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Friday 20
 "Meeting the Challenges of the Millimeter Wave Radio Frequency Environment
for 5G" Date: Thursday, October 26, 2017, Time: 2:00 PM ET. "One of the primary
challenges of 5G testing is both capturing information on the millimeter wave radio frequency
environment as well as just understanding its operation. Both industry and academic research
is still at an early phase of this work and for it to progress work must be done on a number
of fronts in terms of test and measurement. For instance, better models are need ...
 "ViaSat has decided to throw a hissy-fit over the Ofcom decision to grant
Inmarsat a license for its European Aviation Network, threatening legal action over the move.
Ofcom must be sitting back and wondering if it is able to do anything right. Every decision
it seems to make is met with a chorus of lawyers serenading the watchdog to the legal dance
floor. Three is usually the one who complains it isn't getting more help despite not putting
its hand ..."
 Author Len Buckwalter states in this 1972 article from
Popular Electronics that at the time, radio channels were so crowded in California
that police were using spectrum in the
TV broadcast band for communication. The FCC was denying recreational boaters channel
space on favor of commercial operators. The problem could not be blamed in available frequency
space, but rather on the lack of inexpensive electronic components that worked above a kHz
or so. Nowadays when you read in the news about such desperate need of spectrum that network
owners pay millions or billions of dollars for a few measly MHz of bandwidth, the cause is
truly an overabundance of devices vying for space. Although truthfully, you could claim that
exactly the same ...
 Mini-Circuits announces the availability of four new devices in its lineup
of RF and microwave components. Included are an extra-long-life absorptive electromechanical
SP4T switch for DC to 18 GHz, a 2.4 mm (female to male) adapter covers DC to 50 GHz
for industry-leading value, a surface-mount bandpass filter for 95 to 105 MHz with excellent
selectivity, and an ultra-high dynamic range MMIC amplifier providing +46.1 dBm IP3 from
0.03 to 2.7 GHz ...
 "Deutsche Telekom has got four of its radio cells in Berlin pumping out
shiny New Radio goodness in a real-world setting, claiming a European first. Technically this
is 'pre-standard 5G NR,' but the lack of a standard hasn't stopped everyone banging on about
5G for year and DT isn't about to miss out on all the gun-jumping fun. We're told this mini-network
is managing a throughput of 2 Gbps so a single device and a latency ..."
 Anatech Electronics, a manufacturer of RF and microwave
filters, has published its October newsletter. In it, Sam Benzacar asks the question "Whatever
happened to NFC?" He does a brief history on the big plans for near field communication (NFC)
as well as what likely doomed it - at least as originally envisioned. Finally, Sam suggests
a great application for NFC that, combined with contactless charging (my interjection), could
prove to be a huge market to resurrect NFC fever. There are also a few news items relevant
to Anatech Electronics' business (that would be RF filters) ...
Thursday 19
 "Researchers have modeled the actions of electrons
under
extreme temperatures and densities, such as those found within planets
and stars. The work could provide insights into the behavior of matter in fusion experiments,
which may one day lead to a sought-after source of clean energy. Electrons are an elementary
component of our world and determine many of the properties of solids and liquids ..."
 Nova Microwave
is a leader in technically differentiated electronic and radio frequency Ferrite
Circulators and Isolators that
connect, protect and control critical commercial and military wireless telecommunications
systems. Our staff is dedicated to research and development of standard and custom design
quality Ferrite Circulators and Isolators from 380 MHz to 26.5 GHz. Please visit
Nova Microwave today ...
 Did you know that General Electric introduced the first
silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) for commercial use? It was in 1957. The SCR was one
of the first really high power devices in the semiconductor industry, not for its voltage
and power gain, but for its ability to switch very large currents on and off while having
a relatively low "on" voltage drop. This article gets into the basic theory, operation, and
application of the SCR. The S-band airport surveillance radar that I worked on in the USAF
originally used a vacuum tube thyratron to trigger the magnetron's pulse forming network,
but that tube was replaced with a solid state SCR circuit that plugged directly ...
 Keysight
Technologies will showcase the latest releases of its high-frequency simulation and measurement
tools at the electrical performance of electronic packaging and systems 2017 (EPEPS
2017) conference, the premier event for advanced and emerging issues in electrical modeling,
analysis and design of electronic interconnections, packages and systems. Keysight will demonstrate
the following new software capabilities at the event ...
 "After the destruction inflicted across the Caribbean
by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, renewable energy advocates are calling for a rethink
of the region's devastated power systems. Rather than simply rebuilding grids that delivered
mostly diesel generation via damage-prone overhead power lines, renewables advocates argue
that the island grids should leapfrog into the future by interconnecting hundreds or thousands
of self-sufficient
solar microgrids ..."
