|
ELECTRONICSTALK
The Independent Weekly Product Information Guide
for Electronics Design, Development and Manufacturing Engineers
====================================================================
ISSN 1475-2913 - Free subscription
Last issue's delivered circulation: over 23,000
Published every Tuesday from the UK.
Issue 197: 4 January 2005
====================================================================
20,404 product announcements and technical articles
on our web site, all fully searchable at
http://www.electronicstalk.com/ - take a look!
====================================================================
In this issue:
* Editor's Message
* Other industry news
* Our Top new products selection
[1] High-performance DSPs hit new price point
[2] Battery charger chip needs no supervision
[3] High rating for surface-mount fuselink
[4] Thermal design software meets new JEDEC standard
[5] Editor gets to grips with VHDL and Verilog
[6] Substrates improve thermal management
[7] Optical mouse sensor works on dodgy surfaces
[8] Single chip for European terrestrial demodulation
[9] Motherboard meets demanding computing needs
[10] Backplane meets latest switch fabric specs
* New technical articles & case studies
* Other featured product news
====================================================================
Laurence Marchini, Editor, writes: Welcome to Electronicstalk in
2005.
I don't know whether it's just my own jaundiced perception but it
appears that the vast majority of the industry has been asleep for the
past couple of weeks. Over the years, colleagues have sought to
convince me that the extended Christmas/New Year holiday was a
particularly British thing. But this year, it appears to have become a
global phenomenon.
So it would appear that all of you have only just returned to work -
and no doubt to an inbox brimming with belated seasons greetings,
general spam, and even some work. So I won't waste your time any more
than is necessary.
However, it would be remiss of me not to commemorate the start of the
year as marking the 20th anniversary of cellular communications in the
UK, with Vodafone starting operations on 1st January 1985 and Cellnet
following some nine days later. (The first commercial cellular service
in the world began in Chicago, USA, on 13th October 1983.)
Not surprisingly, the cellular phones of those early days are now
museum pieces. For while the handset itself was not all that different
to some units still in use today (albeit working on an analogue
network), the battery packs required to power the beasts were
something to behold. The initial models requires virtually
briefcase-sized battery packs, and the now legendary second-generation
"brick" models, while considerably more portable, were hardly the sort
of thing one might slip into a shirt pocket.
Both the hardware and the services provided are unrecognisable after
20 years. Who knows what the next 20 years will bring?
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 e-mail 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
====================================================================
This week's industry news
====================================================================
RECORD YEAR FOR GOPEL
(Gopel Electronic, 22 Dec 2004)
German company Gopel Electronic is predicting record results for 2004,
with a turnover in excess of Eur 11 million - up 18% on the previous
year.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/gpe/gpe105.html
or send a blank email to mailto:gpe1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
INDIAN UNIVERSITIES DRIVE ESL R AND D
(CoWare, 04 Jan 2005)
CoWare has set up relationships with two of India's premier
universities to drive research and development efforts for electronic
system-level (ESL) design tools and methodologies in India.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cow/cow143.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cow1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
RECORD YEAR FOR STENCIL SHIPMENTS
(DEK, 24 Dec 2004)
DEK has reached a record number of stencil shipments for 2004,
supplying nearly 75,000 innovative stencil products to customers
around the world.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/dek/dek187.html
or send a blank email to mailto:dek1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
US GOVERNMENT ORDERS RADIO TEST SETS
(Aeroflex, 22 Dec 2004)
The Aeroflex Wichita Division has received orders aggregating $11.3
million for RCTS-001 SINCGARS radio test sets and RCTS-003 life
support radio test sets from the US Government.
