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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: 23,750
Published every Tuesday from the UK.
Issue 215: 10 May 2005
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22852 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] Controllers address cost-sensitive applications
[2] RF devices cut the cost of multichannel telemetry
[3] Touch sensor creates frugal keypad for handhelds
[4] Drum core inductors cover the full range
[5] Formal verification comes to the desktop
[6] Shielding vents keep it quiet
[7] Versatile PCI Express bridge goes both ways
[8] Passport to lead-free processing
[9] Signal router aids flexible test setups
[10] Network storage processors speed file transfers
* New technical articles and case studies
* Other featured product news
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Laurence Marchini, Editor, writes:
It may be an old one, but as we all know that there are "lies, damn lies and statistics". And no, I'm not going to make some pithy comment about the UK election. I refer to some seriously daft figures that have emerged this week from other parts of Europe.
Perhaps there is something strange in the Baltic air, but two countries straddling that expanse of water have reported this week that mobile phone registrations now surpass their respective populations. That one is Norway might possibly be explained by a combination of business travellers and mobile numbers associated with machine-to-machine (M2M) communications.
But the second country is Lithuania, where as of 1st April this year, 3.7 million people were mobile phone subscribers, which was more than the national population of 3.4 million, according to the local communications regulatory authority. And that really does defy logic.
Finally - and I suppose still on the subject of statistics - we should all be chastened by the results of BBC Radio 4's online poll to decide the greatest invention of the past 200 years.
For the benefit of those of you who missed the results of the poll, the Internet came a miserable seventh, with just 4% of the vote, radio was sixth with 5%, the computer came fourth with just 6%, and the transistor was second with a robust 8%.
However, as if to remind us of the immaturity of our technology, the winner was the "humble" bicycle, with a massive 59% of the votes cast.
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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DESIGN CENTRE IS DEDICATED TO DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
(Anders Electronics, 06 May 2005)
Anders Electronics has opened a dedicated display design and support facility for European customers.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/and/and114.html
or send a blank email to mailto:and1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BOOKHAM ENCOURAGED ABOUT GROWTH PROSPECTS
(Bookham, 06 May 2005)
Bookham has announced financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2005, ended 2nd April 2005.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/boo/boo183.html
or send a blank email to mailto:boo1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
REVENUES RISE FOR EMCORE
(Emcore Corp, 06 May 2005)
Emcore Corp has released its financial results for the fiscal 2005 second quarter ended 31st March 2005.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/emr/emr107.html
or send a blank email to mailto:emr1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
REVENUES AND EARNINGS RISE FOR CSI
(CSI Wireless, 09 May 2005)
CSI Wireless has announced significant year-over-year increases in revenues and earnings in the company's first quarter financial results, achieving a $1.3 million profit on $22.2 million in revenue.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/csi/csi120.html
or send a blank email to mailto:csi1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SEOUL LAB EXPANDS ASIAN GSM QUALIFICATION
(Cetecom Germany, 04 May 2005)
To meet increasing demands from the Asian mobile communications industry for comprehensive consulting and testing services Cetecom has opened a further GSM lab in Asia.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cee/cee104.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cee1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
IRIDIUM SIGNS FOR DIGITAL WIRELESS DEVELOPMENT
(Cambridge Consultants, 10 May 2005)
Iridium Satellite has appointed Cambridge Consultants as a strategic wireless technology development consultant.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cbr/cbr125.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cbr1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SUPPORT GROWS FOR UWB/BLUETOOTH CONVERGENCE
(Cambridge Silicon Radio, 06 May 2005)
CSR is supporting the Bluetooth SIG's move to integrate ultrawideband technology into the Bluetooth specification.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cam/cam188.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cam1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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OUR TOP NEW PRODUCT SELECTION
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[1] CONTROLLERS ADDRESS COST-SENSITIVE APPLICATIONS
(Freescale Semiconductor, 06 May 2005)
As energy costs soar, designers of industrial and appliance applications are looking for economical ways to offer more functionality and energy efficiency in their products. Freescale Semiconductor has responded to this demand by introducing the 56F8000 series of digital signal controllers (DSCs). The series addresses the needs of cost-sensitive applications that require a 16bit solution. In 2000, Freescale produced the industry's first DSC, combining the programming ease of a microcontroller (MCU) with the signal processing power and efficiency of a digital signal processor (DSP). The company's latest DSC offering - the 56F8000 series - is designed to provide developers with increased performance and value at price points not available with other solutions on the market today.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mot/mot198.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mot1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[2] RF DEVICES CUT THE COST OF MULTICHANNEL TELEMETRY
(Chipcon, 10 May 2005)
RF IC specialist Chipcon has released two new products based on its SmartRF04 technology platform. An expansion of the CC1000/1050 product line, the CC1100 multichannel RF transceiver and the CC1150 multichannel RF transmitter claim the market's lowest total system cost solution for multichannel one- and two-way RF links operating in the 315, 433, 868 and 915MHz licence-free ISM bands. Besides being extremely cost and power efficient, the CC1100/1150 products require minimal external components, making them ideal for a variety of consumer and industrial control applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/chp/chp100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:chp1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[3] TOUCH SENSOR CREATES FRUGAL KEYPAD FOR HANDHELDS
(Quantum Research Group, 09 May 2005)
