|
ELECTRONICSTALK
The Independent Weekly Product Information Guide
for Electronics Design, Development and Manufacturing Engineers
====================================================================
ISSN 1475-2913 - Free subscription
Last week's delivered circulation: 23,600
Published every Tuesday from the UK.
Issue 210: 05 April 2005
====================================================================
22241 product announcements and technical articles on our
website http://www.electronicstalk.com/ - all fully searchable
====================================================================
Electronicstalk operates a double opt-in subscription policy.
To unsubscribe: send an email with a blank subject line to
leave-electronicstalk-82707[-email removed-]o-talk.com
====================================================================
In this issue:
* Editor's Message
* Other industry news
* Our Top new products selection
[1] Speedy DRAMs target broadband networking
[2] Video filters simplify signal conditioning
[3] Module and analyser speed FlexRay integration
[4] Digital scopes cut the cost of 1GHz bandwidth
[5] Stable low-value resistors make good sense
[6] Intermediate bus convertor is ideal front end
[7] VXI controller embeds Pentium 4 power
[8] PMC puts FPGA to work on speedy signals
[9] Digitisers gain novel FIR filtering
[10] Predictive development is key to survival
* New technical articles and case studies
* Other featured product news
====================================================================
Laurence Marchini, Editor, writes:
Let's be honest, it was inevitable, wasn't it? I refer of course to the UK Government's decision to delay enactment of the EU WEEE Directive until 2006. And while many - like me - will hear echoes of the so called "period of grace" that preceded the enactment of the EMC Directive, on this occasion UK industry was in no position to comply with the necessary requirements in time for the August 2005 deadline.
All the major UK producers of both electronic and electrical equipment have applauded the decision (see below the response from Repic). But then (as a cynic might say) they would, wouldn't they. Every month's delay is a month in which the costs of recycling will not need to be met - yet another case where the greenback overcomes the green.
But let nobody be under any illusion: this is a delay - not a cancellation.
Come to think of it, it's not been a very good week for the environment, following the revelation that the UK (previously looked on as saint rather than sinner) might not after all meet its target set down under the Kyoto Protocol. Having previously (in my own small way) harangued the leaders of the US and Australian Governments for their refusal to even pay lip service to the protocol, I may have to add the UK to my list.
There really is no counter-argument: environmental legislation is not only essential for the life of our planet, it is also good for business. Whether it be designing new ways to generate power more efficiently, or developing products that are easier to recycle and which consume less energy, the results of such legislation only benefit our industry.
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
====================================================================
This week's industry news
====================================================================
MORE VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDING FOR EASIC
(eASIC Corp, 05 Apr 2005)
aASIC Corp has secured $7.5 million in equity financing from Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers (KPCB) and Vinod Khosla.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ecc/ecc113.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ecc1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SCHEME WELCOMES ELECTRICAL RECYCLING DELAY
(Repic, 01 Apr 2005)
Repic has welcomed the UK Government's announcement of a delay to the implementation of the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive until January 2006.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/rei/rei100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:rei1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ONE-THIRD ARE STILL NOT LEAD-FREE PREPARED
(Elfnet, 31 Mar 2005)
Some 30% of the concerned organisations are still not actively preparing for lead-free soldering, reports Elfnet, which warns that the deadline is only 16 months away.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/elf/elf101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:elf1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ACQUISITIONS BOLSTER EMBEDDED NETWORKING EXPERTISE
(Digi International, 04 Apr 2005)
Digi International has acquired two leading providers of embedded modules and software for the rapidly expanding embedded networking market.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/dii/dii111.html
or send a blank email to mailto:dii1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MBO AT AMPLICON
(Amplicon Liveline, 05 Apr 2005)
Brighton based Amplicon Liveline has concluded a successful management buyout.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/amp/amp195.html
or send a blank email to mailto:amp1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BUYERS EVENT PAYS OFF FOR WINKELMANN
(UK Trade and Investment, 04 Apr 2005)
