Today in Science History -
 The term "metallized
dielectric" at first might seem like an oxymoron. After all, if you add a conductive
substance to the dielectric of a capacitor, then you have compromised the integrity
of the dielectric as a non-conducting substance. Here's the deal: The dielectric
material between the conductive plates does not receive the metallization; a non-conductive
(dielectric) material like paper is impregnated with metal and that is used for
the plate material. The advantage of this scheme is that the plate material
can be thinner, thereby reducing the size of the capacitor package for a given capacitance
value. It comes with a price, of course, and that is a lower operational and maximum
applied voltage rating. With proper design in circuits like power supplies, metallized-dielectric
capacitors can facilitate great space savings. A major benefit of metallized-dielectric
capacitors is an ability to self-heal when the plate material develops a short circuit
through the dielectric...
 3D printing of antenna and waveguide components
has been advancing rapidly in the past few years. Early research used plastic that
was then coated with a conductive substance. Once 3D printing using a metallic filament
was developed to the point that the structure could withstand heat cycling, vibration,
and shock associated with aerospace environments, the creation of complex, compound
shapes never deemed possible with traditional machining became reality. Using proprietary
additive manufacturing techniques developed in-house, virtually any form of waveguide
and/or antenna can now be fabricated by companies like
Swissto12,
based in Switzerland. As can be seen in the included images from the
Swissto12 website, the surfaces are not perfectly
smooth...
 Designing, building, and tuning low
frequency filters is much easier for the person without a professional grade
suite of software, fabrication, and test equipment than is RF / microwave frequency
filters. Most of my design and integration work has been with system level transmit
and receive racks for radar and satellite earth station installations, and typically
for prototyping and/or very low quantity production. Accordingly, I often used connectorized
components cascaded together where each functional block was predefined and tested.
I would be handed a system input/output document that specified parameters for gain,
phase noise, intercept points, noise figure, group delay, bandwidth(s), power levels,
switching and settling times, current consumption, volume, weight, cost constraints,
etc. That explains why my software offerings like RF & Electronics Symbols for
Visio and RF Cascade Workbook all deal with system level design...
 Altum RF, a supplier of high-performance
RF to millimeter-wave semiconductor solutions for next generation markets and applications,
announces a new grant and collaboration with Industrial Technology Research Institute
(ITRI), the largest applied technology research institution in Taiwan, and TMY Technology
Inc. (TMYTEK), a leading mmWave solution provider targeting the 5G/B5G and SATCOM
markets. Altum RF, ITRI and TMYTEK will collaborate on an
Antenna and Semiconductor Integrated Modules (AIMS) project for satellite communications
systems. The grant comes from the Eureka Globalstars Taiwan framework. The project
began in August 2022 and is slated to continue for two years. The purpose of the
AIMS project is to develop a millimeter-wave antenna-in-package (AiP) module for
phased array Ka-band satellite communication systems. Developing this module will
make satellite communication systems...
 If you are from a family of electronics hobbyists
and/or professionals, then there is a good chance your grandfather and possibly
even your father kept a handy-dandy list of common
circuit design formulas handy. The list here Part 2 includes all the formulas
on this page, which dealt primarily with vacuum tubes, the schematics for which
were presented in Part 1 of the series. There was not an "app for that" back in
those days. Prior to a smartphone in every pocket, notes were pinned to a lab wall
or kept in a hand-written notebook...
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...
 Copper Mountain Technologies develops innovative
and robust RF test and measurement solutions for engineers all over the world. Copper
Mountain's extensive line of unique form factor
Vector
Network Analyzers include an RF measurement module and a software application
which runs on any Windows PC, laptop or tablet, connecting to the measurement hardware
via USB interface. The result is a lower cost, faster, more effective test process
that fits into the modern workspace in lab, production, field and secure testing
environments.
 This is one of the few times I disagree
with Hugo Gernsback. It's not that his conclusion about economics being the reason
for the
delay
in producing promised newfangled radios after the end of World War II is
wrong. My problem is that he excuses the manufacturers who blamed delays on the
large amount of time and effort required to incorporate all the new technology developed
during the war. As Radio-Craft magazine reader C.G. Little wrote in this August
1946 issue, companies were running advertisements a year before V−E Day (May 8,
1945) promising to have all-new radios with wonderful new technology developed from
advances made in radio and radar during the defeat of Axis forces. Japan surrendered
on V−J Day (September 2, 1945). The fact is those companies had a year to prepare,
and the U.S. government was gradually relinquishing control over production facilities
as the War Powers Act impositions faded. Nobody was taken by surprise. This was
either a case of government-backed propaganda, or false advertising by the manufacturers...