Wednesday 18
 "Over the last 10 years Comsol has grown from providing
Integration solutions to providing fully managed wireless services. This new market offering
has allowed our customers to no longer invest in specialized
wireless infrastructure which creates strain on their balance sheet but,
rather, to buy an all-in connectivity service from Comsol and build this into easily managed
OPEX budgets ..."
 "I don't know the last time you purchased some new coax,
but it's sold by the foot and can cost an arm and a leg!" - H. Ward Silver, QST
magazine, October 2017,
Hands-on- Radio (p71).
 October 26, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm EST. Presenter: Hassan
Chreim. CST Webinar Series:
Automotive radar is becoming increasingly important for car designers,
due to the huge role it plays in securing and ensuring the driver's safety. In this webinar,
we will show how CST STUDIO SUITE can be used to perform and study all of the design stages
of automotive radars, starting from the basic element which is the antenna, through its integration
inside a radome, to actually placing and calibrating the whole package ...
 Deciding which fuse to use as a replacement for a blown
fuse is usually a simple matter - read the part number or electrical parameters (current,
voltage) off the package and make sure of its type (fast or slow blow). Of course whenever
a fuse blows, you usually have more or a problem than just a bad fuse. Deciding which
fuse to use when designing a circuit which requires overcurrent protection requires a
lot more consideration. This article from fuse making company Bussmann's Charles James gives
a brief introduction to the kinds of parameters you need to factor into a selection. There's
more to it in most cases - especially ...
 ConductRF's
SiteFlex Range of ruggedized Field
RF Test Cables are designed Field Test Engineers working in applications that require on site
RF Testing. These cables are directly compatible with Hand-Held Network and Spectrum analyzers.
Options include DC to 7 GHz through DC to 50 GHz. The ruggedized construction includes
anti-torque connectors that are firmly attached to the cables external armor. Crush resistant
SF series cable can withstand 1,200 lbs/sq.in ...
 "Qualcomm was granted FCC authorization to conduct
experiments using a small 5G R&D development and demonstration network at
4.4-4.94 GHz in its hometown of San Diego. Specifically, the location
is within a 0.5-mile radius of Qualcomm's campus in the Sorrento Valley area of San Diego.
The authorization is effective until October 1, 2019. The application lists 30 mobile units
and four base stations to be used in a test network that will use a single TDD 100 MHz channel ..."
Tuesday 17
 "A new method that precisely measures the mysterious
behavior and magnetic properties of electrons flowing across the surface of quantum materials
could open a path to
next-generation electronics. Found at the heart of electronic devices,
silicon-based semiconductors rely on the controlled electrical current responsible for powering
electronics. These semiconductors can only access the electrons' charge for energy, but electrons
do more than carry a charge. They also have intrinsic angular momentum ..."
RF Cafe typically receives 30,000-40,000 page views each weekday and about half that
on weekends. RF Cafe is a favorite of engineers, technicians, hobbyists, and students
all over the world. With more than 8,600 pages in the Google search index, RF Cafe returns
in favorable positions on many types of keyword searches, both for text and images. New content
is added on a daily basis. Advertising
plans start at a mere $35 per month ...
 Printed circuit boards (PCBs), especially high density
and many layered, were still a relatively new technology in 1969. Point-to-point wiring was
still a large part of most products in the commercial, military, industrial, and aerospace
worlds. Producing artwork and contracting for a lot of PCBs was rather expensive, especially
in small quantities. Many people, including me, made quite a few single- and two-sided boards
using photoresist pens and self-adhesive tape and pads, then bathing them in an etchant solution
of ferric chloride. Through holes were made on a drill press and then traces and pads were
tinned with flux and solder ...
 "Now in its 36th
year, MILCOM
continues to be the premier international conference for military communications. At MILCOM,
global military communications professionals face command, control, communications, computing,
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) challenges head on. They look at them
from every angle and discuss them from end to end - research and development through future
needs. The conference allows industry the opportunity to hear and understand the requirements,
pace of change and state of play in a variety of C4ISR ..."
 "At a time when much of the industry's attention has
been on midband spectrum, Nokia is taking it up a notch by pursuing tests in the
90-96 GHz range. The vendor filed an application with the FCC asking for
permission to conduct the tests over the course of two years at Nokia facilities in Murray
Hill, New Jersey; Arlington Heights and Naperville, Illinois; and Sunnyvale, California. The
application ..."
 Res-Net
Microwave has a complete line of precision
RF & microwave
components including attenuators, terminations, resistors, and diode detectors for commercial,
military, and space applications. Products range from the small flange type to large 2 kW
connectorized power attenuators and/or terminations at frequencies up to 26.5 GHz. In-house
photo etch and laser trim capability. Please check out Res-Net Microwave's website to
see how they can help with your current project ...
Monday 16
 "TechInsights explored some of the Bluetooth and cellular
IoT devices that it expects will dominate the Internet of Things for some time.
