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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: 23,500
Published every Tuesday from the UK.
Issue 205: 01 March 2005
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21,469 product announcements and technical articles on our
website http://www.electronicstalk.com/ - all fully searchable
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In this issue:
* Editor's Message
* Other industry news
* Our Top new products selection
[1] Speedy route to digital filter design
[2] Remote control - without batteries
[3] Pb-free paste keeps it clean
[4] Embedded SBC boasts express communications
[5] Colour management enables LED TV backlighting
[6] Test platform covers full product lifecycle
[7] More functions for ESL design suite
[8] Latest processors move to embedded sphere
[9] DSP audio processing made easy
[10] IP core claims the lead in multithreading
* New technical articles and case studies
* Other featured product news
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Laurence Marchini, Editor, writes:
The old saying that "the best ideas are always the simplest" has
always held a grain of truth. And while that adage can be used to
decry anything that is unnecessarily sophisticated, I have always
admired anyone who can solve a problem with the minimum of resources -
whether it be refining a simple concept to answer a specific need or
returning to first principles and taking a sideways look at common
phenomenon.
And his week's news has been full of examples of the first sort while
containing a gem of the latter.
From the refinement point of view the past week has probably seen more
innovation in the "simple" microcontroller field than we have
witnessed in many a month. These range from Zilog's latest offering
(which even that doyen of the 8bit market describes as its "tiny
dynamo" on http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/zil/zil142.html) to a
range from Cypress Semiconductor tailored to interfacing applications
(see http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cyp/cyp250.html), and the
latest offering from Cyan Technology, which squeezes a frightening
array of functions into an 8mm square footprint (see
http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cya/cya114.html).
The gem comes from a UK-based academic startup, Instrumentel, that has
managed to combine the best aspects of passive RFID and low-power
radio technologies to, produce an inductively coupled wireless
telemetry system based on miniaturised electronics that can both sense
and actuate by drawing its power from the RF field itself. Read more
at http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/inr/inr100.html.
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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NEW HQ TO SERVE GROWING CUSTOMER BASE
(ACT/Technico, 28 Feb 2005)
ACT/Technico has revealed plans to build a new $3.4 million corporate
headquarters.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/att/att105.html
or send a blank email to mailto:att1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT AWARDS FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT
(Ultralife Batteries, 24 Feb 2005)
Ultralife Batteries has been awarded a five-year production contract
by the US Defense Department to provide its BA-5347/U nonrechargeable
lithium-manganese dioxide batteries to the US military.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ula/ula101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ula1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
NOVEL LED TECHNOLOGY SPAWNS NEW COMPANY
(CoolLED, 24 Feb 2005)
Custom Interconnect (CIL) has developed CoolLED, a new method of
creating LED arrays that produces sufficient light output to make them
suitable for many industrial applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/coz/coz100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:coz1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
STENCIL MANUFACTURING BEGINS IN SINGAPORE
(DEK, 25 Feb 2005)
DEK has opened a new advanced stencil manufacturing facility in
Singapore to improve delivery and increase the level of experience and
expertise available to its customers in Asia.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/dek/dek190.html
or send a blank email to mailto:dek1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
FRONTIER EXPANDS INVESTOR BASE
(Frontier Silicon, 01 Mar 2005)
Frontier Silicon has closed a $28 million investment round led by ACT
Venture Capital.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fon/fon121.html
or send a blank email to mailto:fon1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BETA TESTERS WANTED FOR PROTOTYPING AIDS
(Schmartboard, 25 Feb 2005)
Schmartboard is looking for potential beta testers for new product
lines to be released during 2005 and beyond.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sbo/sbo113.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sbo1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
UNIVERSITY LINK WORKS TOWARDS RF OPTO CIRCUITS
(Phasebridge, 28 Feb 2005)
Phasebridge is working with University of California, San Diego to
develop semiconductor electroabsorption modulator technology for
rugged, high-performance microwave links.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/phs/phs100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:phs1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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OUR TOP NEW PRODUCT SELECTION
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[1] SPEEDY ROUTE TO DIGITAL FILTER DESIGN
(National Instruments, 28 Feb 2005)
The NI LabView Digital Filter Design Toolkit Version 7.5 includes
tools for modelling and creating software-based digital filters as
well as LabView FPGA and C code generation capabilities for chip-level
implementation. With the toolkit, design and test engineers now can
use the NI LabView graphical development environment to ensure a
seamless digital filter design process from conception to completion
while reducing development costs. In addition, professors can use the
toolkit to demonstrate key filter design concepts to undergraduate and
graduate engineering students.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/naa/188/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/naa/naa188.html
or send a blank email to mailto:naa1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[2] REMOTE CONTROL - WITHOUT BATTERIES