A Sussex based biometric and electronic security service firm has won an order worth GBP 10,000 from Greece following its participation in a "Meet the buyers" event.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tad/tad109.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tad1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MURATA JOINS ALLIANCE ON POL CONVERTORS
(Texas Instruments, 05 Apr 2005)
Murata and Texas Instruments have announced plans to expand a global effort to promote pin-compatible, nonisolated, point of load plug-in power modules.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex796.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tex7[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
OUR TOP NEW PRODUCT SELECTION
====================================================================
[1] SPEEDY DRAMS TARGET BROADBAND NETWORKING
(Toshiba Electronics Europe, 04 Apr 2005)
Toshiba Corp has developed a high-performance DRAM it claims achieves the fastest data transfer rate yet attained by any memory device. The 512Mbit XDR has a peak operating speed of 6.4GHz and is designed for high-performance broadband applications, including digital consumer electronics, network systems and graphic systems. Samples of the new chip are currently available. The XDR DRAM is based on Rambus's XDR memory interface technology and offers an octal datarate (ODR), supporting transfers of eight bits of data in a single clock cycle.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tos/tos263.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tos2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[2] VIDEO FILTERS SIMPLIFY SIGNAL CONDITIONING
(Analog Devices, 05 Apr 2005)
Analog Devices has unveiled a family of video filters designed to ease the analogue video signal conditioning challenges in advanced consumer video applications, such as HDTV, personal video players and DVD recorders. Able to condition HD (high definition) as well as SD (standard definition) video signals, the video filter solution replaces dozens of passive components, amplifiers, and multiplexers with a single chip. This saves designers development time and can reduce board space by over 90%. ADI's video filters are the first monolithic ICs that perform all the functions necessary to provide consistent, high-quality video images for consumer video applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/anc/anc292.html
or send a blank email to mailto:anc2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[3] MODULE AND ANALYSER SPEED FLEXRAY INTEGRATION
(Ixxat, 04 Apr 2005)
Next week at the SAE 2005 World Congress, Ixxat will introduce a FlexRay car communications module (CCM) and Multibus analyser for the development and rapid prototyping of FlexRay in-vehicle networks. The FlexRay car communications module features two CAN interfaces and two FlexRay channels connected to a PC through a TCP/IP Ethernet port which provides a platform for development and rapid prototyping of FlexRay networks in automobiles. The FlexRay CCM provides a platform for the development of customised FlexRay test and service applications and can be used together with Ixxat's new Multibus analyser.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ixx/ixx104.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ixx1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[4] DIGITAL SCOPES CUT THE COST OF 1GHZ BANDWIDTH
(Yokogawa Measurement Technologies, 04 Apr 2005)
The new SignalXplorer DL9000 series of digital oscilloscopes from Yokogawa combines high-performance waveform display and analysis functions with a compact and lightweight design. Featuring a maximum frequency bandwidth of 1.5GHz, maximum sampling rate of 10Gsample/s, and maximum memory length of 6.25Mword, these four-channel instruments feature a new enhanced waveform accumulation function which allows up to 450 million digitised points to be acquired and displayed every second. Measuring only 350 x 200 x 178mm and weighing only 6.5kg, the DL9000 Series is the smallest, most lightweight instrument in its class in terms of display and analysis performance.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/yoa/143/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/yoa/yoa143.html
or send a blank email to mailto:yoa1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[5] STABLE LOW-VALUE RESISTORS MAKE GOOD SENSE
(TT Electronics Welwyn Components, 04 Apr 2005)
Welwyn Components has introduced an ultra-low-resistance (less than 2mohm) surface-mount metal strip resistor capable of handling up to 45A at 1W while exhibiting extremely low inductance and low TCR. The CSS Series is offered in a two-terminal design and a four-terminal Kelvin design with a resistance range from 0.5 to 2mohm. The new resistors will find uses in applications requiring precision current sensing, battery charging, power management circuits in computers, overcurrent protection in power supplies and motor control circuitry where current-sense devices are used.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/wel/125/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/wel/wel125.html
or send a blank email to mailto:wel1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[6] INTERMEDIATE BUS CONVERTOR IS IDEAL FRONT END
(Power-One, 05 Apr 2005)
