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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: 23,760
Published every Tuesday from the UK.
Issue 217: 24 May 2005
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23294 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] DSP chips promise unprecedented audio
[2] New process enables industrial amp advances
[3] PowerPC takes turbo security engine onboard
[4] ZigBee transceivers take MCUs onboard
[5] Spread-spectrum SoC adds programmable logic
[6] Development kit targets DSP-rich FPGA design
[7] Platform promises to transform consumer devices
[8] Bumping paste produces large solder deposits
[9] Desoldering braid answers Pb-free process demands
[10] Network on a card aids 3G development
* New technical articles and case studies
* Other featured product news
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Laurence Marchini, Editor, writes:
UK readers with long memories might be forgiven for an uncanny feeling of "deja vu". No sooner does the UK's longest running electronics exhibition mark its renaissance in Brighton with a 30%-plus increase in attendance than the organiser, Reed Exhibitions, pulls the plug and moves the show (once again) to Birmingham.
As one who was born and bred in Brighton, I have to wonder what my old home town has done to upset the UK electronics industry.
"Brighton, as the original Nepcon's first home, will always have special significance, but the indicators going forward are that we will need the extra facilities the NEC has to offer", said Ian Crawford, Exhibition Director for Reed Exhibitions.
And while it might be fun to speculate whether he was re-reading a script originally written almost 20 years ago (when the exhibition originally relocated from Brighton to the NEC), the whole saga really does lead one to question the validity of the "old style" exhibition in the modern age.
The notion that an exhibition with a mere 173 exhibitors is too big for a venue of the size of Brighton is laughable. Perhaps we will have to wait until the city (as it is now) is allowed to build its new football stadium before Nepcon returns again.
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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WEAK SECOND HALF FOR ZARLINK
(Zarlink Semiconductor, 24 May 2005)
Zarlink Semiconductor has released fourth quarter and fiscal 2005 results for the year ended 25th March 2005.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mif/mif198.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mif1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
NU HORIZONS BOOSTS REVENUE BY 35%
(Nu Horizons Electronics Corp, 23 May 2005)
Nu Horizons Electronics Corp has reported financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and year ended 28th February 2005.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/nuh/nuh120.html
or send a blank email to mailto:nuh1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
KOREAN CENTRE OFFERS POWER MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS
(ON Semiconductor, 20 May 2005)
ON Semiconductor has opened its new Solutions Engineering Centre (SEC) in Seoul, South Korea.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/onw/onw183.html
or send a blank email to mailto:onw1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
NATIONAL TO SELL OFF CORDLESS BUSINESS
(National Semiconductor, 19 May 2005)
National Semiconductor has signed a definitive agreement to sell its cordless business unit to HgCapital, a private equity investor based in London, UK.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/nat/nat332.html
or send a blank email to mailto:nat3[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONICS MADE IN CHINA
(Omron Corp, 24 May 2005)
Omron has established a new automotive electronic components manufacturing company in Guangzhou, China.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/oro/oro123.html
or send a blank email to mailto:oro1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BESPOKE BACKPLANES TO BE MADE IN CHINA
(Harting, 19 May 2005)
Specialist backplane manufacturer Harting Integrated Solutions will begin making bespoke backplanes in China from June 2005.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/har/har180.html
or send a blank email to mailto:har1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
WALTERS ACQUIRES OXFORD ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS
(Walters Group, 18 May 2005)
Walters Group has acquired Oxford Electrical Products, adding to the range of electronics manufacturing capabilities available from the High Wycombe-based group of companies.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/wal/wal100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:wal1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
NEPCON ATTENDANCE JUMPS BY A THIRD
(Reed Exhibitions, 24 May 2005)
Reed Exhibitions is celebrating a 30%-plus increase in attendance at Nepcon, with visitors travelling from all reaches of the UK with real enquiries and real budgets.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ree/ree142.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ree1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
