ECN-Electronic Component News articles from July 2006

ECN-Electronic Component News archives from July 2006

Got 15 minutes?(Editor's View)
July 1, 2006... I know that, sometimes, even 15 minutes is a lot to ask these days but if you had the opportunity to grab some need-to-know information delivered in a webcast that didn't require a one hour commitment, would you log on to it? And if that...

Palm-sized Motion Checker.(Leading Off)
July 1, 2006... Nippon Pulse America has introduced Motion Checker MCH-5, a RoHS-compliant, palm-sized stepper motor controller with a built-in constant voltage driver. The device helps engineers start their stepper motor right away, and it can help students...

Full-featured, high-performance PC for military Manpack applications.(Leading Off)
July 1, 2006... General Micro Systems has introduced its Spartan P630 rugged UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC) engineered for varied OEM applications that require high performance and low power consumption in a Manpack compact size. With the capabilities of a notebook,...

Integrated design platform provides sensorless control for energy saving motors in washers.(Leading Off)
July 1, 2006... International Rectifier (IR) offers a sensorless control platform for direct-drive Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) washing machines, featuring an embedded Field Oriented Control (FOC) algorithm for high-dynamic torque control. This...

Modem chip eliminates large, bulky PCI bus in desktop PCs.(Leading Off)
July 1, 2006... The SV92U2 Universal Serial Bus (USB)-based modem chipset from Agere makes it possible to reduce desktop PC bus sizes by 80 percent by eliminating the need for Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)-based modems, according to the company. The...

Handcrafted CCFL design kit.(Leading Off)
July 1, 2006... JKL Components Corporation's CCFL designer kit, JKL# GB-WI, contains an array of cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL) inverters, molded end caps, connectors, high voltage wire and heater wire. Also included is a literature package containing a...

Decoupling capacitors feature very low ESL.(Leading Off)
July 1, 2006... AVX has developed a land-grid array (LGA) capacitor using a fine copper termination process to deliver advanced decoupling capacitors that enable improved system performance. The LGA Decoupling Capacitor's design builds on the technology...

Radio modules.(PRODUCT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW)
July 1, 2006... The ZB2430 "Zigbee Your Way" Transceiver by AeroComm is based on the Texas Instruments 802.15.4 System-on Chip and Z-Stack[TM] technology to provide OEMs with desirable wireless performance in the areas of power consumption, integration range,...

Isolate yourself.(Signal Conditioning)
July 1, 2006... Some time ago, I worked with instruments that produced unusual and irreproducible results. An analysis of the instruments' signals showed them "riding" on 60 Hz noise caused by ground loops. The loops arose from long convoluted ground paths...

Designing transformer coupled front-end systems for high-performance ADCs.(ADCs)
July 1, 2006... Designing a system that uses high-speed analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) with high input frequencies (IFs) has always been a challenging task. Using a transformer makes this even more difficult, because transformers have inherent...

The myth of customer choice.(Distribution)
July 1, 2006... Although companies tout the importance of giving customers a choice, when it comes to purchasing commodity products, most franchise distributors offer little or no choice. After all, many commodity products are of similar form, fit, function,...

Fingerprint sensors give consumers a hand.(Sensors)(Cover story)
July 1, 2006... For many years, science-fiction writers have employed futuristic scanners that compared fingerprints, faces, or retinas. Unfortunately, engineers have had to wait until now to successfully and economically implement these types of "biometric"...

Memory modules for multi-function printers and embedded applications.(BOARDS & MODULES)
July 1, 2006... Smart Modular Technologies introduced a family of DDR2 32-bit 200-pin SO-DIMMs for multi-function printers (MFP) and embedded computing applications. These SO-DIMMs provide scalable memory as an alternative to the traditional method of...

Accessories catalog for board manufacturers.(BOARDS & MODULES)
July 1, 2006... Elma has announced its Front Panels, Handles and Accessories catalog that contains the company's entire range of products and services for board manufacturers, especially in the branch of 19" technology. On more than 100 catalog pages, the user...

