Blogs
Management techniques: After-action reports
April 23, 2013 8:03 am | by M. Simon, Technical Contributor | CommentsCBS News Money Watch has a great post up on how to improve management effectiveness. That includes both self and corporate management. The technique is common in the military but not so common in the corporate world. It is the after action report.
iBeetle: Everything you never wanted in an infotainment system
April 22, 2013 2:59 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | CommentsWe’ve talked A LOT about safety and innovation when it comes to infotainment systems in cars. We've talking more regulation, less regulation, new systems and crazy ideas. The discussion revolves primarily around how to integrate electronics
Should engineers be licensed?
April 22, 2013 2:20 pm | by Karl Stephan, Consulting Engineer, Texas State University, San Marcos | CommentsNot long after I chose electrical engineering as a major in college, someone asked me if I was planning to take the EIT exam. What was that? It stands for “engineer in training” and it is the customary first step in obtaining a Professional Engineer (PE) license. To the best of my recollection, it didn’t cost that much and I went ahead and took it....
LEDs: Seeing double
April 22, 2013 10:30 am | by Screaming Circuits | CommentsLike I do so often, I'm being a bit redundant. While I'm all for stamping out and eliminating redundancy, this is redundancy with a purpose (not a porpoise). Not long ago, in a galaxy not far away, I blogged about annoyances in surface mount diode polarity markings.
Fine-pitch soldering
April 22, 2013 9:18 am | by M. Simon, Technical Contributor | CommentsI hand-solder. I hand-solder surface-mount devices. So far, my standard practice is to use parts no smaller than 0603s (inch), and for ICs I get them with pitches no smaller than 0.65 mm. This causes problems when I need a component that is too small for me to solder on a board with techniques I have been comfortable with up to now.
This is the most ridiculous phone ever
April 19, 2013 3:48 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | CommentsThe words “mega” and “phone” should never be combined when it comes to cellphones, but that didn’t stop Samsung from making the most ridiculous phone yet. The company has blown away the competition when it comes to screen size with their new 6.3 inch (diagonally) and 5.8 inch Galaxy Mega phones. For the sake of comparison, the Apple iPhone 5 is 4 inches.
Ubiquitous computing: A gadget for every body part
April 19, 2013 12:50 pm | by Stephanie Carmichael, Contributor | CommentsAs a culture, we’re obsessed with cool gadgets, and we’ve come a long way from the household coffeemaker. Now we’re creating motion-sense devices that can control others from afar with just a flick of the wrist. Enter the Myo armband, which shows how dependent on technology we’ve become. We want to do everything with one fancy gizmo.
Engineers Save a Life
April 19, 2013 3:31 am | by Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog | CommentsThis photo was taken by the driver’s parents when they arrived. It doesn’t show much of what it went through to get there, but it gets most of the point across. The picture was taken 200 feet away and looking … Continue reading →
DesignWest; San Jose April 23 - 25
April 18, 2013 1:56 pm | by Screaming Circuits | CommentsWill you be there? We will. If you're in San Jose April 23, 24 or 25, stop by the McEnery Convention center, in San Jose, California. We're in booth 838 and would love to see you and say hi. We'll...
How to manage creative types (with a minimum of fuss)
April 17, 2013 1:14 pm | by M. Simon, Technical Contributor | CommentsThe First Mate and I were discussing this Harvard Business Review article the other day, and I noticed a lot of allusions to myself. The article is about how to manage creative types. There are seven main points (numbered), but I'm only going to comment on a few.
Creating a QFN footprint - the center pad
April 17, 2013 10:30 am | by Screaming Circuits | CommentsI've written bits and pieces about creating footprints in Eagle and a lot about what the QFN solder paste layer should look like, so maybe it's time to connect the two dots. I'm using Eagle CAD here, so your process will likely be different unless you're using Eagle, but the concept should be the same.
DoD cancels “participation trophy” for drone pilots
April 16, 2013 4:03 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | CommentsThe DoD has finally backed down. And I applaud their decision. Following months of negative feedback, the DoD has officially scuttled the Distinguished Warfare Medal. The DWM — intended for drone operators — would’ve ranked ahead of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart (two combat decorations) in the order of precedence.
Why the government should ban cellphones while driving
April 16, 2013 10:28 am | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | CommentsThis term “nanny state” is an interesting one. It’s a term people throw out when they feel the government is infringing on their right to do something stupid. Frankly, if people could be trusted to police themselves, we wouldn’t have any laws at all.
Low-cost IQ modulation with true-form waveform generators
April 15, 2013 1:37 pm | by Joan Mercade, Arbitrary Resources, S.L | CommentsDigitally modulated signals fill space and travel through almost every wired and optical network. Today, almost all wireless services use a plethora of complex carrier modulation schemes. The continuous improvement in modulation technologies and components and advances in error-correction codes have increased channel capacity close to the fundamental limit as set by the Shannon-Hartley theorem.
We all need Google Fiber
April 15, 2013 1:16 pm | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manufacturing.net | CommentsAlmost a year ago, Google launched its first broadband internet network, Google Fiber, in Kansas City (the Kansas and Missouri versions both), with speeds that severely overshadowed currently-available cable and DSL providers for a fraction of the cost. Consumers were able to sign up for 1 gigabit download speeds for a mere $70 a month.
