EDN articles from December 2004

EDN archives from December 2004

No laughing matter.(leading edge)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... "Sometimes when I'm working I start laughing because it's so hopeles." --Linear Technology Corp staff scientist Jim williams commenting on how design deadlnes have dropped from months into weeks

VME DSP board processes 100-MHz signals.(leading edge)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... PENTEK'S NEW DUAL-CHANNEL 6U VMEbus signal-acquisition and -processing board features 12-bit A/D converters with sampling rates as high as 215 MHz, FPDP (front-panel-data-port) II connectors with output-data speeds as high as 320 Mbytes/sec,...

Tool adds power-analysis feature.(leading edge)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... WITH QUARTUS II Version 4.2, Altera adds the PowerPlay technology suite to provide power analysis to designers using its devices. PowerPlay analysis features support detailed estimates of static and dynamic power and focus on leakage power as...

Dueling dual-band 802.11 chips vie for enterprise, consumer, and portable sockets.(leading edge)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... ON THE HEELS Of Atheros' announcement of the AR5006X--a single-chip 802.11 subsystem that combines 2.4- and 5-GHz radios; a MAC (media-access controller); and a baseband processor for 802.11a, b, and g--Cambridge Silicon Radio, better known as...

Dilbert.(leading edge)
December 9, 2004... DOUBLE THE REVENUE ESTIMATES AND MAKE SURE THE RESEARCH SUPPORTS IT. BUT... BUT... IT'S TOO LATE! THE RESEARCH IS DONE, AND IT WONT SUPPORT HIGHER REVENUE! YOUR STRESS IS FROM A COMBINATION OF DRIVE-BY MANAGEMENT AND A FLASHLIGHT IN...

Don't mess with SPDT RF FET.(leading edge)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... Easily control multimode-antenna switching and with a smaller footprint with Toshiba's TG2217CBT. This GaAs (gallium-arsenide) MESFET provides switchover from 0 to 3 GHz, suitable for Bluetooth, GSM, GPS, and wireless-LAN applications with...

Circuit simulator adds hierarchical-design tools, supports variants.(leading edge)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
December 9, 2004... ELECTRONICS WORKBENCH has introduced a new version of its Multisim circuit simulator. The new version offers improvements in both the schematic-capture module and in the simulation engines. The schematics-module enhancements include better...

Devices increase V0IP and wireless performance.(leading edge)(Freescale Semiconductor)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... FREESCALE'S MSC812x devices integrate as many as four SC140 DSP cores, along with as much as 4 Mbytes of on-chip memory, a turbo-coding coprocessor, and a Viterbi coprocessor in a single package to support high-density, carrier-class VOIP...

Designers get help with thermal analysis.(leading edge)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... Faced with the thermal challenges that advanced packaging presents, IC designers are turning to thermal analysis to improve component performance and longevity. Harvard Thermal has released its PTD (Package Thermal Designer) Version 2.0 to help...

Real-time spectrum analyzer's 2000-times-higher time resolution shows why digital-RF signals misbehave.(leading edge)
December 9, 2004... TEKTRONIX'S RSA3408A RTSA (real-time-spectrum analyzer) is an impressive instrument, and, considering what the unit does, its $49,800 price appears to represent an equally impressive value. Loaded with DSP capabilities, RTSAs do spectrum...

OS virtualizes guest operating systems.(leading edge)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... THE INTEGRITY PC RTOS from Green Hills Software enables developers to integrate into their high-security and high-reliability systems legacy software that executes under other operating systems. Integrity PC can partition a system into virtual...

Wind-farm storm watch.(leading edge)(Wind power plants)(Editorial)
December 9, 2004... As CONTRIBUTING technical Editor David Marsh points out in this issue's cover story, wind turbines are the frontrunners in large-scalegreen-electricity generation. Although this statement speaks well for wind energy's enormous potential, a...