Conduction cooled PMC module for communications applications.(BOARDS & MODULES)
July 1, 2006... Extreme Engineering has introduced its XPort2001, an intelligent communications controller targeting high performance communications applications, supporting fully channelized HDLC and transparent protocols over four software configurable...

LAN-based Gigabit VXI Slot-0 Interface.(BOARDS & MODULES)
July 1, 2006... VXI Technology has announced its EX2500, a LAN-based Gigabit VXI Slot-0 Interface that bridges the gap between two open industry standards, and it links the performance features expected from VXIbus instruments to an external host. Ethernet...

Interface controller for monitor applications.(BOARDS & MODULES)
July 1, 2006... The ALR-1400from Digital View is an integrated PC, DVI and video interface controller for TFT LCD panels that provides a plug-and-play product for a range of basic monitor functions. It is designed to provide a compact, high-reliability,...

CompactPCI low voltage board.(BOARDS & MODULES)
July 1, 2006... The eAutomation Group of Advantech has introduced its MIC-3316 3U CompactPCI controller. It has an ultra low power on-board Celeron processor at 650 MHz which can deliver efficient power consumption with less heat dissipation and longer MTBF...

Detent-Action Rotary Switches for industrial applications.(ELECTROMECHANICAL/MECHANICAL DEVICES)
July 1, 2006... Electroswitch has announced its line of Industrial Detent-Action Rotary Switches designed to satisfy stringent requirements of industrial applications. The switches have continuous ratings ranging from 5A to 30A at 600V. Providing up to 16...

Stepper motors provide high versatility.(ELECTROMECHANICAL/MECHANICAL DEVICES)
July 1, 2006... Beckhoff Automation has introduced its AS1xxx stepper motors that provide an alternative to servo motors in the small and medium capacity ranges. Different stepper motor types in this series have nominal current ratings from 1.0A to 5.0A and...

Small linear offers a 20g push force.(ELECTROMECHANICAL/MECHANICAL DEVICES)
July 1, 2006... New Scale Technologies, Inc. has announced its latest SQUIGGLE motor. At 1.5 mm X 1.5 mm, the SQL-1.5 piezoelectric offers a 20g push force and sub-micron position resolution. Typical applications include phone cameras and medical devices. The...

Electronic Monitoring Relays measure current and voltage.(ELECTROMECHANICAL/MECHANICAL DEVICES)
July 1, 2006... Phoenix Contact has added a family of Electronic Monitoring Relays for single-and three-phase applications to its line of signal conditioners and converters. The 22.5 mm wide, DIN rail mountable modules can be used for monitoring currents and...

Solid state relays with current monitoring feature.(ELECTROMECHANICAL/MECHANICAL DEVICES)
July 1, 2006... Carlo Gavazzi has expanded its Solitron Series with the addition of the RJCS Current Monitoring Solid State Relay. This microprocessor-controlled relay is capable of switching 50A single phase AC loads at up to 660V AC, when controlled by a...

RoHS LED illuminated panel pushbutton switch.(ELECTROMECHANICAL/MECHANICAL DEVICES)
July 1, 2006... CIT Relay & Switch has introduced its CH Series lighted, LED illuminated pushbutton switch. Functions include momentary or alternate action in SPDT or DPDT configurations. Illumination includes center dot or ring illumination featuring red,...

Conduction cooled CPU board for low-power embedded systems.(EMBEDDED SYSTEMS)
July 1, 2006... PCI Embedded Computer Systems has introduced conduction cooled XMC CPU board for low power embedded systems. The AMD Geode LX 800 processor family offers desirable performance and power versatility in an x86-based embedded processor and...

PC/104 and PC/104+ connectors.(EMBEDDED SYSTEMS)
July 1, 2006... Emulation Technology has expanded its line of board-to-board interconnect products with its PC/104 and PC/104+ connectors, which are said to meet or exceed the specifications ratified by the PC/104 Embedded Consortium. Press-fit and...

