See Page 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 | of the September 2023 homepage
archives. Thursday the 7th
 In the 1950s and 1960s, S&H Green Stamps
were the hot item for handing out to buyers of your goods and services. Housewives
coveted them at grocery and department stores, and he who wore the pants in the
family often opted for the gas station and hardware store that handed them out in
proportion to money spent. That was also the era when banks gave out toasters, blenders,
and clothes irons for opening a new savings account.
Channel Master (the TV antenna company) decided it would one−up those enticements
by offering Wm. Rogers Holloware Service silver−plated serving trays to distributors
who agreed to purchase a certain volume of tubes. This promotion of course was not
directed to Harry Homeowner who bought a few tubes per year to service a flaky television
or radio. Depending on the condition, most of those silver-plated plates and trays
are selling for between $10 and $40 ($1 to $4 in 1960 dollars).
 Many people were (and still are) reluctant
to approach the theoretical aspect of electronics as it applied to circuit design
and analysis. QST (the ARRL's monthly publication) often included equations
and explanations in many of their project building articles. Occasionally, an article
was published that dealt specifically with how to use simple mathematics. This "Practical
Applications of Simple Math" piece in the July 1944 edition of QST
is the third installation of at least a four-part tutorial covering resistance and
reactance, amplifier biasing, oscillators, feedback circuits, etc. I do not have
Part I from the May 1944 edition or Part IV from the August 1944 edition,
but if you want to send me those editions, I'll be glad to scan and post them...
 Model D−2065−N from Werbel Microwave is
a
2-way power splitter / combiner covering the continuous bandwidth of 500 MHz
to 6 GHz. The product features low insertion loss of 0.9 dB, high isolation
of 22 dB and excellent return loss performance of 19 dB. Tight phase and
amplitude matching between outputs. Aluminum body with stainless steel N(F) connectors.
Ready for 5G and 6G deployment. The device is RoHS compliant. This part has versatile
mounting options. Standard thru holes mount the part from the broad surface, while
threaded holes allow for bulkhead rack-mountable mounting. Since 2014, Werbel Microwave
has designed and produced high performance radio frequency components for military,
commercial, test and measurement applications...
 This story from a 1964 issue of Electronics
magazine is close to home - literally. Well, it was close to home at the time, anyway.
It reports on the work done by the
Electromagnetic Compatibility Analysis Center (ECAC)* "...jutting out on a pier
across the broad Severn River from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis."
I grew up in the 1960s and 70s just a few miles from there and distinctly recall
seeing all the antennas in the area, including the now decommissioned and removed
acres-big ELF (extremely low frequency, 30 to 300 Hz) submarine communications
antenna farm. The Annapolis location, with its proximity to Washington, D.C., was
the home to many government and military installations and defense contractors.
It was an electromagnetic signal-rich environment, which made it the perfect setting
for studying compatibility issues. Editor John Carroll wrote this rather extensive
review of the state of the art for the era, although no doubt the true extent of
the capability was known only to those possessing security clearances...
 With 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...
 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.
Wednesday the 6th
 Benjamin Franklin is credited for coming
up with the
lightning arrestor scheme based on his famous experiments which ultimately determined
that lightning was a form of electrical discharge*. He observed that during intense
lightning storms around Philadelphia, the tallest buildings were usually the ones
most likely to be struck - and often precipitating significant conflagrations upon
itself and spreading to adjacent structures. Being certain that lightning was caused
by a very large difference of voltage potential and the subsequent dielectric breakdown
with an ensuing very large current flow, he theorized than providing a safe pathway
for the current to flow could spare the structure. To test his theory, Ben installed
pointed vertical rods at the highest point on the building and ran a conductor down
to Earth ground. Amazingly, when a bolt of lightning struck the rod, the current
was safely shunted to ground rather than igniting the building. People quickly adopted
the scheme and set about installing similar lightning protection systems on tall
buildings. After that, only the shortest buildings burned during lightning storms
(not really - I made that up)...
 This is amazing - a 65 GHz oscilloscope!
Their WaveMaster
8000HD series of o−scopes have bandwidths ranging from to 65 GHz, at 320 GS/s,
and a 12−bit resolution at full bandwidth and sample rate. "Modern serial data technologies
require an oscilloscope with class-leading performance in more ways than ever. Faster
signals are driving higher bandwidth requirements. New trends towards higher-order
modulations like PAM3 and PAM4 mean that oscilloscope resolution is now a critical
consideration. Complex analysis methodologies demand more computing power. Long
memory and high sample rates capture both millisecond-scale trends and picosecond-scale
glitches. With up to 8 Gpts of acquisition memory, WaveMaster 8000HD captures
events occurring over long periods of time, while maintaining high sample rate for
visibility into the smallest details, and always at 12 bits of resolution..."