Device expands low-end, 32-bit performance.(leading edge)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... ROYAL PHILIPS Electronics' 32-bit, ARM7-based LPC2130 microcontroller series expands the processing performance and feature options for low-end, 32-bit processing. These devices include as much as 512 kbytes of 128-bit-wide on-chip flash memory...

For your protection.(signal integrity)(electrostatic discharge protection diodes )
December 9, 2004... MOST CMOS CHIPS include two protection diodes at every I/O pad, wired as clamps. These diodes limit the input voltage from going much higher than [V.sub.CC] or lower than ground. This limitation on the input voltage prevents gate-oxide blowout...

Blearily, we blog along.(edn.comment)(what are Weblogs )
December 9, 2004... WEBLOGS, OR "BLOGS," are textual Web sites, acting as and resembling an online journal. Besides text, they can contain any type of Web content, such as photos, video, music, or, as in the EDN world, diagrams, schematics, formulas, and...

Saving Stan: sophisticated mathematical models of human physiology and multiple engineering disciplines unite to bring a human-patient simulator to life. Meet Stan.(tech trends)
December 9, 2004... CADAVERS ARE OFTEN a medical student's first patients. As valuable as they are in teaching lessons on the complexity of human anatomy, they hold one unavoidable drawback: Cadavers are hardly interactive. The first time most interns see shock,...

Wind chimes in: capturing the sun's energy via wind power is not new, but today's power semiconductors and control systems make this energy source more viable.(Wind power plants)(Cover Story)
December 9, 2004... AT A GLANCE * Europe is today's largest market for wind-power installations. * Wind power's variable energy content challenges designers, * Active-stall and blade-pitch controls optimize power capture. * Frequency inverters...

Single, high-precision, rail-to-rail output operational amplifier.(Featured products)(Advertisement)
December 9, 2004... The LMP2011 is a new precision amplifier that offers unprecedented accuracy and stability and is offered in a miniature package. This device utilizes patented techniques to measure and continually correct the input offset error voltage. The...

High precision, low-noise, low-dropout voltage reference.(Featured products)(Advertisement)
December 9, 2004... The LM4140 series of precision references are designed to combine high accuracy, low drift and noise with low power dissipation in a small package. The key to the advanced performance of the LM4140 is the use of EEPROM registers and CMOS...

A precision interface for a Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD).(Design idea)(Advertisement)
December 9, 2004... Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTDs) are temperature sensors that make use of the temperature dependence of a metal's resistance. They are used in a wide variety of temperature measurement and control instrumentation. These circuits are...

13-bit plus sign temperature sensor.(Featured products)(Advertisement)
December 9, 2004... The LM95071 is a low-power, high-resolution digital temperature sensor with an SPI and MICROWIRE compatible interface. The host can query the LM95071 at any time to read temperature. Its low operating current is useful in systems where...

Low-offset, low-noise, precision operation amplifier.(Featured products)(Advertisement)
December 9, 2004... The LMV771 is a low-noise, precision operational amplifier intended for use in a wide range of applications. The LMV771 amplifier also has extended operating temperature range, tiny packaging, and low input bias current. The extended...

Automate your acceleration: Part 2: the second installment in a two-part series explores how automation enables designers without hardware backgrounds to create custom hardware acceleration.(hands-on project)
December 9, 2004... AT A GLANCE * Automation tools improve designer productivity and introduce more reliability into the design cycle. * Standard programming languages do not capture concepts such as parallelism, timing, pipelining, and synchronization....

Simple 25W-500W power supply with single switch synchronous forward controller.(High Performance Analog Solutions from Linear Technology)(Advertisement)
December 9, 2004... An LT[R]1952-based forward converter can be used to replace power modules in telecom and industrial applications at less than half the cost, without the headaches of using a traditional forward converter. The LT1952-based forward converter is...