Physical layer switch for military networks.(EMBEDDED SYSTEMS)
July 1, 2006... Curtiss-Wright Controls has introduced the 288-port GLX4000 Series physical layer switch. The GLX4000 288 system is housed in a compact 8U chassis and offers flexible, expandable crossbar switch performance. It is suitable for high-speed...

FPGA-based PC/104 Digital I/O module provides 64 signals.(EMBEDDED SYSTEMS)
July 1, 2006... Diamond Systems' GPIO-MM is a flexible and reconfigurable PC/104 Digital I/O module based on a Xilinx Spartan II FPGA. Use of an FPGA to implement the digital I/O logic allows the unit's hardware to be reprogrammed, in the field if necessary,...

Pentium-M 2.0 GHz CPU with PCI-Express capabilities.(EMBEDDED SYSTEMS)
July 1, 2006... Dynatem is introducing the Intel Pentium-M 2.0/E7520 chipset-based KPM-S1 SBC, which offers the high-performance embedded x86 Pentium-M processor. The high-speed E7520 and 6300ESB chipset support a PCI-Express expansion bus that can fully use a...

Fast, monolithic 12-bit ADC.(INTEGRATED CIRCUITS)
July 1, 2006... Atmel[R] has announced what is said to be the industry's fastest commercially available monolithic 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with a clock frequency of 500 Msps. The AT84AS001TP will allow system designers to accurately digitize...

Low-power ADC simultaneously samples six differential inputs.(INTEGRATED CIRCUITS)
July 1, 2006... Linear Technology has introduced its LTC1408 low-power 14-bit 600ksps analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with six simultaneous sampling differential inputs. This three-wire serial ADC operates from a single 3V supply, with power dissipation...

Thirty-two bit MCU for high-end powertrain and chassis applications.(INTEGRATED CIRCUITS)
July 1, 2006... Freescale has introduced what is said to be the industry's first 32-bit microcontroller (MCU) based on the PowerPC[R] core with embedded flash and integrated FlexRay[TM] protocol. The MPC5567 enables fault-tolerant communication at high...

All flash microcontroller offering includes 32-bit devices.(INTEGRATED CIRCUITS)
July 1, 2006... NEC's all flash microcontroller (MCU) product line has been expanded to include 32-bit devices to complement its existing 8- and 16-bit devices. The company is adding 28 new devices to its series of V850[TM] high-performance, 32-bit...

Integrated PoE controller.(INTEGRATED CIRCUITS)
July 1, 2006... Silicon Laboratories has introduced an integrated IEEE 802.3af compliant Power over Ethernet (PoE) controller for powered device (PD) applications. The PD controller integrates on-chip diode bridges, a transient surge suppressor and a switching...

LED lamps are designed to eliminate leakage current.(OPTOELECTRONICS & DISPLAYS)
July 1, 2006... DDP has developed a series of lamp-based LEDs that feature built-in shunt resistors to reduce unwanted illumination caused by leakage current. Well-suited for industrial environments, power generation, transmission and distribution...

White LED Driver is Optimized for High-Volume three-LED Applications.(OPTOELECTRONICS & DISPLAYS)
July 1, 2006... Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc. has introduced its CAT3603 fractional charge pump. The device is targeted at cost-sensitive, high-volume applications by providing simplicity and efficiency in a 3 mm X 3 mm package. It gives system designers the...

Large-size touch monitor.(OPTOELECTRONICS & DISPLAYS)
July 1, 2006... CyberTouch has announced its Orion 32, a 32" diagonal (16 X 9 aspect ratio) touchscreen LCD monitor that is suitable for electronic signage, hospitality, kiosk and point-of-purchase applications. This larger size touch monitor allows designers...

Open-frame kiosk display for digital signage and streaming video.(OPTOELECTRONICS & DISPLAYS)
July 1, 2006... Planar Systems has announced its LB1500R and LB1503R kiosk displays that are designed to give kiosk integrators and OEMs bright, attention-grabbing displays. Featuring a brightness of 550 cd/[m.sup.2], they increase visibility to accommodate a...

