Serving the Electronic Design Community Since 1956
Development Board Features Programmable Chip
October 15, 2008 9:17 am | Product Releases | CommentsPowered from the host workstation’s USB port, the XC-1 development board from XMOS features the XS1-G4 programmable chip. The chip incorporates four 32-bit, XCore event-driven processors and can execute up to 32 simultaneous real-time tasks and managing up to 400 million events per second. Features include 1600 MIPS performance, 256 Kbytes of RAM, and 32 Kbytes of ROM
SSLDs Exhibit Adjustable Output Current
October 15, 2008 9:12 am | Product Releases | CommentsHaving a nominal output current set by a resistor, Diodes Incorporated’s ZXLD-1352, ZXLD-1356, and ZXLD-1366 continuous mode SSLDs deliver adjustable output currents of 350 mA, 550 mA, and 1 A, respectively, by applying a PWM or DC voltage control signal. The 3 mm² ZXLD1356/1366 present typical output current accuracy of better than
Gearmotors Supply High Continuous Torque
October 15, 2008 8:06 am | Product Releases | CommentsExhibiting gear ratios of 19:1. 28:1, and 56:1, Bison Gear & Engineering’s VWDIR40 parallel shaft AC gearmotors show continuous torque output ratings of 287 in./lbs, 400 in./lbs, and 800 in./lbs. (32.4 N-m, 45.2 N-m, and 90.4 N-m), respectively. The UL- and CSA-recognized instruments run at corresponding output speeds of 92 rpm, 62 rpm, and 31 rpm, respectively. The 373 W
Connector System Passes MFG Testing
October 15, 2008 7:11 am | Product Releases | CommentsDelivering power to a tunable laser, Advanced Interconnections’ Mezza-pede 1 mm SMT connector system passes mixed flowing gas (MFG) testing for use in 1 mm pitch micro board-to-board and flex cable-to-board applications. The RoHS-compliant device presents a mated height of 4 mm, a pin and lead frame design, and screw-machined terminals with multi-finger contacts having a
Embedded Systems: Kits for Kids
October 15, 2008 6:17 am | by Jon Titus, Senior Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsI'll begin this column with a recommendation: Start kits with a set of basic hand tools. When my son went to college, he had tools to hang pictures, connect TV sets and CD players, and tighten desks and shelves. As a result, he met most of the people on his co-ed floor. When our daughter went to college she got a tool kit, too. I suggest Phillips and flat-blade screwdrivers, pliers, diagonal cutters, wire strippers and a couple of adjustable wrenches. Later you could add a set of nut drivers, sockets wrenches and an inexpensive soldering iron.
Inductors Suit LAN Applications
October 15, 2008 6:05 am | Product Releases | CommentsIsolating and suppressing common-mode and differential-mode interference, Epcos’ AS249, AS247, and AS066 magnetic inductor modules perform in LAN applications, such as 10/100 Base-T, 1000 Base-T, and PoE. The components demonstrate insertion loss of -1 dB, return loss of -16 dB, crosstalk of -40 dB, and electrical isolation withstanding a breakdown voltage of
Cover Story: DDS ICs and IP Make Waves
October 15, 2008 5:40 am | by Jon Titus, Senior Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsYou can think of direct digital synthesis as a technique that lets a digital value control the frequency of a sine wave. At its simplest, a DDS circuit involves a binary counter, a ROM programmed with equally spaced sine values for one full wave, and a digital-to-analog converter to convert the stored sine values to voltages. The frequency of the counter's clock determines the sine-wave frequency, but that's an inflexible arrangement.
DC/DC Converters Offer 2:1 Input Voltages
October 15, 2008 5:10 am | Product Releases | CommentsCovering the nominal application voltages of 12 VDC, 24 VDC, and 48 VDC, XP Power’s JCJ08, JCJ10, and JCG12 DIP-24-packaged DC/DC converters exhibit input voltages from 9 VDC to 18 VDC, 18 VDC to 36 VDC, and 36 VDC to 75 VDC. The 1.25” × 0.80” × 0.40” units come in single output models with voltages of 2.50 VDC, 3.30 VDC, 5 VDC, 12 VDC, or
DoE Lab Prototype Sets Record for Solar Cell Efficiency
October 14, 2008 12:23 pm | by by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsRegular Efficiency Zone readers know that photovoltaics is a very inefficient technology. While the technology is environmentally-friendly, and the energy source (the sun) will be viable for billions of years, the conversion process (and viability) is undercut by a number of factors. These include shade, dirt, and panel-to-panel mismatch. In addition, detractors of the technology point to its high cost, but this is a socio-economic factor that won’t be solved by science alone. But scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have made a huge technological leap.
PCI Digitizers Hold 256 MSamples
October 14, 2008 12:17 pm | Agilent Technologies | Product Releases | CommentsConsuming <15 W of power, Agilent Technologies’ U1071A line of Acqiris 2-channel PCI digitizers maintains a memory capacity of up to 256 MSamples. The 170 mm × 107 mm × 16 mm components provide up to 1 GS/s simultaneous sampling rates on each input or up to 2 GS/s on either channel through channel interleaving. The PCI card-formatted devices offer analog bandwidths of 1 GHz, 500 MHz, and 200 MHz, and commutable 50 O or 1 MO input impedances on
Touch Panel Computer Stores 512 MB
October 14, 2008 11:16 am | Product Releases | CommentsPresenting spindle-free storage and a fast-access HDD module, the Industrial Automation Group of Advantech’s TPC-177H Celeron M 1 GHz touch panel computer offers 512 MB of DDR2 SDRAM. The fanless system offers a 17” HD SXGA TFT LCD, 2 Gigabit LAN ports, 4 USB ports, and support for 32-bit Microsoft Windows Vista and WinXPe. The product includes
Inductor Ranges Include Thru-hole Radial Lead
October 14, 2008 10:15 am | Murata Power Solutions Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsWith thru-hole radial lead and low-profile surface-mount toroidal parts, surface mount & radial leaded inductor ranges from Murata Power Solutions include inductors for filtering noise in high current designs. The 1500 series is available with current ratings up to 16.2A IDC and inductance values that range from 1.0 µH to 1.0 mH
Switches Feature Push-And-Lock Mechanism
October 14, 2008 9:41 am | Product Releases | CommentsFeaturing a push-and-lock mechanism, which indicates to the user when the switch position has been changed, the CKM Series of high security keylock switches from NKK Switches is intended for industrial control equipment, computer peripherals, and instrumentation and sensor equipment. With a vertically rotating switching mechanism and self-cleaning sliding contacts
Base Station Antenna Targets WiMAX
October 14, 2008 8:44 am | Product Releases | CommentsOperating across the 3.4 GHz to 3.7 GHz frequency band, Laird Technologies’ J34114V01-120N 3.5 GHz vertically-polarized 120° sector base station antenna complies with ETSI pattern specifications for WiMAX applications. The instrument’s maximum null fill below the horizon ensures
LED Displays High Light Output
October 14, 2008 7:54 am | Product Releases | CommentsPerforming at 9.8 W, Cree’s XLamp MC-E multi-chip LED exhibits up to 790 lumens at 6,000K and up to 605 lumens at 3,000 K with color options of cool white, warm white, and neutral white. The 7 mm × 9 mm component offers thermal resistance of 3°C/W, an electrically neutral thermal path, 110° typical viewing angle, and an LED junction temperature of
