See Page 1 |
2 | of the December 2024 homepage archives. Friday the 13th
 Lots was happening in the
electronics realm when this "New & Timely" collection of items appeared
in the November 1969 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine. It was the eve
of a new decade, following a decade of great social and military upheaval. Brushless
motors, nowadays probably more common than traditional brushed motors in consumer
electronics, were a relatively new phenomenon in electronics. Reducing integrated
circuit (IC) mask feature sizes by using short wavelength (x-ray) electron beams
was replacing visible wavelength beams. Thanks to the proliferation of microcircuits,
digital clocks either directly using or referencing atomic clocks were quickly moving
from the laboratory into commercial applications...
 In this "Feedback" episode of John T.
Frye's "Carl &
Jerry" series, the intrepid pair of teenage electronics hobbyists and Ham radio
operators are experimenting with an audio amplifier rig that uses a parabolic dish
for concentrating sound waves at a focal point where they have a microphone mounted.
It appeared in the May 1956 issue of Popular Electronics magazine. Aside
from picking up bird noises and a neighbor lady scolding her husband for not properly
washing the windows during a round of Spring cleaning, Carl imposes upon Jerry for
a lesson in feedback techniques - both positive and negative - and the reasons one
is preferred over the other. The story winds up with a clever double entendre comment
referring to "osculation..."
 Exodus Advanced Communications, is a multinational
RF communication equipment and engineering service company serving both commercial
and government entities and their affiliates worldwide. We are pleased to announce
the model
Exodus model AMP2071-2 pulse or CW SSPA, which operates in the 80 to 1000 MHz
band at 500 W minimum. The unit produces greater than 600 W nominal power
with typically greater than 500 W P1dB. The minimum gain is 56 dB with
excellent flatness. Included are amplifier monitoring parameters for forward/reflected
power, VSWR, as well as voltage, current & temperature sensing for optimum reliability &
ruggedness. Nominal weight...
 Germanium, a lustrous and brittle metalloid,
was discovered in 1886 by the German chemist Clemens Winkler. Its discovery confirmed
Dmitri Mendeleev's prediction of an element he called "eka-silicon" based on gaps
in his periodic table. Winkler isolated germanium from the mineral argyrodite and
named it after his homeland, Germany. Initially, germanium was regarded as a scientific
curiosity with few practical applications. The rise of germanium as a crucial material
in the electronics industry began in the mid-20th century. Its importance as a semiconductor
emerged with the development of the first practical transistors. Germanium's ability
to act as a semiconductor was initially explored during the late 1930s and 1940s,
particularly during World War II, as researchers sought alternatives to vacuum tubes.
Early experiments demonstrated that germanium's crystalline structure could support
the controlled flow of electrical current...
 This advertisement from
Thordarson is from one of my oldest editions of the American Radio Relay League's
QST magazine - December 1929. Thordarson Electric Manufacturing Company
was founded in Chicago, Illinois, by Chester H. Thordarson in 1895. He was the first
producer of industrial and commercial transformers. They are still in business today.
Thordarson patented more than 30 inventions for transformer design and manufacturing
back in its early days, including the still most popular form of laminations, the
scrapless "E and I." Many discussions are available on various transformer lamination
configurations, including the very common "E and I" types...
• Streaming
TV Industry Snooping on Viewers
• 5G
Subscribers Reach 1.7B at End-Q3
• FCC Rules All
Mobile Phones Be Hearing Aid Compatible
• Eutelsat Launches
20 More Satellites into Orbit
• Q3
Smartphone Units up 4% Y-o-Y
Thursday the 12th
 Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency,
or cryptocurrency, that was introduced in 2009 by an anonymous figure or group using
the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. It operates on a peer-to-peer network, allowing
users to send and receive transactions without the need for a centralized authority,
such as a bank or government. Bitcoin relies on blockchain technology, a distributed
ledger that records all transactions across a network of computers. This system
ensures transparency, security, and the elimination of double-spending, a problem
that plagued earlier attempts at digital currencies. Origin of Bitcoin The origins
of Bitcoin trace back to the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, a period
marked by widespread distrust of traditional financial institutions. In October
2008, Nakamoto published a whitepaper titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic
Cash System," which outlined...
