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ELECTRONICSTALK
The Independent Weekly Product Information Guide
for Electronics Design, Development and Manufacturing Engineers
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ISSN 1475-2913 - Free subscription
Published every Tuesday from the UK.
Issue 143: 9 December 2003
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13994 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] Patents pending for novel magnetic switches
[2] Intermediate bus convertors power downstream loads
[3] Modem IP core meets 802.11g
[4] Modular CDMA solution aids differentiation
[5] Easy way to learn and design with PIC MCUs
[6] Pressed glass spacers stand the heat onboard
[7] Distribution deal lines up high-voltage ATE
[8] FPGA board prototypes up to a million ASIC gates
[9] HDTV device is first foray into video filtering
[10] Convertors combine in handset audio subsystem
* New Technical Articles and Case Studies
* ...And take a look at these stories too...
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Laurence Marchini, Editor, writes:
Talk about a week of contrasts. As we gradually wind down into the festive season, it seems me that everyone is trying to find something that will encapsulate the year into a single story.
This week, for example, we have had general gloom and doom about results from Intel, while that other great doyen of the industry National Semiconductor has been as bullish as I can remember for years about it's latest quarter's bookings.
Meanwhile, on the future technology front, much has been made about IBM's novel nanotechnology approach to increasing IC density. But the story that really caught my eye appears below, with the DTI funding research into semiconducting diamond technology.
I have to admit to a certain degree of chauvinism, but it does stir the blood to see British companies working with a British university, and with help from the British Government on fundamental semiconductor research. Certainly, it may only be a drop in the proverbial ocean, and there's many a slip betwixt cup and lip (of commercialisation), but it does gladden the heart nonetheless.
But enough of such sentiment! Before we draw a final line under 2003, there is still the small matter of our new annual awards - of which more next week. But for now it suffices to say that the numbers are extremely close. (Just as a reminder, titles such as "Product of the year" and "Company of the year" will be awarded based on real interest by you the readers - ie how many of you have read the stories and/or clicked through for further information.)
The Electronicstalk abacus is running hot working out the shortlist.
I hope you find this issue of our weekly newsletter useful. 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.
Alternatively, the full stories behind all the summaries and headlines in this newsletter can be retrieved by email alone: see details below.
In the meantime, if you have any suggestions as to how we might make the site or the newsletter better, email me directly.
Best wishes
Laurence Marchini, Editor
mailto:ne[-email removed-]nicstalk.com
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THIS WEEK'S INDUSTRY NEWS
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To read more, use the web links. Or get the full stories emailed back to you: just send a blank email to the address shown. It's a free service. Try it! It works!
MANUFACTURING TO MOVE OFFSHORE
ON Semiconductor is to phase out manufacturing operations at its facility in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.
ON Semiconductor, 8 December 2003
mailto:onw1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/onw/onw134.html
NATIONAL REPORTS BEST BOOKINGS FOR THREE YEARS
National Semiconductor has reported a GAAP profit of $65.8 million, or 34 cents per share, on revenues of $473.5 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2004, which ended on 23rd November 2003.
National Semiconductor, 9 December 2003
mailto:nat2[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/nat/nat259.html
CONSORTIUM CHECKS OUT SEMICONDUCTING DIAMOND
Dynex Semiconductor has been awarded a grant by the UK Department of Trade and Industry to develop technologies for novel power electronic components based on semiconducting diamond.
Dynex Semiconductor, 9 December 2003
mailto:dyn1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/dyn/dyn115.html
FUNDING TO EXPAND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Giga Scale IC has raised $1.2 million in funding in a round led by ITU Ventures.
Giga Scale Integration Corp, 9 December 2003
mailto:gig1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/gig/gig102.html
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OUR TOP TEN NEW PRODUCTS SELECTION
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1. Patents pending for novel magnetic switches
PushFlex is an all-new switch technology that combines a readily available magnet sheet and a magnetically receptive actuating layer to create a unique switch construction. The actuating layer is a slotted flat configuration which aligns to holes cut in the magnetic layer. Together these layers form a web of switches. PushFlex is simple to manufacture, and offers an alternative to both domes and conductive rubber keypads.
