EE-Evaluation Engineering articles from April 2009

EE-Evaluation Engineering archives from April 2009

Of beetles and batteries.(Editorial)
April 1, 2009... Several thought-provoking news items caught my attention recently, and I would like to share a couple of them with you. I'm well aware that what I may deem stimulating and interesting some of you will not, and possibly a few of you may think...

Jitter tolerance test offered for embedded-clock designs.(PAUL'S PICKS)(Agilent Technologies Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The J-BERT N4903B Serial BERT offers jitter tolerance testing for high-speed digital interfaces operating up to 7 and 12.5 Gb/s. It is designed to prove compliance of PCI Express 2.0, USB 3.0, QuickPath Interconnect, Hypertransport 3, and fully...

Audio analyzers provide four analog input channels.(PAUL'S PICKS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The APx521 and the APx526, new to the APx500 Series of audio analyzers, provide four analog input channels, making them suitable for testing automotive audio systems, which typically have two analog inputs and four outputs. The APx526 also...

Simulator evaluates LTE chipsets and mobile devices.(PAUL'S PICKS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The MD8430A Signaling Tester is a base-station simulator that provides flexible and responsive support for the latest 3GPP LTE standard. It features four RF units that enable 2x2 MIMO system handover tests in a simulated network environment....

Channel emulator addresses broadband wireless test.(PAUL'S PICKS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The ACE[TM] MX architected for MIMO- and OFDM-based systems provides the channel emulation features required for testing LTE and other wireless infrastructure equipment plus 2G/3G cellular products. It features MIMO channel emulation to test...

PCIe tool injects inline errors.(PAUL'S PICKS)(Agilent Technologies Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The N5323A PCle Jammer is an inline error injection tool for PCl Express protocol testing. It sits transparently between two devices and can modify real PCle data transfers in real time to create disruptive test scenarios that increase test...

Debugging tool analyzes entry-level [I.sup.2]C traffic.(PAUL'S PICKS)(Corelis Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The BusPro 12C[TM] is a board-level debugging tool that provides low-level visibility and control of an [I.sup.2]C bus. It monitors and logs [I.sup.2]C bus traffic in real-time, generates [I.sup.2]C transactions to communicate with peripheral...

Digitizer cards supply 16-bit resolution.(PAUL'S PICKS)(Gage Applied Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Multichannel digitizers featuring 16-bit resolution now are available for the Octopus[TM] CompuScope 84XX digitizer family. The Octopus CompuScope 84XX Digitizers offer two, four, or eight digitizing channels in a single PCI card, up to 4 GB of...

DSA executes direct temperature measurements.(PAUL'S PICKS)(DASYTEC USA)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The USB-based 655u Dynamic Signal Analyzer features five temperature inputs and 10 voltage or direct integrated electronic piezoelectric (IEPE) input channels. The unit is compatible with most thermocouple types and RTDs and offers open...

Module combines functional test and boundary scan.(PAUL'S PICKS)(JTAG Technologies)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... JT 2149, a multiprogrammable/multivoltage (MPV) digital I/O scan module, accesses PCBs requiring external I/O stimulus and response monitoring. It plugs directly into the company's QuadPOD[TM], the standard front-end of the DataBlaster Series...

Paperless Recorders have integral bar graph display.(PAUL'S PICKS)(Omega Engineering Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The 24-channel RD-MV 1000 and the 48-channel RD-MV2000 Paperless Recorders and Data Acquisition Stations display real-time measured data on a color LCD. The units have stand-alone datalogging capability and record on-site changes in...

Six-slot chassis includes two Ethernet interfaces.(PAUL'S PICKS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The portable Ethernet DNR-6-1G I/O HalfRACK[TM] Chassis is a smaller version of the company's DNR-12-1G RACKtangle[TM] Chassis. All of the I/O functionality available with the PowerDNA Cube form factor also is provided. Six I/O slots support up...

Security trumps salary for today's engineers.(SALARY SURVEY)(Survey)
April 1, 2009... Considering the current unprecedented economic conditions, it is no surprise that respondents to the 2009 EE--Evaluation Engineering Salary Survey ranked job security as the number-one career issue, up from third place last year. Though most...

Boldly going beyond S-parameters.(SIGNAL ANALYZERS)
April 1, 2009... It's not for nothing that RF and microwave design have long been considered close to black magic. As in many areas of expertise, a few fundamental principles apply, but a great deal of engineering experience and judgment has been required to...

IEEE 1588 to transform timing synchronization.(LXIconneXion)(Technical report)
April 1, 2009... Over the past few months, and especially in our update on Class B instruments in the September 2008 issue "The killer Bs Are Coming," we have been reporting on the advantages of the IEEE 1588 precision timing protocol (PTP) and the application...

Advances in testing embedded systems.(EMBEDDED SYSTEMS TEST)
April 1, 2009... With the explosive growth in the use of microcontrollers, engineers who design products in fields ranging from computers to industrial electronics need to test and debug circuits that include low-speed serial data lines, high-speed data...

A hands-on encounter with SignalMeister.(TEST SOFTWARE)(Keithley Instruments Inc.'s signal analyzers)
April 1, 2009... SignalMeister[TM] v3.0 is Keithley Instruments' software complement to the company's line of vector signal analyzers (VSAs) and vector signal generators (VSGs). It's a comprehensive application that addresses generation and analysis of...