 Learn-at-home, self-taught curriculums were
a big thing in the post-war years of the 20th century. It was seen as a way to earn
while you learn, where a person worked a "day job" while studying to be a brain
surgeon, nuclear physicist, electrician, auto mechanic, or HVAC technician. It was
more convenient and less costly than driving to a campus for regular classes. Many
such courses were advertised in technical magazines like Popular Mechanics,
Popular Science, and even Radio-Electronics. This 1968 article
entitled "Solid
State Secrets" was structured like one of those self-taught courses. Having
paid for and completed a couple of those courses, I can attest to their value, but
ultimately I cannot claim they contributed directly to any job offers...
 "Researchers have developed a new 'sandwich'
structure material that exhibits the
quantum anomalous Hall effect, enabling electrons to travel with almost no resistance
at higher temperatures. This breakthrough could significantly enhance computing
power while dramatically reducing energy consumption. The structure is based on
a layered approach with bismuth telluride and manganese bismuth telluride, promising
faster and more efficient future electronic devices. Quantum Material..."
Anatech Intros
3 Filter Models for December
 Anatech Electronics offers the industry's
largest portfolio of high-performance standard and customized
RF and microwave filters and filter-related products for military, commercial,
aerospace and defense, and industrial applications up to 40 GHz. Three
new filter models have been added to the product line in December, including a 20 MHz
LC bandpass filter with a 3 dB bandwidth of 10 MHz minimum, a 240-320 MHz
LC bandpass filter with a bandwidth of 80 MHz, and a 20 MHz LC bandpass
filter with a bandwidth of 2 MHz. Custom RF power filter and directional couplers
designs can be designed...
 According to a 2001 paper published by the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, formerly National Bureau of
Standards, NBS), "The end of the era of quartz frequency standards began in 1949
with the development at NBS of the world's first atomic frequency standard based
on an ammonia absorption line at 23.87 GHz." Further, "The Bureau supported
work on both technologies for the next decade, but the rapid advances in the accuracy
of atomic frequency standards could not be matched by
quartz devices, and the work on quartz frequency standards was stopped in 1959."
This article from a 1957 edition of Popular Electronics magazine claims
that the "master of all master-clocks" resided at the U.S. Naval Observatory at
the time - not quite accurate from what my research indicates. Still, it is a good
introduction to crystal growth and processing for use as timing devices...
 Kick back at the end of work today and enjoy
this triad of
electronics-themed comics from a 1965 issue of Radio & Television News
and Electronics World magazines. Other than an occasional contest to create
a caption for a comic drawing, when is the last time you saw a comic in a technical
magazine? Where has the humor gone? Is everyone so afraid of offending someone that
comics have been banned by lawsuit-fearful editors? You have my invitation to create
a good-humored cartoon about me or RF Cafe anytime you wish, and I promise not to
sue you. I'll even post it here on the website if you like. BTW, these make
good fodder for opening your technical presentations. I took the liberty of colorizing
them...
Wednesday the 11th
 Benjamin Franklin Miessner was an influential
American radio engineer, inventor, and pioneer in electronics and sound engineering,
and holder of many patents. Among them, he is credited with inventing the cat's
whisker radio signal detector and various electronic instruments. Interestingly,
when you look at the Wikipedia entry for Miessner, it includes a hyperlink to Wikipedia's
Crystal Detector page, but there is no mention of Miessner on it. On top of that,
ChatGPT provided the wrong name for Miessner's wife, and incorrect patent numbers.
You really need to verify online sources! This 1961 Radio-Electronics magazine
editorial by Hugo Gernsback provided information straight from the horse's mouth
- Mr. Miessner himself. Miessner had
many problems with the both U.S. and foreign patent offices, including a petty
lawsuit where he tried...
 Benjamin Franklin Miessner was an influential
American radio engineer, inventor, and pioneer in electronics and sound engineering.
He was born on July 27, 1890, in Huntingburg, Indiana, into a family that valued
education and intellectual curiosity. From a young age, Miessner exhibited a remarkable
talent for mechanics and a fascination with sound, which he nurtured through experimentation
and study. This early passion for innovation would later define his illustrious
career. Miessner pursued higher education at Purdue University, where he graduated
with a degree in electrical engineering in 1912. During his time at Purdue, he developed
a keen interest in wireless communication, inspired by groundbreaking advances in
the field. Miessner is most celebrated for his invention of the Cat's Whisker detector,
an essential device in the development of early crystal radios. This technology...
