Serving the Electronic Design Community Since 1956
Looking forward
January 20, 2009 4:49 am | by Alix Paultre, Editor-in-Chief | Articles | CommentsBy the time you read this column, Barak Obama will be the President of the United States of America. Politics aside, I think that this is a positive thing for many reasons, the most predominant being that this is a President that understands technology. He was in High School when the first generation of computers arrived, and came of age...
Hybrid Camera Platforms Put Photos, Video on a Chip
January 20, 2009 4:31 am | Product Releases | CommentsPerforming in affordably-priced, pocket-sized cameras, Ambarella’s A5 family of system-on-a-chip (SoC) platforms enable hybrid camera functions, such as 10 mega-pixel (MP) still images, full high-definition (HD) recording, and simultaneous dual-resolution recording for fast Internet sharing. The family consists of three products: A530, A550 and A570. The A530 IC can capture 10 MP still pictures while generating and compressing
DC Motor Controller Serves Mobile Robots
January 20, 2009 4:17 am | Product Releases | CommentsDirectly driving up to 120 A on each channel at up to 60 V, Roboteq’s AX2860 dual-channel DC motor controller functions in Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGV), Underwater Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs), and mobile robots for exploration, hazardous material handling, and military and surveillance applications. The 9” × 5.5” × 1.6” device accepts
Connector Seals to IP67
January 19, 2009 6:57 am | Product Releases | CommentsTargeting rugged or waterproof high power, signal, and ground interconnect applications, the SPEC (Sealed Power For Environmental Connections) Pak from Anderson Power Products has an environmentally-sealed IP67 shell to protect contacts and housings. The connectors are populated with a selection of touch-safe, color-coded Powerpole housings able to handle up to 45 amps
ENERGY STAR Adapter Operates Worldwide
January 19, 2009 6:57 am | Phihong | Product Releases | CommentsComplying with ENERGY STAR EPS 2.0 requirements, Phihong’s PSA18R-120P 18-W adapter includes four interchangeable AC plugs, making it compatible with virtually every power outlet worldwide. The Class II, double-insulated unit exhibits no-load power consumption of <0.3 W, operating temperature from 0°C to 40°C, and short-circuit protection with an auto restart function in OEM applications. The Class B EMI-compliant device bears
UPS Units Protect in Small Areas
January 19, 2009 6:39 am | Product Releases | CommentsComplying with RoHS standards, Emerson Network Power’s Liebert PSA and Liebert PSI-XR UPS units are designed to provide power protection for home offices and small data centers or IT rooms. The rack-mount or tower Liebert PSI-XR provides more than five minutes of battery backup at full load with optional external battery cabinets; offers remote monitoring and power management; and can be configured at 110 VAC, 120 VAC, or
Chip Inductors Feature Highest Current in 1210 Form Factor
January 19, 2009 6:30 am | Product Releases | CommentsMeasuring 3.2 mm x 2.5 mm x 1.7 mm, the BRL3225 Series of wire-wound chip inductors from Taiyo Yuden is said to feature the highest rated current in the EIA 1210 form factor. The BRL3225T-1R0M, for example, is rated at 2.4 A at 1.0 µH inductance, while providing 0.043 Ohms RDC. Devices are available
Pushbutton Switches Offer Multiple Caps and Colors
January 19, 2009 6:26 am | Product Releases | CommentsWith electrical life of 200,000 cycles the LP11 Series of illuminated pushbutton switches from E-Switch, offer options such as tactile feel, multiple cap types, and LED color options. Requiring an operating force of 250 +/- 100 gf, switch travel is 4.50 +/- 0.2 mm. Other specs include
Optocouplers Offer High CMR
January 19, 2009 6:15 am | Fairchild Semiconductor | Product Releases | CommentsDriving output currents of 2.5 A and 1 A, respectively, Fairchild Semiconductor’s FOD3120 and FOD3150 optocouplers demonstrate common mode rejection (CMR) of 35 kV/µs and 20 kV/µs, respectively. The devices can drive 1,200-V/20-A IGBTs and MOSFETs, exhibit pulse width distortion of 100 ns, and deliver a peak working voltage of 1,414 V. The components utilize Pb-free terminals and have been characterized for
GMR Current Sensor Presents Wide Input Range
January 19, 2009 5:55 am | Product Releases | CommentsCombining a GMR bridge sensor element with an on-chip current strap, NVE Corporation’s AAV003-10E giant magnetoresistive (GMR) current sensor offers a bipolar bridge output voltage proportional to the current through the strap over an input range from -80 mA to 80 mA. The device exhibits a typ. sensitivity of 1 mV/mA with a
Oscilloscope and DSA Trigger Rapidly
January 19, 2009 4:42 am | Tektronix | Product Releases | CommentsProviding support on all channels simultaneously for bandwidth, memory, sample rate, and waveform capture rate, the DPO70000B Digital Phosphor Oscilloscope (DPO) and DSA70000B Digital Serial Analyzer (DSA) Series from Tektronix are presented as having the fastest available hardware-based pattern triggering for advanced serial data bus speeds at rates up to 5 Gb/s.
Small-Form PCs Target Industrial Applications
January 19, 2009 4:38 am | Product Releases | CommentsUsing Intel Core 2 Duo processors with 64-bit EMT64 technology, Stealth.com’s LPC-650 Series LittlePC industrial PCs measure 6.5” × 6” × <2”. The devices include a Gigabit LAN, a Wi-Fi 802.11g, 4 USB 2.0, Serial, 2 VGA Video, Audio, and HDMI ports. The units support up to 4 GB in memory and have a built-in, 2.5” high-shock hard drive with up to 500 GB of storage space for archived data. The systems are compatible with
Chipset Serves Data Projectors
January 19, 2009 4:19 am | Product Releases | CommentsComprised of a red, green, and blue LED, Luminus Devices’ PhlatLight LED PT-121 chipset is designed for next-generation, lamp-free data projectors using micro-displays ranging from 0.65”to 1”. The unit offers instant start up with no warm up and cool down period, and a color gamut exceeding NTSC standards and surpassing
Varistor Features Thermal Protection
January 16, 2009 11:49 am | Product Releases | CommentsConsisting of a 34-mm square-format varistor element (MOV) with an integrated thermally active element, a two-leaded version of the TMOV34S Series from Littelfuse is designed to open and safely disconnect the device in the event of overheating. The device will enable compliance
Network Appliance Supports Large Range of Applications
January 16, 2009 11:46 am | Product Releases | CommentsDesigned for networking and network security applications, the PL-10560 1U rackmount network appliance from WIN supports applications including IDS/IPS, firewall, VPN gateway, load balancing, and UTM. It offers a choice of Pentium M or Celeron M ULV processors. It features