 Before the Internet, cellphone apps, and
personal computers, many calculations began with a lookup table, chart, or nomograph.
In the case of long distance radio operators [Hams,
Short Wave Listener (SWL), and professional types] seeking distance and direction
information for pointing antennas, it took a map like this one published by
Radio News & Short-Wave magazine in 1934 to estimate an optimal configuration.
Such tools were essential in order to determine the best direction to point the
antenna, which over a long distance is usually much different than what might be
assumed by looking at a flattened projection map of the earth (see "Distance Lends
Enchantment" below). Distances in Chart No. 1 are all relative to New York
(NYers have always considered themselves the center of the universe ), so operators
in other locales need to compensate. Here is one example of many online great circle
calculators that allows you to enter two sets of longitude and latitude...
 "Fujitsu has developed a new millimeter-wave
chip for 5G that supports
multibeam multiplexing (excluding polarization multiplexing), enabling up to
four beams to be multiplexed by a single millimeter-wave chip for the radio units
(RU) of 5G base stations. The development was undertaken as part of the 'Research
and Development Project of the Enhanced Infrastructures for Post-5G, Information
and Communication Systems' commissioned by Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology
Development Organization (NEDO). With conventional technologies, a single millimeter-wave
chip is used to generate a single beam, resulting in larger RUs and increased power
consumption. When the newly developed technology is applied to actual base stations,
Fujitsu demonstrated that it is possible to achieve high speed and high capacity
communications of 10 Gbps or more with a device half the size of a conventional
RU..."
 This is a nice short article covering the
calculation of inductances for coils wound on cores and wire sizes. It appeared
in a 1932 issue of Short Wave Craft magazine, but of course inductance has not changed
since then so it is still relevant. The author recognized that standard formulas,
although concise and accurate, are sometimes difficult to work with when calculations
for a large number of values is needed for a particular circuit design. To address
the situation, he presents a handy nomograph, chart, and a table of typical values.
He also introduces a rarely seen term "Nagaoka's correction factor*" for skin effect.
A smartphone app, a spreadsheet, or a desktop computer program would be used today
to calculate inductance values, number of turns, winding spacing, etc., but back
when mechanical slide rules were the order of the day, these visual methods were
a real benefit...
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...
 The
Wireless Telecom Group,
comprised of Boonton, 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.
Tuesday the 5th
 This "Product Feature: Octane"
pamphlet was an insert in the May 1968 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine.
As the subtitle claims, it summarizes "What it is, What it does, How to get your
money's worth." Truth is it is really an infomercial from the Sun Oil Company (aka
Sunoco), but there is some useful information about how octane levels affect engine
performance. Back in the days before computers ran car engines, various factors
like temperature rating of spark plugs, compressions ratio, condenser and ignition
coil condition, timing (before top-dead-center, BTDC), ambient air temperature and
humidity, altitude, and other factors made using the right blend of gasoline necessary
to get top performance. Today's computers measure, monitor, and compensate for a
lot of that, so most engines can run on just about any gasoline. An exception is
high compression ration engines in expensive sports cars requiring high octane levels.
As an aside, the current (2023) Sunoco logo is my favorite of the four historical
logos. It looks very retro...
 ConductRF's
TSA89 series of TESTeLINK RF cables a provide microwave circuit and system designers
with a versatile solution for most test scenarios and product applications. Here
we offer customers a solution for 0.195" diameter coaxial cable with a double shielding
effectiveness of ≥100 dB, and a minimum bend radius of 1.2" (30 mm). Power
levels to 50 W with <0.68 db/ft at 40 GHz, with <1.35:1 VSWR.
Stainless steel connector options include SMA, Type-N, 3.5 mm, 2.92 mm,
and 2.4 mm, all of which provide excellent VSWR between DC and 40 GHz.
Off-the-shelf TSA89 cables are available immediately from Digi−Key...
