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Homepage Archive - August 2023 (page 4)

See Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | of the August 2023 homepage archives.

Monday the 7th

Electronics-Themed Comics

Electronics-Themed Comics, July 1960 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeA lot of people had love-hate relationships with their television sets. Even high end models could be fussy, but the low end ones like the ones my family had could be a constant pain in the posterior. We were doubly cursed with being in a relatively poor reception area, with a lousy rooftop antenna to boot. Mayo, Maryland was a tad southeast of midway between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. A public TV station was in Annapolis, but what youngster wanted to watch anything they had to offer? Anyway, I can relate to many of the comics that appeared in the 1960s and 1970s electronics magazines, like these from a 1960 issue of Radio-Electronics. I have personally tested vacuum tubes in drug stores, and have contorted myself in the front seat of a car whilst installing an AM/FM radio, tape player, or CB radio into or under the dashboard. What I have not done, though, is hide in the back of a console type TV in order to sneak a smoke...

DARPA 3D Heterogeneously Integrated (3DHI)

DARPA 3D Heterogeneously Integrated (3DHI) Microsystems - RF Cafe"With a focus on the future wave of microsystems innovation, DARPA has selected 11 organizations to begin work on the Next-Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing (NGMM) program. The Phase 0 effort will establish foundational research to inform the next steps toward creating a domestic center for fabricating 3D heterogeneously integrated (3DHI) microsystems. Selected teams are Applied Materials, Inc., Arizona State University, BRIDG, HRL Laboratories, Intel Federal, North Carolina State University, Northrop Grumman Space Systems, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, PseudolithIC, Raytheon Technologies, and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging. 'We're confident these teams will help build a sustained path toward an R&D ecosystem that provides the framework for future 3DHI innovation..."

Sayville Once More

"Sayville Once More", May 1941 Radio-Craft - RF CafeThese letters represent an unfriendly exchange between The Electrical Experimenter editor Hugo Gernsback and Dr. K.G. Frank, of the Telefunken System of Wireless Technology, of Germany. Gernsback correctly accused Dr. Frank of engaging in espionage for Germany and against the United States of America, during World War I at a time we were not officially at war with the Axis powers. He was arrested and interred for the duration of the war for sending out "unneutral messages" from the broadcast station at Sayville, Long Island, New York. See "Radiobotage" in this month's (September 1941) editorial column. This is part of the motivation for the FCC prohibiting amateur radio transmissions during World War II...

Synzen Announces 4 Additions to Constellation Class Antennas

Synzen Announces Four Additions to Constellation Class Antennas Range - RF CafeSynzen, a global pioneer in communication technology, is proud to announce the launch of four new additions to the enhanced Constellation Class Antennas range. The latest offerings stand at the nexus of design and technology, challenging and redefining the traditional antenna landscape with compact, sleek, and intelligent designs. These newly launched antennas are optimized to provide exceptional functionality with small ground planes in compact devices. Enabling unparalleled connectivity across the spectrum, including 4G, 5G, and NB-IoT ,Synzen is not just offering a product, but an entirely new way to connect and communicate. Key Features of the New Constellation Class Antennas: Compact and sleek design thoughtfully crafted to fit into various design structures, versatility across spectrum offering unparalleled connectivity for 4G, 5G, or NB-IoT, ensuring seamless communication no matter the location or device...

Stenode Corporation of America

Stenode Corporation of America Advertisements, August 1931 Radio-Craft - RF CafeStenode tubes were a big deal in the early 1930s, and were deemed capable of changing fundamentally the way high selectivity receivers and transmitter preamplifiers would be designed. History had other plans for RF circuit design. Note that both advertisements include the signature of Stenode tube inventor Dr. James Robinson. The Stenode's success was dependent upon being able to design a receiver circuit with the ability to "recreate" sidebands from the carrier. That presents a dilemma mathematically since the information in an ideal AM scheme is contained entirely in its sidebands. If the sidebands are removed, that information is lost forever unless it is present somewhere else, like on the carrier itself, which means pure amplitude modulation is not occurring. It is commonplace to recover a suppressed carrier from the sideband(s), but recovering the sidebands from a pure sinewave carrier is impossible...