Laser diodes combine high visibility with low operating current.(OPTOELECTRONICS & DISPLAYS)
July 1, 2006... Photonic Products Ltd. has introduced two red laser diodes from Opnext, Inc. which combine a low operating current with a high optical output power. The HL6362MG/HL6363MG laser diodes (640 nm wavelength band, 45 mW maximum optical output power)...

LED is capable of 105 lumens typical output.(OPTOELECTRONICS & DISPLAYS)
July 1, 2006... American Bright Optoelectronics Corporation has introduced its BWL-3B series of 3W high-power LEDs. This 9 mm X 9 mm package is over a third smaller than previous versions allowing for higher packaging densities and smaller luminaire designs....

BGA Socket available for 1.00 mm pitch devices.(PACKAGING & INTERCONNECTS)
July 1, 2006... Advanced Interconnections Corp. has launched the Flip-Top[TM] BGA Socket. Designed for development, test and validation of 1.00 mm pitch BGA and LGA devices at speeds up to 2.6 GHz (single-ended), the compact design requires no soldering of the...

Micro RF cable assemblies.(PACKAGING & INTERCONNECTS)
July 1, 2006... Samtec has announced the addition of Micro RF cable assemblies (RF081 and RF113) for low profile panel-to-board and cable-to-board applications. Two micro coaxial cable diameters are available as standard: 0.81 mm OD (RF081 Series), and (.045")...

Case offers flame retardant rating of 94-5 VA.(PACKAGING & INTERCONNECTS)
July 1, 2006... Polycase has introduced the DC-45 case that measures 6.125" X 4.620" X 1.250". The DC-45 has a flame retardant rating of 94-5 VA. Its lightweight, impact-resistant ABS plastic keeps the usage flexible, and its textured surfaces resists scuffs...

Contact centerline connectors are RoHS-compliant.(PACKAGING & INTERCONNECTS)
July 1, 2006... Sullins Electronics, Inc. has announced the addition of pin compliant solderless press-fit edgecard connectors. Press-fit edgecards feature high-density .100" spacing on 0.062" daughterboards, and support 0.093" to 0.125" thick motherboards....

Flexible epoxy adheres to rubber.(PACKAGING & INTERCONNECTS)
July 1, 2006... Master Bond's EP21TDC-7 is a two component, room temperature curing epoxy adhesive/sealant/coating. The adhesive bonds to metals, glass, ceramics, plastics and many rubbers including neoprene, nitrile, SBR and natural rubber. It has a Shore D...

Ribbon cable assemblies.(PACKAGING & INTERCONNECTS)
July 1, 2006... C&M Corporation has introduced the MacroFlex Series of ribbon cable assemblies which can be used in multiple, high-performance applications. The series features silver plated copper conductors and a series of four cable assemblies: the Series...

Aluminum terminal enclosures.(PACKAGING & INTERCONNECTS)
July 1, 2006... OKW has introduced the 'Unidesk' aluminum terminal cases. These ergonomic sloping front enclosures are designed for housing desktop and wall mounted electronics. Three standard models are available with external dimensions of 7.87" X 7.87" X...

Solid tantalum chip capacitor.(PASSIVE & DISCRETE COMPONENTS)
July 1, 2006... Vishay's 298D MicroTan[TM] leadframeless tantalum SMT capacitors provide capacitance values from 1 [micro]F at 16V to 47 [micro]F at 4V in the small 0603 and 0805 footprints. Suitable for signal processing and power management applications in...

TCXO with overall stability of [+ or -]4.6 ppm for 15 years.(PASSIVE & DISCRETE COMPONENTS)
July 1, 2006... MyFrequency has announced the MS Series TCXO with overall stability of [+ or -]4.6 ppm inclusive of initial tolerance, operating temperature, load and voltage changes and 15 years aging. This HCMOS/TTL output MS TCXO operates at both 5.0V and...

UHF and HF VCXO feature low phase noise.(PASSIVE & DISCRETE COMPONENTS)
July 1, 2006... Raltron has announced a family of ultra high frequency and high frequency VCXO crystal oscillators. Suitable for automated assembly environments, network processing, test instrumentation, WAN interfaces, SDSL, Sonet and SDH, the series is...