 Teenage amateur sleuths, cum amateur radio
operators, cum high-tech pranksters, cum serious electronics experimenters
Carl Anderson and Jerry Bishop save the day once again with a cleverly devised
device for erasing the contents of a tape recording. Their assignment, done at the
behest of a secretive government agent, might have been made easier if they had
had access to the super-strong rare earth neodymium magnets of today since a stereo
speaker magnet would not do the job. Instead, the pair was forced to resort to a
more challenging solution. As is author Frye's style, in this 1962 issue of Popular
Electronics magazine he educates you on the workings of tape recorder erasing circuitry
and functionality in the process of telling the story...
 Just when you think government has committed
the most outrageous act possible, along comes something else. Now, the Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), has announced a suspension
of new radio applications and complaints for approximately two years. The CRTC says
the decision came because of its desire to focus on implementing the Online Streaming
Act, causing concern and surprise among radio broadcasters. "The CRTC justified
the two-year deferral, arguing it would allow the public and potential stakeholders
to focus efforts on participating in various proceedings aimed at modernizing the
Canadian broadcasting system. The regulator emphasized that the implementation process
will bring major changes to the system and will require considerable resources from
both the Commission and the industry." Now that bureaucrats know they can get you
to ruin society with mandatory mask wearing and social distancing, there are no
limits to their power.
 At this point in time, it's hard to imagine
an article "introducing" the
Hall effect to electronics enthusiasts, but that's the opening statement in
this 1968 Radio-Electronics magazine piece. Although Mr. Edward Hall
first discovered the eponymous phenomenon in the late nineteenth century, his work
was with metals, which exhibit a rather small reaction to the application of a magnetic
field on a conductor with current flow. The emphasis in this article is on semiconductor-based
Hall effect sensors which produce a much larger change for a given amount of magnetic
field. I found the printed title to be a bit strange: "Hall Effect in Solid," and
wonder whether it was supposed to have had the word "State" added to it. Otherwise,
it doesn't make sense to me. Maybe I'm missing something. Anyway, this is a good
primer on Hall effect sensor theory, construction, and application. They are all
around us today in the form of position indicators, current flow measurement, magnetic
field strength measurement, rotational velocity measurement, and proximity sensor...
 Banner Ads are rotated in all locations
on the page! RF Cafe typically receives 8,000-15,000 visits each
weekday. RF 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...
 LadyBug Technologies was founded in 2004
by two microwave engineers with a passion for quality microwave test instrumentation.
Our employees offer many years experience in the design and manufacture of the worlds
best vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, power meters and associated components.
The management team has additional experience in optical power testing, military
radar and a variety of programming environments including LabVIEW, VEE and other
languages often used in programmatic systems. Extensive experience in a broad spectrum
of demanding measurement applications. You can be assured that our Power Sensors
are designed, built, tested and calibrated without compromise.
Monday the 4th
 All types of sales and services get accused
of ineptness of skill which requires more time than necessary, overcharging for
parts and/or labor, underhandedness in faking problems and selling unnecessary replacement
parts, improper customer interfacing, sloppiness in appearance and/or work environment,
failure to arrive on time for appointments, etc. Some of the most often cited these
days are auto mechanics, cellphone repairers, home improvement contractors, lawn
care, and builders. Up until about a decade ago when cellphone repair began to dominate
over computer repair, the latter was a big source of complaints. In the 1950s and
60s, it was
TV and radio repairmen who took a lot of abuse not just from their customers,
but from large, organized electronic service conglomerates and were abetted by mostly
ignorant media outlets looking for a good story (even if they had to make one up
- same as they do today). Many cases of media fraud have been documented in the
bad-guy sales and service arenas, with one of the most well-known being NBC Dateline's
staged blowing up of the GMC pickup truck using model rocket engines to ignite the
fuel tank (c1992). That's not to say there were not legitimate cases of scandal...
 Pontiac introduced their
GTO
muscle car in 1963 and produced it through 1974 - the year I turned 16 and got a
driver's license. GTOs were hot items among those of us who could not (and still
can't) dream of owning a Corvette or a foreign job. My first car was a
1969 Camaro SS, but a lot of my friends opted for Mustangs, Firebirds,
Roadrunners, Chevelles, Novas, etc. I didn't hold it against them ;-) We had "alternate"
meanings for the names of some cars. A few that come to mind are that Ford meant
"Fix Or Repair Daily," Mopar was "MOre Parts And Repairs," GMC meant "Gay Man's
Car" (hey, it was the 70s), and GTO was "Gas, Tires, Oil" (since they went through
a lot of all three). It was not until recently, whilst perusing a 1965 issue
Mechanix Illustrated magazine that I learned GTO actually comes from "Gran
Turismo Omologato." Translated from Italian, it means "Grand Touring Homologated."
