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ELECTRONICSTALK
The Independent Weekly Product Information Guide
for Electronics Engineers
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London, UK
ISSN 1475-2913 - Free subscription
Published every Tuesday at 12:30 (UK)
Issue 32: 18 September 2001
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2569 product announcements and technical articles
on our web site, all fully searchable at
http://www.electronicstalk.com/ - take a look!
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In this issue:
* Editor's Message
* Our Top Ten new Products Selection
1. Real-time embedded applications put to the test
2. Fastest DSP for less than ten bucks
3. Temperature no barrier to DC/DC convertors
4. Programme offers more cores for soft IP
5. You can't find a smaller more powerful CAN device
6. Faster access in on the cards
7. High-reliability crystals keep a low profile
8. Vertical plug-in terminal blocks keep it tidy
9. Analogue front end aids multifunction peripherals
10. Formal verification just got faster
* New Technical Articles and Case Studies
* ...And take a look at these stories too...
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Laurence Marchini, Editor, writes:
It's always an interesting quandary: where does electronics end and other disciplines take over. Over the years I have worked on a number of publications that have struggled to strike a balance between general news from the broadest field of electrotechnology, on the one hand, and a fine focus on a niche market on the other.
For Electronicstalk, the problem should be easy to resolve: just stay away from those areas covered by the other organs in our Internet family. But Engineeringtalk, Manufacturingtalk and our latest venture Laboratorytalk all have overlaps into the realms of industrial electronics, and test and measurement, to name just two.
Perhaps we should take our cue from the company formerly known as GEC. It was a very fine company: massively cash rich, but with no specific focus.
Now, of course, GEC is no more. Its latter-day incarnation, Marconi, is a beautifully focused company, but one that is hanging on only by a thread.
That the man who oversaw this metamorphosis, Lord Simpson, should be eligible for a payoff in excess of GBP 2 million might strike one as odd. I certainly does me, let alone the thousands who have lost their jobs and institutional investors who always saw the old GEC as a safe bet.
However, even with this tantalising carrot, I shall be keeping Electronicstalk as a news medium for the wider world of electrotechnology.
I hope you find this issue of our weekly newsletter useful. We currently have over two thousand engineers and other industry professionals on the circulation, so you're in good company. In addition to the new products, news and ideas featured here, there are hundreds more on our website and dozens more being added daily, so do take a look if you can. But you don't need web access! All the full stories behind the summaries and headlines in this newsletter can be retrieved by email alone: see details below. In the meantime, if you've got any suggestions as to how we might make the site or the newsletter better, email me directly.
Best wishes
Laurence Marchini, Editor
mailto:lauren[-email removed-]nicstalk.com
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THIS WEEK'S INDUSTRY NEWS
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FAIRCHILD TO DEVELOP SAIFUN'S NOVEL EEPROMs
Fairchild Semiconductor has established a partnership with Saifun Semiconductors to develop, manufacture and market EEPROM memory products based on Saifun's patented NROM technology.
Fairchild Semiconductor, 13 September 2001
mailto:fai1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fai/fai135.html
NEW COMPANY FOCUSES ON REPRESENTATION
A new company, REPContact, has been established to act as representatives and set up distribution networks on behalf of new technology-based and startup companies.
Sequoia Technology, 13 September 2001
mailto:seq1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/seq/seq122.html
ALCHEMY TO PUT PHILIPS SPEECH RECOGNITION ON MPU
Alchemy Semiconductor is to port Philips' VoCon, an advanced continuous-speech recogniser for embedded systems, to its family of microprocessors.
Alchemy Semiconductor, 13 September 2001
mailto:alc1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/alc/alc100.html
MENTOR JOINS COMMON LICENCE CONSORTIUM
Mentor Graphics has joined the Common Licence Consortium (CLC).
Mentor Graphics UK, 13 September 2001
mailto:men1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/men/men134.html
SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIPS STILL MATTER SAYS SURVEY
Research among manufacturers conducted by First Index indictates that buyers see e-sourcing, the ability to automate requests for quotes and supplier relationship management as key drivers.
First Index, 14 September 2001
mailto:fir1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fir/fir104.html
PROFIBUS INTERNATIONAL SUPPORTS NEW OPC STANDARD
Profibus International is supporting a new OPC standard that allows data exchange between controllers from different system suppliers via industrial Ethernet TCP/IP protocol.