 "Caltech's new optical devices, evolved
by algorithms and crafted via precise 3D printing, offer advanced light-manipulation
for applications like augmented reality and cameras. Researchers at Caltech have
developed a groundbreaking technology that
'evolves' optical devices and fabricates them using a specialized 3D printer.
These devices, composed of optical metamaterials, gain their unique properties from
nanometer-scale structures. This innovation could enable cameras and sensors to
detect and manipulate light in ways previously impossible at such small scales..."
 "You don't see any doctors handing out any
free diagnoses, do you?," asked Barney, rhetorically, when discussing with Mac the
expectation of many customers for them to troubleshoot an electronics appliance
to determine what the cost would be to restore it to working order. In Mac's Service
Shop piece entitled "Worthy
of His Hire," from a 1961 issue of Electronics World, an article is
cited from a trade magazine where a customer refused to pay a repair estimate fee
even though he decided not to get the work done. It is the age-old lament about
people who expect you to perform work for them at no cost, but would never consider
plying their own trade for someone else for free. Internet resources are a modern
day example of expecting to get something for nothing...
Tuesday the 10th
 We have been told that rock music's Buddy
Holly perished in an Iowa plane crash in 1959 - "The Day the Music Died." I'm thinking
maybe it was a ruse in order to fulfill Mr. Holly's secret ambition to design
amplifiers for the Marantz electronics company, under the alias of Richard Sequerra.
Marantz, founded in 1953, is still in the business of designing high quality receivers
and amplifiers. But I digress... This 1963 article in Radio-Electronics
magazine called upon industry leaders to comment on the deleterious effects which
multipath can have on the reception of stereo FM ( frequency modulation) radio.
Commercial FM stereo broadcasting was still in its infancy at the time. Left-right
channel separation was made more difficult when multiple signals are present in
the analog decision making circuitry, and acceptance by the public depended on successful
operation. Stereo was a big selling point for a new paradigm in musi
 Here are another trio of vintage electronics-themed
comics from Radio-Craft magazine. Two are part of illustrator Frank Beaven's
"Radio
Terms Illustrated" series, where readers would write in with suggestions and
Mr. Beaven would put the ideas in ink. These two are "Poor Reception, and "Regeneration."
If you look at the bottom of the page, you will find a big listing of other comics,
with many of the other "Radio Terms Illustrated" instances ("High Potential," "Signal
Generator," "Overload Capacity," "Amplitude," "Transmission Loss," etc.) labeled.
Enjoy!
 "Under the heading of radiated susceptibility
(RS) testing is the category of
High
Intensity Radiated Fields, or HIRF. What is HIRF and why does anyone need to
test to these high levels? NASA/TP-2001-210831, In-Flight Characterization of the
Electromagnetic Environment Inside an Airliner[1], has this definition: HIRF encompasses
man-made sources of electromagnetic radiation generated external to the aircraft
considered as possibly interfering with safe flight. The easiest way to distinguish
HIRF from other types of EMI is to state what it is not. HIRF does not include interference
among on-board systems; this type of interference is referred to as an Electromagnetic
Compatibility or EMC issue..."
 Consumer grade
thermoelectric coolers have been around for so long now that most people probably
assume there is nothing wondrous about the discovery that makes them possible. I
still marvel at the process that allows the application of a current through physical
junction of two dissimilar metals (certain types) to produce a cooling effect rather
than the I2R heating normally associated with conductors. This 1961 Electronics
World magazine article from a scientist at Westinghouse Electric's research
laboratories provides a nice introduction to the subject of thermoelectricity from
both electric current generation based on the application...
Monday the 9th
 When I was in high school, if someone placed
me in a classroom where
imaginary numbers (whatever they were?) were to be taught - and I was expected
to learn about them - I likely would have gone into an anxiety-induced stupor. My
plans were to be an electrician, and I was pretty sure electricians didn't need
to know about imaginary numbers. By the time I began taking courses toward an electrical
engineering degree, I quickly gained an immense appreciation for the power of complex
numbers. Anyway... in this second installment of a three-part series, the author
educates George (whether real or imaginary - see what I did there?) on the virtues
of manipulating complex numbers when dealing with electric circuits...