Bluetooth 5.0
SoCs will be rapidly adopted by consumer IoT devices such as smartwatches and health and
fitness products. Two emerging cellular IoT standards - narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and Enhanced
Machine-type Communications (eMTC) - will see wide applications in smart meters, bikes and
other new emerging ..."
 "Every Wi-Fi connection is potentially vulnerable to
an unprecedented security flaw that allows hackers to snoop on internet traffic, researchers
have revealed. The vulnerability is the first to be found in the modern encryption techniques
that have been used to secure Wi-Fi networks for the last 14 years. The so-called 'Krack' attack has been described as a “fundamental flaw” in wireless security
techniques by experts. Apple, Android and Windows software are all susceptible to some version ..."
 This Bulova
Accuquartz wristwatch is not the first quartz-controlled wearable timepiece; however,
it was the first to be manufactured in the U.S. Interestingly, it is not a fully electronic
watch because the quartz crystal stimulates a mechanical tuning fork which ultimately drives
the hands. Bulova's first tuning-fork-driven "Accutron" was introduced in 1960. It sported
a 360 Hz tuning fork that was stimulated by a pair of electromagnets ...
 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 169,552 Products from more than 1040 Companies across 258 Categories in our database
and enable engineers to search for them using their customized parametric search tool ...
 "The corporate headquarters of test company
Keysight Technologies is shut down and suffered minor damage in the wildfires
that have wiped out parts of Santa Rosa, California. Although a local news report claimed
that the campus had been destroyed, the most recent update from the company said that as of
Monday afternoon, 'all four main buildings are intact, although there appears to be some minor
damage. Two modular structures and several automobiles suffered more extensive damage ..."
Sunday 15
 For the sake of avid cruciverbalists amongst us, each
week I create a new
technology-themed crossword puzzle using only words related to engineering, science, mathematics,
chemistry, physics, astronomy, etc. At least 10 clues in this puzzle with an asterisk (*)
are pulled from this past week's (10/9 - 10/13) "Tech Industry Headlines" column on the RF
Cafe homepage (see the Headline Archives page for help) ...
Friday 13
 "Robust, flexible,
wireless temperature
sensor based on SansEC. NASA Langley Research Center has developed a robust, wireless
temperature sensor that does not require an electrical connection. The temperature sensor
is built on NASA's SansEC sensor platform, which takes advantage of measuring dielectric changes.
The temperature sensor is damage tolerant, wireless, flexible, precise, and inexpensive. One
promising application is for tire temperature ..."
 There are not too many honest-to-goodness
electronics repair shops around anymore - those where the proprietor uses multimeters,
oscilloscopes, and signal generators to troubleshoot and align equipment. In fact, I would
guess that most such shops do most of their business based on customers who find their services
as the result of a Google search. You can find lots of cool videos of technicians demonstrating
(and showing off) their collection of test equipment and solder rework stations - mostly for
fixing vintage audio and video gear. Nowadays the smartphone screen replacement dude / dudette
working from a kiosk in the shopping mall is considered an electronics ...
 "An antenna designed for sense-and-avoid systems for
unmanned aircraft may not only help open the national airspace to unmanned air vehicles but
also transform the design of wide-bandwidth radar systems. The
Airborne Sense and Avoid Radar Panel is seen during installation on a
Twin Otter aircraft. Although unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have proven increasingly useful
in a variety of applications - disaster response operations, land and crop surveys, aerial
photography, and critical infrastructure protection ..."
 Saelig Company has introduced the
GW
Instek GPM-8213 AC Power Meter, which has been designed specifically for power measurements
on single-phase AC power supplies. This instrument offers high-accuracy voltage, current,
and power measurement capabilities from both front- and rear-panel inputs, presenting users
with clear, convenient, and accurate AC power measurements. The GPM-8213 provides 2 display
modes in order to maximize its measurement usefulness. In the Standard Mode it simultaneously
displays 8 measurement parameters; this is ideal for R&D and engineering ...
 "Key to the stochastic-resonance device's constant
buzzing of movement is the use of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in parallel and spanning chromium electrodes, and phosphomolybdic
acid (PMo12) molecules [red and blue clusters]. It seems counterintuitive that background
noise - like a white noise - could actually be used to help detect faint signals. But that's
what happens in an unexpected phenomenon known as stochastic ..."
Thursday 12
 Pasternack, a leading provider of RF, microwave and
millimeter wave products, has introduced a new line of
cross guide waveguide couplers with 4 port, 3 port and 2 port with coax
interface that work across C to K bands. Typical applications include instrumentation, test
benches, product development and characterization. Pasternack's new line of cross guide couplers
consists of 160 parts in three sub-categories: cross guide couplers (4 waveguide ports), cross
guide couplers with terminations (3 waveguide ports) and cross ...