AEROFLEX TO ACQUIRE WIRELESS TEST SPECIALIST
(Aeroflex, 24 May 2005)
Aeroflex has reached an agreement in principle to acquire the Test and Measurement Division of UbiNetics Holdings for cash of approximately $81 million.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/aof/aof117.html
or send a blank email to mailto:aof1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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OUR TOP NEW PRODUCT SELECTION
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[1] DSP CHIPS PROMISE UNPRECEDENTED AUDIO
(Texas Instruments, 24 May 2005)
Continuing to drive down the price of developing high-quality audio products, Texas Instruments has announced three new floating-point digital signal processors (DSPs) based on the TMS320C67xT DSP generation. The new C67xT DSP generation-based core is a C-efficient, VLIW architecture that offers significant application performance improvements. With a price/performance ratio of up to 130MFLOPS/dollar, the TMS320C6722, TMS320C6726 and TMS320C6727 DSPs enable audio engineers to incorporate unprecedented DSP processing power into a broad spectrum of audio applications, including broadcast, conferencing, musical instruments and professional audio.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex823.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tex8[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[2] NEW PROCESS ENABLES INDUSTRIAL AMP ADVANCES
(Analog Devices, 19 May 2005)
Analog Devices is introducing a suite of amplifiers designed to meet the demanding signal conditioning requirements of high-voltage industrial and instrumentation equipment. With operating voltages up to ±18V, these breakthrough analogue components increase performance relative to conventional bipolar amplifiers, while reducing package size by as much as 75% and power consumption by up to 50%. In many cases, this means industrial equipment designers can migrate from SOIC packaged ICs to much smaller TSOT-23 packages, generating a space savings that simplifies board layout or leaves room for other functions.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/anc/300/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/anc/anc300.html
or send a blank email to mailto:anc3[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[3] POWERPC TAKES TURBO SECURITY ENGINE ONBOARD
(AMCC, 20 May 2005)
Last week at the Spring Processor Forum, Applied Micro Circuits Corp released the first low-cost, low-power, security-enabled 400 series PowerPC processors - the 440GRx and 440EPx. Both processors include an optional integrated security accelerator or turbo security engine, designed to provide Internet Protocol Security (IPSEC) and Secure Socket Layer (SSL) acceleration in support of over 500Mbit/s bandwidth. AMCC's turbo security engine is ideal for securing communications protocols over wired or wireless networks, for virtual private network (VPN) support, or for secure Internet-based transaction processing.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ayg/ayg104.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ayg1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[4] ZIGBEE TRANSCEIVERS TAKE MCUS ONBOARD
(Freescale Semiconductor, 24 May 2005)
Freescale Semiconductor has extended its product offerings for wireless monitoring and control applications by delivering a cost-effective system in a package (SiP) ZigBee solution. Customers can take advantage of the SiP and integrated transceiver/receiver (Tx/Rx) switch to reduce board size and bill of materials. These comprehensive solutions support Freescale's simple MAC (SMAC), the IEEE 802.15.4 MAC and the ZigBee protocol stack. Freescale will be first in the world to demonstrate a ZigBee-compliant SiP solution at Wireless Connectivity World in London, on 24th and 25th May 2005. The demonstration will showcase a mesh network of ZigBee-enabled home interior lights, security and emergency sensors.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mot/mot201.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mot2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[5] SPREAD-SPECTRUM SOC ADDS PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC
(Cypress Semiconductor, 24 May 2005)
Cypress Semiconductor has released the world's first 2.4GHz radio on a chip to incorporate a programmable mixed signal array. Cypress's new Programmable Radio-on-a-Chip (PRoC) includes two of the company's most noteworthy technologies - WirelessUSB and Programmable System-on-Chip (PSoC) - in one integrated device. It delivers the benefits of both WirelessUSB and PSoC into a variety of applications, including consumer electronics, home and industrial automation, human interface devices (HIDs), transportation, security and medical systems.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cyp/cyp261.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cyp2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[6] DEVELOPMENT KIT TARGETS DSP-RICH FPGA DESIGN
(Nallatech, 20 May 2005)
