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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
Last week's delivered circulation: over 21,000
Published every Tuesday from the UK.
Issue 148: 20 January 2004
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14380 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 analysers handle the cutting edge of RF
[2] Analogue chip fronts up powerline modems
[3] D-sub range for price-sensitive applications
[4] Companion chip puts handsets in the picture
[5] SMD isolators suit Tetra handsets
[6] Embedded board adds new life to legacy 486 designs
[7] Free toolset speeds mixed-signal development
[8] Bridge chip adds new speed to VME bandwidth
[9] Learn all about SystemVerilog for free
[10] More performance from blue-violet laser diodes
* New Technical Articles and Case Studies
* ...And take a look at these stories too...
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Laurence Marchini, Editor, writes:
There are still more changes to Electronicstalk this week. And unlike last week's change to our enquiry system, we're convinced that our latest innovations will be changes for the better.
As regular visitors to the site will be well aware, there are a number of different ways of getting to the information you require on Electronicstalk - not the least of which is by browsing the product category in which you are interested.
However, with more than 14,000 stories on the site, each of our original categories and subcategories has grown (seemingly "like Topsy") to the point where browsing starts to become a serious chore!
Have no fear. Starting this week we have embarked on a project to add no fewer than 22 new subcategories to the site, each of which should make it easier for you to find the information you seek.
Some of the new categories will reflect changes in technology (particularly in the RF field), whereas others simply acknowledge market volume.
The task is certainly not a trivial one. It involves re-appraising every single one of the 14,000-plus stories on the site and making sure we've filed it exactly where you would expect to find it (ah well, no rest for the wicked, eh?).
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, e-mail 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!
DISTRIBUTOR OPTIMISTIC ABOUT MARKET RECOVERY
Nu Horizons Electronics Corp has reported financial and operating results for the third quarter and nine months ended 30th November 2003.
Nu Horizons Electronics Corp, 14 January 2004
mailto:nuh1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/nuh/nuh101.html
INVESTMENT PAYS OFF FOR FAIRCHILD
Fairchild Semiconductor has published its results for the fourth quarter and full year ended 28th December 2003.
Fairchild Semiconductor, 16 January 2004
mailto:fai2[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fai/fai274.html
EXPANSION FOR FRENCH OPERATIONS
Allegro MicroSystems Europe has relocated its French office to new premises on the outskirts of Annecy.
Allegro MicroSystems Europe, 16 January 2004
mailto:alb1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/alb/alb164.html
ADVANCED SWITCHING SPECIFICATION RELEASED
The Advanced Switching Interconnect Special Interest Group has released Version 1.0 of the Advanced Switching interconnect specification based on PCI Express interconnect technology.
Intel Corporation, 20 January 2004
mailto:iel1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/iel/iel125.html
RECORD QUARTER FOR MONTEREY
Monterey Design Systems has closed a record quarter as a result of expanded orders from existing customers and the addition of several new accounts.
Monterey Design Systems, 15 January 2004
mailto:mon1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mon/mon163.html
TOUCHSCREEN PATENT DISPUTE SETTLED
Tyco Electronics Logistics has settled its patent infringement dispute with Happ Controls Europe.
Elo Touchsystems, 14 January 2004
mailto:elo1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/elo/elo118.html
ACQUISITION TO EXPAND PLATFORM CONFIGURATIONS
Performance Technologies is to acquire Mapletree Networks, a leader in DSP products for VoIP, wireless and media processing applications.