* Request a free brochure by post:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/dur/123/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/dur/dur123.html
or send a blank email to mailto:dur1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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2. Intermediate bus convertors power downstream loads
Two new series of application-optimised intermediate bus convertors (IBCs) bring Artesyn Technologies into a new and emerging segment of the distributed power market. This new class of isolated DC/DC convertor brings radically new levels of economy to distributed power applications, enabling designers to replace conventional brick convertors with loosely regulated, lower cost power sources. Designed primarily for powering multiple downstream nonisolated point-of-load convertors, Artesyn's Typhoon IBCs are offered in two versions to address both telecomms and computing input voltage standards.
* Request a free brochure by post:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/art/171/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/art/art171.html
or send a blank email to mailto:art1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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3. Modem IP core meets 802.11g
NewLogic Technologies has developed an IEEE802.11g standard compliant DSSS/OFDM modem in RTL source code as part of its of its Wild family. The Wild (wireless LAN IP for LSI designs) family consists of all the elements required for a fully integrated 802.11a/b/g single chip CMOS solution designed for high performance at the lowest cost. The Wild 802.11g Modem is compliant to the latest IEEE standard and complements the Wild 802.11a and b modem cores already released earlier to the market and tested in hardware.
* Request a free brochure by post:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/new/121/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/new/new121.html
or send a blank email to mailto:new1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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4. Modular CDMA solution aids differentiation
STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments have joined their complementary areas of proven expertise to create a flexible and open solution supporting the cdma2000 1X standard for wireless communications. Using components from the wireless portfolios of both companies, the new cdma2000 1X solution provides a hardware and software platform that simplifies design and speeds time to market while reducing power consumption, component count, board space and bill-of-materials costs for handset manufacturers.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex539.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tex5[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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5. Easy way to learn and design with PIC MCUs
The EZ-PIC microcontroller development system is billed as the first and only complete Microchip PIC microcontroller design and development tool. This tool is suitable for both new product development and self-learning, and a version is available for setting up student labs in schools, colleges and universities. The system includes a main board developed using the 16F877 CPU with A/D, D/A, hex keypad, LCD, digital input/output, input sensing switches and serial port.
* Request a free brochure by post:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/adm/101/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/adm/adm101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:adm1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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6. Pressed glass spacers stand the heat onboard
Pressed glass spacers used to position and isolate electrically sensitive components such as capacitors and varistors during wave soldering are available from Morgan Advanced Ceramics. Manufactured by the company's GBC Products Division, the glass spacers are ideal for high-reliability printed circuit boards found in a wide variety of electronics, including wireless electronic devices. Unlike plastics, pressed glass spacers can withstand high temperatures, providing a low-cost solution for PCB applications.
* Request a free brochure by post:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/mor/101/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mor/mor101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mor1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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7. Distribution deal lines up high-voltage ATE
Tyco Electronics' Global Application Tooling Division (GATD) has signed a distribution agreement with MK Test Systems, the UK-based, leading manufacturer of high voltage automatic test equipment. The agreement will cover MK Test Systems' extensive range of automatic electrical testing solutions, including the advanced AutoMeg IS intrinsically safe automatic test system.
* Request a free brochure by post:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/tyb/114/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tyb/tyb114.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tyb1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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8. FPGA board prototypes up to a million ASIC gates
The HAPS FPGA-2x3 is a stand-alone single-FPGA prototyping board that can be used by itself for an ASIC design up to a million ASIC gates running up to 200MHz or as an addon to HAPS multi-FPGA boards when the need for greater capacity grows. Customers using one FPGA-2x3 can simply add a second FPGA-2x3 to get twice the capacity. The two (or more) boards can be stacked on top of each other or connected together with the HAPS-CON-FLEX, a system of flexible high speed boards.
* Request a free brochure by post:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/hrd/101/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/hrd/hrd101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:hrd1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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9. HDTV device is first foray into video filtering
The MIC1700 is a versatile video filter aimed specifically at the needs of emerging high-definition applications. Thanks to the use of switchable filters, the new device is ideally suited to the needs of systems that also need to support standard-definition video. The MIC1700 is designed for use as either a reconstruction filter on the output of the video DACs in set-top boxes (STBs), or as an anti-aliasing filter on the input to high-definition televisions (HDTV) and monitors.