Promote Your Company on RF Cafe

Sponsor RF Cafe for as Little as $40 per Month - RF CafeBanner Ads are rotated in all locations on the page! RF Cafe typically receives 8,000-15,000 visits each weekdayRF Cafe is a favorite of engineers, technicians, hobbyists, and students all over the world. With more than 17,000 pages in the Google search index, RF Cafe returns in favorable positions on many types of key searches, both for text and images. Your 728x90-px and 160x600-px Banner Ads are displayed on average 225,000 times per year! New content is added on a daily basis, which keeps the major search engines interested enough to spider it multiple times each day. Items added on the homepage often can be found in a Google search within a few hours of being posted. If you need your company news to be seen, RF Cafe is the place to be...

Please Thank RF & Connector Technology for Their Support

RF & Connector Technology - RF CafeProviding full solution service is our motto, not just selling goods. RF & Connector Technology has persistently pursued a management policy stressing quality assurance system and technological advancement. From your very first contact, you will be supported by competent RF specialists; all of them have several years of field experience in this industry allowing them to suggest a fundamental solution and troubleshooting approach. Coaxial RF connectors, cable assemblies, antennas, terminations, attenuators, couplers, dividers, and more. Practically, we put priority on process inspection at each step of workflow as well as during final inspection in order to actualize "Zero Defects."

Sunday the 6th

Electronics Theme Crossword Puzzle for August 6th

Electronics Theme Crossword Puzzle for August 6th, 2023 - RF CafeThis custom RF Cafe electronics-themed crossword puzzle for August 6th contains words and clues which pertain exclusively to the subjects of electronics, science, physics, mechanics, engineering, power distribution, astronomy, chemistry, etc. If you do see names of people or places, they are intimately related to the aforementioned areas of study. Being that "F" is the 6th letter of the alphabet, it is used as the first and/or last letter of many words in today's crossword puzzle - as well as in-between. Those clues are marked with an asterisk (*). As always, you will find no references to numbnut movie stars or fashion designers...

Please Support RF Cafe

Amazon Prime - RF CafeThe RFCafe.com website exists partly on the support of its visitors by way of a small percentage earned with your Amazon.com purchases, which typically works out to less than $20 per month. That does not even cover the domain registration and secure server fees for RFCafe.com. If you plan to buy items via Amazon.com, please click on this link to begin your shopping session from here so that I get credit for it. Doing so does not cost you anything extra. Thank you for your support.

Thanks to Anritsu for Their Support!

Anritsu (electronics test equipment) - RF CafeAnritsu has been a global provider of innovative communications test and measurement solutions for more than 120 years. Anritsu manufactures a full line of innovative components and accessories for RF and Microwave Test and Measurement Equipment including attenuators & terminations; coaxial cables, connectors & adapters; o-scopes; power meters & sensors; signal generators; antenna, signal, spectrum, & vector network analyzers (VNAs); calibration kits; Bluetooth & WLAN testers; PIM testers; amplifiers; power dividers; antennas. "We've Got You Covered."

Friday the 4th

News Briefs, June 1961 Radio-Electronics

News Briefs, June 1961 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeOne of the interesting aspects of reading through vintage magazines is finding current-at-the-time accounts of industry happenings with people and companies still familiar to contemporary people in the realm. In this June 1961 instance in Radio-Electronics magazine, Dr. Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductors is mentioned. Most people today associate him with the founding of Intel. The Microcircuit Flipflop was one of Fairchild's early integrated circuits, housed in metal TO-5 and TO-18 cans. The FCC had just approved a method of "stereo multiplex" on the FM radio band that facilitated coexistence of monaural (mono) and binaural (stereo) broadcasts. Hard to believe that was more than sixty years ago (I was three years old). Also, sadly, news of Mr. Paul Crosley's - of radio, car, and home appliance fame - passing was announced. Atmospheric effects on VLF, and use of ultrasonics for welding plastic also made the editors' cut...