No, that's not related to GMC;
homologated means "approved."
Never stop learning.
 "Combination of
Near- and Far-Field Measurements for Radiated Emissions. As an EMC consultant,
assessing the EMC performance of large systems and machines is a common task. Over
the years, I have encountered a wide range of equipment, including high-power variable-speed
drives (VSDs) in factories, specialized equipment installed on ships, food processing
equipment, and many others. With technological advancements, there are now even
more large systems that require in-situ EMC assessment, such as quantum computers,
additive manufacturing machines, waste recycling equipment, renewable energy power
generators, high-power electric vehicle chargers, and more. While testing equipment
in an accredited EMC chamber is ideal, it may not be a realistic option for large
machines for several reasons. First, a large chamber is required to accommodate
these machines. Second, while the chamber is being charged for use, it can take
days or even weeks to install the machine in a chamber and then disassemble it after
the testing is complete. Finally, logistics and lead time for using the chamber
can also add to the overall cost and time required for EMC testing of large machines...."
 In the present era, designing a
frequency converter circuit consists in most cases of picking from a catalog
an IC or connectorized component that has the characteristics you need from a gain
and mixer spurious product standpoint. Add a couple filters, a local oscillator
(although in some cases the oscillator is part of the IC), and a power supply, and
you're good to go. Of course there are special cases where you have to use a basic
mixer and do everything yourself, but even that is simpler than designing a primary
circuit using diodes or vacuum tubes as rectifiers. Obtaining match sets for good
mixer spurious product cancellation is very difficult, especially in a large volume
production environment. It really is amazing what engineers and hobbyists of yore
were able to accomplish using point-to-point wiring and a slide rule. Here is a
good article form the February 1941 QST magazine that discusses some of
the considerations. Maybe you have an old radio to which this knowledge will apply...
Banner Ads are rotated in all locations
on the page! RF Cafe typically receives 8,000-15,000 visits each
weekday. RF 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...
 Lotus Communication Systems began in 2009,
setting up CNC machine shop and RF/microwave assembling and testing lab in Middlesex
Country, Massachusetts. Lotus is committed to highest quality and innovative products.
Each RF/microwave module meets
exceedingly high standards of quality, performance and excellent value, and are
100% Made in the USA. Lotus' RF/microwave products cover frequency band up to 67
GHz. Lotus also offers an COTS shield enclosures for RF/microwave prototyping and
production. All products are custom designed. We will find a solution and save your
time and cost. Lotus has multiple 4 axis CNC machines and LPKF circuit plotters.
In stock, 1-day free shipping.
Sunday the 3rd
 This week's crossword puzzle for September
3rd sports an
electronics theme. This being the 3rd day of the month, many of the words begin
and/or end and/or contain with the letter "C." Clues for words containing "C" are
marked with an asterisk (*). 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 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, Hedy Lamarr, 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...
 Innovative Power Products has been designing
and manufacturing RF and Microwave passive components since 2005. We use the latest
design tools available to build our baluns, 90-degree couplers, directional couplers,
combiners/dividers, single-ended transformers, resistors, terminations, and custom
products. Applications in military, medical, industrial, and commercial markets
are serviced around the world. Products listed on the website link to detailed mechanical
drawings, electrical specifications, and performance data. If you cannot find a
product that meets your requirements on our website, contact us to speak with one
of our experienced design engineers about your project.
Friday the 1st
 Analog computers are said to be the oldest
form of computer, but I maintain digital computers predated analog computers by
millennia. That's right, our ancient forebears certainly counted using their fingers
and toes (aka digits) for addition and subtraction long before anyone assembled
a mechanism for performing mathematical operations. Astronomers were some of the
most prolific inventors of analog computers for determining the positions of planets,
moons, comets, and even longitude and latitude upon the face of the Earth. Charles
Babbage made one of the most famous mechanical computers - the Babbage Difference
Engine. Probably the most widely used analog computer is one form or another of
a slide rule. I say one form or another because many of the cardboard type calculators
are forms of slide rules. One type of analog computer we use in the RF business
everyday is a frequency mixer, which takes two numbers (frequencies) and produces
the sum and difference. This 1961 issue of Popular Electronics magazine
reports on a couple low cost analog computers available at the time, including the
three-dial
Edmonds Analog Computer...