* Request a free brochure by post:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/mib/139/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mib/mib139.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mib1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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10. Convertors combine in handset audio subsystem
A low-power audio subsystem for multimedia phones and smart mobile phones with audio mixing capabilities is Wolfson's first device dedicated to cellular applications. Combining hi-fi and PCM telephony codecs on a single chip, the Wolfson WM8753L contains a stereo analogue-to-digital convertor (ADC), a stereo digital-to-analogue convertor (DAC) and a separate mono DAC.
* Request a free brochure by post:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/wol/158/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/wol/wol158.html
or send a blank email to mailto:wol1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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New Technical Articles and Case Studies
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BLUETOOTH CHIPS HELP WITH HOME OFFICE NETWORKS
(Cambridge Silicon Radio, 5 December 2003)
BlueCore silicon has been selected by CC and C Technologies to Bluetooth enable its BT-260 Bluetooth printer combo adapter.
* Free brochure on BlueCore:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/cam/153/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cam/cam153.html
(or email mailto:cam1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
AUTOMATIC CRIMPING ADDS VALUE FOR IRISH CEM
(Contax, 5 December 2003)
Elite Electronics, Northern Ireland's leading contract electronics manufacturer has purchased the new Komax Gamma 333PC, a fully automatic crimping machine from Contax.
* Free brochure on Komax Gamma 333PC:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/cnt/104/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cnt/cnt104.html
(or email mailto:cnt1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
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...And take a look at these stories too...
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SINGLE-CHIP MPEG-2 CODEC ON THE RECORD FOR DVD
(Philips Semiconductors, 4 December 2003)
The Nexperia PNX7200 is a single-chip MPEG-2 codec for DVD recording applications.
* Free brochure on Nexperia PNX7200:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/phi/243/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/phi/phi243.html
(or email mailto:phi2[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
BLUETOOTH DROPS IN TO CUT SERIAL CABLES
(Silicon Wave, 4 December 2003)
UltimateBlue Serial Connectivity is a Bluetooth serial cable replacement solution for use with the SiW3500 and SiW3000 UltimateBlue chips.
* Free brochure on UltimateBlue Serial Connectivity:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/sxw/108/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sxw/sxw108.html
(or email mailto:sxw1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
CUSTOM SPECS FOR LOW-LOSS LIMITER DIODES
(Micrometrics, 8 December 2003)
The MLP 7100 series of limiter diodes are application specific PIN devices that are specially fabricated to have particularly low loss and fast recovery time over a frequency range from 100MHz to 22GHz
* Free brochure on MLP 7100 series:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/mii/103/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mii/mii103.html
(or email mailto:mii1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
HIGH-PRECISION RESISTORS MADE IN WALES
(Charcroft Electronics, 3 December 2003)
Vishay has appointed specialist passives distributor, Charcroft Electronics, as an Approved Precision Centre.
* Free brochure on Bulk Metal Foil resistors:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/ccr/100/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ccr/ccr100.html
(or email mailto:ccr1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
POWER CONTROLLER IS SWITCH AND BREAKER COMBINED
(E-T-A Circuit Breakers, 5 December 2003)
A novel remote power controller combines the capability of an electronic switching relay with self-limiting and overcurrent protection similar to that of a high quality circuit breaker.
* Free brochure on E-1048-8xx power module:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/eta/109/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/eta/eta109.html
(or email mailto:eta1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
DUPLEXER-COMBINER ENABLES SHARED BASESTATIONS
(Link Microtek, 5 December 2003)
A novel DCS/UMTS duplexer-combiner enables DCS and UMTS basestations to share the same antenna.
* Free brochure on UFD21A1721-01:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/lib/138/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lib/lib138.html
(or email mailto:lib1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
FLASH PROGRAMMING IS FASTER AND MORE SECURE
(Hitex Development Tools, 3 December 2003)
Hitex is now offering improved and accelerated Flash programming with its Hitop 5 debugger/user interface, and with Tanto, its universal test and development tool.
* Free brochure on Tanto:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/hex/102/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/hex/hex102.html
(or email mailto:hex1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
DRAG AND DROP DESIGN FOR AUTOMOTIVE LCDs
(TeleflexMorse Electronics, 4 December 2003)
TeleflexMorse Electronics has developed a novel Windows programming tool for large-format, automotive-grade LCD panels.