QSpice™ from Qorvo

QSpice™ from Qorvo - RF Cafe"The next generation of SPICE is here. Qorvo's QSPICE™ for analog and mixed signal simulation gives power designers the ability to evaluate their designs with complete confidence in the results. Free to use, QSPICE offers significantly better SPICE basics, supports vast amounts of digital logic without performance penalties, and provides the speed and accuracy required for reliable power-based simulation. QSPICE is easy to use, with an intuitive user interface." I downloaded and installed QSpice (check for updates), then opened one of the demo files as suggested (BodePlot.qsch). After figuring out that the right-most round, green icon on the menu bar is the Run command, the simulation was started. It took 141 seconds on my Dell OptiPlex desktop (i7-7700 CPU @ 3.60GHz, 32 GB RAM). Amp.qsch took a mere 8.3 ms. All the rest were less than 1 second, also, so BodePlot.qsch is doing a lot of cranking! The user interface is not super, but it beats the days back in the late 1980's in college typing out text-based netlists and getting plots generated by extended text characters. Mr. Mike Engelhart is given as the contact.

Summer Short-Wave Reception

Summer Short-Wave Reception, July 1932 Radio-Craft - RF CafeThis article was written in 1932, before anyone had in-situ empirical measurements of the ionosphere, since suitable instrumented sounding rockets were not yet available. It had only been 30 years since Oliver Heaviside and Arthur Kennelly first proposed their theory of the ionized layer that encompasses the Earth. It turned out that the ionosphere is composed of multiple layers of ionized regions whose intensities are dependent on solar surface activity, time of day and night, time of year, and even on terrestrial events like large volcanoes. Large network communications have been built so as not to be held hostage by atmospheric conditions by utilizing land and ocean floor cables, land-based microwave towers, and satellites. Military and amateur radio users still do a lot of communications via sky waves that are profoundly affected by the ionosphere. Much has been learned about the ionosphere in subsequent years, including an explanation for why the day vs. night absorption and reflection phenomenon mentioned in this article occurs...

New Axiom Test Equipment Blog Post

Get a Charge Out of Testing EV Batteries - RF CafeAxiom Test Equipment, an electronic test equipment rental and sales company has published a new blog post entitled "Get a Charge Out of Testing EV Batteries" that covers the different units that meet the needs of large batteries used in modern EVs, specifically when it comes to testing the battery's charge capacity and operating lifetime. It's important to note that having access to suitable test equipment has played a major role in the development of high-density DC electric power packs capable of adding many miles to the ranges of modern EVs and HeVs. Battery packs for EVs are energy storage systems comprised of many small cells. Each section of the battery pack contributes electric power to the whole and all the sections are designed for high power and high reliability. EV battery packs do degrade in performance over time, eventually losing the capability to hold the original amount of energy during a recharge cycle. Testing an EV battery for charge capacity is one way to understand its capabilities at that time and to project its operating lifetime...

Sparton Model 40 Automotive Receiver

Sparton Model 40 6-Tube T.R.F. Automotive Receiver Radio Service Data Sheet, July 1932 Radio-Craft - RF CafeThis Radio Service Data Sheet for the Sparton Model 40 6-Tube T.R.F. Automotive Receiver is an example of the dozens of similar schematic and alignment instruction sheets that have been posted on RF Cafe over the years. They appeared in electronics industry magazines of the era - Radio-Craft in this instance. Obtaining technical information on most things, even readily available items, prior to the Internet era was often very difficult - if not impossible. Service centers had what was need provided by manufacturers and distributors, but if you wanted to find a part number or service data on a refrigerator, radio, lawn mower, garage door opener, etc., and did not have the original paperwork, you were usually out of luck. Nowadays a Web search will quite often get you what you need thanks to people (like me) who go to the trouble of making the information available...

Get Your Custom-Designed RF Cafe Gear!

Custom-Designed RF-Themed Cups, T-Shirts, Mouse Pads, Clocks (Cafe Press) - RF CafeThis 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...

Thanks Again for RIGOL Technologies' Continued Support!

RIGOL Technologies (electronics test equipment)RIGOL Technologies is transforming the Test and Measurement Industry. Our premium line of products includes digital and mixed signal oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, function / arbitrary waveform generators, programmable power supplies and loads, digital multimeters, data acquisition systems, and application software. Our test solutions combine uncompromised product performance, quality, and advanced product features; all delivered at extremely attractive price points. This combination provides our customers with unprecedented value for their investment, reduces their overall cost of test, and helps speed time to completion of their designs or projects.