 "As the UK's
famous red phone box turns 100 next year, UK telco group BT is encouraging communities
to repurpose another 1000 of them for things such as defibrillator stations and
micro-art galleries. BT began the Adopt a Kiosk programme in 2008, in which communities,
parish councils and registered charities can repurpose redundant phone boxes for
the modest fee of £1. Since then more than 7,200 phone boxes have been snapped up
and turned into things ranging from the practical, such as defibrillator units,
and the twee, such as and pint-sized libraries, art galleries and local museums.
It's now announced there are 1000 more waiting to be snapped up, and is encouraging
local people to claim them. BT will continue to provide electricity to power the
light for adopted phone boxes for free, which is nice of them. At their peak in
the 1990s there were around 100,000 phone boxes in the UK. Since mobile phone ownership
and signal coverage became more and more widespread, BT has gradually decommissioned..."
 Bell Telephone Laboratories used to run
some pretty interesting advertisements in magazines back in the 1940s through 1960s
that touted the many communications innovations coming from their scientists and
engineers. They built what was indisputably the worlds best, most reliable telephone
network. It, along with the Interstate Highway System, is credited for a large part
of what fueled America's growth so significantly after World War II. This ad
from a 1949 issue of Radio & Television News magazine tells how repairmen
used a specially designed sensor to trace out faulty phone lines by listening for
a test signal sent out by the central office. What caught my attention about this
ad was the uncanny resemblance the man in the photo has to Melanie's father - especially
with the ball cap and glasses. She was amazed when I showed her the picture...
 One aspect of advertising on the RF Cafe
website I have not covered is using
Google AdSense.
The reason is that I never took the time to explore how - or even whether it is
possible - to target a specific website for displaying your banner ads. A couple
display opportunities have always been provided for Google Ads to display, but the
vast majority of advertising on RF Cafe is done via private advertisers. That is,
companies deal with me directly and I handle inserting their banner ads into the
html page code that randomly selects and displays them. My advertising scheme is
what the industry refers to as a "Tenancy Campaign," whereby a flat price per month
is paid regardless of number of impressions or clicks. It is the simplest format
and has seemed to work well for many companies. With nearly 4 million pageviews
per year for RFCafe.com, the average impression rate per banner ad is about 220,000
per year (in six locations on each page, with >17,000 pages). That's pretty good
exposure for $300 per month. Some companies have expressed an interest in being
able to manage their advertising accounts themselves a la the Google AdSense program...
 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 filters have been announced: a 2195-2210 MHz bandpass cavity
filter with a high side rejection of 40 dB minimum at 2125 MHz and low
side rejection of 10 dB minimum at 2179.5 MHz, a 2198.5-2204.5 MHz
cavity bandpass filter with high side rejection of 25 dB minimum at 2214.5 MHz
and low side rejection of 25 dB minimum at 2188.5 MHz, and a 2245 MHz
cavity bandpass filter with high side rejection of 50 dB maximum at 2340 MHz
and low side rejection of 50 dB maximum at 2150 MHz. Custom RF power filter
and directional couplers designs can be designed and produced with required connector
types when a standard cannot be found...
 Remember when the first manned spacecraft
transported astronauts to Mars and then back to Earth in the 1970s - a 13−month
round trip? Yeah, me neither. In the mid-1960s, Electronics magazine reported
on the preparations being made by NASA for Mars travel at the same time they were
busy preparing the Apollo mission to the moon. The world's first manned orbit (Apollo 8)
of the moon didn't happen until in December 1968, a mere seven months before the
historic July 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing, but NASA was wasting no time planning
for the next big thing. Of course you know to date we never have made it to Mars
with a manned spacecraft, but the headlines are still filled with "any day now"
projections by SpaceX's Elon Musk (whom I like) and his contemporaries. Sure, I
would love to be alive to witness a manned mission to Mars, but I'd settle for another
manned mission to the moon for establishing a lunar way station for future trips
to Mars. Moon base objectionists [sic] say its lack of atmosphere to burn up meteorites
is an insurmountable hazard - just look at all the craters there! However, the International
Space Station (ISS), Apollo-Soyuz, Skylab, Mir, and Salyut existed for decades (not
at the same time) without a protective atmosphere and without a major incident.
Atmospheric winds have erased nearly all evidence of the meteorites that have reached
the Earth's and Mars' surface; many have impacted over the millennia.
These archive pages are provided in order to make it easier for you to find items
that you remember seeing on the RF Cafe homepage. Of course probably the easiest
way to find anything on the website is to use the "Search
RF Cafe" box at the top of every page.
About RF Cafe.
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