In the latest development in the company's strategic relationship with Xilinx, Nallatech has released the Virtex-4 XtremeDSP Development Kit, which will enable designers to immediately leverage Xilinx' new DSP-rich Virtex-4 SX FPGAs in new advanced FPGA designs. The Virtex-4 XtremeDSP Development Kit is equipped with a SX35 Virtex-4 FPGA, which has 192 XtremeDSP slices, where each slice is capable of operating at 400MHz providing performance up to 77GMAC/s (using 18x18 multipliers). The Virtex-4 SX FPGA also features additional embedded memory capacity, featuring 3456Kbit internal RAM and 15,360 logic slices as well as supporting low power performance.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/nal/129/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/nal/nal129.html
or send a blank email to mailto:nal1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[7] PLATFORM PROMISES TO TRANSFORM CONSUMER DEVICES
(Wind River Systems, 24 May 2005)
Wind River Systems reckons it is transforming the consumer device industry with the Wind River Platform for Consumer Devices, based on VxWorks, Wind River's industry-leading real-time operating system (RTOS). This latest platform is a fully integrated DSO solution that enables consumer device manufacturers to create innovative and reliable device software better, faster and at a lower cost. Wind River is currently demonstrating Wind River Platform for Consumer Devices, VxWorks Edition on Texas Instruments' leading voice over IP (VoIP) gateway platforms at its Worldwide User Conference this week in Orlando, Florida. Additionally, Wind River has launched its Consumer Device Services Practice, bringing to the industry the only comprehensive, worldwide service entity that offers a full range of device design and development consulting services.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/wia/wia218.html
or send a blank email to mailto:wia2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[8] BUMPING PASTE PRODUCES LARGE SOLDER DEPOSITS
(Indium Corporation of America, 20 May 2005)
Indium Corporation's new BP-3106 BGA bumping solder paste produces large deposits of solder material in bumping and other applications using only an SMT printer with a bumping stencil. BP-3106 bumping solder paste is applied using existing equipment, allowing the flexibility of increasing the throughput by increasing the BGA substrate panel size and printing speed without extra investment in expensive equipment.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/idi/idi171.html
or send a blank email to mailto:idi1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[9] DESOLDERING BRAID ANSWERS PB-FREE PROCESS DEMANDS
(Intertronics, 23 May 2005)
Available now from Intertronics, Techspray No Clean Wick is a new formulation that has been tested by the UK National Physical Laboratory. Transferring to lead-free soldering has raised a number of practical issues for the electronics manufacturing industry, all of which must be addressed if implementation of the new technology is to be realised. One such issue relates to the rework and repair of joints soldered with lead-free materials, in which the higher temperatures involved can place demands on both the materials and the process window.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ind/ind145.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ind1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[10] NETWORK ON A CARD AIDS 3G DEVELOPMENT
(3Way Networks, 24 May 2005)
UK based 3G technology company 3Way Networks has announced its first product based around its innovative IN-c technology. The first 3Way product using IN-c is the DBX6750, a small and flexible UMTS network device, aimed at 3G operators, handset vendors and satellite operators. The DBX6750 will enable operators and handset vendors to easily demonstrate 3G handset capability in locations where no coverage exists or current coverage is poor.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/way/way100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:way1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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New Technical Articles and Case Studies
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BOUNDARY-SCAN TEST SYSTEM DEBUGS NEW XBOX
(Asset InterTech, 24 May 2005)
Microsoft's selection of the ScanWorks boundary-scan test system for its Xbox 360 marks the first major announcement of boundary scan in a high-volume consumer electronics product.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/asn/asn105.html
or send a blank email to mailto:asn1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
TEST SOFTWARE GAINS NATIONAL IMPORTANCE
(Stone Pillar Technologies, 24 May 2005)
National Semiconductor is using Stone Pillar TestPlanManager to speed test plan creation for parametric test chips.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sll/sll103.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sll1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SIMULATION SHOWS SIMPLE ROUTE TO COMPLIANCE
(Flomerics, 24 May 2005)
Computer simulation helped to solve a difficult electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) problem caused by differential signalling used in high-speed buses.