Profibus Group, 13 September 2001
mailto:pra1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/pra/pra104.html
$18 MILLION EQUITY INVESTMENT FOR TAO
Tao Group has received an equity investment of approximately $18 million from a team of investors led by Bowman Capital Partners.
Tao Group, 13 September 2001
mailto:tao1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tao/tao100.html
MOTOROLA ENDORSES NEW PCI STANDARD
Motorola Computer Group and several collaborating companies have reaffirmed their commitments to build system-level platforms and products that adhere to PICMG 2.16.
Motorola Computer Group, 17 September 2001
mailto:moa1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/moa/moa105.html
KOREA IS THE LATEST POLAR REGION
Polar Instruments has opened a sales and service office in Seoul, South Korea.
Polar Instruments, 13 September 2001
mailto:pol1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/pol/pol101.html
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OUR TOP TEN NEW PRODUCTS SELECTION
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1. Real-time embedded applications put to the test
I-Logix claims its Rhapsody TestConductor is the industry's first UML-compliant scenario-based test generation suite for real-time embedded applications. TestConductor allows developers to quickly assess if the product being developed meets the functional requirements laid out in the analysis phase. This unique capability detects errors throughout the design process, long before they become costly to fix, significantly reducing the time spent in the traditional testing phase and improving the overall design quality.
* Our system will email you this story in full.
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2. Fastest DSP for less than ten bucks
Analog Devices is sampling two new low-cost ADSP-219x models - the ADSP-2195 and ADSP-2196 - expanding the ADSP-21xx family of code compatible digital signal processors. The ADSP-2195 integrates 32Kword of on-chip SRAM and 16Kword of on-chip program ROM as a member of the successful 160MHz ADSP-219x DSP platform. The ADSP-2196 integrates 16Kword of on-chip SRAM and 16Kword of on-chip program ROM and is the fastest DSP available today for less than $10.
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3. Temperature no barrier to DC/DC convertors
The WPN20R series 20W DC/DC convertor from C and D Technologies offers an exceptional operating temperature specification of -40 to +105C with no output power derating, making it ideal for use in environments that require flexibility and robust performance. While developed primarily to meet the requirements of the telecommunications and datacommunications markets, the new DC/DC convertor is also suitable for numerous applications in battery powered systems, process control equipment and distributed power systems.
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4. Programme offers more cores for soft IP
QuickLogic has launched QuickCore, a new programme that offers a growing library of QuickLogic-developed and third-party cores optimised for the QuickLogic architecture and devices. In addition, the company has enhanced its QuickDr programme designed to help customers quickly and easily locate design consultants with certified expertise in QuickLogic products. The intellectual property offered in the QuickCore programme is certified for QuickLogic products and takes full advantage of the company's unique ViaLink metal-to-metal interconnect, resulting in high performance and efficient use of the logic cells.
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5. You can't find a smaller more powerful CAN device
Microchip says its new self-programmable PICmicro Flash microcontroller family, with intelligent CAN 2.0B active interface, are the smallest, most powerful CAN devices available. With 10MIPS performance at 10MHz, the new PIC18F248, PIC18F258, PIC18F448 and PIC18F458 devices provide significantly more power than any other microcontroller in the smallest 28- and 40-lead packages.
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6. Faster access in on the cards
Hitachi has a new high-speed MultiMediaCard series which offers the industry's fastest write speeds, writing approximately three or six times faster than existing Hitachi MultiMediaCards. The series includes 16, 32, 64 and 128Mbyte products for use as Flash cards in applications such as digital cameras, handheld PCs and portable music players.
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7. High-reliability crystals keep a low profile
New crystals in high-reliability ceramic packages are now available from Advanced Crystal Technology (ACT) in standard frequencies from 12.00 to 33.00MHz and custom frequencies to 85MHz. The ACT531SMX-4 family features a small-outline four-contact surface-mountable package with a maximum height of only 1mm.
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8. Vertical plug-in terminal blocks keep it tidy
Switchtec has extended its range of PCB-mount terminal blocks. Manufactured under strict quality control procedures by Euroclamp, the range now includes a vertical female plug-in rising clamp terminal. To complement existing horizontal female plug versions, Euroclamp's vertical female SVP and SVF terminal blocks facilitate quick interfacing between cables and PCBs, while offering the option of having cables running parallel to the PCB.