Simplify NiMH/NiCd battery charging: 2A standalone charger requires no firmware and no microcontroller.(High Performance Analog Solutions from Linear Technology)
December 9, 2004... The LTC4060 is an autonomous 1- to 4-cell, 0.4A to 2A linear NiMH and NiCd battery charger, The LTC4060 includes all the functions required for designing a battery charger circuit that operates without the aid of a microcontroller or firmware,...

Accurate power-analysis techniques support smart SOC-design choices: power issues can plague any SOC, so every design flow needs methods for predicting power consumption, beginning at RTL. (design feature).
December 9, 2004... AS POWER CONSUMPTION becomes increasingly critical for both portable and nonportable applications, accurate techniques for predicting an SOC's (system on chip's) power have become essential. Designers need to know, for example, whether a...

Managing low-power in ultra-portable applications.(Next generation: wireless architecture)
December 9, 2004... A Special Series Sponsored By Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. TODAY'S ULTRA-PORTABLE DEVICES, such as PDAs and smart phones, pack in as much functionality as PCs did only a few years. A key difference between these embedded portable devices...

USB update boosts instrument control: a new class specification for the test-and-measurement industry emulates GPIB instrument control over high-speed USB.(design feature)(Universal Serial Bus)
December 9, 2004... USBTMC-USB488 PROVIDES a new way for PCs to communicate with electronic instrumentation, and the approach provides a substantial breakthrough in I/O performance. The technology achieves this I/O-performance breakthrough using the 480-Mbps USB...

60V, 3A step-down DC/DC converter has low dropout and 100[micro]A quiescent current--Design Note 352.(Design Notes)
December 9, 2004... Introduction High voltage bipolar monolithic step-down converters are usually optimized for high efficiency at high output currents, often at the expense of light load efficiency and operation near dropout. The problem is that a 2mA...

Understand the effects of clock jitter and phase noise on sampled systems: much of your system's performance depends on jitter specifications, so careful assessment is critical.(design feature)
December 9, 2004... AS HIGHER RESOLUTION data converters that can perform direct IF sampling come to market, system designers need help making performance-versus-cost trade-off decisions on low-jitter clock circuits. Many of the traditional methods manufacturers...

Dual-output nonisolated SMPS powers appliances.(design ideas)(switched-mode power supply)
December 9, 2004... MODERN APPLIANCES offer a range of features that rely heavily on microcontrollers and auxiliary circuits. Although conventional iron-core transformers can provide ac line-isolated, low-voltage power for a microprocessor, coupling the...

High-voltage amplifier drives piezo tubes.(design ideas)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... PIEZOELECTRIC TUBULAR positioners that drive manipulators in scanning tunneling microscopes require high-voltage, low-current drive circuits. The circuit in Figure 1 can drive high-resistance, low-capacitance piezoelectric loads at a -3-dB...

Phone wire, RJ-11 jacks and optocouplers build a bus.(design ideas)
December 9, 2004... ALTHOUGH CUTTING-EDGE technology reaps publicity, the real world often runs on modest hardware that s just "good enough" for home automation, alarm systems, and equipment-monitoring applications. Figure 1 shows a low-speed, multidrop digital...

Use a PC's parallel port to program a clock source.(design ideas)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... THIS DESIGN IDEA shows how you can use Linear Technology's LTC6903 programmable oscillator as a clock source for direct-digital synthesis, data conversion, switched-capacitor filtering, clock, and voltage-controlled oscillator circuits. The...

Constant-on-time buck-boost regulator converts a positive input to a negative output.(design ideas)
December 9, 2004... BUCK REGULATORS find wide application as step-down regulators for converting large positive input voltages into a smaller positive output voltages. Figure 1 shows a simplified buck regulator that operates in continuous-conduction mode--that is,...

Rainbow LED indicates voltage with color.(design ideas)
December 9, 2004... METERS THAT INDICATE analog levels via a moving-pointer meter, a numeric display, or a column of LEDs typically occupy considerable panel area and require more than a casual glance to read. An indicator lamp or LED takes little space but...

