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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 27,000
Published every Tuesday from the UK.
Issue 172: 6 July 2004
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17329 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] Handheld analyser claims full wireless coverage
[2] New architecture brings economy and DSP to FPGAs
[3] Full system solution puts mobile devices in dock
[4] Analyser extends to next-generation DSL
[5] Wi-Fi IP comes on silicon for prototyping
[6] Laser diodes come together for industrial power
[7] Convertors step up to telecomms voltages
[8] Novel sheet provides mobile screening
[9] PCI platform provides real-time network processing
[10] MOSFETs optimised for DC motor control
* New Technical Articles and Case Studies
* Other featured product news
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Laurence Marchini, Editor, writes:
I'll wager that there isn't a single person reading this newsletter who has not at some time in their life said (or thought): "I wish I'd invented that". And while patent law is an extremely complex (and costly) area, there is no doubt that there are a number of "golden bullet" patents around that are destined to keep their owners in the proverbial "clover" for the rest of their lives.
Having said that, I must admit that I'm rather intrigued by the activities of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (www.eff.org), an organisation dedicated to "protecting freedom where law and technology collide".
This is all highly laudable, one might think. But some might say that the EFF has gone too far in its latest campaign: to challenge its so-called "ten most wanted patents". And while the organisation justifies its case on the grounds that the patents in question are "the ones that pose the biggest threat to the public domain", it's hard not to sympathise with the ten patent holders concerned.
The crux of the EFF's case is that all the patents concerned are too sweeping in their scope, and thereby anti-competitive. But then who said that patents were there to encourage competition?
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!
TOREX EXCEEDS SALES EXPECTATIONS
Torex Semiconductor has reported a global annual turnover of US $115 million for the financial year ended March 2004.
Torex Semiconductor, 1 July 2004
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tor/tor131.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tor1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
IR ACQUIRES SPECIALTY EPITAXIAL SERVICES BUSINESS
International Rectifier has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the speciality silicon epitaxial services business of ATMI.
International Rectifier, 2 July 2004
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sil/sil193.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sil1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ANADIGM MOVES TO ARIZONA
Anadigm is moving its US base from California's Silicon Valley to Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona.
Anadigm, 2 July 2004
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ana/ana126.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ana1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SOFTWARE HELPS ROBOTICISTS TO THEIR GOAL
The MathWorks has been supporting the Cornell University RoboCup team in the 2004 RoboCup competition, which concludes today in Lisbon, Portugal.
The MathWorks, 5 July 2004
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mth/mth128.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mth1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ASSOCIATION AIMS FOR EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT
The Independent Distributors of Electronics Association has established the IDEA European Development Committee.
IDEA, 2 July 2004
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/iep/iep100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:iep1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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OUR TOP TEN NEW PRODUCTS SELECTION
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[1] HANDHELD ANALYSER CLAIMS FULL WIRELESS COVERAGE
(Anritsu (UK), 2 July 2004)
The MS2721A is the first fully functional handheld spectrum analyser designed to conduct highly accurate analysis of wireless signals, including 802.11a, 3G, ultrawideband and WiMax, up to 7GHz. Using the MS2721A, engineers can ensure the integrity of data/voice transmissions while also identifying interfering signals. These analysis capabilities are now more important than ever due to the increasing number of RF signals created by the roll out of new wireless infrastructures.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/anr/anr168.html
or send a blank email to mailto:anr1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[2] NEW ARCHITECTURE BRINGS ECONOMY AND DSP TO FPGAS
(Lattice Semiconductor UK, 1 July 2004)
The new LatticeECP-DSP and LatticeEC FPGA device families are designed to provide the most optimised feature sets combined with the lowest total solution costs of any FPGAs. The new LatticeECP-DSP (economy plus DSP) products, targeted for high-performance DSP applications, provide up to a 50% performance and 75% logic utilisation improvement over other low-cost solutions when implementing common DSP functions. The LatticeEC (economy) FPGA product family, targeted for general-purpose FPGA applications, is a precise and targeted response to the market's explosive demand for low-cost, architecturally streamlined logic solutions.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lat/lat143.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lat1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[3] FULL SYSTEM SOLUTION PUTS MOBILE DEVICES IN DOCK
(Molex UK, 2 July 2004)
The new HandyLink connector system aims to reduce design and resource costs for a variety of handheld and mobile device applications. The new connector system from Molex is a complete, compact solution designed for cellular phones, PDAs, retail scanners, barcode readers, GPS devices, pen notepad computers, human and vehicular tracking devices, portable medical and industrial devices and more. With a 0.80mm pitch, the HandyLink connector system offers higher current capabilities.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mol/mol167.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mol1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[4] ANALYSER EXTENDS TO NEXT-GENERATION DSL
(TraceSpan Communications, 6 July 2004)