Performance Technologies, 14 January 2004
mailto:pfo1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/pfo/pfo112.html
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OUR TOP TEN NEW PRODUCTS SELECTION
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1. Real-time analysers handle the cutting edge of RF
A new series of real-time spectrum analysers provide the first complete measurement package for engineers developing cutting-edge radio-frequency technologies, ranging from RFID tags to sophisticated radar applications. Real-time spectrum analysis provides the unique ability to trigger, capture and analyse time-varying RF signals. Tektronix has employed the technology in its new portfolio of real-time spectrum analysers, including the RSA2200A Series and the RSA3300A Series. These instruments address time-varying and transient RF signals by triggering on events that swept spectrum and vector signal analysers fail to see.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tek/tek192.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tek1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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2. Analogue chip fronts up powerline modems
Agilent Technologies has developed the industry's first fully integrated, optical-based analogue front-end (AFE) chip for narrowband powerline modems (PLMs), which are used in the energy utility and home networking markets. The chip replaces more than 30 discrete components, reducing board space by 50%. Using fewer parts simplifies PLM design and improves system performance and reliability. The Agilent HCPL-800J DAA (data access arrangement) chip represents a lower cost, higher performance alternative to current AFE designs that combine an isolation transformer with multiple discrete components.
Request a free brochure by post:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/agi/206/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/agi/agi206.html
or send a blank email to mailto:agi2[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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3. D-sub range for price-sensitive applications
The comprehensive ZD range of D-subminiature connectors has been created for cost-sensitive markets that demand a quality product at a very competitive price. The range includes high-density Ds (HDDs) as well as a wide variety of standard-density products. ZD D subminiature connectors feature stamped contacts with a current carrying capacity of 5A and gold flash plating over the contact area.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/itt/itt128.html
or send a blank email to mailto:itt1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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4. Companion chip puts handsets in the picture
A novel application-specific standard IC provides a cost-effective, optimised and low power interface between a CMOS camera sensor and a GSM/GPRS baseband chip. The Chameleon mobile phone camera companion IC relieves the baseband IC of the performance-consuming picture processing task and allows phone designers to simplify the circuitry, minimise the component count, and reduce the cost of cameraphone solutions.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tos/tos207.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tos2[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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5. SMD isolators suit Tetra handsets
The increase in demand for digital personal mobile radios (PMR) across Europe has led Temex to introduce a new range of SMD isolators, the first in a projected series of new microwave components for the PMR market. The RoHS compliant SMD chip isolators from Temex, designed to protect other microwave components from excessive signal reflection, cover the frequency range 380- 430MHz.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tem/tem115.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tem1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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6. Embedded board adds new life to legacy 486 designs
The CoreModule 420 PC/104 single board computer (SBC) is the next step in Ampro's roadmap to keep 486-based embedded systems in production through 2010. Manufacturers of medical, military, transportation and industrial systems are not forced into expensive redesign and qualification projects for high-performance CPUs now that Ampro has a simple resolution to their 486 end-of-life (EOL) notices. The new CoreModule 420 is the best value for space-constrained embedded applications that require four serial ports (two of which support RS485), 10/100Base-T Ethernet, and video on a single board.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/apr/apr106.html
or send a blank email to mailto:apr1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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7. Free toolset speeds mixed-signal development
A new integrated development environment is available for designers using the Cypress MicroSystems PSoC range of programmable mixed-signal arrays. PSoC Designer 4.0 is a complete graphical toolset that helps users harness the power and flexibility of PSoC by providing "point and click" system design capability. PSoC Designer 4.0 provides device and application editors, plus a compiler, debugger and linker under a simple graphical user interface (GUI).
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cyp/cyp218.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cyp2[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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8. Bridge chip adds new speed to VME bandwidth
Tundra Semiconductor has successfully demonstrated its 2eSST technology using the Tundra Tsi148 VME-to-PCI/Xbus bridge. The Tsi148 implements the 2eSST protocol - the first significant VMEbus upgrade in a decade. This new protocol opens the door for innovative products to be brought to market by systems manufacturers in the VME arena. The 2eSST protocol allows streaming transactions and is capable of achieving backplane bandwidth up to 320Mbyte/s, an 8x increase over conventional VME.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tun/tun117.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tun1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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9. Learn all about SystemVerilog for free
Following the successful North American seminar tour attended by 1000 engineers, four leaders in advanced design and verification technologies - Synopsys, Novas Software, Mentor Graphics and Axis Systems, with the support of Hewlett Packard's platform technology - are sponsoring additional free SystemVerilog technical seminars and product demonstrations in Israel, Germany, the UK and Japan beginning on 2nd February 2004. Each seminar will be presented by noted hardware description language (HDL) expert, Cliff Cummings, President of Sunburst Design.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/syn/syn211.html
or send a blank email to mailto:syn2[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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10. More performance from blue-violet laser diodes
Sanyo blue-violet laser diodes are now available in a version giving 50mW light output at 405nm wavelength in a 5.6mm package. The increased power, stable beam structure, lower noise and lower current consumption all add up to a higher performance compared with conventional blue-violet laser diodes.