Request free details from the supplier on RCTS-001 and -003:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/aof/109/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/aof/aof109.html
or send a blank email to mailto:aof1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
DATALINK GROWS THROUGH ACQUISITION
(Datalink Electronics, 24 Dec 2004)
Datalink Electronics is on course to achieve annual sales of GBP 9
million by 2006 following its acquisition of Quasson.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/dak/dak101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:dak1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
OUR TOP NEW PRODUCT SELECTION
====================================================================
[1] HIGH-PERFORMANCE DSPS HIT NEW PRICE POINT
(Texas Instruments, 22 Dec 2004)
Texas Instruments has entered full volume production of two new high
performance digital signal processors, the TMS320C6410 and
TMS320C6413. Available at breakthrough price points and targeting
packet-switched telecomms, media gateways and other cost-sensitive,
high performance applications, the new devices further strengthen TI's
high-performance roadmap in the DSP market with additional memory,
peripheral and lower price options.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex737.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tex7[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[2] BATTERY CHARGER CHIP NEEDS NO SUPERVISION
(Linear Technology Corp, 03 Jan 2005)
Linear Technology has introduced the LTC4060, an autonomous one- to
four-cell, 0.4 to 2A linear NiMH and NiCd battery charger. The LTC4060
includes all the functions required for a battery charger circuit,
operating without the aid of a microcontroller or firmware. The design
is simple and needs only three passive components.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lne/lne112.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lne1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[3] HIGH RATING FOR SURFACE-MOUNT FUSELINK
(Schurter, 23 Dec 2004)
The latest addition to Schurter's range of RoHS compliant products is
the UMT 250 fuselink. The UMT 250 offers the highest protection
currently available in primary protection SM fuses, touting a breaking
capacity rating of 200A at 250V AC or 100A at 125V DC over a current
range from 315mA to 4A. Measuring a small 10 x 3 x 3mm, the UMT 250
makes significant advances in the miniaturisation of primary
protection and process compatibility.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/scc/scc124.html
or send a blank email to mailto:scc1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[4] THERMAL DESIGN SOFTWARE MEETS NEW JEDEC STANDARD
(Flomerics, 30 Dec 2004)
Flomerics has just introduced Version 5 of its web-based Flopack
software providing the ability to create Delphi compact models that
predict the performance of electronic components under
soon-to-be-published thermal testing standards from JEDEC committee
JC-15.1. Flopack produces behavioural compact models that can predict
the temperature of electronic component packages at critical points
such as the junction, case, and board, in far less time than would be
required using conventional detailed package models.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/flo/140/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/flo/flo140.html
or send a blank email to mailto:flo1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[5] EDITOR GETS TO GRIPS WITH VHDL AND VERILOG
(HDL Works, 23 Dec 2004)
Now available free of charge from HDL Works, Scriptum is a high end
text editor that integrates with the company's Ease and HDL Companion
tools. Scriptum is a text editor focused on HDL design, running on
Windows, Linux and Solaris. Using a multiple document window interface
combined with tab pages it offers a slick environment to edit VHDL,
Verilog and other language files.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/hdl/hdl102.html
or send a blank email to mailto:hdl1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[6] SUBSTRATES IMPROVE THERMAL MANAGEMENT
(CPS Corp, 22 Dec 2004)
AlSiC (aluminium silicon carbide) substrates from CPS Corp are ideal
for power supply substrate applications, including carrier plates and
heatsink materials for medical equipment power supplies. AlSiC
applications include electronic detectors in NMRI and MRI systems and
high-rotational-speed elements in CT scanners. AlSiC metal matrix
composite offers high strength and stiffness and low density, making
it ideal for electronic packaging applications that are weight
sensitive, require low inertial response, or are tolerant to high
vibration.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/csc/csc103.html
or send a blank email to mailto:csc1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[7] OPTICAL MOUSE SENSOR WORKS ON DODGY SURFACES
(Agilent Technologies, 23 Dec 2004)
Agilent Technologies has released an LED-based optical mouse sensor
that provides better tracking control than the company's
previous-generation LED-based devices. The new sensor outperforms
other optical mouse sensors by working over a wider variety of