 "The
perfect squelch" was a popular concept in the 1950s. I know because I've seen
it in a few different magazines from that era. In fact, The Saturday Evening Post
ran a regular inset feature by that name. As you might guess, it has to do with
making a short statement that has the effect of cutting out the "noise," whether
it be from the background of a radio reception or from an obnoxious person shooting
off his mouth (which was the case for the SEP). BTW, the "Squegg" part of Sunspot
McSquegg's name comes from the radio term "squeg," which refers to oscillations
due to excessive feedback, like what happens when a microphone is placed too close
to the speaker. This Christmastime tidbit...
 Hedy Lamarr, born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler
on November 9, 1914, in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, is widely remembered as one of
Hollywood's most glamorous stars of the Golden Age of cinema. Her remarkable beauty
and talent earned her roles many hit films. Lamarr's journey to Hollywood fame began
with her breakout role in the controversial 1933 film Ecstasy. However, behind the
glamour and fame lay a brilliant and inquisitive mind that would contribute profoundly
to the field of telecommunications, particularly through her co-invention of
spread spectrum communication technology. Hedy Lamarr's story truly bridges
the worlds of art and science in a way that resonates with the engineering community.
The inspiration for Lamarr's groundbreaking idea emerged from a combination of her
early exposure to engineering concepts...
 Transcat | Axiom Test Equipment, an electronic
test equipment rental and sales company has published a new blog post entitled "The
Role of Temperature Calibration in Protecting Food Safety" that covers how temperature
calibration tools such as dry blocks and calibration baths are precise, accurate
tools for measuring temperatures during food production cycles. Complying with food
temperature safety regulations helps deliver safe foods with long shelf lives, while
noncompliance can result in health issues with serious legal consequences. Dry blocks
and temperature calibration baths are both capable of measuring wide temperature
ranges with high resolution and accuracy although they work in much diverse ways.
A temperature dry block heats or cools a metal block to a precise temperature...
 My long-established collection of soldering
aid and tuning wand tools still gets a fairly regular workout - but not necessarily
for soldering tasks. Most are non-metallic, meant for bending and poking, and are
very strong and heat resistant. The metal types are still required for direct contact
with molten solder. One of the best tips offered in this 1959 Electronics World
magazine article is for when
replacing a leaded component on a PCB. If possible, rather than heating the
landing pad and plated through-via to remove the leads, just clip the leads far
enough from the PCB surface to create a post or loop to solder the new component
to. Doing so creates a mechanically sound solder joint without undue risk of damage
to the PCB metal or laminations. Interestingly, the PCB in this article contains
a vacuum tube plug-in socket...
Friday the 6th
 "Multichannel light highways for communications
are still far from realization. But with continuous sources of coherent light available,
it becomes possible to explore the problems of modulating, transmitting, detecting,
amplifying and, in general, controlling light for possible communications applications."
That claim was made in a 1962
Bell Telephone Laboratories (Bell Labs) info ad in Radio-Electronics
magazine. More than six decades later, the job is being handled by microcircuits
with integrated laser transmitters and receivers. High quality optical fiber provides
information transport across the neighborhood, city, state, country and world. A
big list of other Bell Labs innovations is at the page bottom. Created a century
ago in 1925, Bell Telephone Laboratories' name has been Nokia Bell Labs...
 Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, a luminary in the
field of physics, was born on March 27, 1845, in Lennep, a small town in the Rhine
Province of Prussia, now part of Germany. His father, Friedrich Conrad Röntgen,
was a cloth manufacturer, while his mother, Charlotte Constanze Frowein, hailed
from an affluent and distinguished family of Dutch descent. Wilhelm spent his early
childhood in Lennep before the family moved to Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, when
he was three years old. His education began at the Institute of Martinus Herman
van Doorn, a technical school in Utrecht. However, Wilhelm was expelled at the age
of 18 after being falsely accused of sketching a caricature of one of his teachers,
an injustice that deeply affected his academic trajectory. Röntgen's early academic
path was unconventional...