 An Electronics Weekly article entitled
"Modelling
Grid Effects of Electric Vehicle Charging in the Next Decade" references
Nature magazine study "Charging Infrastructure
Access and Operation to Reduce the Grid Impacts of Deep Electric Vehicle Adoption,"
which indicated high density areas with currently (no pun intended) stresses electric
supply grids will be problematic. It is a Captain Obvious announcement to anyone
following the existing issues like a couple weeks ago California telling EV owners
not to charge their cars because of the power shortage. It begins: "Researchers
at Stanford University have modelled over-night home charging of electric vehicles
and predict that it is not the correct strategy, for the Western US, at least. Stanford
EV charging model Simulation is based on a model, revealed in March, for charging
demand that can be applied to different human populations under different conditions.
In a demonstration..."
 For several years I have been scanning and
posting Radio Service Data Sheets like this one featuring the
RCA Victor Model R-78 B1-Acoustic 12-Tube Superheterodyne floor console radio
in graphical format, and run OCR on them to separate the textual content and make
it searchable. There are still many people who restore and service these vintage
radios, and often it can be difficult or impossible to find schematics and/or tuning
information. I will keep a running list of all data sheets to facilitate a search.
The RCA Victor Model R-78 B1-Acoustic 12-Tube photo was found on the RadioMuseum.org
website...
 Brendon McHugh has an interesting article
on the Microwaves & RF website entitled, "Strengthen
SATCOM with SDR-Enhanced Phased-Array Antennas." It begins: "Many SATCOM apps
require constant communication between the satellite and ground station, which can
be difficult with conventional antennas. Phased-array technologies, coupled with
SDRs, provide the robust comm link necessary for proper operation. Satellite communication
(SATCOM) is one of the pillars of the modern world, with applications including
Global Positioning System (GPS) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) navigation,
space research, telecommunications, internet access, weather monitoring, and law-enforcement
surveillance. Together with the satellite itself, ground stations are crucial to
the SATCOM industry. They transmit and receive data to and from the satellite, process
the information, and apply it to different purposes, depending on the application.
Therefore, it’s fundamental to ensure an efficient, reliable, and robust..."
 Included in this first of a series of the
"Simple
Mathematics for the Serviceman" articles that ran in Radio-Craft magazine is
another "cheat sheet" full of oft-used formulas. It begins with basic Ohm's law,
resistance, inductance, and capacitance, then builds from there. What was valid
in 1930 is still valid in 2022. See the October 1930 issue for the next installment
that includes yet another handy-dandy cheat sheet of formulas. A couple examples
are given...
 New Scheme rotates
all Banners in all locations on the page! RF Cafe typically receives 8,000-15,000
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RF Cafe is a favorite of engineers,
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within a few hours of being posted. I also re-broadcast homepage items on LinkedIn.
If you need your company news to be seen, RF Cafe is the place to be.
 Triad RF Systems designs and manufactures
RF power amplifiers
and systems. Triad RF Systems comprises three partners (hence 'Triad') with
over 40 years of accumulated knowledge of what is required to design, manufacture,
market, sell and service RF/Microwave amplifiers and amplifier systems. PA, LNA,
bi-directional, and frequency translating amplifiers are available, in formats including
tower mount, benchtop, rack mount, and chassis mount. "We view Triad more as a technology
partner than a vendor for our line-of-sight communications product line." Please
check to see how they can help your project.
 I learned a new word in this issue of
Electronics World magazine's special report on
ceramic capacitors: "discoidal." It looked like a made-up word to describe something
that looks like a disc. Anyway, the July 1965 issue contained a collection of articles
on the various sorts of capacitors in use at the time. Other types of dielectrics
covered were tantalum, glass, plastic-film, mica, paper, and metallized-dielectric.