surfaces, including wood desktops and half-tone images. Only Agilent's
revolutionary laser mouse technology introduced earlier this year
works on more surfaces, due to its 20x improvement over LED-based
devices in surface tracking accuracy.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/agi/268/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/agi/agi268.html
or send a blank email to mailto:agi2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[8] SINGLE CHIP FOR EUROPEAN TERRESTRIAL DEMODULATION
(STMicroelectronics, 23 Dec 2004)
STMicroelectronics has a new COFDM demodulator chip that performs the
front-end processing of terrestrial digital TV transmissions
throughout Europe. The new STV0361 complies fully with European
standards for COFDM (coded orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing)
demodulation, including the European Broadcasting Union Digital Video
Broadcasting Terrestrial (EBU DVB-T) specification (ETS300-744), and
in particular with the NorDig Unified 1.0.1 standard.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/stm/stm146.html
or send a blank email to mailto:stm1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[9] MOTHERBOARD MEETS DEMANDING COMPUTING NEEDS
(Ibase Technology, 28 Dec 2004)
The MB865 is an LGA775 industrial ATX motherboard using the Intel 865G
chipset. With the latest LGA775 processor socket on board, the
motherboard is optimised to support high performance Intel Pentium 4
and Celeron D processors with speeds up to 4GHz with 800MHz system bus
and Hyper-Threading Technology support. Two onboard DDR DIMM sockets
fit 2Gbyte of dual-channel DDR 400 main memory.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ias/ias107.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ias1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[10] BACKPLANE MEETS LATEST SWITCH FABRIC SPECS
(Hybricon Corp, 30 Dec 2004)
Hybricon Corp has a new backplane that complies with the latest PICMG
2.18 specification, which was approved and released in June 2004. As
the fourth switch fabric to be implemented on CompactPCI, this is the
latest example of the trend for system architectures to move towards
serial point-to-point interconnections and switch fabric topologies.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/hyr/hyr100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:hyr1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
New Technical Articles and Case Studies
====================================================================
TRANSCEIVER REVOLUTIONISES METER DATA COLLECTION
(Xemics, 28 Dec 2004)
HomeRider Systems has transformed meter data collection and allows
real-time monitoring of the network integrity and consumption using
Xemics' ultra low power transceiver.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/xem/xem146.html
or send a blank email to mailto:xem1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
Other featured new product news
====================================================================
PASSIVE MIXER CUTS WIRELESS COMPLEXITY
(Maxim Integrated Products, 29 Dec 2004)
Designed specifically for 2.5G/3G wireless-infrastructure
applications, the MAX2039 delivers an unparalleled combination of
linearity, noise performance and component integration.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/max/max208.html
or send a blank email to mailto:max2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
DISK DRIVE CHIPSET AIMS FOR CONSUMER DEVICES
(Agere Systems, 04 Jan 2005)
Agere Systems has developed a complete chipset for developing
small-form-factor disk drives.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/age/age165.html
or send a blank email to mailto:age1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SOFTWARE IS STREAMLINED FOR SYSTEMC
(Aldec, 29 Dec 2004)
The latest release of Riviera features extended support for SystemC by
allowing designers to instantiate VHDL and Verilog modules in SystemC
code.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/axw/axw120.html
or send a blank email to mailto:axw1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BNC CONNECTORS PROMISE LOWER COSTS
(Radiall, 27 Dec 2004)
A novel right angle circuit board BNC jack connector is manufactured
using a metal moulded technology to reduce costs.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/rac/rac127.html
or send a blank email to mailto:rac1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
STENCILS SMOOTH TRANSITION TO LEAD-FREE PROCESSING
(Tecan Components, 22 Dec 2004)
A combination of proven design features will ensure solder paste
printing stencils offer the best possible performance when faced with
present-day and future challenges facing PCB manufacturers.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tea/tea159.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tea1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
Have you seen our other newsletters?
====================================================================
Pro-Talk publishes a whole series of newsletters for technical
Professionals. Sign up to be put on free circulation at
http://www.pro-talk.com today.
====================================================================
|
|