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9. Analogue front end aids multifunction peripherals
The newest single-chip high-speed analogue front end (AFE) from Wolfson Microelectronics, the WM8199, offers 16bit resolution and speeds of 20Msample/s. As with the other members of the WM819x product family, the WM8199 combines both the analogue preprocessing and analogue-to-digital conversion in a single chip package. It was designed to provide improved scan rates for high-speed scanners as well as the next generation multifunctional peripherals.
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10. Formal verification just got faster
Verplex Systems has announced its next generation Conformal Logic Equivalence Checker. The product name change reflects major enhancements made to Verplex's market leading equivalence checker to deliver twice the speed of its predecessor. Conformal combines increased performance and capacity with ease of use for the rapid and more reliable formal verification of full-chip designs. It compares register transfer level (RTL) code to flattened netlists for multi-million-gate designs in minutes or hours, setting new performance standards for formal verification.
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New Technical Articles and Case Studies
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PII USES CELOXICA DK1 TO HELP PIGS' DATA FLY
PII has adopted Celoxica's DK1 design suite to improve design efficiency in the development of new hardware systems processing up to 6Mbyte/s of data for PII's fleet of "Intelligent Pigs".
Celoxica, 18 September 2001
mailto:cel1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cel/cel114.html
CUSTOM DISPLAY FOR NOVEL FARE COLLECTION SYSTEM
Planar Systems is to provide the colour display technology for Cubic Transportation Systems' (CTS) new automated bus fare collection system.
Planar Systems, 14 September 2001
mailto:plc1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/plc/plc103.html
TEKTRONIX MAKES WAVES FOR PIONEERING DESIGN
Tektronix's TDS3000 digital phosphor oscilloscope (DPO) series demonstrates how it can deal with complex signals to innovate in the most unusual of application areas.
Tektronix, 13 September 2001
mailto:tek1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tek/tek114.html
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...And take a look at these stories too...
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CONVERTORS CUT PSU SIZE, COST AND COMPLEXITY
Two switched-capacitor DC/DC convertor families from Texas Instruments give designers increased simplicity and small size for a wide variety of applications.
Texas Instruments, 13 September 2001
mailto:tex1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex147.html
LOW-POWER LOGIC SAVES SPACE
A new range of miniature, wide-input voltage single gate logic ICs from Rohm offers low-power operation and can deliver PCB space savings and improved design flexibility.
Rohm Electronics (UK), 13 September 2001
mailto:roh1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/roh/roh111.html
MILITARY PROLIFERATION FOLLOWS ACQUISITIONS
Solid State Supplies is now shipping products from two American specialist semiconductor manufacturers that were recently acquired by Microsemi.
Solid State Supplies, 13 September 2001
mailto:sol1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sol/sol113.html
SMART POWER MODULES IN LOW-POWER DRIVE
Fairchild Semiconductor has expanded its FPAL/FPBL series of smart power modules (SPMs) designed for 100-253V AC, three-phase inverter drives for low-power (up to 2kW) applications.
Fairchild Semiconductor, 17 September 2001
mailto:fai1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fai/fai136.html
CONTROLLER INTEGRATES COMMON LAPTOP FUNCTIONS
National Semiconductor has a new feature-packed embedded low-pin-count controller that should provide both power and cost savings for PC notebook manufacturers.
National Semiconductor, 17 September 2001
mailto:nat1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/nat/nat138.html
RECLOCKER SUPPORTS BOTH HDTV AND SDTV DATARATES
Gennum has developed the industry's first SDI reclocker to support both HDTV and all SDTV datarates.
Gennum Corporation, 18 September 2001
mailto:gea1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/gea/gea108.html
LIFELIKE CLAIM FOR FLOATING-POINT DSP AUDIO
Texas Instruments has unveiled a new system that includes a 32/64bit floating-point DSP and an optimised audio software framework.
Texas Instruments, 18 September 2001
mailto:tex1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex148.html
POWERFUL PROCESSING FROM 600MHz MPU
Sequoia has expanded its range of IBM PowerPC 7xx processors with the introduction of a high-performance 600MHz microprocessor.
Sequoia Technology, 18 September 2001
mailto:seq1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/seq/seq123.html
FERRITE CHIP BEADS HANDLE UP TO 6A
Passive components specialist NIC Eurotech can now offer high-current versions of its popular NCB range of ferrite chip beads.
NIC Eurotech, 13 September 2001
mailto:nic1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/nic/nic107.html
POWER PLANE ANALYSIS JOINS HIGH-SPEED TOOLKIT
Mentor Graphics has joined with Sigrity to deliver advanced power plane analysis capabilities for high-speed design solutions.