What is concurrent test?(DESIGN FOR TEST)
April 1, 2009... Since the first transistors went into production almost six decades ago, semiconductor manufacturers have looked for ways to reduce test time and manufacturing costs. As the industry has grown from transistors and diodes to integrated circuits...

RF measurements of electromechanical relays.(RELAY TESTING)
April 1, 2009... Electromechanical relays can be manufactured with high-frequency RF characteristics that allow them to pass and switch signals in the 7-GHz range and beyond with the proper packaging. Two key RF parameters are the insertion loss and return...

Conducted immunity system.(EMC SHOWCASE)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Model C100401 is a self-contained RF conducted immunity system designed for automotive testing. It includes a signal generator, a three-channel power meter, a 100-W amplifier covering 100 kHz to 400 MHz, a directional coupler, and control...

Radiated test amplifiers.(EMC SHOWCASE)
April 1, 2009... The ST 1804-50 Series Amplifier, designed for radiated susceptibility EMC testing applications, provides a minimum of 50 W of CW power for frequency ranges ranging from 0.4 to 18 GHz in various bands. Typical bands are 0.4 to 1 GHz, 1 to 2 GHz,...

Digital fieldmeter.(EMC SHOWCASE)
April 1, 2009... The Smart Fieldmeter[R] Digital RFP-05 operates with and stores the data from multiple probes. It features programmable data sampling with time and space averaging, datalogging with a removable memory card, a serial bidirectional data port and...

AC Filtered Inlet.(EMC SHOWCASE)
April 1, 2009... The application of X2Y[R] filter technology has been extended into the area of AC power with the development of the Series 5150 AC Filtered Inlet. This integrated and compact design provides broadband suppression properties to 1 GHz. The inlet...

Double-stage filters.(EMC SHOWCASE)
April 1, 2009... The 088 Series Slim Line EMI Filters integrate a high attenuation filter and IEC power entry socket with an illuminated power switch and either a fuse or resettable circuit breakers in one compact package. The filters handle current from 4 A to...

EMI Test Receiver.(EMC SHOWCASE)(Rohde & Schwarz)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The compact, lightweight, and battery-operated R&S ESL EMI Test Receiver performs precompliance and diagnostic measurements up to 3 GHz or 6 GHz. It measures a DUT's electromagnetic disturbance in accordance with current commercial standards...

Alternate slot-mount gasket.(EMC SHOWCASE)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The alternate-finger profile is the newest variation of the company's slot-mount shielding and electrical contact gasket. It is the preferred choice for slot- or track-mount applications that have a limited or selective gripping area. The BeCu...

Modular enclosures.(EMC SHOWCASE)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The VARISTAR Cabinet, a modular, flexible design constructed from roll formed steel, features configurations addressing passive, active, and water-cooled thermal control; seismic Zone 4; IP 20/55; and EMC protection. The EMC and IP protection...

Microwave Power Amplifier.(EMC SHOWCASE)
April 1, 2009... Spatium[TM] Spatial Combining Technology from CAP Wireless has been incorporated into the rack-mount broadband GT-1000A Microwave Power Amplifier. The GT-1000A provides 2 to 20-GHz, 10-W instrumentation-grade microwave amplification and...

Conductive tape.(EMC SHOWCASE)
April 1, 2009... Conductive Hook and Loop Tape, a woven hook and loop configuration plated with silver, is available in 16-mm, 30-mm, and 50-mm versions. Resistance of the hook is

Filtered terminal blocks.(EMC SHOWCASE)
April 1, 2009... The Barrier Strip Terminal Block line has been expanded with a 30-A model that provides high insertion loss for EMI/RFI filters of AC and DC power lines and control lines. These blocks, available with two to six terminals, have a capacitance...

Power amplifiers.(EMC SHOWCASE)
April 1, 2009... The CBA line of power amplifiers has been expanded to include five new broadband models with power levels ranging from 30 W to 450 W. Three Class A models are based on GaAs IC technology, which provides low distortion linear performance across...

Low-profile filters.(EMC SHOWCASE)
April 1, 2009... The low-profile R Series Filters provide high attenuation levels from 150 kHz to 30 MHz with an operating temperature range from -25[degrees]C to + 85[degrees]C. Single-phase units range from 0.5 A to 300 A with line voltages up to 250 VAC or...

Solid-state amplifier.(EMC SHOWCASE)
April 1, 2009... Model 500A250A, the first model in the A Series RF amplifier line, covers 10 kHz to 250 MHz, provides a minimum of 500 W of swept power when used with an RF sweep generator, and has an improved noise figure for increased dynamic range. The new...

Silicone-based pastes.(EMC SHOWCASE)
April 1, 2009... The EMI SENTRY[TM] product line consists of four silicone-based pastes with which EMI gaskets can be formed on a substrate: SNK55-RXP, a silicone with silver/copper that cures at room temperature; SNK60-HXP, silicone with silver/copper that...

Design-rule violation software.(EMC SHOWCASE)
April 1, 2009... EMBoardCheck[TM] is a software tool that automatically checks for EMC and SI rule violations on PCBs. All rules, verified by IBM engineers, are predefined and consider the current return path in a PCB layout system. Features include an...