New from Power-One is the 32A HKS48T30120 IBA bus convertor. This 12V DC output half-brick combines full regulation with efficiencies up to 94.5%, making it an ideal DC/DC front end to provide power to intermediate bus architecture point-of-load convertors. A single-board design incorporating advanced thermal management techniques facilitates minimal power derating at elevated temperatures and can provide 21.5A at 70C (with 1m/s linear airflow), for networking, wireless communication and data processing applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/pxw/pxw113.html
or send a blank email to mailto:pxw1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[7] VXI CONTROLLER EMBEDS PENTIUM 4 POWER
(KineticSystems Company, 05 Apr 2005)
KineticSystems Company has a new VXI slot-0 controller featuring a high performance Pentium 4 embedded processor. The V153 joins the family of high-performance PowerPC-based slot-0 controllers already offered by KineticSystems. This single-width C-size module with 1.7 and 2.2GHz clocking options provides a powerful platform for embedded applications with unparalleled processor speed. The V153 features two Ethernet controllers that support 10BaseT, 100BaseTX and 1000BaseT interfaces, up to 1Gbyte of bootable Flash on a secondary IDE, up to 1Gbyte of PC1600 DDR SDRAM, and one PMC expansion site for user expandability for FDDI, CompactFlash, GPIB, Fibre Channel, FPDP etc.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/gag/gag101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:gag1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[8] PMC PUTS FPGA TO WORK ON SPEEDY SIGNALS
(Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing, Video and Graphics, 05 Apr 2005)
Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing (CWCEC) has released a new rugged FPGA PMC card designed to simplify and speed the capture, processing and output of data derived from high-speed sensors such as electro-optical/infra-red (EO/IR) and radar systems. The ProWare PMC-440 features an onboard FPGA that delivers up to 20BOPS performance for FFT and digital filter DSP functions. Ideal for use as a front-end sensor I/O interface and a DSP processing mezzanine module for use in VMEbus and CompactPCI embedded systems, the ProWare PMC-440 can be configured with either of two versions of the Xilinx Virtex-II Pro FPGA.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/pte/pte103.html
or send a blank email to mailto:pte1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[9] DIGITISERS GAIN NOVEL FIR FILTERING
(Gage Applied Technologies, 01 Apr 2005)
Gage Applied Technologies has introduced new onboard finite impulse response (FIR) filter FPGA technology in its high-resolution 14bit digitisers. This new FIR filter technology allows users to filter digitised data in real time with a completely flexible and user customisable FIR filter. Filtering of analogue voltage signals is a powerful method for removing unwanted signal features (like noise) and emphasising signal features of interest. Traditional analogue filters are usually limited to rather simple filtering methods, such as lowpass filtering, highpass filtering and bandpass filtering. Numerical filtering of digitised waveform data, such as that now available onboard Gage's 14bit digitisers, allows much more complex filtering methods such as moving average filters and Gaussian filters to be implemented.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/gae/gae102.html
or send a blank email to mailto:gae1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
[10] PREDICTIVE DEVELOPMENT IS KEY TO SURVIVAL
(Atrenta, 05 Apr 2005)
Atrenta has unveiled a new line of EDA solutions it reckons substantially improve the risk/reward equation for companies developing electronic products, enabling them to create more innovative systems faster and more cost-effectively. Atrenta's 1Team Family represents a new class of design automation solution, called predictive development, which turns the expensive and error-prone activity of system development into a more predictable, manageable and reliable process. The 1Team Family also enhances engineering creativity, teamwork and productivity. The first member of the family, 1Team Implement, is now available.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/atr/atr123.html
or send a blank email to mailto:atr1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
New Technical Articles and Case Studies
====================================================================
MEDIA PROCESSOR ADDS CODEC SUPPORT FOR TV
(Texas Instruments, 04 Apr 2005)
Complete Media Systems is using TI's TMS320DM642 digital media processor in its new CMS500 set top box, supporting both Internet protocol and DVB-T networks.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex794.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tex7[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
TIMING OPTIMISATION SPEEDS SOC TO DESKTOP MARKET
(Zenasis Technologies, 05 Apr 2005)
Agilent Technologies has used the ZenTime cell-based timing optimisation tool to improve performance and accelerate time to silicon for a 90nm SoC for next-generation printer and imaging applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/zen/zen104.html
or send a blank email to mailto:zen1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SAW DEVICES POLISHED OFF IN NOTTINGHAM
(Engis (UK), 05 Apr 2005)
Researchers at Nottingham Trent University have purchased an Engis polishing and lapping machine to assist their work into the use of acoustic wave devices for use in sensors.