Thin-film chip resistors avoid roll-off at frequencies greater than 100 MHz.(Passives)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... Offering temperature coefficient of resistance values as low as [+ or -] 25 ppm/[degrees]C for devices with resistance ratings greater than 50[ohm] the FC series high-frequency chip resistors avoid roll-off even at frequencies greater than 100...

Shielded drum-core inductors come in two low-profile heights.(Passives)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... The SD38 series of shielded drum-core inductors is available in 1.2- and 1.4-mm heights and works well in handheld products in which radiated EMI is a concern or in high-density packages in which noise can couple to adjacent devices or pc...

PC-board-mounted linearity coils are electronically adjustable.(Passives)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... The SDL-3006 through SDL-3009 linearity coils suit applications with yoke current requirements ranging from14 (SDL-3006 and SDL-3008) to 18A (SDL-3007 and SDL-3009). Each coil is electronically adjustable via a control winding that is biased...

Common-mode chokes target USB2.0 standard applications.(Passives)
December 9, 2004... The ChipChoke series common-mode chokes come on an 0805 or a 1206 chip. For the two 0805 products, one has an epoxy coating and impedances of 67, 90, 120, or 180 [ohm] and the other has a magnetic shield and impedances of 67, 90, 120, 180, 260,...

Configurable dual-winding inductors deliver design flexibility with EMI shielding.(Passives)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... The 4700 and 4800 series low-profile, bobbin-format, dual-winding, surface-mount inductors have a 1-to-1 winding ratio and feature maximum heights of 5 and 6.2 mm, respectively. Nominal inductance values for both series range from 1 to 400...

EMI film capacitors have advanced features.(Passives)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... The X2 series EMI film capacitors feature an operating temperature to 125[degrees]C, a capacitance range to 10 [micro]F, and an operating voltage of 310V ac. The capacitors also include dv/dt values as high as 550V/[micro]sec and a dc voltage...

Ultra low-power 8-bit microcontroller targets portable applications.(Microprocessors)(EM Microelectronic)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... With a supply-voltage range of 2 to 5.5V and eight-level supply-voltage-level detection, The EM6812 microcontroller consumes only 120 [micro]A from a 3V supply in active mode operating at 1 MHz and as little as 0.8 [micro]A in standby mode at...

Microcontroller family now includes 32-bit versions.(Microprocessors)(Fujitsu Microelectronics America Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... Fujitsu has added two low-power, single-chip microcontrollers to its FR60Lite family. The MB91F267 includes 4 kbytes of RAM and 128 kbytes of flash memory; the MB91266 incorporates 2 kbytes of RAM and 64 kbytes of ROM. Both devices use 4 to...

16-bit microcontrollers have low-pin-count packages and comprehensive peripheral functions.(Microprocessors)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... Six 16-bit M16C/29 group microcontrollers come in 64-pin, 10 x l0-mm or 80-pin, 12 x 12-mm LQFPs, and provide two 2-kbyte blocks of flash memory for program and data storage, which can optionally deliver a minimum 10,000-cycle rewrite...

8-bit microcontrollers support automotive-body applications.(Microprocessors)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... The 78K0/Fx series of microcontrollers feature an NEC Electronics 8-bit 78K0 core, as many as 16 A/D-converter channels, two l6-bit timers, and four 8-bit timers. They integrate power-on-reset circuitry, a low-voltage indicator, and a 240-kHz...

Device offers DSP performance for audio applications requiring little board space.(Microprocessors)(Freescale Semiconductor)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... The DSP56374 is code-compatible with Freescale's 56000 and 56300 DSP families. It features a 150-MHz clock frequency, 18kx24 RAM, 18kx24 ROM, a 24-bit MAC (multiply/accumulate) unit with a 56-bit accumulator with capabilities for...