Quantum Research Group, the charge-transfer (QT) capacitive touch company, has developed an eight-key touch sensor IC, the QT1080-ISG, that consumes just 40uA at 3V in low power mode. Designed primarily for use in mobile phones, MP3 players, PC peripherals, remote controls and similar consumer devices, it enables eight touch keys through almost any panel material to facilitate a great variety of designs. Other features include fully debounced results, lifetime automatic calibration, adjacent key suppression, low noise operation and a fast detection mode for use in applications where a simple touch slider is needed.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/quc/quc104.html
or send a blank email to mailto:quc1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[4] DRUM CORE INDUCTORS COVER THE FULL RANGE
(Pulse, 09 May 2005)
Pulse has released five new series of unshielded and shielded surface mount (SMT) drum core power inductors for a total of 96 different parts. The inductors cover a large range of inductance values from sub-1uH up to hundreds of microhenries, at low currents, in a variety of sizes to meet the broad range of local DC/DC convertor and filtering applications. "Drum core" is used to describe the shape of the ferrite core used in these power inductors, and it differentiates them from other types of inductors such as toroidal, flat coil or planar. There are two types of drum core inductors, unshielded and shielded.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/pls/pls135.html
or send a blank email to mailto:pls1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[5] FORMAL VERIFICATION COMES TO THE DESKTOP
(Cadence Design Systems, 04 May 2005)
Cadence Design Systems has released the Incisive Formal Verifier, extending the power of formal analysis to designers' desktops. Combined with Cadence simulation, acceleration and emulation technologies, the Incisive Formal Verifier enables designers to improve the productivity and quality of functional verification earlier in the design and verification process. Customers can reduce production schedules significantly because design engineers can begin verification as they are designing the chip.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cad/cad284.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cad2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[6] SHIELDING VENTS KEEP IT QUIET
(TBA Electro Conductive Products, 04 May 2005)
Shielding specialist, TBA Electro Conductive Products (ECP) now offers over 80 standard sizes in its range of shielding vents that provide effective shielding against electromagnetic and radio frequency interference (EMI/RFI). Designed as simple screw on panels, ECP 8000 series aluminium shielding vents are available with several styles of frame and allow designers and OEMs an easy solution for protecting airflow or lighting apertures. According to TBA ECP, the standard sizes are pretooled with either drilled holes or threaded inserts provided for fixing, enabling users to avoid the cost of special tooling that would be needed for a custom design.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tba/tba130.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tba1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[7] VERSATILE PCI EXPRESS BRIDGE GOES BOTH WAYS
(PLX Technology Europe, 06 May 2005)
PLX Technology is sampling the PLX ExpressLane PEX 8114 PCI Express-to-PCI-X bridge. The PEX 8114 is billed as the most versatile PCI Express (PCIe) bridging device in its class, capable of forward, reverse and nontransparent bridging, and features 1Gbyte/s throughput. The PEX 8114 also features the industry's lowest power consumption and smallest package of any PCIe-to-PCI-X bridge. System and board designers now can order samples of the PEX 8114, which enables them to upgrade their PCI designs to rapidly growing PCIe interconnect standard.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/plx/plx120.html
or send a blank email to mailto:plx1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[8] PASSPORT TO LEAD-FREE PROCESSING
(Soldertec Global, 10 May 2005)
Soldertec Global is introducing a solution for SMEs to support their lead-free implementation with the launch of its "Lead-free Passport". The "Lead-free Passport" is a package which brings together the considerable knowledge and technical expertise which has been accumulated by Soldertec Global. This passport will be available from 1st July 2005, exactly one year before the RoHS deadline, and can be previewed on the Soldertec Global Stand (U510) at Nepcon UK 2005.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/soe/soe105.html
or send a blank email to mailto:soe1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[9] SIGNAL ROUTER AIDS FLEXIBLE TEST SETUPS
(Pulse Research Lab, 10 May 2005)
Pulse Research Lab (PRL) has released the innovative PRL 854 1 x 4 switch/signal router with 1.75GHz bandwidth. The compact (33 x 74 x 74mm) router is a self-contained pod that switches one 50ohm input to any of four 50ohm outputs under manual or remote control. The PRL 854 has 3dB bandwidth of 1.75GHz (typical), and works extremely well for microwave and high-speed digital signals from DC to 2.5GHz. The new, ready-to use PRL 854 can switch analogue and digital signals from high speed pulse/pattern generators, frequency synthesisers, optical transceivers, laboratory equipment and more.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/pus/pus101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:pus1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[10] NETWORK STORAGE PROCESSORS SPEED FILE TRANSFERS
(Infrant Technologies, 05 May 2005)
Infrant Technologies has released the highly integrated IT3107 and IT3102 system-on-chip architecture that will power the industry's next-generation of network attached storage (NAS) and media server appliances. By integrating Gigabit Ethernet, multiple Serial ATA hard disk interfaces and hardware-based RAID 0/1/5 redundancy into a single network storage processor, more efficient network storage devices can be made available to broader markets including workgroups, offices and home networks.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/inz/inz100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:inz1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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New Technical Articles and Case Studies
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FRUGAL MICROCONTROLLER HELPS SAVE WATER TOO
(Texas Instruments, 10 May 2005)
AquaOne Technologies will shortly begin shipping its latest H2ORB system using TI's MSP430 platform of microcontrollers and radio frequency identification devices.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex818.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tex8[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MODELLING SOFTWARE BOOSTS RFID READ RATES
(Flomerics, 10 May 2005)
Flomerics reckons its MicroStripes 3D electromagnetic modelling software can improve RFID read rates by accurately simulating the performance of tag antennas under various conditions.