Thursday the 3rd

Electronic Numbers Puzzle

Electronic Numbers Puzzle, May 1961 Radio-Electronics - RF Cafe"Cruciverbalist" is the faux-Latin word (crux|cross + verbum|word) concocted for those who like to work crossword puzzles. It began appearing in the late 1970s. Accordingly, I propose "crucinumerist" (crux|cross + numerus|number); remember that you heard it here first (couldn't find it anywhere on the Internet). This "Electronic Numbers Puzzle," by frequent puzzle and quiz creator John Comstock, was published in the May 1961 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine. Old-timers like yours truly will probably have an easier time working it because some of the clues have to do with over-the-air broadcast television and vacuum tubes. However, if you get stuck, just look up the answer on the WWW (World Wide Web, for those too young to recognize it ... <20). Bona fortuna ("good luck," in Latin)...

RadioPlanner 3.0 Mobile and Broadcast Network Planning

RadioPlanner 3.0 Mobile and Broadcast Network Planning Software - RF CafeThe Center of Telecommunication Technologies is proud to announce immediate availability of RadioPlanner version 3.0. Building on highly successful previous works, v3.0 facilitate planning, design, implementation, and maintenance of mobile and fixed broadcast networks. RadioPlanner 3.0 is ideal software for Mobile Netwotrks: 5G (NR), LTE, UMTS, GSM, GSM-R, WCDMA | Public safety land mobile networks: P25, TETRA, DMR, dPMR, NXDN; | Wireless IoT LPWAN networks: LoRa, SigFox | Precision agriculture systems | Terrestrial radio and television broadcast networks: ATSC, DVB-T, DVB-T2, ISDB-T, DTMB, DAB, DAB+ | Air-to-ground communication and radio navigation systems operating in VHF, UHF, and microwave frequencies: UAV (Drone) Control, Air-to-ground radio, ADS-B, VOR, DME. The Single User price is an amazingly low $599, which also includes at no extra cost 1-year licenses both Indoor RadioPlanner and Antenna Pattern Editor. CTT also offers their MLinkPlanner PtP and PtMP software planning tool for microwave radio systems, as well as Antenna Pattern Editor universal software tool to view, create, edit and convert antenna patterns and their EMF Planner tool for EMF exposure modeling and analysis...

The Rochelle-Salt Crystal Reproducer

The Rochelle-Salt Crystal Reproducer, July 1932 Radio-Craft - RF CafePotassium sodium tartrate (Rochelle salt) was used in commercial speakers for a while in place of electromagnetic driver coils. The relatively large mechanical deformation produced when subject to an electric field made them attractive as coil alternatives because a separate energization circuit was not required. The drawback, at least early on, was unavailability of crystals large enough to drive anything other than a headphone size speaker cone. This 1932 Radio-Craft magazine article tells of the time when a process was created to grow large crystals from a seed, similar to how silicon, gallium-arsenide, and other modern semiconductors are grown from seeds. According to author C.B. Scott, it revolutionized the speaker industry - at least for a while. I don't know if a 1930s' lawyer advised companies to place "Do not put in mouth" warning labels on the speakers since, according to Wikipedia, Rochelle salts were also used as laxatives...

Werbel 2 to 8 GHz Directional Coupler

Model C−0208−10, 10 dB directional coupler for 2 to 8 GHz - RF CafeWerbel Microwave presents an impressive array of features in our latest offering. Werbel Microwave presents an impressive array of features in our latest offering. With a wide frequency range spanning from 2 to 8 GHz, the C-0208-10 directional coupler ensures versatility across various applications. Enjoy exceptional coupling flatness, with a typical ±0.2 dB flatness that guarantees precise performance. Experience remarkable directivity, reaching 27 dB up to 8 GHz, providing enhanced signal isolation. Benefit from excellent return loss, reaching 28 dB up to 8 GHz, ensuring optimal signal reflection. Additionally, our product allows for DC current to pass through from input to output, adding to its versatility. From mobile to fixed satellite applications, as well as lab use, WiFi, and radar, our solution meets the demands of diverse industries...

Howard Model 45 A.V.C. Superheterodyne Receiver

Howard Model 45 A.V.C. Superheterodyne with Model A.V.H. Chassis Radio Service Data Sheet, February 1932 Radio-Craft - RF CafeOnce again I have given selflessly and freely of my time and talent to make available resources to those seeking certain knowledge regarding vintage radio circuits ;-) This time it is the Radio Service Data Sheet for the Howard Model 45 superheterodyne radio receiver featuring an AVH-style chassis A.V.C. with A.V.C. (automatic volume control). The info was published in a 1932 edition of Radio-Craft magazine, one of Hugo Gernsback's many endeavors. An extensive Internet search did not turn up any examples of surviving of the Howard Model 45 AVH. Please send me a note if you of one. Also, at the bottom of this page is a complete list of all such schematics and tuning and repair data posted thus far...

