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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: 23,800
Published every Tuesday from the UK.
Issue 211: 12 April 2005
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22,245 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] New NOR Flash aims for embedded applications
[2] Buck-boost convertor delivers up to 1.2A
[3] Heater panels keep displays in top form
[4] All-CMOS solution cuts wireless USB costs
[5] Inductors aim to boost DC/DC efficiency
[6] Monitors support legacy analogue comms tests
[7] CompactFlash card turns PDAs to acquisition
[8] Flexible configuration for novel cabinet range
[9] Convertors boast maximum current and power
[10] Long-life motherboard offers choice of formats
* New technical articles and case studies
* Other featured product news
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Laurence Marchini, Editor, writes:
Talk about bad timing: no sooner had I penned last week's editorial comment on the delay to the WEEE Directive than UK agency Envirowise published the results of a survey into the public's attitude to consumer electrical and electronics equipment. And it makes disturbing reading.
It seems that the UK public has very little faith in the longevity of its consumer goods. And while some of the findings of the survey can be explained by expectations that certain technologies will be rendered obsolete by replacement, it does raise questions as to the longevity of mature technologies - and thereby adds further fuel to the recycling debate.
So while - as our story at http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/env/env104.html points out - 75% think a laser jet printer will last less than six years (which is probably a reasonable lifecycle for a product where technology changes relatively rapidly), it is probably more worrying that 46% of people expect a washing machine to last less than six years.
And, worse still, 80% of all products are thrown away after one use.
Finally, everyone at Electronicstalk sends their best wishes to Jim Hicks, founder of Brighton-based distributor Amplicon Liveline, who has been receiving treatment for bone marrow cancer. Now retired, Jim and his wife Heather have been ever-present on the UK electronics scene for the past 25 years, and we are all delighted to hear that his treatment to date has been successful.
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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ALLIANCE PARTNERS REACH SOC IP ACCORD
(Philips Semiconductors, 12 Apr 2005)
The Crolles2 Alliance partners have reached a preliminary agreement to co-operate on the creation and validation of high-level SoC intellectual property blocks.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/phi/phi314.html
or send a blank email to mailto:phi3[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
DIVISION PROMISES NEW LIFE FOR OBSOLETE COMPONENTS
(Dionics, 12 Apr 2005)
Specialist distributor Dionics has launched a dedicated Military and Obsolete Division aimed at increasing the support available to military and other long-life electronics manufacturers.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/dio/dio106.html
or send a blank email to mailto:dio1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
EXPRESS SUPPORT EXPANDS TO UK MARKET
(Memec, 08 Apr 2005)
A new sales division, Memec Express provides enhanced sales support and customer service for UK customers at small to medium business levels, including original equipment manufacturers.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mep/mep101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mep1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
WORK STARTS ON NEW EUROPEAN HQ
(Fujitsu Microelectronics Europe, 11 Apr 2005)
Fujitsu Microelectronics Europe has strengthened its commitment to Europe, as the foundation stone was laid for its new, purpose-built, European headquarters.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fuj/fuj174.html
or send a blank email to mailto:fuj1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
VERISITY BECOMES CADENCE VERIFICATION DIVISION
(Cadence Design Systems, 11 Apr 2005)
Cadence Design Systems has completed the acquisition of Verisity, the California-based provider of verification process automation solutions.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cad/cad280.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cad2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
NMI EXPANDS WITH SWINDON OFFICE
(National Microelectronics Institute, 11 Apr 2005)
The National Microelectronics Institute has opened a new office in Swindon to support its mission of creating a strong and vibrant semiconductor industry community across the UK and Ireland.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/nai/nai103.html