Leveraging patent-pending technology, DSL Xpert 2208A breaks new ground as the industry's only nonintrusive performance-analysis solution for ADSL2+/ADSL2 and ADSL products. DSL Xpert accelerates time to market and return on investment by cutting significant time from the development, deployment, debugging and interoperability verification of ADSL equipment. DSL Xpert is an easy-to-use modular tool designed for R and D laboratory engineers engaged in the deployment of ADSL2+, ADSL2 and ADSL standard-compliant solutions.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tce/tce104.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tce1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[5] WI-FI IP COMES ON SILICON FOR PROTOTYPING
(NewLogic, 1 July 2004)
NewLogic Technologies has released all its IEEE802.11 Wild WLAN IP blocks in silicon, demonstrating the world's first commercial implementation of a digital interface (HiSS or high speed serial interface) between modem and radio. Based on this silicon implementation NewLogic offers a demonstration platform consisting of an 802.11a/b/g MAC/modem chip which is connected to the NewLogic dual band, triple mode CMOS radio transceiver via the HiSS interface.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/new/new124.html
or send a blank email to mailto:new1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[6] LASER DIODES COME TOGETHER FOR INDUSTRIAL POWER
(Bookham Technology, 1 July 2004)
Bookham Technology has developed and qualified a family of high-power laser diode bars, based on its telecomms-market-leading 980nm gallium arsenide (GaAs) laser diodes, to meet the needs and opportunities of key industrial sectors. The initial products are now qualified and have been shipping during the current quarter. Bookham's Zurich-based division has over 20 years' experience of developing and manufacturing large volumes of high brightness, reliable GaAs laser diodes.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/boo/boo155.html
or send a blank email to mailto:boo1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[7] CONVERTORS STEP UP TO TELECOMMS VOLTAGES
(Unipower Europe, 5 July 2004)
Unipower Telecom's new TPCMQ24 series DC/DC bus convertors convert 24V DC to either 48 or 54.4V DC for telecomms applications. Output current is 20.8A at 48V or 18.4A at 54.4V, giving 1000W of total power. These convertors operate from a wide range 20 to 30V DC (24V nominal) input with an efficiency of 89% and power density of 12.5W/in3.
Request a free brochure by post:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/uni/127/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/uni/uni127.html
or send a blank email to mailto:uni1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[8] NOVEL SHEET PROVIDES MOBILE SCREENING
(SDK, 2 July 2004)
SDK has developed a halogen-free, heat-resistant electromagnetic wave absorption sheet that controls noise and prevents malfunctioning of mobile electronic devices, such as cellular phones and digital cameras. There is a growing need for noise-control material as mobile electronic devices are heading for still higher performances and compactness with the use of high frequency and dense mounting technologies.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sho/sho107.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sho1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[9] PCI PLATFORM PROVIDES REAL-TIME NETWORK PROCESSING
(Nallatech, 1 July 2004)
The BenNuey-PCI-4E is a full length PCI card based on Nallatech's Dime-II computing architecture, designed to deliver high performance processing capability to a variety of complex applications, including computationally intensive network oriented applications such as intrusion detection, content processing and data encryption. This latest addition to Nallatech's range of FPGA based computing products can host up to four Xilinx Virtex-II Pro FPGAs and features four gigabit Ethernet ports, a 64bit/33MHz PCI interface and four RocketIO channels for inter-card communications.
Request a free brochure by post:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/nal/123/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/nal/nal123.html
or send a blank email to mailto:nal1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[10] MOSFETS OPTIMISED FOR DC MOTOR CONTROL
(Philips Semiconductors, 30 June 2004)
A new series of power trench MOSFETs is ideally suited for controlling the speed and direction of DC motors. With several key features to enhance power-efficiency, including low on resistance for minimal power loss, these new MOSFETs are ideally suited to provide efficient and reliable motor control in a broad variety of applications, ranging from electric vehicles to industrial robotics.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/phi/phi267.html
or send a blank email to mailto:phi2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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New Technical Articles and Case Studies
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SURROUND SOUND STARS IN CONSUMER AUDIO PLATFORM
(SRS Labs, 1 July 2004)
MIPS Technologies has chosen SRS TruSurround XT as the virtual surround sound technology of choice for its new Consumer Audio Platform.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/srs/srs100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:srs1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
LOCATION SOFTWARE SHOWS THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
(Cambridge Positioning Systems, 2 July 2004)
Cambridge Positioning Systems and Xion are to collaborate on the development of a new wristwatch-based child safety communicator and locator.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cmb/cmb128.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cmb1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
GLOABAL SEARCH PROVIDES LOCAL SOLUTION
(CIL Custom Interconnect, 1 July 2004)
When Nick Searle needed to find an electronics design and manufacturing company to help with a new prestigious contract, he found the solution just a few hundred metres down the road.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cus/cus110.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cus1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ELININATING NOISE IN ELECTROMECHANICAL RELAYS
(Matsushita Electric Works UK, 6 July 2004)
Careful selection of the correct type of electromechanical relay can avoid many of the effects of electrical- or heat-generated noise, explains Ian Purcell.