Espresso Engineering Workbook™ for Excel - 7.26.2023

RF Cafe Espresso Engineering Workbook™ for Excel - RF CafeThe first major new release of RF Cafe's spreadsheet (Excel) based engineering and science calculator is now available - Espresso Engineering Workbook™. Since 2002, the original Calculator Workbook has been available as a free download. Continuing the tradition, RF Cafe Espresso Engineering Workbook™ is also provided at no cost, compliments of my generous sponsors. The original calculators are included, but with a vastly expanded and improved user interface. Error-trapped user input cells help prevent entry of invalid values. An extensive use of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) functions now do most of the heavy lifting with calculations, and facilitates a wide user-selectable choice of units for voltage, frequency, speed, temperature, power, wavelength, weight, etc. In fact, a full page of units conversion calculators is included. A particularly handy feature is the ability to specify the the number of significant digits to display. Drop-down menus are provided for convenience. Now that a more expandable basis has been created, I plan to add new calculators on a regular basis...

Many Thanks to Exodus Advanced Communications for Their Support

Exodus Advanced Communications - RF CafeExodus Advanced Communications is a multinational RF communication equipment and engineering service company serving both commercial and government entities and their affiliates worldwide. Power amplifiers ranging from 10 kHz to 51 GHz with various output power levels and noise figure ranges, we fully support custom designs and manufacturing requirements for both small and large volume levels. decades of combined experience in the RF field for numerous applications including military jamming, communications, radar, EMI/EMC and various commercial projects with all designing and manufacturing of our HPA, MPA, and LNA products in-house.

Wednesday the 2nd

Looking Ahead/News Briefs

Looking Ahead/News Briefs, October 1968 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeSchemes for transmitting newspapers via airwaves and cable had already been around for a couple decades by the time this piece appeared in a 1968 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine. Large publishers like the New York Times, Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, etc., wanted the ability to sell subscriptions to entities and individuals who desired time-sensitive information even more quickly than an overnight airline flight could provide a hard copy. The vision would ultimately need to wait for the advent of the Internet before widespread, affordable service would be available - primarily because the original vision of producing hard copies of entire newspapers at remote locations was (and still is) impractical. Color television was overtaking B&W as being dominant in households, and a lot of effort went into improving picture quality. A big problem was inconsistent hue and brightness between sets, even those of the same make and model. The IEEE and others convened committees to investigate and remedy the issue. Analog signals complicated the problems, but even today's LED and LCD displays show a huge variation between monito

NASA Starling CubeSat Swarm Deployment

NASA Starling CubeSat Swarm Deployment - RF Cafe"NASA's quartet of Starling CubeSats has successfully deployed from Rocket Lab's Electron kick stage, marking a significant step forward in the field of satellite swarm technologies. These cutting-edge spacecraft, designed to work in cohesion as a 'swarm,' have successfully reached low Earth orbit and are set to commence their mission of testing advanced technologies for autonomous maneuvering, networking, decision-making, and relative positioning. The immediate task for the Starling swarm is to power up and establish initial contact with the ground. This process may transpire overnight or within the ensuing few days. The Starling mission, funded by NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology program at the Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, and the Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington, aims to enable small satellites to cooperate autonomously, without the need for real-time..."

Sally, the Service Maid

Sally, the Service Maid - The Case of the Crystal Pickup, November 1944 Radio-Craft - RF Cafe"Sally, the Service Maid" was a relatively short-lived feature in Radio-Craft magazine. It began in early 1944 to bring deserved attention to the women who were left to run their husband's or brother's or son's electronics service shops while they were overseas securing the blessings of liberty for mankind. The sagas involved our heroine, Sally, confidently and impressively attacking malfunctioning electronic equipment in the stead of her father Gus Mason, who had volunteered his services as an instructor of electronics for the military. Unlike in past episodes where she tackled complex radio circuits for dashing military emissaries bringing equipment to her shop, this one finds her troubleshooting the pickup circuit of a wealthy woman's phonograph. Fortunately, electronics sharpshooter Corporal Dan happened to be visiting at the time and lent a hand at finding the solution...