or send a blank email to mailto:nai1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SURVEY ADDS FUEL TO UK RECYCLING DEBATE
(Envirowise, 06 Apr 2005)
Research from Envirowise has revealed the extent to which "throwaway culture" has taken hold in Britain.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/env/env104.html
or send a blank email to mailto:env1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
HAMEG ACQUISITION BOOSTS BUDGET PORTFOLIO
(Rohde and Schwarz, 11 Apr 2005)
Rohde and Schwarz has acquired Hameg, expanding its test and measurement product portfolio in the lower price segment.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/rhd/rhd122.html
or send a blank email to mailto:rhd1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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OUR TOP NEW PRODUCT SELECTION
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[1] NEW NOR FLASH AIMS FOR EMBEDDED APPLICATIONS
(Intel Corporation, 11 Apr 2005)
Intel StrataFlash Embedded Memory is a new family of low-cost, high-performance NOR Flash memory products targeted for embedded applications in such market segments as consumer electronics, industrial and wired communications. Intel's fourth-generation, multilevel cell products target OEMs in embedded market segments that are increasingly requiring higher performance and density for Flash memory. This type of performance is especially suited for platform designs ranging from digital cameras and household electronics to network routers and switches and handheld devices.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/iel/iel140.html
or send a blank email to mailto:iel1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[2] BUCK-BOOST CONVERTOR DELIVERS UP TO 1.2A
(Linear Technology Corp, 11 Apr 2005)
Available now from Linear Technology, the LTC3442 is a true buck-boost DC/DC convertor that delivers up to 1.2A of continuous output current at efficiencies as high as 95%. The LTC3442 is a synchronous, fixed frequency, buck-boost DC/DC convertor designed to optimise battery run time for single cell Li-ion, multicell alkaline or NiMH battery powered applications. It operates from an input voltage range of 2.4 to 5.5V and can provide a fixed output voltage between 2.4 to 5.25V.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lne/lne144.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lne1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[3] HEATER PANELS KEEP DISPLAYS IN TOP FORM
(Rowland Automation , 12 Apr 2005)
Rowland Automation has recently introduced a range of custom manufactured heater panels to complement its existing design and manufacturing facilities for keyboards, touch panels and other HMI solutions. The heaters are custom designed for any bespoke application and can be of any shape or size, transparent, rigid or flexible using substrate materials such as: ITO coated glass - silicone rubber; ITO coated polyester; and thick film printed Kapton.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/rol/rol100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:rol1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[4] ALL-CMOS SOLUTION CUTS WIRELESS USB COSTS
(Staccato Communications, 06 Apr 2005)
Ultrawideband (UWB) wireless solutions and wireless USB specialist Staccato Communications has released its Ripcord product family, complete with a UWB development kit. The 100 x 150mm Ripcord DVK will be shown publicly for the first time in the wireless USB community at the Intel Developer Forum this week in Tokyo. The Ripcord DVK incorporates the world's first complete single-chip all-CMOS MBOA-compliant PHY module, MBOA MAC, WiMedia Convergence Architecture (WiMCA), integrated 32bit ARM9 RISC processor, and interfaces including SDIO 1.1, and USB 2.0 host and device.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/stt/stt100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:stt1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[5] INDUCTORS AIM TO BOOST DC/DC EFFICIENCY
(Pulse, 12 Apr 2005)
Pulse has released a new series of low profile, surface mount (SMT) flat coil inductors, the PG0255NL range. With a saturation current rating up to 30A and a heating current rating up to 38A, these inductors are designed for multiphase voltage regulator modules (VRMs) supporting the increasing current needs of Vcore power in DC/DC applications. The new PG0255NL series is ideal for point of load (POL) systems, distributed power architecture (DPA), DC/DC convertors, VRMs, high-speed servers and workstations, PC notebooks, telecomms switching networks, routers and basestation equipment.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/pls/pls134.html