Request free details from the supplier on Flo/EMC:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/flo/149/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/flo/flo149.html
or send a blank email to mailto:flo1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
TOUCH SCREEN BRINGS NEW EASE TO BASESTATION TESTER
(Zytronic, 19 May 2005)
Zytouch touchscreen technology has enabled new 3G network test equipment from Aeroflex to deliver enhanced ease of use and durability, while eliminating hardware and low level drivers.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/zyt/zyt113.html
or send a blank email to mailto:zyt1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
VIRTUAL PROTOTYPING BRINGS RADICAL IDEAS TO MARKET
(Vector Fields, 23 May 2005)
The use of simulation software is today an essential part of the design cycle, not only optimising functional design and cutting material costs but increasing company profits.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/vct/vct109.html
or send a blank email to mailto:vct1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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Other featured new product news
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COMPACT DIODE RIVALS ITS BIG BROTHERS
(International Rectifier, 20 May 2005)
A new DO-5 packaged diode combines high voltage, current and surge capability with excellent thermal efficiency to provide performance that rivals larger DO-8 packages.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sil/sil223.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sil2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SERIAL FLASH IS IDEAL MATCH FOR FPGA APPLICATIONS
(NexFlash Technologies, 18 May 2005)
NexFlash spiFlash serial Flash memories have been qualified for use with Xilinx's new SpartanT-3E field-programmable gate array (FPGA) family.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/nef/nef101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:nef1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
FUSES GO LEAD-FREE
(Littelfuse UK, 24 May 2005)
Littelfuse has introduced lead-free versions of its axial-leaded 2AG series of subminiature glass fuses, 3AG glass and ceramic fuses, 3AB ceramic fuses and 5 x 20mm glass and ceramic-bodied fuses.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lit/lit100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lit1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
IDE COMES FREE WITH MCU DEVELOPMENT BOARD
(Cyan Technology, 19 May 2005)
Cyan Technology's new, low cost microcontroller evaluation board comes complete with the company's patented CyanIDE integrated development environment.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cya/cya115.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cya1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
DOWN-CONVERTOR CORE BOASTS TWICE THE SPEED
(Sundance Multiprocessor Technology, 24 May 2005)
The FC104 is a new and powerful digital down convertor (DDC) IP core specifically developed for Xilinx FPGAs.
Request free details from the supplier on FC104:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/sda/116/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sda/sda116.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sda1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SYSTEM-LEVEL ALTERNATIVE FOR DSP PROGRAMMING
(National Instruments, 20 May 2005)
The new NI LabView DSP Module includes tools for designing, implementing and analysing DSP-based algorithms and systems.
Request free details from the supplier on LabView DSP Module:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/naa/200/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/naa/naa200.html
or send a blank email to mailto:naa2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
RF AND MICROWAVE DESIGN SUITE UPGRADED
(Eagleware-Elanix, 20 May 2005)
Genesys 2005 is a major new release of the popular RF and microwave design suite from Eagleware-Elanix Corp.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/eag/eag100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:eag1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BACKLIGHTS TAKE A NEW APPROACH TO UNIFORMITY
(Lambda Photometrics, 19 May 2005)
A new range of backlights available from Lambda Photometrics are billed as the most uniform backlights on the market and come in an ultraslim housing only 8.5mm thick.
Request free details from the supplier on Phlox backlights:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/lam/103/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lam/lam103.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lam1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BRIDGES EXTEND COMPACTPCI BACKPLANES
(Schroff UK, 24 May 2005)
Schroff has developed a range of bridges for extending CompactPCI backplanes beyond eight slots.
Request free details from the supplier on CompactPCI bridges:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/sch/145/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sch/sch145.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sch1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SBC OFFERS UPGRADE FOR LEGACY VME SYSTEMS
(General Micro Systems, 19 May 2005)
The V169-FPIO is the first full-featured, high-performance, Pentium-based VME-64 single-board computer to offer front panel I/O access.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/glm/glm103.html
or send a blank email to mailto:glm1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
PROBE PROVIDES WIDE DYNAMIC MEASURING RANGE
(LEM UK, 23 May 2005)
The first of a new range of high frequency current probes, the HFR3000 provides a wide dynamic measuring range up to 3000A AC at frequencies from 1Hz to 1MHz.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lmu/lmu141.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lmu1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
OPTIONS EXPAND PRECISION POWER ANALYSER
(Yokogawa Measurement Technologies, 24 May 2005)
A number of new features are now available to boost the measurement and communications functions of the Yokogawa WT3000 precision power analyser.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/yoa/yoa145.html
or send a blank email to mailto:yoa1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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