
You will need to download a PDF file for full details about methodology, but as
for ranking, Arrow Electronics took top honors. Most of the higher ranking companies
will be familiar to anyone in the electronics field for a decade or more. Avnet
and Future Electronics followed, and Digi-Key, my personal favorite, finished at
#4 - not bad. Richardson Electronics is in the middle at #25, and bringing up the
rear is Advantage Electric Supply. Evidently there was no list in 2020 due to Wuhan
Flu issues, but the 2019 Top Electronics Distributors List had the top 3 in the
same order. Digi-Key moved up by one this year.
 Planar Monolithic Industries (PMI) introduces
a 6.0 to 18.0 GHz low noise amplifier with a 2 dB noise figure, model
number
PE2-19-6G18G-1R6-16-12-SFF. PMI Model No. PE2-19-6G18G-1R6-16-12-SFF is a low
noise amplifier which operates between 6.0 to 18.0 GHz. This LNA provides 19 dB
of small signal gain while maintaining a low noise figure of only 2 dB. The
P1dB output power of 15 dBm enables the LNA to function as a LO driver for
balanced, I/Q or image reject mixers. This model also features I/O's that are DC
blocked and internally matched to 50 ohms...
 RF Cascade Workbook 2018 is the next phase in the evolution
of RF Cafe's long-running series, RF Cascade Workbook. Chances are you
have never used a spreadsheet quite like this (click here for screen capture). 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...
 Anatech Electronics (AEI) manufactures and
supplies RF and microwave filters for military and commercial communication
systems, providing standard LP, HP, BP, BS, notch, diplexer, and custom RF filters,
and RF products. Standard RF filter and cable assembly products are published in
our website database for ease of procurement. Custom RF filters designs are used
when a standard cannot be found, or the requirements dictate a custom approach for
your military and commercial communications needs. Sam Benzacar's monthly newsletters
address contemporary wireless subjects. Please visit Anatech today to see how they
can help your project succeed.
Monday the 23rd
 Interestingly, when I searched for the
Hallicrafters TG-10-F Radio Keyer, the first thing that came up was an eBay
offering for a Gray Manufacturing Army Signal Corps "Keyer TG-10-F" Morse Code Practice
Machine. Evidently more than one manufacturer was contracted to make the model.
It looks like a tape record / playback machine, but it feeds a reel of paper strips
with dots and dashes followed by straight lines forming letters and words. An optical
reader encodes the audio signal for code practice students - up to 300 at a time
using the built-in amplifier. Morse code was a primary mode of communication during
World War II because the transmit and receive equipment was simple and reliable,
and could perform acceptable in the presence of noise and weak signals. It also
had the advantage of some level of privacy since most people could not understand
code, especially when sent at high data rates (WPM). There does not seem to be a
feed speed adjustment on the control panel... (see
update on Technical Manual)
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. Since the conception of WFT, we have introduced products that have
been purchased by a wide range of customers, from hobbyists to education facilities
to government agencies. Worldwide customers include Europe, Australia, and Asia.
Please contact Windfreak today to learn how they might help you with your current
project.
 I had to check my calendar to make sure this
article wasn't posted on April 1st.
Trolley Trucks are the future of long-haul transportation? Are they kidding?
This is the Siemens eHighway concept. Installing thousands of miles of high voltage
overhead lines might be less expensive and doable than burying induction coils in
the road, but what happens when bad weather or terrorists take out a stretch of
lines? It might be more practical than tearing up highways, but regardless of the
configuration traffic will need to be interrupted during construction. Pity the
Ham with an unloaded 1/4-wave whip antenna crossing under one of those arrangements!
 Yeah, you're right, almost nobody needs a
chart of
vacuum tube schematic symbols, but for the few nostalgic types who do, here
is one from a 1944 edition of Radio-Craft magazine. As with schematic symbols for
transistors, these renditions are representative of the general appearance you will
find, but the exact manner in which tube symbols appear vary greatly. Perusing all
the various electronics publications of the day will reveal many "standards." There
are still many people around the world who service and restore vintage vacuum tube
equipment...
This assortment of custom-designed themes
by RF Cafe includes T-Shirts, Mouse Pads, Clocks, Tote Bags, Coffee Mugs and Steins,
Purses, Sweatshirts, and Baseball Caps. Choose from amazingly clever "We Are the World's
Matchmakers" Smith chart design or the "Engineer's Troubleshooting Flow Chart."
My "Matchmaker's" design has been ripped off by other people and used on their products,
so please be sure to purchase only official RF Cafe gear. My markup is only a paltry
50¢ per item - Cafe Press gets the rest of your purchase price. These would make
excellent gifts for husbands, wives, kids, significant others, and for handing out
at company events or as rewards for excellent service. It's a great way to help
support RF Cafe. Thanks...
 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. For anyone seeking a way to offload surplus or obsolete
equipment, they offer a trade-in program or they will buy the equipment from you.
Some vintage items are available fully calibrated. Please check out Axiom Test Equipment
today!
Sunday the 22nd
 This
Science
Theme crossword puzzle for August 22nd, 2021, contains only words and clues
related to engineering, mathematics, chemistry, physics, and other technical words.
As always, this crossword contains no names of politicians, mountain ranges, exotic
foods or plants, movie stars, or anything of the sort unless it/he/she is related
to this puzzle's technology theme (e.g., Hedy Lamarr or the Bikini Atoll). The technically
inclined cruciverbalists amongst us will appreciate the effort. Enjoy!
 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!
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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- Christmas-themed
items
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