Ceramic and electrolytic capacitors were by far the most widely used capacitors
during the vacuum tube era since they were relatively inexpensive to manufacture
and could handle high voltages. Hobbyists who service and/or refurbish vintage electronic
equipment still need this information if for no other reason than to verify component
values based on color codes. It also helps to know how the electrical properties
vary over temperature, frequency, applied voltage, etc., when deciding which type
of modern capacitor will best serve as a suitable substitute...
 Sam Benzacar of Anatech Electronics, an RF
and microwave filter company, has published his September 2022 newsletter that features
his short op−ed entitled "It's
Official: DSRC is Dead," where he discusses how the 1999 era (Y2K era remember?)
"Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC)," which was allocated 75 MHz of spectrum
at 5.9 GHz for "intelligent transportation systems," is no more. "Cellular to Everything
(C-V2X)" is its replacement. Also reported is the introduction of C-Band-proof radar
altimeters, a THz development grant to NYU's Tandon School of Engineering, and HawkEye
360 developing RF-sensing capabilities for U.S. Army. As always, Sam demonstrates
a keen awareness of the industry for which his company, Anatech Electronics, services...
 There are still many old-timers and beginning
nostalgic collectors out there who nurse heirloom and otherwise procured vacuum
tube radios - like this
Admiral Model 7C63, Chassis 7C1 - back to health (operating condition) and/or
keep them in good health. The thumbnail to the left is an example from the RadioMuseum.org
website. While it is possible to purchase schematics, parts lists, and service instructions
from many different models, there are still some that have escaped the scanners
of those publishers. For those kindred spirits in search of such reference materials,
I happily scan, clean up as necessary, and post this collection (see complete list
at bottom of page). I have dozens more that will eventually be added over time,
so check back later or send me an e-mail if I have an issue (check the lists first,
please) of Radio News, Radio-Craft, etc., known to contain the
information you need...
 Any day now we'll see a headline about a
Stasi (aka
FBI) raid on Scott Adams' home at 6:00 in the morning to confiscate his cellphone.
Evidently it's not OK to poke fun at the "woke" agenda according to (as of now)
77 newspapers which cancelled the "Dilbert"
comic strip. Many newspapers have gone out of business or are on the verge of doing
so due to disappearing subscribers. People are sick of having one view forced at
them with no counterpoints. I'm sure Adams makes plenty of $$$ from other Dilbert-related
ventures, so he probably will not miss the revenue. A lot of people still subscribe
to newspapers mainly for comics and puzzles. This will just add to the "go woke
- go broke" phenomenon we're witnessing happening to politically correct businesses.
Go to Dilbert.com for all your Dilbert needs.
 Since its inception in 1934, the Federal
Communications Commission's (FCC) Enforcement Bureau has taken seriously its charter
to monitor and protect designated frequency bands against both intentional and unintentional
interference. Except for malicious attacks on legitimate operations, most instances
of interference are the result of utter ignorance or accidental broadcasting due
to inattention to detail (wrong frequency dialed in) or equipment malfunction. Standard
practice is to issue an immediate cease and desist order to the offending party,
and then go forward with prosecution if compliance does not follow. News stories
appear fairly often about
pirate
broadcasters and idiots exacting revenge on someone else who allegedly offended
said idiot. The $500 fine levied on Mr. Winston in 1931 is the equivalent of
a $9,938.62 fine in 2022 (see BLS Inflation Calculator). That is a lot of money,
but it pales in comparison to the typical $25k and higher fines charged recently
to habitually errant Hams. Evidently, his case fell under the intentional interference
category...
 RF Cafe's raison d'être is and always has
been to provide useful, quality content for engineers, technicians, engineering
managers, students, and hobbyists. Part of that mission is offering to post applicable
job openings. HR department employees
and/or managers of hiring companies are welcome to submit opportunities for posting
at no charge. 3rd party recruiters and temp agencies are not included so as to assure
a high quality of listings. Please read through the easy procedure to benefit from
RF Cafe's high quality visitors...
 Please take a few moments to visit the
everythingRF website to see how they can assist
you with your project. everythingRF is a product discovery platform for RF and microwave
products and services. They currently have 267,269 products from more than 1397
companies across 314 categories in their database and enable engineers to search
for them using their customized parametric search tool. Amplifiers, test equipment,
power couplers and dividers, coaxial connectors, waveguide, antennas, filters, mixers,
power supplies, and everything else. Please visit everythingRF today to see how
they can help you.