High power shielded inductors.(PASSIVE & DISCRETE COMPONENTS)
July 1, 2006... TT electronics BI Technologies developed a series of high power shielded inductors with profiles as low as 3 mm. HM69 Series inductors are designed to operate at frequencies up to 5 MHz, with current ratings up to 70A, and they are appropriate...

AC/DC switcher Designed for communications applications.(POWER SOURCES)
July 1, 2006... XP Power has brought together a series of power supply design techniques to create the EMA212, a small 212W, single output AC/DC switcher. Designed for communications applications, the power supply has been developed for networking equipment,...

RoHS compliant DC/DC converters.(POWER SOURCES)
July 1, 2006... Power Sources Unlimited has introduced the Cincon EC7C Series of 40W DC/DC converters that are fully compliant to the RoHS Directive. A 2:1 input allows operation in a variety of mobile, battery powered or DC power system applications. Units...

Two-Way Power Divider/combiner.(POWER SOURCES)
July 1, 2006... Krytar has announced the 6005265 Two-Way Power Divider. The VSWR (max.) is 1.45 from 0.5 GHz to 18 GHz, and 1.60 from 18 GHz to 26.5 GHz; insertion loss is 1.5 dB to 18 GHz, and 1.9 dB from 18 GHz to 26.5 GHz; isolation is 19 dB minimum;...

Low profile rackmount sine wave inverters.(POWER SOURCES)
July 1, 2006... Schaefer, Inc. has introduced its AEP-1000R Series of 1U, low profile 1 KVA rackmount pure sine inverters. They provide clean output power for powering sensitive loads and for improving AC equipment performance. The Series is available in three...

Lithium battery pack optimizes product safety.(POWER SOURCES)
July 1, 2006... Micro Power has announced several upgrades to SecuraPack[TM], its custom lithium battery pack. It offers OEMs a customized, high-performance and safe battery system that is resistant to dangerous malfunctions. Applications are in power products...

Industrial converters accept high voltage inputs.(POWER SOURCES)
July 1, 2006... V-Infinity has introduced a line of industrial DC/DC converters designed to operate within high voltage systems. These chassis-mount units are enclosed in a shielded metal case measuring 9.761" X 7.17" X 2.28" with a built-in heat sink....

Pressure Sensor.(SENSORS & ACTUATORS)
July 1, 2006... Sensor System Solutions, Inc. has announced the Model 7400 Pressure Sensor for OEM applications in refrigerant handling and recovery. The unit can also be used in exercise equipment, mining, natural gas production, compressors, lubrication...

360[degrees] field-of-view UV-C Detector.(SENSOR & ACTUATORS)
July 1, 2006... Gigahertz-Optik has announced the low drift solid-state ROD-360-UV18 Detector, with 360[degrees] field-of-view, for the measurement of effective ultraviolet germicidal irradiance (UVGI) applied in air and water sterilization applications...

Portable power meter for rugged environments.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)
July 1, 2006... Berkeley Varitronics Systems, Inc, has introduced YellowFrog, a portable, rugged, low-cost power meter. The power meter measures between 800 MHz and 2.2 GHz with an accuracy of +0.5 dB. YellowFrog[TM] requires two AAA Ni-MH batteries (two sets...

Benchtop digital multimeter.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)
July 1, 2006... Agilent Technologies Inc. has introduced a digital multimeter designed to help manufacturers and educational institutions control the costs of test and measurement equipment. The Agilent 34405A is a 5.5-digit benchtop digital multimeter that...

The kal-tech project (part 2).(PEER to PEER)
July 1, 2006... (Editor's Note: In the May 1 issue Editor's View column, I asked ECN readers to suggest what they thought my father had in mind to make with the odd assortment of electronic components he had ordered and which arrived the day of his funeral....

Letters to the editor.(PEER to PEER)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2006... "I just read your editorial about businesses promoting engineering as careers (Volume 50, number 7) and I couldn't agree more. For many years I would volunteer to speak at my children's elementary school Career Day, and I am still known to many...