Free brochure on Relays:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/mat/150/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mat/mat150.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mat1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
HALF A CENTURY OF POWER INTERCONNECTION
(Anderson Power Products, 5 July 2004)
In honour of the golden anniversary of the Type SB connector, this article looks back at some of the product inventions and innovations produced by APP over the last 50 years.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ars/ars107.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ars1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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Other featured product news
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LOW-COST FPGAS BOOST DESIGN DENSITY
(Altera Europe, 30 June 2004)
Offering 30% lower cost and more than three times the logic density of its predecessor, Cyclone II FPGAs aim to expand on the industry-leading success set by the first-generation Cyclone family.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/aeu/aeu127.html
or send a blank email to mailto:aeu1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
LDO WITH BUILT-IN RESET HANDLES INPUTS UP TO 10V
(Torex Semiconductor, 1 July 2004)
Torex Semiconductor Europe has added two new members to its XC64xx family of highly innovative power ICs that integrate an LDO voltage regulator and reset in a single chip.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tor/tor130.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tor1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
FLASH MCUS GAIN PROGRAMMING HARDWARE SUPPORT
(Zilog, 2 July 2004)
Z8Encore! and eZ80Acclaim! 8bit Flash microcontroller families are now fully supported by device programming pioneer Data I/O's Sprint and PS300 programming systems.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/zil/zil125.html
or send a blank email to mailto:zil1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ON-CHIP SRAM AIDS CONTROLLER DESIGN FLEXIBILITY
(Texas Instruments, 5 July 2004)
The TMS320R2811 and R2812 are digital signal controllers for applying sophisticated control techniques to industrial, automotive, sensing, flow metering and e-metering applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex654.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tex6[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MPEG-4 VIDEO CODEC GAINS BUS INTERFACE
(IndigoVision, 1 July 2004)
IndigoVision has developed an Amba (Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture) interface for its Mainstream MPEG-4 video codec.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ing/ing111.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ing1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
DSP ALGORITHMS RUN ON PENTIUM-BASED PCS
(Adaptive Digital Technologies, 5 July 2004)
Adaptive Digital Technologies' DSP algorithms are now available on Pentium-based PCs running either Linux or Windows.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/aap/aap106.html
or send a blank email to mailto:aap1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ENCLOSURES TWIST FOR 19IN ACCOMMODATION
(Schroff UK, 30 June 2004)
Schroff has developed a series of small enclosures from its RatiopacPro and RatiopacPro-air families for accommodating Euroboards, 19in plug-in units and nonstandard assemblies.
Free brochure on RatiopacPro and RatiopacPro-air:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/sch/135/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sch/sch135.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sch1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
D-SUBS CRAM IN MORE CONTACTS
(IQC International, 30 June 2004)
IQC International has expanded its range of standard and mixed layout D-type connectors to include the full range of high-density D subminiature configurations.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/iqc/iqc109.html
or send a blank email to mailto:iqc1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ION NOZZLE PROVIDES STATIC-SAFE CLEANING
(TBA Electro Conductive Products, 6 July 2004)
A new flexible ion nozzle is designed for repetitive cleaning tasks in a wide range of applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tba/tba124.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tba1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
OPTICAL ENGINES POWER UP STANDARD TRANSCEIVERS
(Link Microtek, 1 July 2004)
A new range of optical engine components is designed to power any MSA optical module form factor, at 2.5 and 10Gbit/s, including 300-pin transponders, XFP, SFF, SFP and GBIC.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lib/lib153.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lib1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
FOUR-BY-FOUR BOARD EMBEDS LATEST PENTIUM M
(General Micro Systems, 30 June 2004)
The P60x "4 x 4" is billed as the first single-board computer based on Intel's new Embedded Roadmap Pentium M processor 745 (formerly known as Dothan).
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/glm/glm100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:glm1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MAINBOARD IS FIRST WITH TRANSMETA EFFICEON
(Ibase Technology, 1 July 2004)
New from Ibase Technology is the first Mini-ITX motherboard to use the Transmeta Efficeon processor, claiming a new breakthrough in efficient computing.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ias/ias103.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ias1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MODULE KEEPS SCOPES IN FOCUS
(Prior Scientific, 5 July 2004)
The LF100 laser focus module constantly monitors the focal position of the microscope and makes adjustments through a motorised focus to maintain a perfect image of the specimen.
Free brochure on LF100:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/pri/106/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/pri/pri106.html
or send a blank email to mailto:pri1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
CARRIERS PUT DSP AND FPGA PROCESSING INTO PXI
(Sundance Multiprocessor Technology, 5 July 2004)
Sundance has joined the independent group of PXI compatible suppliers, with the release of a pair of PXI-compatible carrier cards.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sda/sda101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sda1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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Have you seen our other newsletters?
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