Request free details from the supplier on MicroStripes:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/flo/147/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/flo/flo147.html
or send a blank email to mailto:flo1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
RTL COMPILER DELIVERS PRODUCTION-COST SAVINGS
(Cadence Design Systems, 10 May 2005)
Ricoh Company has successfully taped out a 3-million-gate chip ahead of schedule and with reduced gate count using the Cadence Encounter digital IC design platform, including RTL Compiler synthesis.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cad/cad285.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cad2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
TOUCHING DISPLAY FOR HOSPITAL PATIENTS
(Elo Touchsystems, 10 May 2005)
The UK's pioneering developer of integrated entertainment and communications services for patients in NHS hospitals, Patientline, has added touch screen capability to its latest systems.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/elo/elo124.html
or send a blank email to mailto:elo1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
TACTILE BUTTONS ARE A MEDICAL PLUS
(Duraswitch, 09 May 2005)
Duraswitch PushGate pushbutton switch technology is now being used in depth of consciousness monitoring equipment.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/dur/dur145.html
or send a blank email to mailto:dur1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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Other featured new product news
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PHYS PROVIDE RAPID DIAGNOSIS OF CABLING
(Solid State Supplies, 06 May 2005)
A new family of physical layer devices employs advanced mixed-signal technology to bring a distinctive combination of features, performance and low power consumption to Fast Ethernet applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sol/sol148.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sol1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MOSFETS WITHSTAND FAST SWITCHING TRANSIENTS
(Fairchild Semiconductor, 04 May 2005)
Eight new high-voltage MOSFETs address demanding high-voltage fast-switching applications requiring high efficiency, such as active PFC, lighting and AC/DC power supply systems.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/fai/fai342.html
or send a blank email to mailto:fai3[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SPEEDY ACCESS FOR 16MBIT FLASH
(Focus EDL, 04 May 2005)
The Eon Silicon Solutions EN29LV160 is a 16Mbit erasable, read/write nonvolatile Flash memory.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/foc/foc102.html
or send a blank email to mailto:foc1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
RF FRONT ENDS BRING WI-FI TO HANDSETS
(SiGe Semiconductor, 04 May 2005)
SiGe Semiconductor has developed the industry's first completely integrated WLAN RF front-end modules optimised for cellular handsets.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sif/sif167.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sif1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
OSCILLATORS CUT OUT RECEPTION SLIPS
(C-Mac Microtechnology, 10 May 2005)
A new range of low-jitter high-frequency TCVCXOs is designed for use in TDM switching systems for optical fibre backbone infrastructure.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cma/cma108.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cma1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
DESIGN PUTS H8 TO WORK ON SHELF MANAGEMENT
(Pigeon Point Systems, 09 May 2005)
The IPM Sentry line of AdvancedTCA board management reference designs now supports Renesas Technology's H8S/2168 series of microcontrollers.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/pig/pig101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:pig1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ON REFLECTION, TOUCH SCREENS ARE BETTER WITHOUT
(WASP, 05 May 2005)
A novel antireflective touch screen material also has antiglare properties to improve the visible light that is reflected in high-light conditions.
Request free details from the supplier on Antireflective touch screens:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/was/119/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/was/was119.html
or send a blank email to mailto:was1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SURFACE-MOUNT SWITCH OFFERS FIVE FUNCTIONS
(Knitter Switch, 09 May 2005)
The TSSJ 55 is an ultraflat surface-mount RoHS-compliant multifunction device that will find wide application where space is at a premium.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/kni/kni121.html
or send a blank email to mailto:kni1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
FLEXIBLE FLAT CABLE IS RELIABLE DESIGN SOLUTION
(Rowland Automation , 10 May 2005)
New from Rowland Automation is a durable low-profile flexible flat cable that can be used in many different applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/rol/rol102.html
or send a blank email to mailto:rol1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
CONVERTORS ARE DEDICATED TO WIRELESS DUTIES
(SynQor Europe, 09 May 2005)
The PQ30 QGA series of DC/DC convertors has been specifically designed to help designers meet the challenging power requirements demanded by UMTS and CDMA basestations and wireless IP routers.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/syb/syb119.html
or send a blank email to mailto:syb1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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