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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: 23,770
Published every Tuesday from the UK.
Issue 195: 31 May 2005
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23,459 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] ColdFire moves to affordable price point
[2] PXI DMM boasts fastest measurement speeds
[3] Capacitors handle high temperature environments
[4] Software speeds radio system development
[5] FFT core makes the most of new FPGAs
[6] Novel package checks out PCB design feasibility
[7] Point-of-load modules boast 96% efficiency
[8] Motor drive chip needs no heatsink up to 180W
[9] How low can a regulator go?
[10] ISM-band transceiver takes RISC MCU onboard
* New technical articles and case studies
* Other featured product news
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Laurence Marchini, Editor, writes:
One of the problems with running a website (or magazine) like Electronicstalk is the sheer diversity of the material that we receive - whether it be from our freelance correspondents, from PR companies or from suppliers themselves. And any one of them could be anywhere in the world and have any language as their native tongue.
It doesn't take a genius to work out that we can't be experts in every field, from enclosures to EDA software, but we pride ourselves on our ability to filter out the obvious rubbish. (And, believe me, it's on the increase!) Indeed, in our five-plus years of existence, I can only recall two stories that we have been forced to remove from our site following complaints from disgruntled competitors.
So, if you do perchance come across some data on our site or in our newsletter that are obviously wrong - or you just don't believe the claims - do please feel free to e-mail me and tell me about it.
The same goes for product availability: if we've relayed information that a product is available, and in your experience it isn't, do please let us know and we'll do what we can to expose the situation to our readers.
Before I sign off, I feel it only fair to admit that last week's editorial comment has led to accusations of bias from some of our readers. My comments bemoaning the relocation of the Nepcon UK show from Brighton to Birmingham (or should that be re-re-relocation?) were perceived by one reader as "the usual Southern bias".
I do apologise for any geographical bias that any of our readers might have inferred from my comments. I was actually trying to imply my bias against exhibitions.
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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CHALLENGING FIRST HALF FOR ABACUS
(Abacus Group, 31 May 2005)
Abacus Group has announced its interim results for the six months ended 31st March 2005.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/aba/aba160.html
or send a blank email to mailto:aba1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
CHARCROFT COMPLETES MCB COMPONENTS ACQUISITION
(Charcroft Electronics, 30 May 2005)
Charcroft Electronics has completed the acquisition of the business-in-trade and products from MCB Components.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ccr/ccr104.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ccr1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
RECORD REVENUE AND EARNINGS FOR ANSOFT
(Ansoft Corporation Europe, 31 May 2005)
Ansoft Corp has published financial results for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2005 ended 30th April 2005.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/ans/ans209.html
or send a blank email to mailto:ans2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
VOLCANO ACQUISITION BOOSTS AUTOMOTIVE PRESENCE
(Mentor Graphics UK, 31 May 2005)
Mentor Graphics Corp has acquired Volcano Communications Technologies (VCT), including the complete product line of Volcano's automotive networking series.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/men/men357.html
or send a blank email to mailto:men3[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
WIND RIVER FLOWS BACK INTO THE BLACK
(Wind River Systems, 30 May 2005)
Wind River Systems has reported its first quarter fiscal year 2006 operating results.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/wia/wia224.html
or send a blank email to mailto:wia2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
RELOCATION EXPANDS TEST SERVICES CAPABILITIES
(TRL Compliance Services, 31 May 2005)
TRL Compliance Services has expanded its test service capabilities by relocating its Solutions Division into purpose-built offices within Cape Engineering's Warwick facility.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/trl/trl101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:trl1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
INVESTMENT EXPANDS 3G COMPLIANCE CAPABILITIES
(BABT, 25 May 2005)
As part of its drive to remain at the forefront of wireless conformance testing, BABT has embarked on a major investment programme to cater for the needs of the 3G marketplace.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/bbt/bbt105.html
or send a blank email to mailto:bbt1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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OUR TOP NEW PRODUCT SELECTION
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[1] COLDFIRE MOVES TO AFFORDABLE PRICE POINT
(Freescale Semiconductor, 27 May 2005)
Freescale Semiconductor is enhancing its 32bit leadership with the introduction of two ColdFire device families. The MCF520x and MCF521x families ease the migration to 32bit performance for applications that require low power consumption and flexible integration at an affordable price point. With a typical current draw of less than 1mA/MHz, the MCF520x and MCF521x families specifically address the need for high-performance, low-power embedded connectivity in industrial control applications. The families are the first ColdFire products to offer integrated distributed clocking and low-power divider functionality to scale the central processing unit (CPU) below 1MHz without going into shutdown mode.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/mot/mot203.html
or send a blank email to mailto:mot2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[2] PXI DMM BOASTS FASTEST MEASUREMENT SPEEDS
(Signametrics, 31 May 2005)
The latest 5.5-digit PXI/cPCI digital multimeter from Signametrics claims a new price-performance breakthrough for PXI DMM users. The SMX2055 boasts fastest measurement speeds in its class with over 100 readings per second. Employing newly available technologies, Signametrics reckons its new unit combines the best DC accuracy, the highest reliability and the most accurate resistance measurements under $1000. The SMX2055 is a plug-and-play PXI/cPCI DMM that features true 5.5-digit resolution with 1,000,000 counts.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/six/six102.html