 Shortly before Christmas, 1947, the experimental
work of Bell Laboratories scientists John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William
Shockley resulted in the world's first
semiconductor transistor. With proper biasing, the germanium transistor demonstrated
an ability to produce signal gain. The signal fed to the base resulted in a higher
amplitude signal at the collector. Voila, the device which would ultimately replace
the vacuum electron tube had been invented. The rest, as they say, is history. Aside
from a few high power applications, the only new equipment produced that uses vacuum
tubes are retro things like audio amplifiers and simple receivers. Of course, there
is still a large cadre of vacuum tube users in the Amateur Radio real and vintage
equipment restorers...
 In Compliance magazine has an article entitled,
"The
Growing Use of Generative AI Will Generate More E-Waste." I queried ChatGPT
about whether the claim is true. Summarizing its reply, ChatGPT admits is is a polluter.
To wit: "Yes, the growing use of generative AI has the potential to contribute
to an increase in electronic waste (e-waste). This stems from multiple factors related
to the infrastructure and hardware required to support AI development and deployment.
Here's how generative AI contributes to the problem and the broader implications: •
Hardware Demand • Shorter Hardware Lifespan • Increased Energy Consumption • Consumer
Devices • Recycling Challenges. To mitigate the e-waste impact of generative AI
include designing hardware with a longer lifecycle, improving recycling technologies,
adopting modular designs for easier upgrades, and using energy-efficient models
that reduce the need for frequent hardware replacements. Additionally, promoting
circular economy practices and enforcing e-waste regulations can help address the
issue. Generative AI offers immense potential but addressing its environmental footprint,
including e-waste, is essential for sustainable development."
• U.S. Pressures
Japan for Selling Chip Kit to China
• Record
September IC Exports for Korea
• FCC Issues Notices to
Pirate Radio in NYC, Miami
• TSMC
Posts Sharp Rise in Q3 Net Profit
• Nearly
40% of SMBs using AI
 FM radio noise immunity testing. 1940 was
a big year in the commercial broadcast industry because it was when the FCC began
licensing stations for FM operation. Amazingly, that was only four years after Edwin
Armstrong first came up with his frequency modulation scheme - fast moving for the
government. Simultaneously, equipment manufacturers were cranking out transmitters,
receivers, antennas (new frequencies), writing installation and operation guidelines,
training servicemen, and doing scores of other vitally important tasks. The advent
of FM was considered a very significant technical improvement because of immunity
to electrical noise interference. If for no other reason, you should look at this
National Radio News magazine article...
Thursday the 5th
 During the early era of color television,
much editorial ink was spilled on the topic of
x-radiation emitted from the high voltage power supplies within. This 1967
Radio-Electronics magazine article appeared toward the end of the problem.
Those of us who were around for the excitement remember being told as children "Don't
sit so close to the TV; it'll ruin your eyes." The ignorant among us thought the
admonition was because focusing so close-up would be bad training for eye muscles.
The real reason was danger of absorbing too much ionizing x-radiation from the high
voltage vacuum tubes. Achieving bright, vibrant color with early tri-color cathode
ray tubes (CRTs) required blasting the red, green, and blue phosphorescent dots
on the back of the display...
 "A research team headed by Prof. Karl Leo
at TUD Dresden University of Technology have developed an innovative, nature-inspired
solution that could revolutionize the electronics industry:
Leaftronics." This innovative approach leverages the natural structure of leaves
to create biodegradable electronic substrates with enhanced properties and offers
a sustainable, efficient, and scalable solution to the global-waste problem. These
findings have now been published in the journal Science Advances. Electronic devices,
from toys to smartphones, consist of circuits. Specific substrates are used to manufacture
these circuits..."
 San Francisco Circuits, a premier provider
of leading edge technology printed circuit boards, has published a new article on
ENEPIG (Electroless Nickel Electroless Palladium Immersion Gold) PCB Surface
Finish. ENEPIG is one of the most popular PCB surface finishes due to reduced palladium
prices and its advantages over finishes like ENIG. Composed of four metal layers
- copper, nickel, palladium, and gold - ENEPIG offers excellent protection against
corrosion and the infamous "black pad" issue. ENEPIG: Ideal for Demanding Requirements
ENEPIG supports various package types, including BGA, SMT, wire bonding, and press
fit. With a thin gold layer (0.05μm - 0.1μm), it simplifies assembly and provides
improved reliability...