DSP comes in a 7x7-mm package.(Microprocessors)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... The 16-bit, fixed-point TMS320C5405 DSP features 32 kbytes of RAM, two multi-channel buffered serial ports, an 8-bit host-port interface bus, two 16-bit timers, and a six-channel DMA controller. It is available in a 7x7-mm BGA. $5.20 (10,000)....

Programmable SOC family targets digital media.(Microprocessors)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... The QL92xxx family of programmable SOC (system-onchip) devices is based on the QL902M member of the Quick MIPS product family. The first member of the family, the QL91010, incorporates an IDE controller. Subsequent devices should debut this...

Integrated, pre-emptive multitasking OS and TCP/IP protocol software suite gets an update.(Microprocessors)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... Version 1.4 of ZTP, Zilog's integrated, pre-emptive, multitasking OS and TCP/IP software suite, provides either the industry-standard socket interface or a native RZK API for TCP/IP services. It maintains a set of backward-compatible APIs to...

128-bit, mobile fast-cycle RAM adopts burst-mode operations.(Integrated Circuits)(Random access memory)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... The MB82DBS04314C and MB82DBS08164C achieve maximum burst-operation frequencies as high as 108 MHz with a 1.8V supply voltage and include a maximum standby current of 300 [micro]A that users can reduce with configurable power-down modes, such...

SPI product family uses MirrorBit technology.(Integrated Circuits)(Spansion LLC)(serial peripheral interface)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... The Spansion FL flash-memory family uses the SPI (serial peripheral interface) and, using the company's MirrorBit technology, has capacities of 1 to 16 Mbits. The 1- and 2-Mbit products are currently available in production volumes. Customers...

High-end stereo-audio ADCs suit professional and prestige consumer markets.(Integrated Circuits)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... The WM8780/1/5/6 24-bit stereo ADCs maximize SNR to 111 dB. The WM8780 and WM8781 have single-ended inputs, SNRs of 107 dB, and total harmonic distortion of -98 dB. Designed with differential inputs, the WM8785 and WM8786 reach 111 dB SNR and a...

Active RF-splitter IC uses innovative four-way signal-splitting technology.(Integrated Circuits)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... Unlike some devices that require 20% more components to split the signal and amplify power, the ADA4302-4 active RF splitter offers these functions with a 2-dB lower noise figure and 16-dB better composite-second-order distortion, all within a...

Megapixel-camera chip set targets mobile devices.(Integrated Circuits)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... This camera chip set complies with the SM1A (Standard Mobile Imaging Architecture) that the vendor and Nokia released in July 2004 and comprises VS6650 camera module and the STV0976 mobile imaging processor. The VS6650 1152 x 864-pixel camera...

Set-top-box-system device suits basic, entry-level free-to-air market.(Integrated Circuits)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... The CX24138 digital-video-broadcast-satellite-compliant set top box comprises an MP@ML MPEG-2 video de coder, a digital-audio decoder, a programmable transport-stream demultiplexer, an onscreen graphics-display controller, a QPSK demodulator/...

Flexible, low-cost starter kit targets FPGAs.(Integrated Circuits)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... Available in both a basic evaluation and an advanced prototyping version, the Axcelerator starter kit features an evaluation board with Actel's AX250-PQ208 Axcelerator device, the Libero Gold IDE, tutorials, and support documentation. The...

Remote terminal unit features enhanced relay-control outputs for automation and control of industrial and field applications.(Embedded Systems)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... Based on the Silicon Laboratories 8051 system-on-chip processor, the R2 remote terminal unit integrates optoisolated digital inputs, the Modbus communications protocol, high-power relay outputs and serial-communications options. It incorporates...

Development and verification suites work with all Linux distributions and interoperate with Eclipse-based tools.(Embedded Systems)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... TimeStorm LDS enables developers to quickly develop embedded-system applications or port any Linux distribution to any target platform. TimeStorm LVS includes more than 2200 ready-to-run system tests for all Linux distributions and...