or send a blank email to mailto:six1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[3] CAPACITORS HANDLE HIGH TEMPERATURE ENVIRONMENTS
(AVX, 31 May 2005)
AVX's new series of X8R ceramic capacitors delivers high efficiency in elevated temperature applications, with its dielectric material offering a capacitance variation of 15% between -55 and +150C. Devices are available in case sizes 0603 and 1206, with a capacitance range from 270pF to 0.47uF, respectively. Larger capacitance devices (2.2uF and above) are under development in case size 1210.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/avx/114/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/avx/avx114.html
or send a blank email to mailto:avx1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[4] SOFTWARE SPEEDS RADIO SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
(Cambridge Consultants, 25 May 2005)
Cambridge Consultants has developed a powerful software program that demystifies and accelerates the selection of turbo codes for wireless communication systems. Called TurboDesigner, the novel tool addresses the real-world issues that electronic design teams implementing wireless basestations and terminals face when looking to adopt a turbo code based forward error correction (FEC) strategy - allowing the rapid simulation of application-specific coding/decoding. Available as an element of Cambridge Consultants' design services, the software can rapidly reveal the optimum FEC strategy - potentially eliminating weeks of complex design and evaluation using conventional methods such as Monte Carlo simulation.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cbr/cbr126.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cbr1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[5] FFT CORE MAKES THE MOST OF NEW FPGAS
(4DSP, 30 May 2005)
4DSP has developed a new IEEE754 compliant floating point fast Fourier transform core for use with the latest generations of high performance programmable devices from vendors like Xilinx and Altera. The FFT core performs transforms on complex data ranging from 256 to 1M points with external memory if necessary, such as QDR SRAM, closely coupled to the internal logic of the FPGA. Based on a radix-32 architecture it allows users to change the transform length on-the-fly, without having to reconfigure the programmable device.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/dsw/dsw100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:dsw1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[6] NOVEL PACKAGE CHECKS OUT PCB DESIGN FEASIBILITY
(Edality, 27 May 2005)
Board Development Studio is an all-new package for placement exploration during the specification phase of a project. Design engineers can use Board Development Studio to explore the placement of components early in the design cycle. Using the available board layout software for the specification phase is often not possible. This is because of the complexity of the board layout software. Most of the board layout software requires a netlist, and they are also too expensive for this specification task. The design engineer therefore uses a text editor instead for doing the preschematic placement studies.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/eli/eli101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:eli1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[7] POINT-OF-LOAD MODULES BOAST 96% EFFICIENCY
(Texas Instruments, 25 May 2005)
Texas Instruments has developed the industry's first 50 and 60A POLA-compatible, nonisolated, plug-in power modules with an innovative multiphase switching topology. Achieving power conversion efficiency up to 96%, the small, ready-to-use modules are capable of powering today's most densely populated power systems found in advanced computing platforms and servers. The new 50A PTH12040 and 60A PTH04040 plug-in power modules extend TI's widely adopted PTHxx family of nonisolated modules that combine a wide range of input voltages and feature Auto-Track sequencing.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex824.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tex8[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[8] MOTOR DRIVE CHIP NEEDS NO HEATSINK UP TO 180W
(International Rectifier, 31 May 2005)
International Rectifier has introduced the IR3103 motor drive IC, expanding its motion control integrated design platform offerings. The new device is a half-bridge FredFET with gate driver IC that does not require a heatsink for electronic motor drive applications up to 180W. Packaged in a sleek 11-pin mini SIP, the IR3103 simplifies the design of extremely compact, high performance two- and three-phase half-bridge inverter motor drives for appliances such as fans and refrigerator compressors.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sil/sil224.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sil2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[9] HOW LOW CAN A REGULATOR GO?
(Linear Technology Corp, 27 May 2005)
New from Linear Technology is the LT3021, billed as the power industry's first 500mA VLDO (very low dropout regulator), featuring input voltage capability down to 0.9V and adjustable output voltage down to 0.2V. The LT3021's low input voltage enables operation across the entire voltage range of both single cell alkaline and NiMH batteries (1.4 to 0.9V). This low input-voltage capability is also important for emerging applications using a 1.5V main rail that require output voltages from 1.25 to 0.5V to drive low voltage microprocessor and microcontroller cores.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lne/lne161.html
or send a blank email to mailto:lne1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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[10] ISM-BAND TRANSCEIVER TAKES RISC MCU ONBOARD
(Xemics, 26 May 2005)
New from Xemics, the TrueRF XE1283 is a powerful combination of a full-featured ISM-band transceiver together with an ultra-low-power RISC microcontroller. This combination of high-power transmitter and sensitive receiver means the link budget exceeds 128dB. Ranges of up to several kilometres can be achieved at low datarates, with an optimised RF layout and without external transmitter PA or receiver LNA, and with minimal power consumption. Xemics is also releasing the DP1283 "drop-in" RF module based on the XE1283 circuit.