 "Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School
of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) developed the first on-chip
metamaterial with a refractive index of zero, meaning that the phase of
light could be stretched infinitely long. The metamaterial represented a new method to manipulate
light and was an important step forward for integrated photonic circuits, which use light
rather than electrons to perform a wide variety of functions. Now SEAS researchers have ..."
 One article by Danny Rockett introduces an approach
to selecting the most suitable battery for a mobile device. I have posted many of my own commentaries
on the importance of critical
battery selection based mainly on my use of various technologies in my flying models.
Kickstarter and other startup funding websites are full of gizmos people have invented that
are battery-powered, so it is not just the "big boys" who need to be concerned. Back in the
early days of Bluetooth, I jokingly said that I should invest in battery company stocks because
if the scheme took off, I would be rich in a couple decades due to all the wireless devices.
Well, I didn't - but it did - and now I'm still not ...
 Triad RF Systems announces the
TA1167, a compact 5 W amplifier suitable for COFDM video links in
the UAS and DTV broadcast space, covering 6,400 to 7,100 MHz. It's compact, efficient,
design allows for camera-back installations or other applications that are SWaP constrained.
The amplifier is capable of 1 W COFDM meeting -30 dB ACPR. Features include: Over
/ under / reverse voltage protection, optional heatsink, high speed On/Off control, and thermal
shutdown ...
 It has been over a year since I have worked on any old
electronics gear, so the need for hand-dandy
color code charts has not been at the top of my list for publishing. My bad. Every day
there are untold thousands of people hard at work - although most wouldn't consider it work
- restoring and maintaining a bit of world history. If you do a search on the RF Cafe website,
you will find many types of color code charts that were published over the decades by the
likes of Electronics World, Popular Electronics, Radio & TV News, Short Wave Craft ...
 "When you're really harried, you probably feel like
your head is brimful of chaos. You're pretty close. Neuroscientists say your brain operates
in a regime termed the 'edge of chaos,' and it's actually a good thing. It's a state that allows
for fast, efficient analog computation of the kind that can solve problems that grow vastly
more difficult as they become bigger in size. The trouble is, if you're trying to replicate
that kind of chaotic computation ..."
Wednesday 11
 "If you haven't discovered
MATLAB shortcuts yet, you really should. Shortcuts are very useful and
could save you a ton of time and effort. For instance, if you find yourself typing the same
lines of code everyday why not store them as a shortcut? Think of the amount of time and effort
this will save you in the long run. It really will pay dividends. We've gathered together
a few commonly used ones that, we hope, will make your MATLAB experience a little bit more
enjoyable. This list is clearly not ..."
 Georg Simon Ohm's eponymous "law," i.e.,
Ohm's law, is perhaps the best-known formula in the realm of electricity and electronics.
Although Mr. Ohm did not know it at the time, his conclusion holds up in both the macro
and micro scale worlds of electron behavior. Voltage is equal to the product of a resistance
and the current flowing through it, E = I * R. It is hard to believe that we have only had
his result, announced in 1825, at our disposal for less than 200 years. A thorough grasp of
Ohm's law is a minimum requirement for entry into the fields of electrical and electronics
work; fortunately, only a fundamental grasp of algebra is required. Kirchhoff's law is a relatively
easy next step. The big hurdle comes with wanting ...
 Anatech Electronics manufactures and supplies RF and
microwave filters for military and commercial communication systems, providing standard and
custom RF  filters, and RF products. StandardRF filter and cable assembly products
are published in their website database. Custom RF filters designs are used when a standard
cannot be found, or the requirements dictate a custom approach. Please take a moment to visit
Anatech's website to see how they might be able to assist with your current project
...
 everythingRF is once again this year providing on-the-scene
coverage of the European Microwave Week show. The 20th European Microwave Week (EuMW 2017),
in Nuremberg, Germany, October 8 to 13, will bring industry, academia and commerce together
during a 6 day event that will consist of three conferences and one exhibition. The event
expects to see over 4000 visitors and will have in more than 300 exhibitors. Keep up to date
at everythingRF ...
 Keysight Technologies today announced that its corporate
headquarters, located at 1400 Fountaingrove Parkway, Santa Rosa, California, is
temporarily shut down due to the wildfires burning in the area. Contrary to some news
reports, as of 3 p.m. PT, a Keysight representative confirmed that all four main buildings
are intact, although there appears to be some minor damage. Two modular structures and several
automobiles suffered more extensive damage. The company will provide further information after
they are granted full access to the facility ...
 "Researchers at Columbia University in New York have
created an
RF circulator that works at 25 GHz. It uses a non-reciprocal structure
- one whose physical characteristics differ depending on the direction of flow. In this case,
seen as the straight section in the double ring circulator in the diagram, it is a pair of
transmission lines that are either directly-connected or cross-connected by switches at the
ends. If the length of the section is just right, and the switches at one end are 90°
out of phase ..."
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