Request a free brochure by post:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/pot/124/0
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/pot/pot124.html
or send a blank email to mailto:pot1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com
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New Technical Articles and Case Studies
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CORE IS PRESSED TO NOVEL AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS
(ARM, 14 January 2004)
MobilEye, a leading developer of vision-based-intelligent transportation systems designed to enhance driver comfort, is using the ARM946E-S microprocessor core in its customisable SoCs.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ank/ank125.html
(or email mailto:ank1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
MEDIA PROCESSORS POWER UP LATEST IP SET TOP BOXES
(Texas Instruments, 15 January 2004)
Kreatel has chosen the TMS320DM64x generation of digital media processors based on TI's C64xT DSP core for its upcoming IP set top box products.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex557.html
(or email mailto:tex5[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
RF TRANSISTORS BOOST KOREAN BASESTATIONS
(Agere Systems, 20 January 2004)
Sewon Teletech has used RF transistors from Agere to boost next-generation wireless equipment performance.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/age/age121.html
(or email mailto:age1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
NOVEL INPUT DEVICE SHRINKS ULTRA PERSONAL COMPUTER
(Wacom Components Europe, 16 January 2004)
A new ultra personal computer launched at last week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas makes full use of Penabled technology for navigation, drawing and note taking.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/wac/wac100.html
(or email mailto:wac1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
DO YOUR PRODUCTS COMPLY WITH THE LATEST STANDARDS?
(TUV International, 19 January 2004)
Safety standards are changing, and it is important to ensure that both new and existing products comply with the very latest requirements.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tvi/tvi110.html
(or email mailto:tvi1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
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...And take a look at these stories too...
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HIGH-GAIN OSCILLATOR AMP AIMS FOR NETWORKING USES
(ON Semiconductor, 14 January 2004)
The NBLVEP16VR is a novel amplifier featuring both an oscillator gain stage and enabled high gain outputs.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/onw/onw136.html
(or email mailto:onw1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
TDM DEVICES CLAIM NEW PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
(Zarlink Semiconductor, 15 January 2004)
Zarlink developed its 32K ZL50073 TDM switch family to meet the exacting requirements of high-bandwidth, wired and wireless networking equipment.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mif/mif163.html
(or email mailto:mif1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
NOVEL BIPOLAR TECHNOLOGY CUTS SATURATION VOLTAGE
(Zetex, 15 January 2004)
A new generation of bipolar transistors from Zetex offers a 30% improvement in saturation voltage compared with previous generations.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/zet/zet133.html
(or email mailto:zet1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
RF CHIP AIMS FOR MEDICAL IMPLANTS
(AMI Semiconductor, 19 January 2004)
The AMIS-52100 transceiver is the latest member of the low-datarate ASTRIC (application specific transmit and receive IC) product family from AMI Semiconductor.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/amb/amb139.html
(or email mailto:amb1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
CONTROLLER POWERS UP DDR MEMORY
(Arques Technology, 19 January 2004)
The AQ9260 is a two-output voltage controller that combines a switching and a linear regulator to provide both VDDQ core supply and VTT bus termination voltages for DDR-SDRAM devices.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/arq/arq102.html
(or email mailto:arq1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
FRUGAL MCU TAKES SIGMA-DELTA ADC ONBOARD
(Renesas Technology Europe, 20 January 2004)
The H8/38086F is a super-low-power-consumption single-chip 16bit microcontroller with on-chip Flash memory.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ren/ren123.html
(or email mailto:ren1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
FLEXIBLE CONTROL FOR SOLID-STATE RELAYS
(Crydom International, 14 January 2004)