(Instrumentel , 01 Mar 2005)
British company Instrumentel has developed a revolutionary
communications technology that enables two-way command and control for
batteryless remote sensing and actuation. The company originated from
the University of Leeds, where ground-breaking research by Dr Greg
Horler of the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering has
produced an inductively coupled wireless telemetry system based on
miniaturised electronics that can both sense and actuate. It is
believed that Instrumentel is the first company in the world to do
this without using batteries, and with such an array of features.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/inr/inr100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:inr1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[3] PB-FREE PASTE KEEPS IT CLEAN
(Henkel Technologies, 01 Mar 2005)
Following on the heels of several innovative solder material
introductions, the electronics group of Henkel has launched its latest
lead-free solder paste, Multicore WS300, a high-activity
water-washable material with superior cleaning characteristics and
suitable for fine-pitch high-speed printing applications. Multicore
WS300 exhibits excellent print definition with long open and abandon
time capabilities.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/hen/hen117.html
or send a blank email to mailto:hen1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[4] EMBEDDED SBC BOASTS EXPRESS COMMUNICATIONS
(Kontron UK, 24 Feb 2005)
Kontron Embedded Computers has used the PCI Express bus (PCIe for
short) for communication with peripherals on its new PICMG
1.0-compatible Kontron PCI-955 single board computer. The new Kontron
PCI-955 SBC is based on the Intel Pentium M processor 760 and the
Mobile Intel 915GM Express chipset. It provides 250Mbyte/s full-duplex
communication with each PCIe interface so that onboard communication
is no longer restricted by the bandwidth of other components.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/kon/kon155.html
or send a blank email to mailto:kon1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[5] COLOUR MANAGEMENT ENABLES LED TV BACKLIGHTING
(Agilent Technologies, 01 Mar 2005)
Agilent has developed a breakthrough colour management system for
backlighting LCD (liquid crystal display) flat-panel TVs that delivers
25% more brilliant colours than current fluorescent backlighting. The
colour management controller IC (integrated circuit) and colour sensor
module combine to produce a complete hue (colour) and intensity
(brightness) control system. The Agilent illumination and colour
management system works with high-power Luxeon red, green and blue
LEDs (light-emitting diodes) from Lumileds Lighting.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/agi/agi278.html
or send a blank email to mailto:agi2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[6] TEST PLATFORM COVERS FULL PRODUCT LIFECYCLE
(Seica , 28 Feb 2005)
A new integrated test platform from Seica, Italy's leading electronics
test solutions OEM, is based on a unique software and hardware
architecture which includes cutting-edge technology to implement the
multiple test strategies needed to address the challenges of
electronic testing - from the new product introduction (NPI) stage,
during the manufacturing process, right through to the logistics
centres that provide test and repair services.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sez/sez100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sez1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[7] MORE FUNCTIONS FOR ESL DESIGN SUITE
(Vast Systems Technology, 01 Mar 2005)
The latest release of Comet adds substantial new functionality to
Vast's fifth generation of electronic system level (ESL) tools. Comet
is Vast's electronic system level environment for the concurrent
design and development of the hardware, software, mechanical and DSP
subsystems of complex SoCs and embedded systems. With Comet,
developers create virtual system prototypes in software working from
high-level specifications as early as the architectural phase. The
virtual system prototype is used for architecture design and analysis.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/vas/vas106.html
or send a blank email to mailto:vas1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[8] LATEST PROCESSORS MOVE TO EMBEDDED SPHERE
(Intel Corporation, 24 Feb 2005)
Intel's recently introduced processors and a corresponding chipset are
now available for embedded market segments such as communications
infrastructure, industrial box and panel PCs, in-car infotainment and
other applications. The announcement demonstrates Intel's commitment
to provide modular standards-based building blocks such as embedded
processors to a wide variety of industries, to provide cost-effective
and faster time to market solutions.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/iel/iel136.html
or send a blank email to mailto:iel1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[9] DSP AUDIO PROCESSING MADE EASY
(Analog Devices, 01 Mar 2005)
Analog Devices has unveiled its latest SigmaDSP digital audio
processors targeted for large-volume, price-sensitive,
time-constrained applications, such as automotive audio, digital TV,
multimedia PCs and home theatre systems. The new AD1940 and AD1941
SigmaDSP, together with SigmaStudio, provide a fully automated
hardware and software system design tool, enabling engineers to
implement higher quality DSP audio processing capabilities into more
of their designs.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/anc/anc285.html
or send a blank email to mailto:anc2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[10] IP CORE CLAIMS THE LEAD IN MULTITHREADING
(Imagination Technologies, 28 Feb 2005)
The Meta 122 IP core is the latest version of the
multi-million-shipping Meta processor family, targeted at
multifunction consumer entertainment (CE) products which must provide
high performance, both in terms of processing and I/O. Traditional
"single" processors spend a lot of time in stall cycles doing
nothing - either waiting for data from memory or in the middle of a
context switch. Meta is the first commercially available licensable IP
core supporting hardware multithreading. A single Meta processor can
replace multiple processor cores, providing highly efficient support
for concurrent real-time tasks.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/iag/iag130.html