or send a blank email to mailto:pls1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[6] MONITORS SUPPORT LEGACY ANALOGUE COMMS TESTS
(Aeroflex, 12 Apr 2005)
Aeroflex has released two new communications service monitors, the IFR2945B and IFR2948B, which will bring expanded capability and ease of use to analogue radio testing. The new products reinforce Aeroflex's commitment to product development in support of a key market segment that sustains critical communications services in the analogue Private Mobile Radio (PMR) sector.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/aof/115/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/aof/aof115.html
or send a blank email to mailto:aof1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[7] COMPACTFLASH CARD TURNS PDAS TO ACQUISITION
(National Instruments, 07 Apr 2005)
Engineers and scientists can now turn standard PDAs into customised, portable measurement tools with the new National Instruments CompactFlash data acquisition (DAQ) device. The NI CF-6004 device - which is slightly larger than a standard passport photo - plugs into any PDA with a CompactFlash slot to create a handheld instrument with the processing and wireless communication capabilities of the latest PDA devices. The NI CF-6004 is a 14bit multifunction data acquisition device that plugs directly into a PDA CompactFlash slot to provide up to 200Ksample/s single-channel sampling on four analogue input channels in a handheld form factor. It also offers four lines of digital I/O for controlling and measuring LVTTL or LVCMOS signals.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/naa/195/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/naa/naa195.html
or send a blank email to mailto:naa1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[8] FLEXIBLE CONFIGURATION FOR NOVEL CABINET RANGE
(Schroff UK, 11 Apr 2005)
Cabinets represent the largest market for Schroff, and the company is answering user, market and legislative demands with the launch of an all new range based on new concepts. The main components of the new Varistar cabinet platform consist of a frame, which is available in two versions, various cover parts and an extensive programme of assembly and accessory parts. This combination allows construction of a very flexible range of configurations. The two frame versions differ in the maximum load carrying capacity, either 400kg (Slim-Line) or 800kg (Heavy-Duty). Both frames are configured for 19in inner assemblies, but the Slim-Line frame is also suitable for ETSI assemblies in telecommunications applications.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/sch/142/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sch/sch142.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sch1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[9] CONVERTORS BOAST MAXIMUM CURRENT AND POWER
(Small Technology, 11 Apr 2005)
New from Small Technology Research Group is the ESM series of DC/DC convertors, delivering the highest current and power available today in an industry standard 2 x 1in sized package. The ESM series enables communications and networking OEMs to minimise board space, reduce production costs and support the ongoing migration toward lower supply voltages for ICs and microprocessors. The ESM convertors operate over two wide input voltage ranges of 18-36 and 36-75V DC to provide precisely regulated outputs of 1.8, 2.5, 3.3, 5, 12 and ±12V.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sml/sml100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sml1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[10] LONG-LIFE MOTHERBOARD OFFERS CHOICE OF FORMATS
(Itox, 12 Apr 2005)
Itox has added the G7V300-P and G4G100-N motherboards to its long-life product line. The new microATX G7V300-P motherboard uses an LGA775 socket, whereas the new Mini-ITX G4G100-N is equipped with an mPGA478 socket. Each new board also uses the Intel 915GV Express chipset, supported under Intel's Embedded Architecture programme and accepts a wide performance-range of Intel processors. These include the Intel Pentium 4 processor with 1Mbyte cache, Intel Pentium 4 processor with 512Kbyte Cache, Intel Celeron D processor and Intel Celeron processor.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ito/ito100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ito1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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New Technical Articles and Case Studies
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FLASH-BASED FPGAS ENABLE NOVEL CABLE MODEM DESIGN
(Actel Europe, 12 Apr 2005)
Integen Technologies has used ProASIC Plus FPGAs to implement the core of its cable modem design, which forms part of its Guest Room Integrated Delivery System.