Industrial thin-client computer features a compact design.(Embedded Systems)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... Arista has partnered with ACP to create the thin-client HMI Express, which includes both screenless, brick-sized, mountable clients and industrial-panel thin-client computers with 6.4-, 8.4-, 10.4-, 12.1-, and 15-in. LCDs. The HMI Express...

Serial cards target transportation, COTS, industrial, and medical markets.(Embedded Systems)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... Octagon designed four new serial cards in the PC/104 line for wide temperature operation. They support standard baud rates of up to 960 kbytes as well as RS-232, RS-422, and RS-485 interfaces. Prices range from $145 to $325 in small quantities....

Pentium M EBX board provides expansion options.(Embedded Systems)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... The Cobra configuration of VersaLogic's high-performance EBX single board computer includes pass-through style connectors supporting 8-bit ISA (PC/104) and 16-bit PCI (PC/104-Plus) signals. The CPU board's design allows it to be installed...

Product enables users to access unconnected devices through an Internet-connected wireless local network.(Embedded Systems)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... The rf2IP device allows an OEM to easily network several devices wirelessly and to access them from a remote computer connected to the Internet. The radio modules (eDnode) plug onto the devices to be connected, the radio2internet gateway...

Single-board computer integrates new, ultra-low-voltage Celeron processor.(Embedded Systems)(the SpacePC 8500 PCI-104 computer)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... The SpacePC 8500 PCI-104 form-factor single-board computer includes an ultra low-voltage, 400-MHz Intel Celeron Processor and Intel 815E chip set. It requires no fan cooling and suits embedded aerospace, defense, and transportation...

IP security: a challenge for the global community.(global project)(intellectual property)
December 9, 2004... IT'S A GIVEN: Electronics manufacturing is moving to lower cost locales. It always has, and it always will. Concerns about the loss of manufacturing jobs in the US are valid. But the migration of manufacturing around the globe is undeniable,...

Risking it all.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)
December 17, 2004... "A risk-averse organization stifles innovation. The early days of aviation were not risk-averse." --Burt rutan, whose SpaceShipOne earned the $10 million X-Prize for privately financed space flight.

Device expands low-end, 32-bit performance.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(microcontroller series from Royal Philips Electronics)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... ROYAL PHILIPS Electronics' LPC2130 32-bit, ARM7-based microcontroller series expands the processing performance and feature options for low-end, 32-bit processing. These devices include as much as 512 kbytes of 128-bit-wide on-chip flash memory...

Carbon-comp resistor takes you forward into the past.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(1W carbon-composition unit from Stackpole Electronics)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... IN THE 1950S AND 1960S, the carbon-composition resistor was the standard part of a BOM (bill of materials). You could easily hook probes onto the tangible axial or radial leads of their molded bodies and also read the value and tolerance from...

Telephony processors enable voice-over-data gear.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... LONG-TOUTED BUT SLOW-TO-MARKET VoIP (voice-over-IP) technology seems again poised for widespread deployment. In North America, many consumers use VoIP gateways with their broadband Internet links to make cheap phone calls--especially...

Platform aids in streaming-video processing.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... Celoxica developed Pixel-Streams as a response to the growing need for platform designs. The approach enables reuse of standardized IP (intellectual property) and still allows some hardware-design freedom. The design environment provides an...

Dilbert.
December 17, 2004... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Caption: OUR BREAKTHROUGH CAME WHEN WE DISTRIBUTED THE PROCESSOR LOAD. IT'S ABOUT TIME THAT YOU TOOK MY ADVICE! HALLELUJAH! GOOD FOR YOU! IF LASER POINTERS WERE LIGHT SABERS, YOU'D BE LOOKING FOR YOUR...

Tiny capacitors are more complex than they seem.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... THE VENERABLE CAPACITOR, one of the oldest electronic components, has morphed into many special variations for various parameter combinations. A trio of new families from AVX clearly illustrates that engineers have choices and trade-offs. The...