 On a whim, I did a search for the earliest
appearance of Nikola Tesla's name in U.S. newspapers included in the NewspaperArchive.com
database. This story from Mr. George Grantham Bain appeared in multiple newspapers
within a few days of this March 5, 1896 edition of The Warren Times in Warren, PA,
which coincidentally is not far from me here in Erie. The article reports on the
role that Tesla's high voltage generators played in the development of x-ray images
on fluorescent displays and on film (which Tesla termed "cathode photography").
It mentions how the term "cathode" is relatively new to the general public even
though it had been around since 1832 when Michael Faraday introduced it in his work.
Wilhelm Röntgen made the world's first x-ray image - of his wife's hand...
 Michael Faraday, one of the most revered
experimental scientists in history, was born on September 22, 1791, in Newington
Butts, a small village near London. His humble beginnings were in stark contrast
to his towering achievements. Faraday's father, James, was a blacksmith of modest
means, and his mother, Margaret Hastwell, managed the household despite financial
difficulties. The family belonged to a small Christian sect known as the Sandemanians,
whose values of humility, simplicity, and a focus on practical service profoundly
influenced Faraday throughout his life. Faraday's early education was rudimentary,
consisting mostly of reading, writing, and arithmetic. At the age of 14, he was
apprenticed to a London bookbinder named George Riebau. This apprenticeship proved
transformative, as it allowed young Faraday...
Wednesday the 4th
 A neighbor approached me the other day regarding
a strange occurrence with the electrical supply to his workshop, which is not attached
to the house. The overhead lights were dim, and his small refrigerator was straining.
Turning on or off various tools and lights caused changes in everything else. This
guy is one smart cookie (and an excellent woodworker), and has handled all his own
household electrical and plumbing issues for many decades, but he had never experienced
such a situation. Fortunately, I have. Upon hearing his description, I immediately
recognized it as a case of an
open neutral in the circuit breaker panel. I have seen that before. Understanding
what is happening can be made simple by realizing that once the neutral reference
is gone, the two "legs" (phases) are in series with each other rather than in parallel...
 Three more
electronics-themed comics here, these from a 1962 issue of Radio-Electronics
magazine. They represent a good spectrum of consumer electronics service issues
of the era. The page 41 comic scenario is not likely to occur with a television
today; it's more likely with a Li-Ion powered cellphone sitting in your pocket.
The page 60 comic, on the other hand, is more likely to happen today with all the
anti-theft devices used on in-dash devices like radios, GPS navigation units, and
Ham (Amateur) and CB radios. Even without the anti-theft devices, good luck getting
the dashboard apart enough to service the device. I recently replaced an in-dash
air vent valve motor in my daughter's truck...
 "A team of scientists from the Korea Institute
of Materials Science (KIMS) has developed the world's first ultra-thin film composite
material capable of
absorbing over 99% of electromagnetic waves from various frequency bands, including
5G/6G, WiFi, and autonomous driving radar, using a single material. This novel electromagnetic
wave absorption and shielding material is less than 0.5mm thick and is characterized
by its low reflectance of less than 1% and high absorbance of over 99% across three
different frequency bands..."
 Part 1 of this "All About IC's" series titled,
"What Makes Them Tick," author Bob Hibberd introduced the concept of semiconductor
physics and doped PN junctions. It appeared in a 1969 issue of Radio-Electronics
magazine. In Part 2, he discusses methods used to
fabricate monolithic, integrated circuits (IC's) on silicon chips. Transistors,
diodes, resistor, capacitors, and to some extent, inductors, can be built using
a combination of variously doped junction regions, metallization, and oxidation
(insulators). Technology has come a long way since 1969, including mask techniques,
3-D structures, doping gradients, feature size, dielectric breakdown strength...
 Before the Emergency Alert System (EAS)
was activated on January 1, 1997, which followed the August 5, 1963 activation of
the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), there was the 1951 implementation of the
CONtrol of ELectromagnetic RADiation (CONELRAD). Born out of the Cold War era,
CONELRAD was devised in order to not just provide timely forewarning of enemy nuclear
and/or bomber and/or submarine-based attacks, but also to silence all commercial
broadcasters whose transmitting installation could potentially be exploited as homing
signals for the aforementioned bad guys. The Germans had used just such a scheme
during the recently concluded...