A new range of solid-state relays offers a wide control voltage capability for optimum performance and EMI immunity.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/crb/crb109.html
(or email mailto:crb1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
DEBUGGER HAS ALL POWERPC CHIPS COVERED
(Computer Solutions, 14 January 2004)
The Abatron bdiGDB is a high-speed embedded debugging tool which supports all currently available PowerPC processors.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/com/com125.html
(or email mailto:com1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
DEEPER FRAME FANS DELIVER MORE AIRFLOW
(EAO, 16 January 2004)
Sanyo Denki's new range of 60 and 92mm2 G-Type axial fans deliver 40% more airflow than other Sanyo Denki coolers of the same size.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/eao/eao141.html
(or email mailto:eao1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
GASKETS DELIVER GOLD-MEDAL EMC PERFORMANCE
(TBA Electro Conductive Products, 20 January 2004)
New soft gaskets with gold finish deliver attenuation in excess of 100dB across a wide frequency range for applications requiring the highest performance.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tba/tba118.html
(or email mailto:tba1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
TINY ANTENNA FOR BLUETOOTH AND WLAN
(Epcos, 19 January 2004)
Epcos has begun volume production of an antenna for Bluetooth and WLAN applications with centre frequencies in the range from 2.4 to 2.5GHz.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/epc/epc144.html
(or email mailto:epc1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
DIP-DRY COMBO SPEEDS PCB COATING
(Glenro, 16 January 2004)
The Model 4246 dip coater and infra-red dryer system is designed to dip coat printed circuit boards in protective conformal coatings, and then dry the conformal coatings.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/gnr/gnr100.html
(or email mailto:gnr1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
NETWORK PROCESSOR POWERS WIRELESS APPLICATIONS
(Adax Europe, 15 January 2004)
Adax has used Mindspeed's Edge Stream Processor and EdgeMaker firmware for its ATM signalling cards currently shipping and deployed in next-generation wireless telecomms equipment.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/aax/aax113.html
(or email mailto:aax1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
EVALUATION KITS SHOW OFF EMBEDDED CPUS
(Parvus Corp, 15 January 2004)
A new range of evaluation kits is available for the SpacePC range of embedded PC boards.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/prv/prv121.html
(or email mailto:prv1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
SPEEDY SAMPLING FOR VMEBUS DSP BOARD
(Pentek, 20 January 2004)
A new single-channel 6U VMEbus board features one of the fastest 12bit A/D convertors in the market with sampling rates to 210MHz.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/pnt/pnt101.html
(or email mailto:pnt1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
PRICE CUTS FOR POPULAR DATA ACQUISITION MODULES
(National Instruments, 16 January 2004)
National Instruments has reduced the prices of 13 of its most popular data acquisition modules by up to 25%.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/naa/naa139.html
(or email mailto:naa1[-email removed-]ctronicstalk.com )
PRECISION SOURCE AIDS POWER TESTER CALIBRATION
(Rotek Instrument Corp, 20 January 2004)
The Model 8100 is a precision source of AC voltage, current and phase angle which may be used in the calibration and test of a wide range of electrical metering instrumentation.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/rot/rot100.html
(or email mailto:rot1[-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
Email mailto:join-eng-ta[-email removed-]o-talk.com for your copy
Laboratorytalk - for all lab and research personnel
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Manufacturingtalk - for production engineers
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Processingtalk - for process engineers
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QA-talk - for quality assurance professionals
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Subcontractingtalk - for the subcontract manufacturing industry
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Buildingtalk - for the building and construction industry
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CIMtalk - for automation engineers and the industrial IT sector
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*** Coming soon - join now ***
Printingtalk - for printers and print buyers
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