EE-Evaluation Engineering articles from April 2006

EE-Evaluation Engineering archives from April 2006

Great, but why did it take so long?(EDITORIAL)
April 1, 2006... Knowing the well-being of their troops whether in a combat situation or preparing for a mission obviously is of paramount importance to battlefield commanders. The success of any military operation relates directly to the physical and mental...

Agilent files Verigy IPO.(In The News)
April 1, 2006... Agilent Technologies recently announced that its subsidiary, Verigy, has filed an S-1 Registration Statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. Verigy designs, develops, manufactures, and sells test...

Fluke offers metrology training course.(In The News)
April 1, 2006... Fluke, a supplier of test and measurement equipment, offers a new course designed for calibration technicians who want to expand their knowledge of metrology principles and measurement techniques. Metrology for Cal Lab Personnel is a five-day...

Simco celebrates 70th anniversary.(In The News)
April 1, 2006... Simco, a designer, manufacturer, and distributor of ionization solutions, is celebrating 70 years in business. Founded in 1936 by Hortense and Julius Simons, Simco started as a one-room shop in Philadelphia. Today, the company has offices in...

Construction chemicals firm buys Garland Floor.(In The News)
April 1, 2006... Garland Floor has been sold to ICS Building Technologies, a construction chemicals firm with operations in Japan, Asia Pacific, and North America. The newly formed company, ICS Garland, will remain in Cleveland. Byron Smith, a principal in ICS,...

Software addresses jitter tolerance compliance.(Product Briefing)
April 1, 2006... A new suite for the Agilent N4903A Serial Bit Error Ratio Tester (BERT) features a library of jitter tolerance compliance curves for periodic jitter, random jitter, bounded uncorrelated jitter, and intersymbol and sinusoidal interference for...

USB modules provide 2-MHz sampling speed.(Product Briefing)
April 1, 2006... The DT9832 Series of analog input multifunction data acquisition modules for USB 2.0 offers two or four channels at throughput speeds up to 2-MHz per channel. Each analog channel has its own 16-b A/D converter that uses a common clock and...

Thermal shock chamber saves space and energy.(Product Briefing)
April 1, 2006... The TSD-100 Thermal Shock Chamber features a 28" x 16" interior while restricting the overall size to a footprint 40% smaller than the company's Model ETS4-2CW. Overall power consumption also has been reduced by 60%. The 4 cu ft overall...

Voltage amplifier has two modes of operation.(Product Briefing)
April 1, 2006... The Model 9400 Amplifier includes four independent channels with full-power bandwidth from DC to 500 kHz and signal amplification for multiple applications. It offers -200 to +200 V with up to 50-mA output current, a protective latch for...

Peak Detection developed for digitizers.(Product Briefing)
April 1, 2006... The onboard eXpert[TM] Peak Detection FPGA technology has been introduced for the company's CS12400, CS14200, and CS14105 Digitizers and the upcoming Octopus[TM] family of multichannel digitizers. It detects peaks within a set of digitized...

Signal analyzer executes automotive testing.(Product Briefing)
April 1, 2006... The DL7400 Series performs protocol analysis and waveform observation for FlexRay control networks and shows the correlated results on the same screen. A FlexRay network transmits and receives data at 10 Mb/s, 10x faster than a conventional...

Engineers optimistic about industry comeback: is the electronics industry on the road to an economic recovery? Our annual salary survey seems to indicate it's true.(SALARY SURVEY)(Industry overview)
April 1, 2006... There was a time when a 5% salary increase was considered standard, even ordinary. With the advent of the 21st century, everything changed. For the last several years, the electronics industry has seen little or no salary increases. But what a...

Drilling down into FPGAs: how do they get a complete logic analyzer in that tiny package?(LOGIC ANALYSIS)
April 1, 2006... The advent of programmable logic devices (PLDs) started discrete-logic ICs on the road to extinction years ago. The expansion of PLDs to complex PLDs (CPLDs) hastened the trend, and the recent development of low-cost, fast, and very large field...

A scope that captures and analyzes: product focus.(OSCILLOSCOPES)
April 1, 2006... Lots of scopes have long memories these days, but how do you find anything in all that data? Well, the new Tektronix DPO4000 not only comes with a standard 10-M record length on all channels, but it also includes the Wave Inspector feature...

Challenges of the evolving 3G technology: some challenges arise with the introduction of an enhanced air interface.(WIRELESS TEST)
April 1, 2006... The rollout of the world's first 3.5G cellular networks based upon High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) technology marks a clear shift toward the support of packet data services. HSDPA networks offer higher data rates and reduced packet...

Anatomy of a switch.(SWITCHING SYSTEMS)
April 1, 2006... Test systems often use a small quantity of instruments to address a large number of signals. This design approach constrains cost but also limits measurement throughput. Conversely, a system with sufficient instruments to test all the signals...

Visualizing field perturbations with 3-D EM software: once out of the question due to cost and time, 3-D EM software now can provide better visualization of wave dynamics.(TEST SOFTWARE EVALUATION)
April 1, 2006... Powerful PCs mean many companies now find it feasible to use 3-D electromagnetic (EM) software to evaluate the effect of internally generated RF fields propagating inside product enclosures. Meantime, when it comes to assessing the product's...

Choosing the right X-ray tool for the job: some expert advice can help sharpen your focus when buying an inspection system.(X-RAY INSPECTION)
April 1, 2006... Buying an X-ray inspection system is a challenge and requires much research. There are many contradictory arguments that can justify every system from low-cost manual equipment where the operator does all the work and makes all the decisions to...