Tuesday the 3rd
 As was customary for U.S. businesses,
Hallicrafters ran a Christmas advertisement in the January issue
of magazines where they appeared. The January edition, as is common even now, is
typically mailed in early December, getting it in the hands of readers in time for
Christmas. This "Here's to a Good Old Fashioned Christmas" (which many state governors
want to end beginning this year) message appeared in the January 1942 issue of
QST magazine. Halli(gan) and (hand)crafters was founded in Chicago in 1932
by William J. Halligan. The company designed and manufactured radio equipment for
hobby, commercial, and military applications and quickly became very popular amongst
their users...
 Guess we'll just need to start mining our
own again, and stop exporting our technology to them: "China announced Tuesday it
is banning exports to the United States of
gallium, germanium, antimony and other key high-tech materials with potential
military applications, as a general principle, lashing back at U.S. limits on semiconductor-related
exports. The Chinese Commerce Ministry announced the move after the Washington expanded
its list of Chinese companies subject to export controls on computer chip-making
equipment, software..."
 For the last two centuries our wars have
been fought to secure freedom from oppressive regimes, either for our own citizens
or for citizens of allied countries requesting our assistance. In the entire history
of the United States, no land has ever been claimed during or after the conclusion
of the conflicts. Although the human cost has been tragic - especially for those
who have lost family members or suffered injuries - one undeniable benefit has been
the advancement of technology. "Necessity," it has been said, "is the mother of
invention." World War II resulted in significant advances in wireless communications,
and the
civilian radio industry was quick to exploit the new devices and methods. Futurists
wasted no time prognosticating about how the postwar technology world would shape
up, and of course radio figured significantly into the vision. This 1945 article
from Radio-Craft magazine is an early example...
 Empower RF Systems is the technological
leader in RF & microwave power amplifier solutions for EW, Radar, Satcom, Threat
Simulation, Communications, and Product Testing. Our air and liquid cooled amplifiers
incorporate the latest semiconductor and power combining technologies and with a
patented architecture we build the most sophisticated and flexible COTS system amplifiers
in the world. Solutions range from tens of watts to hundreds of kilowatts and includes
basic PA modules to scalable rack systems.
Monday the 2nd
 Amongst the noteworthy items announced in
the July 1962 "News
Briefs" column in Radio-Electronics magazine was the impending end
of the DoD's CONELRAD early warning defense system. It was being replaced with the
Emergency Broadcast System in 1963, which was later replaced by the Emergency Alert
System in 1997. Changing names for essentially the same service was - and remains
today - a shining example of government waste. Westinghouse debuted its slow-scan
TV system for transmitting still images via telephone wires - sort of an early Internet
means of downloading pictures that could be stored on magnetic tape...
 "It's uncertain how the incoming Trump administration
will affect the growing 5G enterprise market, but it's quite possible that Elon
Musk's prominent role in the nascent regime could change the
5G private networking environment in the United States for the better. A lot
of this depends on how Tesla's global factory deployment of private 5G develops
over time, according to AvidThink principal analyst Roy Chua. The electric vehicle
manufacturer reportedly has started to roll out the technology at its factories
in Berlin, Germany; Austin, Texas; and Shanghai, China..."
 Exodus Advanced Communications, is a multinational
RF communication equipment and engineering service company serving both commercial
and government entities and their affiliates worldwide. We are pleased to announce
model
AMP2053A-1LC, a rugged SSPA incorporating advanced technology for 6.0-10.0 GHz
applications. Class A/AB design for all industry standards, 100 W minimum with
50 dB gain. Excellent power/gain flatness, forward/reflected power monitoring
in both dBm & watts, VSWR, voltage/current, and temperature sensing for superb
reliability and ruggedness. Nominal weight is 45 pounds in a compact 3U chassis,
5.25" H x 19" W x 27" D...
 This "Transient
Voltage Quiz" created by Robert Balin appeared in the October 1968 issue of
Popular Electronics magazine. Unless you have done a lot of circuit simulation
and/or measurement involving RC time constants, most of these circuit - waveform
combinations will probably be foreign to you. Voltages, resistance, and capacitances
are not given, so assume if there is more than one of any in a given circuit that
they are the same value. Also, a "steady state" is generally considered the time
of 5 RC time constants. For example if you have a 2 kΩ resistor and a 1 μf
capacitor in series, the time constant is 2E3 x 1E-6 = 2E-3, or 2 milliseconds.
Therefore, steady state...
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