* Free brochure on GRADE:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/tfl/100/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tfl/tfl100.html
(or email mailto:tfl1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
INTERFACE AIDS TOOL INTEROPERABILITY
(ARM, 8 December 2003)
The publication of the application binary interface for the ARM architecture promotes portability of binary code and interoperability of software development tools across a range of operating systems.
* Free brochure on ABI for the ARM architecture:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/ank/121/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ank/ank121.html
(or email mailto:ank1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
CONNECTOR KEEPS CONTACTS SAFE FROM END USERS
(Anderson Power Products, 5 December 2003)
The versatile Powerpole 15/45 finger proof connector is designed for use in applications where end user access to the energised connector is not otherwise protected.
* Free brochure on Powerpole 15/45:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/ars/104/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ars/ars104.html
(or email mailto:ars1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
CONNECTORS SHRINK TO MINI-SD CARD FORMAT
(JAE Europe, 9 December 2003)
The new SC1 connector series allows product developers to adopt the thumbnail-size Mini-SD Card format for many data storage and retrieval functions.
* Free brochure on SC1 series:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/jae/114/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/jae/jae114.html
(or email mailto:jae1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
PMC PROVIDES SPEEDY SCSI CONTROL
(Concurrent Technologies, 3 December 2003)
A new low-power PMC-based single-/dual-channel Ultra160 SCSI controller is capable of SCSI synchronous data transfer rates of up to 160Mbyte/s.
* Free brochure on SC PMC/160:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/cct/132/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cct/cct132.html
(or email mailto:cct1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
EMBEDDED SBCS CLAIM ULTRAHIGH RELIABILITY
(Amplicon Liveline, 5 December 2003)
Amplicon Liveline has been named as the exclusive UK distributor for Lippert's PC104+ high-end products targeting military, aerospace and defence applications.
* Free brochure on Lippert Cool Space Runner II and III:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/amp/172/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/amp/amp172.html
(or email mailto:amp1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
COMPACT EMBEDDED PC IS A TOUGH NUT
(Parvus Corp, 8 December 2003)
The SpacePC 4320 Series is a low-power PC/104-Plus SBC ideal for space-constrained applications requiring the performance of the x86 architecture in a compact, fanless format.
* Free brochure on SpacePC 4320 Series:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/prv/120/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/prv/prv120.html
(or email mailto:prv1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
AMPLIFIER POWERS UP TO 100W FOR RF TESTING
(Empower RF Systems, 8 December 2003)
Rated at 100W over the band 0.8-4.2GHz, the Model BBS3Q7EK0 microwave power amplifier is ideal for RF immunity testing, power device testing and general laboratory use.
* Free brochure on Model BBS3Q7EK0:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/eow/100/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/eow/eow100.html
(or email mailto:eow1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
CATALOGUE BRINGS FULL TEST RANGE TOGETHER
(Keithley Instruments, 9 December 2003)
Keithley Instruments has published its 2004 catalogue of test and measurement products for engineering development, production testing, and scientific research.
* Free brochure on Test and measurement products:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/kei/145/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/kei/kei145.html
(or email mailto:kei1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
BLUETOOTH TESTER EVOLVES TO LATEST SPECS
(Cetecom Spain, 9 December 2003)
Cetecom Spain has upgraded its BITE platform to test Bluetooth V1.2 devices.
* Free brochure on BITE:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/cet/115/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cet/cet115.html
(or email mailto:cet1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
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Have you seen our other newsletters?
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We also publish other professional technical newsletters like this once a week. All are free, so take a look:
Engineeringtalk - for mechanical/automation engineers
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QA-talk - for quality assurance professionals
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Engineering vacancies on the internet
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There are many recruitment websites out there, but Electronicstalk can recommend the following as we have had a relationship with them for some time:
Engineers Online: http://www.engineers-online.co.uk/
GoJobsite: http://www.gojobsite.co.uk/
Jimfinder.com: http://www.jimfinder.com/
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Browse the Electronicstalk archive by email!
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There are hundreds of recent stories in the Electronicstalk database, and you can browse them all by email. Send a blank email to:
mailto:doc1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
...and our automated system will send you a contents list back by email. Try it!
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