 This custom made
Electrical Engineering theme crossword puzzle for September 25th is provided
compliments of RF Cafe. It's a big one with more than 240 words - good for
a long flight. All RF Cafe crossword puzzles are custom made by me, Kirt Blattenberger,
and have only words and clues related to RF, microwave, and mm-wave engineering,
optics, mathematics, chemistry, physics, and other technical subjects. As always,
this crossword puzzle 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., Reginald Denny or the Tunguska event in
Siberia). The technically inclined cruciverbalists amongst us will appreciate the
effort. Enjoy!
 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...
 The
Wireless Telecom Group,
comprised of Boonton, CommAgility, Holzworth, and Noisecom, is a global designer
and manufacturer of advanced RF and microwave components, modules, systems, and
instruments. Serving the wireless, telecommunication, satellite, military, aerospace,
semiconductor and medical industries, Wireless Telecom Group products enable innovation
across a wide range of traditional and emerging wireless technologies. A unique
set of high-performance products including peak power meters, signal generators,
phase noise analyzers, signal processing modules, 5G and LTE PHY/stack software,
noise sources, and programmable noise generators.
 TGIF. Even with being self-employed, I still
am always glad when Friday gets here. Aside from some morning work posting content
for my AirplanesAndRockets.com hobby website, Saturday is my only day completely
off from RFCafe.com business. Anyway, a good way to wind down the week is with some
good old-fashioned humor. These couple
electronics-themed
comics from a 1959 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine are literally
old-fashioned. The comic on page 52 is actually a tongue-in-cheek criticism aimed
at the housewife who must have make a remark about how easy television servicing
probably is. However, the technician's response is really not such a bad high-level
check of the health of the vacuum tubes. Heater elements burning out was a fairly
common cause of a tube being bad. Of course nobody would want to go through and
feel all the tubes' temperatures because those suckers can get hot enough to burn...
 Note that while Zenith Electronics (now
owned by LG) has only been around 40 years,
Zenith has
been manufacturing TVs in the U.S. since 1939. Per the IEEE Spectrum article
- "Why the last major U.S. television set maker, Zenith, finally gave up. Driven
finally into unprofitability in its traditional market by ever stiffer competition
from abroad, harmed rather than helped by a decade of economizing cutbacks in research
and development, Zenith Electronics
Corp. - the sole surviving U.S. manufacturer of television receivers - reportedly
plans to call it quits in the business it helped to create and nourish through some
40 years of innovation. Indeed, nothing so neatly reflects the company's present
situation as its latest and arguably its second greatest innovation: a flat shadow
mask for a flat-faced cathode ray tube hailed everywhere as a major breakthrough.
Announced in 1986, the Flat Tension Mask, as it is called, increases the brightness
of the cathode ray tube by up to 80%, its contrast ratio by up to 70%, and its resolution
by up to 15% over current tube designs, which use a curved face plate and curved
shadow mask..."
 I have often said that some of the most
capable and enthusiastic engineers and technicians - and even managers - I have
worked with in my 30-something year electronics career have been amateur radio operators.
They are the rare few who are able to combine a hobby passion with a profession
that pays for the hobby... kind of like the airline pilot who flies model airplanes
or the druggie who works at a pharmacy. Oh, wait, scratch that last example. Here
we see a video from Chevrolet where two engineers, one of them a Ham, took up the
challenge to replace the AM/FM whip antenna originally planned for the 2011 Camaro
convertible with a
blended,
inconspicuous antenna. Leaked photos of the prototype car showed the whip, which
caused Camaro aficionados to descend upon Chevy requesting its removal. The flexible,
folding rear window prevented an embedded solution as is the norm for many cars.
The ultimate solution? Embed the antenna in the spoiler. Given the retro nature
of the Camaro, the hew and cry against the whip antenna is a bit surprising. I had
a '69 Camaro SS and a '74 Camaro SS, and of course both had whip antennas. Kirt
Blattenberger (circa 1977) 1969 Camaro SS w/350 cu.in. LT−1 engine (Wikipedia says
production began in 1970, but actually late 1969) Bracket Racing Trophy from Capitol
Raceway According to the video, the two engineers spent 10 months rushing to get
the antenna into the spoiler prior to rollout...
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