Request free details from the supplier:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/xem/150/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/xem/xem150.html
or send a blank email to mailto:xem1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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New Technical Articles and Case Studies
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PARLEZ-VOUS WEEE? SPRECHEN SIE ROHS?
(Exel Packaging Datastore , 31 May 2005)
Paul James, a General Manager at Exel, outlines the current state of RoHS and WEEE legislation and the problems companies may encounter as a result of the new environmental regime.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/exl/exl100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:exl1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BLUETOOTH CHIP KEEPS HEADSETS IN TUNE
(Cambridge Silicon Radio, 26 May 2005)
The BlueCore3-Multimedia chip is being used by i.Tech Dynamic for a new Bluetooth stereo headset that enables users to receive phone calls while listening to music on their wireless headphones.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/cam/cam189.html
or send a blank email to mailto:cam1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
MIDDLEWARE AND APPLICATIONS DRIVE NEW PACE BOX
(Espial Group, 27 May 2005)
Pace Micro Technology has embedded Espial Evo TV middleware and applications in its new IP215 set-top box.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/esp/esp120.html
or send a blank email to mailto:esp1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SIMULATION KEEPS PACE WITH SET-TOP-BOX MARKET
(Flomerics, 31 May 2005)
UK-based Pace Micro Technology has used thermal and EMC software to reduce the temperature of a new set-top box by 5%, substantially increasing disk drive reliability and life.
Request free details from the supplier on Flotherm and Flo/EMC:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/flo/150/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/flo/flo150.html
or send a blank email to mailto:flo1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
SMART FABRICS CREATE WEARABLE ELECTRONICS
(Eleksen, 30 May 2005)
New smart fabrics are opening the door to a whole new range of "soft" products particularly in the consumer electronics and wearables markets.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/elk/elk100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:elk1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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Other featured new product news
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MEDIA SERVERS ACCELERATE NETWORK ATTACHED STORAGE
(Agere Systems, 27 May 2005)
Agere Systems has developed what it reckons is the world's fastest portfolio of multimedia and storage networking chips for homes and businesses.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/age/age175.html
or send a blank email to mailto:age1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
WHITE LED DRIVER CUTS BACKLIGHTS DOWN TO SIZE
(Toshiba Electronics Europe, 31 May 2005)
A new white LED driver chip provide precise brightness control and minimises external component count in LCD backlight applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tos/tos268.html
or send a blank email to mailto:tos2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
FSK RECEIVER IS A SENSITIVE SORT
(Maxim Integrated Products, 31 May 2005)
The MAX7042 is billed as the world's highest sensitivity VHF/UHF PLL-based FSK receiver.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/max/max227.html
or send a blank email to mailto:max2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
OPTICALLY COUPLED ISOLATORS MEET MILITARY NEEDS
(Optek Technology, 31 May 2005)
A new series of optically coupled isolators are surface mountable on ceramic or printed circuit board.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/opk/opk100.html
or send a blank email to mailto:opk1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
RTOS SUPPORTS STANDARDS-BASED INTEROPERABILITY
(Wind River Systems, 25 May 2005)
VxWorks 6.1 is the newest version of the world's leading real-time operating system for device software.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/wia/wia220.html
or send a blank email to mailto:wia2[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
BIG OLED PANEL SUPPORTS HDTV
(Samsung Electronics (UK) , 25 May 2005)
Samsung Electronics has developed the world's first single-sheet 40in active-matrix organic light-emitting diode for emissive flat panel TV applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/sao/sao101.html
or send a blank email to mailto:sao1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
ROTARY SWITCH SHRINKS TO THE SURFACE
(Knitter Switch, 30 May 2005)
One of the smallest rotary switches available will suit applications where size and reliability are important.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/kni/kni122.html
or send a blank email to mailto:kni1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
COMPACT EMBEDDED SBC TAKES A MODULAR APPROACH
(Advantech (UK), 31 May 2005)
The PCM-9380 is the latest powerful 3.5in embedded SBC from Advantech based on the Intel Pentium M or Celeron M processor.
Request free details from the supplier on PCM-9380:
http://www.electronicstalk.com/rdx/da/axv/185/4
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/axv/axv185.html
or send a blank email to mailto:axv1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
WIRELESS MODEM CONNECTS STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BOX
(Low Power Radio Solutions, 31 May 2005)
Available now from Low Power Radio Solutions, the MU-1 is a low power wireless modem for embedded applications.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/low/low126.html
or send a blank email to mailto:low1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
OEM GPS MODULE EXPLOITS NEW ASIC CHIPSET
(CSI Wireless, 30 May 2005)
The Hemisphere chipset will enable Crescent receivers to establish a new industry benchmark for GPS performance, versatility and value.
* Read more: http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/csi/csi121.html
or send a blank email to mailto:csi1[-email removed-]lectronicstalk.com
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