Quad signal processors top new mezzanine card.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(new products from Bittware)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... BITTWARE RECENTLY ANNOUNCED the T2-PMC, a multiprocessor PCI Mezzanine Card featuring four Analog Devices (www.analog.com) ADSP-TS201 TigerSHARC DSPs, a Xilinx (www.xilinx.com) Virtex-II Pro FPGA, and multiple high-bandwidth I/O interfaces. In...

i-Pod-sized DMMs comply with safety ratings to CAT II at 600V, CAT III at 300V.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(digital multimeters from Meterman Test Tools)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... METERMAN Test Tools' $27.95 to $49.95 PM-series DMMs (digital multimeters) measure just 2 1/8x4 1/2-in., including a protective rubber holster. According to the manufacturer, the size without the holster is the same as that of Apple Computer's...

Compact controller drives multiple motors.(Leading edge: what's hot in the design community)(Magellan-PC/104 controller from Performance Motion Devices)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... A NEW PC/104 controller from Performance Motion Devices delivers advanced motion features, such as trajectory generation, servo-loop closure, quadrature-signal input, motor-output-signal generation, performance trace, on-the-fly changes, and...

Understanding portable applications requirements to improve system performance.(Power designer: expert tips, tricks, and techniques for powerful designs)
December 17, 2004... Until recently, power supplies were not considered an integral part of the system design. It wasn't until the last design stage that the power supply was shoved into a corner with power "rails" braided are sprinkled board. Modern techniques...

DC-DC digital core and I/O power management.(Power designer: expert tips, tricks, and techniques for powerful designs)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... High-performing LM3670/71 synchronous buck regulators Features * High switching frequency, ceramic capacitors, and SOT23-5 package enables an extremely small solution with industry standard components * High load current (300 mA to...

Inductorless core and I/O power management.(Power designer: expert tips, tricks, and techniques for powerful designs)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... New LM2770/88/98 DC-DC converters provide optimal solution size and efficiency Features * Multi-gain, gain-hopping architecture and low [I.sub.q] sleep mode provide efficiency as high as 90% * Input and output voltage monitoring...

Innovative RF signal-path power management.(Power designer: expert tips, tricks, and techniques for powerful designs)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... RF power amplifiers optimized for portable RF applications to increase battery life LM3200 Features * Dynamically adjustable output voltage maintains low RF PA power levels to optimize PA efficiency for increased battery life *...

Power design tools.(Power designer: expert tips, tricks, and techniques for powerful designs)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... WEBENCH[R] online design environment Our design and prototyping environment simplifies and expedites the entire design process. 1. Choose a part 2. Create a design 3. Analyze a power supply design - Perform electrical...

Update your cookbook for the new year.(Baker's best)(digital replacements for analog functions )
December 17, 2004... IMAGINE THAT YOU NEED to design a 100-Hz sine-wave signal for your upcoming project. Your first line of defense may be to dust off your analog cookbooks, surf the Web, or do both, as a quick option. These steps are great starting points, but...

100 hot products of 2004.
December 17, 2004... THE BEST 100 PRODUCTS OF 2004 encompass a range of architectures and technologies and a plethora of categories--from analog ICs to multimedia to test-and-measurement tools. All are innovative, but, of the thousands that manufacturers announce...

Engineers and the three bears.(edn.comment)(Column)
December 17, 2004... OFTEN, I FEEL LIKE THE high-tech equivalent of Goldilocks in the well-known children's tale--repeatedly hearing that we have too many engineers or too few engineers and occasionally hearing that we have just the right number. What I hear...

Spinning spheres test relativity's subtlety.(design feature)(design of Gravity Probe B)(Cover Story)
December 17, 2004... ON APRIL 20, 2004, a Boeing Delta II rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base carried Gravity Probe B into orbit and so initiated the next step in a 40-year quest to verify a corollary of the General Theory of Relativity. First conceived...