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Holiday wishes
November 18, 2008 8:46 am | by Alix Paultre, Editor-in-Chief | Articles | CommentsAs Halloween blurs into the great amorphous mass that is the combined orgy of Thanksgiving eating and Christmas Holiday shopping, we take the time to look at some of the things we’d like to see in our holiday gift baskets. Beyond the obligatory wishes for world peace and international understanding, there are some nice toys out there, too.
Sine-to-Digital Converter Evaluates Sensors
November 18, 2008 8:44 am | Product Releases | CommentsWorking in industrial applications for optical and magnetic linear scales and rotary encoders, iC-Haus’ iC-TW4 sine-to-digital converter evaluates magnetic or optical linear and angle sensors. Two setup pins determine the chip function, the signal gain, and the rate of interpolation within a range of x2 to x6; and the sine/cosine sensor signal can be divided up into 256 angle steps and output as an encoder quadrature signal via the RS422 drivers. The 4 mm² QFN-packaged
Oval LEDs Use Optically-Matched Radiation Patterns
November 18, 2008 8:05 am | Product Releases | CommentsEnhancing image quality for digital billboard and full-color sign applications, Cree’s C4SMF-RGS/GJS/BJS and C5SMF-RGS/GJS/BJS Screen Master oval LEDs employ optically-matched radiation patterns in blue, green, and red. The red pattern is located inside of the blue and green, resulting in a blended cool-white light. The 4- and 5-mm lights are available in a wide
Interface Modules Present Control-Level Connections
November 18, 2008 7:00 am | Product Releases | CommentsPairing with 737-109 triple-deck terminal strips, WAGO’s 51013375 26-pin D-sub interface modules provide control-level connections for electromechanical devices in motion control applications. The DIN-rail-mountable products offer integration with 1-to-1 pin contact for signal transmission and distribution, and wiring for conductors AWG 28-12. The units operate in a
Ferrite Chip Beads Target Handheld Devices
November 18, 2008 6:15 am | Product Releases | CommentsComing in a 0.6 mm × 0.3 mm × 0.3 mm footprint, Laird Technologies’ LI0201 line of EIA 0201 ferrite chip beads are suitable for handheld electronic devices, such as cellular phones, Bluetooth handsets, PDAs, GPS devices, mp3 players, digital camcorders, and digital cameras. The components show optimal impedance versus frequency characteristics with
Oscilloscopes Debug Mixed-Signal Designs
November 18, 2008 5:35 am | Tektronix | Product Releases | CommentsOperating at frequencies up to 200 MHz, the MSO2000 Mixed-Signal and DPO2000 Digital Phosphor oscilloscopes from Tektronix can debug mixed signal designs with features including Wave Inspector search and navigation tools, automatic decoding of serial data busses, and FilterVu variable low-pass filters. The MSO2000 provides the ability to time-correlate up to 4 analog and 16 digital signal channels
DC/DC Converter Focuses on Light-Load Efficiency
November 18, 2008 5:27 am | Product Releases | CommentsIntended for applications such as telecom, computing, industrial, and consumer point of load applications, a 1.5-A output step-down switcher from TI uses the Eco-mode light-load switching technique to achieve a 116-uA operating current and 1.3-uA shutdown current. Features of the 65-V input device include an integrated FET, a switching frequency range
Rocker Switches Achieve High Current Ratings
November 18, 2008 4:57 am | Product Releases | CommentsUtilizing silver alloy contacts, Cherry Electrical Products’ KR Series water-resistant rocker switches demonstrate current ratings of 20 A at 14 VDC and 16 A at 125 VAC. The devices fit into a panel cut out of 13 mm × 19 mm, receive UL approval on AC loads, and consist of a silicon rubber actuator, snap-fit mounting, and 4.8 mm quick connect tabs. The products suit outdoor appliances, power equipment, commercial appliances, and medical equipment. The switches offer
Mobile PC Performs in DC-powered Apps
November 18, 2008 4:18 am | Product Releases | CommentsOperating with a power input ranging from 10 VDC to 16 VDC, Stealth.com’s LPC-450M mobile PC functions in DC-powered applications found in vehicles and remote applications. The integrated start-up delay timer prevents any false power starts and ensures that power is available and ready to go with selectable timer settings of 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 40 seconds,
SPDs Provide Continuous Over-Voltage Protection
November 17, 2008 11:05 am | Product Releases | CommentsProviding continuous protection from over-voltage and other transient voltage activity, medium voltage surge protection devices (SPDs) from Raycap meet the IEEE C62.11-2005 Standard. The Strikesorb 40-3000, Strikesorb 40-4000, and Strikesorb 40-5000 are designed to protect equipment from lightning strikes, power surges, and spikes without
Evaluation Kit Ported onto Linux
November 17, 2008 10:51 am | Atmel Corporation | Product Releases | CommentsThe Linux release, v2.6.27, from Atmel, is for its 400 MHz ARM926EJ-S-based AT91SAM9G20 embedded microprocessor, and for other members of the AT91SAM9 family. A Linux distribution based on v2.6.27 is available from Atmel’s AT91SAM portal at www.linux4sam.org. It includes the complete Linux v2.6.27 kernel, the Linux patch for the AT91SAM9G20-EK, device drivers
Subsystem Reference Designs Address Multiple Apps
November 17, 2008 10:42 am | Product Releases | CommentsNational Semiconductor’s PowerWise energy-efficient subsystem reference designs assist in portable, lighting, solar, industrial, medical, communications infrastructure, and test and measurement applications. The reference file kits consist of applicable design schematic, bill of materials (BOM), board layout, firmware, design documentation, and FPGA source code in synthesizable
Analyzer Software Allows Multi-Method Analysis
November 17, 2008 10:12 am | Product Releases | CommentsCalibrating the instrument and determining the parameters of analysis via a set of data and variables, Applied Analytics’ ECLIPSE Process 10 online analyzer software enables simultaneous Analysis and Calibration Methods (ACM) configuration. The program includes instantaneous user interface response, and diagnostics and reporting routines to continuously evaluate the performance of the system and trigger rapid action. The software presents an ACM report generator, automatic
On the Light Side: Optical Sensors Aid Oil Drilling
November 17, 2008 10:00 am | by Alfred Poor, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsIf you’re not familiar with the modern oil industry, you might think that drilling for oil still resembles the scene in the movie “Giant”, where James Dean’s character hits a classic Texas gusher. The truth is that it’s much harder than that to get oil out of the ground these days. Most of the oil exists in a solid form, trapped in rock crevices or layers of sand. And oil drilling companies are using light to help get it out.
PCIe Switches Integrate DMA Engine
November 17, 2008 9:36 am | Product Releases | CommentsOffering configurable ports ranging from x1 to x8, PLX Technology’s ExpressLane PEX 8619 (16 lanes and ports), PEX 8615 (12 lanes and ports), and PEX 8609 (8 lanes and ports) PCIe Gen2-compliant switches incorporate a direct memory access (DMA) engine. The components provide 4 DMA channels supporting data transfers between I/O devices connected to any of the available ports while maintaining independence from the transparent switch functionality with