Mentor Graphics UK, 13 September 2001
mailto:men1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/men/men133.html
KIT MAKES A FAST START WITH 16BIT MICROCONTROLLERS
Available now from Glyn, the Fujitsu DevKit16 is a multifunction modular starter kit which provides plug-and-play evaluation of Fujitsu F2MC-16L/LX microcontrollers and software tools.
Glyn, 13 September 2001
mailto:gly1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/gly/gly105.html
EVALUATION FOR FOUR-CHANNEL LINE INTERFACE CHIP
The PM2354 Comet-Quad evaluator kit is a comprehensive PC-based evaluation and development platform for PMC-Sierra's PM4354 Comet-Quad product.
PMC-Sierra, 13 September 2001
mailto:pmc1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/pmc/pmc105.html
DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM FOR WEB MCU APPLICATIONS
Arrow Electronics reckons its latest Microchip development platform will dramatically simplify the design and prototyping of embedded systems requiring Internet connectivity.
Arrow Electronics (UK), 18 September 2001
mailto:arr1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/arr/arr103.html
MOULDED ENCLOSURES COME WITH INTEGRAL PCB MOUNTS
New from Evatron Enclosures is a range of cost-effective enclosures the company claims are designed with the engineer in mind.
Evatron Enclosures, 13 September 2001
mailto:eva1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/eva/eva100.html
PLC RAISES THE TEMPERATURE
A new compact temperature control expansion block has been released for Mitsubishi Electric's highly successful FX2N PLC range.
Mitsubishi Electric (Automation Systems Division), 13 September 2001
mailto:mih1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mih/mih103.html
MOTOR FOR HIGH-SPEED SERVOSYSTEMS
Electro Mechanical Systems has announced immediate availability of a new 44mm diameter rare earth magnet brushless DC motor from System Faulhaber.
EMS, 13 September 2001
mailto:ems1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ems/ems103.html
DRIVE MADE FOR NETWORKING
Baldor has launched a new generation of its intelligent brushless servo drive, which integrates a full motion controller with fieldbus capability.
Baldor UK, 17 September 2001
mailto:bal1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/bal/bal115.html
FUEL-TANK CONNECTORS JAM INTO PLACE
Deutsch has developed its range of Micro Hermetic PT connectors to feature a new jam-nut mounting option.
Deutsch, 13 September 2001
mailto:deu1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/deu/deu109.html
SPEEDY INSTALLATION FOR VALVE CONNECTORS
A new range of valve connectors featuring the Harax rapid termination system has been introduced by Harting.
Harting, 14 September 2001
mailto:har1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/har/har113.html
COPLANAR BOARD MATING INTERCONNECTS
Genalog can now supply a range of interconnects for both micro and standard applications that enable printed circuit boards to be mated in the same plane.
Genalog, 17 September 2001
mailto:geb1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/geb/geb102.html
ACCURACY IS KEY FOR SHADOW MASKS
High-performance nickel shadow masks, developed by Tecan Components are subjected to computerised co-ordinate measuring as part of the company's rigorous statistical process control (SPC) system.
Tecan Components, 14 September 2001
mailto:tea1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tea/tea117.html
PRESSURE TRANSMITTER GOES FOR HIGH LEVELS
New from PSI-Tronix is the PSI-10000 high level output pressure transmitter.
PSI-Tronix, 14 September 2001
mailto:psi1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/psi/psi103.html
GRAPHICAL DATA MAKES MORE SENSE OF MEASUREMENTS
Amalgamated Instrument Co has released a software application that allows downloading, live logging and graphing of data from its instrumentation products.
Amalgamated Instrument Co, 14 September 2001
mailto:ama1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ama/ama103.html
SOFTWARE RUNS TESTERS REMOTELY
Anritsu has introduced the ARIAL (Anritsu remote instrument automation layer) software suite as a generic platform to control test and measurement equipment remotely.
Anritsu (UK), 14 September 2001
mailto:anr1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/anr/anr107.html
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Have you seen our other newsletters?
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We also publish other engineering newsletters like this
once a week. All are free, so take a look:
Engineeringtalk - for mechanical/automation engineers
Email join-eng-ta[-email removed-]o-talk.com for your copy
Laboratorytalk - for all lab and research personnel
Email join-laboratoryta[-email removed-]o-talk.com for your copy
Manufacturingtalk - for production engineers
Email join-manufacturingta[-email removed-]o-talk.com for your copy
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