Request free details from the supplier on ProASIC Plus:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/act/203/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/act/act203.html
or send a blank email to mailto:act2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
CONFIGURABLE PROCESSORS ENABLE LATEST DSL DESIGN
(Tensilica, 08 Apr 2005)
UpZide is to develop a reference design using multiple Xtensa LX processors from Tensilica to implement the VDSL2 standard.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tey/tey103.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tey1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
RFID HITS THE SLOPES
(EM Microelectronic, 08 Apr 2005)
EM Microelectronic, Skidata and EC-Passage have codeveloped an RFID transponder chip that greatly facilitates the handling and identification of rented skis or snowboards at ski resorts.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/emm/emm103.html
or send a blank email to mailto:emm1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ESL DESIGN SPEEDS COPROCESSOR FROM C TO HARDWARE
(Celoxica, 12 Apr 2005)
Celoxica has helped the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology to develop a high speed digital watermarking detection system with real-time operation across the Internet.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cel/cel168.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cel1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ROBOT COMPETITORS EMBED WIRELESS LAN TECHNOLOGY
(Atop Technologies, 08 Apr 2005)
A number of competitors in last month's RoboGames in San Francisco controlled their machines using embedded wireless serial servers from Atop Technologies.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/atp/atp100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:atp1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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Other featured new product news
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MONITORS GET THE MEASURE OF CURRENT
(Texas Instruments, 11 Apr 2005)
A family of voltage-output, high-side current sense monitors provide high-accuracy solutions for current measurement applications in automotive, motor control, power management and battery charging.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex799.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tex7[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MEMS SENSOR SHIPMENTS TOP 200 MILLION
(Analog Devices, 06 Apr 2005)
Analog Devices has shipped its two hundred millionth MEMS-based inertial sensor.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/anc/anc293.html
or send a blank email to mailto:anc2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
POWER MODULES SIMPLIFY MOTION APPLICATIONS
(International Rectifier, 06 Apr 2005)
A new set of 600V, 16 and 20A integrated power modules expand the analogue power stage solutions offered as part of IR's motion control integrated design platform.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sil/sil217.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sil2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
REFERENCE DESIGN ENABLES VOIP DEVELOPMENT
(Direct Insight , 12 Apr 2005)
The Sandgate II-P is a VoIP reference design/enabling platform developed by Sophia Systems based on Intel PXA270 applications processor.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/dir/dir102.html
or send a blank email to mailto:dir1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
TESTBENCH OFFERS EARLY START ON WIMAX BASESTATIONS
(Cambridge Consultants, 06 Apr 2005)
Cambridge Consultants has developed a WiMAX simulation testbench to support the launch of Aspex Semiconductor's innovative reference code for implementing multi-antenna basestations.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cbr/cbr123.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cbr1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ROUND CASES TURN TO EURO PLUG ASSEMBLIES
(OKW Enclosures, 11 Apr 2005)
OKW has extended its novel round Art-Case enclosures with a new range of models which have an integrated Euro plug in the base part.
Request free details from the supplier on Plug Art-Cases:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/okw/149/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/okw/okw149.html
or send a blank email to mailto:okw1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BRIGHTON DEBUT FOR HIGH-SPEED DEVICE PROGRAMMER
(Adaptsys, 08 Apr 2005)
Adaptsys will be introducing a number of advanced component programming, marking and handling solutions at Nepcon UK 2005 (Stand U401).
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/adp/adp100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:adp1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM KEEPS UPS UP
(American Power Conversion, 12 Apr 2005)
A new battery management system is a browser accessible 1U, rack-mountable appliance designed to monitor health of battery power for three-phase UPS applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ame/ame121.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ame1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ANALYSER RUNS FOUR POWER MEASUREMENTS AT ONCE
(Yokogawa Measurement Technologies, 07 Apr 2005)
A new precision power analyser combines an exceptionally high accuracy with a wide frequency range, even for power measurements.
Request free details from the supplier on WT3000:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/yoa/144/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/yoa/yoa144.html
or send a blank email to mailto:yoa1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
RF CONNECTOR SWITCHES TO TEST DUTIES
(ITT Industries, Cannon, 07 Apr 2005)
ITT Industries is offering a switchable RF connector that combines miniaturisation with durability and high performance.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/itt/itt143.html
or send a blank email to mailto:itt1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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