Withwave Intros 145 GHz Cable Assemblies

Withwave Intros 145 GHz Cable Assemblies - RF CafeWithwave is a leading designer and developer of a broad range of RF, microwave, and millimeter-wave test solutions and subsystems with a focus on electromagnetic field analysis and signal processing. Withwave's new W6 Series are complete line of high performance flexible microwave cable assemblies. Specially, W602 Series have solid PTFE structure to achieve velocity propagation of 70%. This series has excellent RF performance up to 145 GHz with 0.8 mm connectors. Features include: silver pated copper center and outer conductors (wire, braid, and tape), solid PTFE jacket insulator, a 7 mm minimum bend radius, and an FEP jacket...

Full Sturgeon Supermoon

Full Sturgeon Supermoon, Greensboro, NC - Airplanes and RocketsNo doubt you've heard the old saying about something happening "once in a blue moon," meaning rarely. A blue moon is the second full moon occurring in a given calendar month. The time between new moons is about 29½ days, so February can never experience a blue moon. Last night, on August 1st, the Full Sturgeon Moon (a supermoon) graced the southern sky. I took the photo above at around 9:30 pm EST; it was very yellowish due to atmospheric dust (probably from Canada) - not apparent in this B&W rendering. A repeat performance happens on August 31st, making that occasion a blue moon. The concept of a monthly blue moon is a relatively recent thing, supposedly have begun with the March 1946 edition of Sky & Telescope magazine. A supermoon is when the full moon happens at or near perigee in its orbit, placing it closest to Earth and thereby appearing to be at its largest. Hopefully, the restoration of my Criterion RV-6 Newtonian telescope will be done in time for the Blue Moon.

Ward 10-Tube All-Wave High-Fidelity Superhet

Ward 10-Tube All-Wave High-Fidelity Superhet., Series ODM Radio Service Data Sheet, April 1936 Radio-Craft - RF CafeThis Radio Service Data Sheet covers the [Montgomery] Ward 10-tube all-wave, high-fidelity superheterodyne, Series ODM (Original Design Manufacturing) receiver. No specific model number is mentioned, oddly, so I was not able to search for a photo of one. Most - if not all - electronics servicemen had subscriptions to these magazines because they were a ready source of not just these service sheets, but because of the extensive articles offering advice on servicing radios and televisions. In fact, many electronics manufacturers had a policy of supplying service data only to bona fide shops. A large list is included at the bottom of the page of similar documents from vintage receiver schematics, troubleshooting tips, and alignment procedures. They were originally published in magazines like Radio-Craft, Radio and Television News, Radio News, etc. I scan and post them for the benefit of hobbyists who restore and service vintage electronics equipment...

RF & Electronics Stencils for Visio

RF & Electronics stencils for Visio r4 - RF CafeWith more than 1000 custom-built stencils, this has got to be the most comprehensive set of Visio Stencils available for RF, analog, and digital system and schematic drawings! Every stencil symbol has been built to fit proportionally on the included A-, B-, and C-size drawing page templates (or use your own page if preferred). Components are provided for system block diagrams, conceptual drawings, schematics, test equipment, racks (EIA 19", ETSI 21"), and more. Test equipment and racks are built at a 1:1 scale so that measurements can be made directly using Visio built-in dimensioning objects. Page templates are provided with a preset scale (changeable) for a good presentation that can incorporate all provided symbols...

Many Thanks to Aegis Power Systems for Their Continued Support!

Aegis Power Systems - RF CafeAegis 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. Manufactured in the USA.

Tuesday the 1st

How Fuses Work

How Fuses Work, May 1961 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeUnless you design equipment which requires overcurrent protection to insure the survivability of components within it, you probably do not give much thought to selecting the correct type of fuse. Some people don't even bother to replace a blown fuse with one of exactly the same type - or even the same amperage. We've all heard stories of back in the screw-in fuse panel days when a blown fuse would be replaced by a penny (although that could be a housewife's tale since a penny seems too small to do the job - see what ChatGPT said). The "How Fuses Work" article from a 1961 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine does a good job of reviewing plug, cartridge, and glass fuses, slow-blow, fast-acting, and time delay fuses, high and low voltage fuses, and some specialty configurations like the "grasshopper" fuse. Author Steckler also discusses properties of various fuse types and for which applications they are best suited...