or send a blank email to mailto:iag1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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New Technical Articles and Case Studies
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SPEEDY ASIC STOPS EMERSON LOSING ITS MARBLES
(AMI Semiconductor, 28 Feb 2005)
AMI Semiconductor has partnered with industrial automation leader
Emerson Process Management to deliver a mixed-signal sensor interface
integrated circuit in record time.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/amb/amb162.html
or send a blank email to mailto:amb1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ROCKET SCIENCE MAKES USE OF LOW-POWER RADIO
(Radiometrix, 28 Feb 2005)
Traxa Rocketry designs and manufactures radio tracking devices for
small commercial and hobby rockets, using Radiometrix TX2 RF modules
for tracking them after they return to earth.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/rio/rio111.html
or send a blank email to mailto:rio1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MCU POWERS LANE DEPARTURE WARNING SYSTEM
(Freescale Semiconductor, 23 Feb 2005)
Hella has developed a hardware concept for a lane departure warning
system based on Freescale Semiconductor's 32bit MPC5200 controller
containing a PowerPC core.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mot/mot194.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mot1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
NETWORK LICENCE EASES BOUNDARY SCAN ADOPTION
(Asset InterTech, 24 Feb 2005)
AETA, a French telecommunications equipment manufacturer, has deployed
Asset InterTech's ScanWorks boundary scan test system in both its
design and manufacturing facilities.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/asn/asn104.html
or send a blank email to mailto:asn1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
CUSTOM ENCLOSURES PROTECT WIRELESS TELEMETRY
(Fibox, 28 Feb 2005)
Fibox has been working as project partner for RDT's latest
innovation - MiniNet.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fif/fif106.html
or send a blank email to mailto:fif1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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Other featured new product news
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TESTER CHECKS FOR POWER OVER ETHERNET
(PowerDsine UK, 28 Feb 2005)
A novel power over Ethernet tester is designed for IT administrators,
system integrators and installers who want to check if electrical
operating power is being carried over the Ethernet network.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/prd/prd110.html
or send a blank email to mailto:prd1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
EMBEDDED FAMILY TAKES A MODULAR APPROACH
(Radisys, 25 Feb 2005)
The Radisys Procelerant CE is the first in a family of products based
on COM Express, the new PICMG standard for PCI Express in
computers-on-modules (COMs).
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/rad/rad147.html
or send a blank email to mailto:rad1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
CMOS IMAGE SENSOR BREAKS INTO CAMERA MARKET
(OmniVision, 25 Feb 2005)
According to OmniVision Technologies, the OV5610 5Mpixel camera chip
has already achieved eight design wins in digital still camera and
video camera markets.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/omv/omv101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:omv1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
LIGHTWEIGHT UV PEN PROMISES A SPEEDY CURE
(CoolLED, 24 Feb 2005)
The CoolLED 2600 is a small, lightweight and inherently safe LED UV
curing pen that produces bursts of high intensity UV visible light
capable of light curing products within seconds.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/coz/coz101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:coz1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BUSBAR CONTACTS OFFER SPEEDY DISCONNECT
(Anderson Power Products, 25 Feb 2005)
The latest addition to Anderson Power Products SB and Powerpole
families of connectors are 120 and 350A busbar contacts.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ars/ars110.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ars1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SCREENING CANS PROVIDE RFI PROTECTION ONBOARD
(Tecan Components, 28 Feb 2005)
Low-profile PCB screening cans and enclosures, which can be reflowed
with conventional and SMD components, are now available from Tecan.
Request free details from the supplier on PCB screening cans:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/tea/160/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tea/tea160.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tea1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BLUE LEDS SHINE BRIGHTER
(Marktech Optoelectronics, 24 Feb 2005)
Available exclusively from Marktech Optoelectronics, Cotco TBL blue
series LEDs use the most recent advances in InGaN/SiC technology.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mrk/mrk103.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mrk1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
FPGA MODULE SETS STANDARD FOR ANALOGUE PROCESSING
(Nallatech, 25 Feb 2005)
Nallatech has enhanced the level of integration and DSP performance of
its BenAdda analogue data processing module range by introducing the
BenAdda-Pro, based on the Xilinx Virtex-II Pro FPGA.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/nal/nal128.html
or send a blank email to mailto:nal1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
KITS ACCELERATE FIBRE-OPTIC MODULE DESIGN
(Phyworks, 01 Mar 2005)
A new range of reference design kits aims to simplify the
implementation of 1-4Gbit/s SFP fibre optic modules for Gigabit
Ethernet, Fibre Channel and Sonet/SDH applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/phy/phy102.html
or send a blank email to mailto:phy1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SMALL-FOOTPRINT MCU IS A "TINY DYNAMO"
(Zilog, 28 Feb 2005)
Zilog has expanded its product portfolio by launching an innovative
8-pin low-cost small-footprint addition to its award-winning Z8
Encore! XP family of microcontrollers.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/zil/zil142.html
or send a blank email to mailto:zil1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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