Interference-free RF device testing: is the traditional screen room of yesterday the compact RF test enclosure of today?(EMC SHIELDED ENCLOSURES)
April 1, 2006... With all the new wireless devices operating in the overpopulated frequency bands from 30 MHz to >6 GHz, it has become impossible to test, tune, or verify any product without the capability to shield it from the outside world. And as demand for...

Humidity calibration solutions.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... Featuring the Model 2500 [+ or -]0.5% RH Humidity Calibration Chamber, NVLAP-accredited Thunder Scientific is recognized the world over as the industry standard for NIST-traceable two-pressure humidity calibration technology. High-accuracy...

Switching Handbook.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... Keithley's new Switching Handbook discusses the fundamentals of the switching function in test and measurement applications, basics of switching setup, and the more common switching mistakes. It includes a glossary, switch card and switch...

Burn-In System.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... The HPB-5B High-Power Burn-In System meets the challenges created by burn-in-with-test of both high-power VLSI devices (up to 150 W) and memory devices. It features individual pattern zones per burn-in board with individual temperature control...

Pressure Transducer.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... PX4600 Series Miniature Pressure Transducers feature PCB mounting, small size, and light weight to make them ideal for tough vibration and shock environments; can be used with most industrial gases, oils, and other fluids. The sensor is a small...

Mass InterConnect Solutions.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... The Mass InterConnect Solutions Product Catalog simplifies how you configure a Mass InterConnect Solution. Exploded views for each product family quickly identify the necessary components to complete your Mass InterConnect Solution. It provides...

Shielding Tents.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... EMI Shielding Tents--external frame, instant up/down for emissions-free room anywhere! Made from Ni/Ag fabric. -86 dB, 20 MHz to 18 GHz. Suitcase, portable tabletop to room/lab size for onsite, on-demand pre-compliance testing. From $1,000....

I/O cube.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... PowerDNA is the ultimate distributed data acquisition I/O cube. Up to 150 thermocouple inputs, 48 strain gage inputs, [+ or -]100-V analog inputs, 288 digital I/O, CAN-Bus, PWM, and more in a 4x4x6" or 4x4x4" cube. Extensive software for...

Switch matrix modules.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... Digalog[TM] introduces the DigESwitch. It provides you with five 46x8 switch matrix modules that, when combined, offer you a 230x8 switch matrix. The DigESwitch uses high-reliability ATE-grade relays all controlled through an Ethernet...

USB test and measurement.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... Data Translation's Free 2006 USB Product Guide offers details on the company's broad range of USB data acquisition products. Choose from low-cost, simultaneous, high-performance, and DSP products. Product charts simplify hardware and software...

Low-cost Vibration Test Systems and Digital Controllers.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... 100 lbf System $5,695 with Vibrator, base, blower, low-distortion linear amplifier, cables & hose. Digital Controller Packages convert PCs to Vibration Controllers--Sine $3,995. Random $4,995. 4-Channel Swept-Sine, Random & Classical Shock with...

Peak Power Analyzer.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... The new 4500B Peak Power Analyzer, totally redesigned from the inside out, is changing the way the industry views and analyzes RF data. Some of the key features include an 8.4" TFT color LCD display; 100-ps time-base resolution; automatic...

Industrial automation solutions.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... Free brochure featuring a wide range of industrial automation solutions done with Advantech products. Applications covered include the following: [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Facility Management Systems * Environmental Monitoring...

Design software.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... TestPoint is proven, reliable data acquisition software with advanced features found nowhere else. If you have data to acquire, analyze, and control, look no further. You pick the acquisition device; TestPoint does the rest. Design applications...

RF Power Amplifiers.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... The revised RF Power Amplifier Brochure features the wide range of RF power amplifiers available. The brochure highlights the A and W Series Amplifiers that cover 1 to 10,000 W and DC to 1 GHz. Product photographs, descriptions, specifications,...

Shielded honeycomb Fan Filter.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... Shielded Fan Filters provide high, reliable shielding level at competitive prices. They include patented spiral gasket and honeycomb blending process of the aluminum panels for >80 dB shielding at 1 GHz. The filters are compatible with 60-,...

Test equipment auctions.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... Find new and used test equipment at LabX. Buy and sell using auctions and classified ads. * More than 100,000 items for sale * Join 90,000 members * Post a FREE Wanted Ad The first place to look for test equipment. LabX,...

Boundary scan.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... Test Coach has been chosen as a Center of Expertise for Gopel in the United States. As a COE, Test Coach will work with customers to provide boundary scan solutions and integration using Gopel software. Services include design for test and...

Horn Antenna.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... The AHA-118 Active Horn Antenna has an integrated preamplifier with a 25-dB nominal gain that improves noise performance for EMI emissions testing systems. The preamplifier is connected to antenna using an ng cable. The combination long cable,...

Sound and Vibration Toolkit.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... Easily handle audio measurements, fractional-octave analysis, sound and vibration displays, and much more with the National Instruments Lab-VIEW Sound and Vibration Toolkit. Combined with the industry-standard LabVIEW development environment,...

Single-line power filters.(LITERATURE MARKETPLACE)
April 1, 2006... * Feed-Thru AC and DC filters up to 500 Amps * Attenuation: 4 to 90 dB from 1 MHz to 1 GHz * Voltage ratings: 130 VDC, 250 VAC * UL, Semko approved * Rugged bolt-in styles for easy installation * Commercial, industrial,...