Unitree Go2 Robotic Dog

Unitree Go2 Robotic Dog - RF CafeWay cool with a slight creepy factor built in is this Go2 robotic "dog" offered by Unitree. It is a second generation model with lots of AI (GPT) upgrades. Go2, "a smart and improved partner," mimics many features of a flesh and blood dog, but without some of the drawback like annoying neighbors with barking, carrying fleas, dumping on the lawn, etc. Go2 might be the logical choice as the new White House 1st Dog since it will never bite Secret Service agents like all the recent GSD's tend to do. Go2 can be ordered with upgrades like a dexterous mechanical arm,  Go1 is available now, and orders are being taken for Go2. 360- by 90-degree hemispherical lidar, which has a minimum sensing range of 0.05 meters for intelligent terrain navigation and obstacle avoidance. The Go2 can move at a 2.5 m/s (5.6 mi/hr) with a 7-kg (15 lb) payload, and operates for up to 2 hours with a 8000 mAh battery. Be sure to watch the video...

Six-Inch Radio Waves

Six-Inch Radio Waves, January 1930 Radio-Craft - RF Cafe2.1 GHz (5.6-inch, or 14 cm wavelength) radio waves were an almost totally unexplored realm in 1930, with it and higher frequencies being the domain of theoretical research laboratories. Signal generators capable of producing much more than a few hundred megahertz were rare even in commercial applications. As reported here, centimeter-length electromagnetic waves were "according to the theories of Barkhausen and Kurz, [the] result of purely electronic vibrations, whose frequency was determined only by the operative data of the tube and was not dependent on any internal or external oscillation circuit." A half-wave receiving antenna picked up the transmitted signal with a simple diode detector to enable, after a couple stages of amplification, an audible signal. These are some of the earliest experiments at radio frequencies (RF) with parabolic metallic reflectors and polarization with a diffraction grid that could be rotated to set the polarization direction...

Meet Triad RF Systems at SmallSat 2023!

Meet Triad RF Systems at SmallSat 2023! - RF CafeTriad RF Systems' products and services will be on display at numerous industry events throughout the season. Learn more about Triad RF Systems' latest CubeSat products at the upcoming Small Satellite Conference held in Logan, Utah, from August 7th through the 10th, 2023. Please be sure to stop by and visit our knowledgeable engineering and sales staff. We also have major news regarding company partnerships, product announcements, and technical resources. Triad RF Systems is a trusted global provider of RF amplifiers and subsystems for CubeSat payloads and will be present at the conference to answer all your questions about the solutions available for CubeSat communication and data challenges. As a leading designer and manufacturer of custom CubeSat subsystems with extensive flight heritage, we are trusted by major NewSpace™ industry players, emerging CubeSat and Nanosatellite manufacturers, and many other space mission industry players...

Wells-Gardner Series 062 Automotive Radio

Wells-Gardner Series 062 Automotive Superheterodyne, October 1932 Radio-Craft - RF CafeThere does not seem to be anything particularly stand-out-ish about the Wells-Gardner Series 062 automotive superheterodyne radio. As was typical of car radios in 1932 when this Radio Service Data Sheet appeared in Radio-Craft magazine, the main electronics was housed in a chassis that got mounted in the trunk or under a seat, and the controls either got mounted in or under the dashboard, connecting tot he electronics via a cable. The "eliminator" option of the "eliminator or battery" label presumably refers to an AC-to-DC power supply that can be used either during maintenance or if the listener chooses to employ the radio in use outside of a vehicle - or else has a very long extension cord ;-) No examples of surviving Wells-Gardner Series 062 automotive radios could be found anywhere online. As with all these radio data service pages, this one is posted for the benefit of both researchers and for restoration types who need troubleshooting and alignment information...

RF Cascade Workbook

RF Cascade Workbook - RF Cafe RF Cascade Workbook 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...

Thanks Again for Windfreak Technologies' Continued Support!

Windfreak TechnologiesWindfreak 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.

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TotalTemp Technologies (Thermal Platforms) - RF Cafe
RF Electronics Shapes, Stencils for Office, Visio by RF Cafe

everythingRF RF & Microwave Parts Database (h1)

Innovative Power Products Cool Chip Thermal Dissipation - RF Cafe