Request free details from the supplier on Lapping and polishing equipment:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/eng/104/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/eng/eng104.html
or send a blank email to mailto:eng1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ULTRASONICS WELDING IMPROVES PART ACCURACY
(Contax, 31 Mar 2005)
High-tech battery manufacturer is upgrading production with a bespoke ultrasonic welding system to connect aluminium cathode contact tag to the end mesh of a cathode.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cnt/cnt133.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cnt1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
Other featured new product news
====================================================================
ACOUSTIC PLAYBACKS HAVE HIGH DENSITY MEMORY
(Oki Electric, 31 Mar 2005)
Oki has added two new members to its high quality sound and multifunctional speech family.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/oki/oki163.html
or send a blank email to mailto:oki1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
NETWORK PROCESSORS PROMISE AN ADVANTAGE
(Agere Systems, 05 Apr 2005)
New access solutions aim to allow wireline and wireless service providers to expand their product offerings, generate more revenues and reduce their costs.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/age/age171.html
or send a blank email to mailto:age1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
TRANSCEIVER CHIPSET CUTS OUT EXTERNAL COMPONENTS
(SiGe Semiconductor, 05 Apr 2005)
A new transceiver chipset is designed to optimise the performance of WiMAX systems, broadband wireless access and wireless local loop equipment.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sif/sif165.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sif1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
UPGRADE FOR SWITCHER DESIGN SOFTWARE
(Power Intergrations, 05 Apr 2005)
Power Integrations has released a new version of its popular design software for switched-mode power supplies.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/poo/poo100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:poo1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
PMC-BASED DIGITAL RECEIVER DONS RUGGED GUISE
(Pentek, 05 Apr 2005)
Pentek has released a new ruggedised version of its Model 7131 16-channel multiband digital receiver PMC module.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/pnt/pnt110.html
or send a blank email to mailto:pnt1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MODULE CAN REPLACE END-OF-LIFE PROCESSORS
(Ampro Computers, 30 Mar 2005)
CoreModule 550 is a low-cost migration path from 486-based PC/104 boards as well as an ideal replacement for end-of-life modules using AMD Geode or Transmeta processors.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/apr/apr110.html
or send a blank email to mailto:apr1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SWITCHED FABRIC BOARD EMBEDS ETHERNET SWITCHING
(Concurrent Technologies, 05 Apr 2005)
The FP 110/008 switched fabric board complements the range of CompactPCI PICMG 2.16 and VME64x VITA 31.1 packet switched single board computers from Concurrent Technologies.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cct/cct153.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cct1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
LINK SECURES POS TRANSACTIONS
(Lava Computer, 04 Apr 2005)
Taking its Ether-Serial technology one step further, Lava Computer is introducing the latest addition to its line of Ether-Serial Links geared towards the point of sale.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lav/lav101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lav1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BLUETOOTH SERIAL ADAPTER OUSTS RS232 SERIAL CABLE
(Sena Technologies, 31 Mar 2005)
The Parani10 is a Bluetooth serial adapter designed to replace RS232 serial cables with wireless connectivity when interconnecting peripheral devices.
Request free details from the supplier on Parani10 Bluetooth serial adapter:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/sna/104/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sna/sna104.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sna1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MODULE PROVIDES A HIGHLY INTEGRATED SOLUTION
(Evalue Technology, 04 Apr 2005)
The ECM-5712 is based on the Intel 82852GME chipset, optimised for Pentium 4 processors, and built on a 5.25in form factor.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/eal/eal122.html
or send a blank email to mailto:eal1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
====================================================================
Have you seen our other newsletters?
====================================================================
Electronicstalk is one of a number of free email newsletters for
technical professionals. See what else we have to offer, and sign up
today, at http://www.pro-talk.com
====================================================================
|
|
