Newsletters
Taking the LEED in energy efficiency
April 29, 2013 11:14 am | by M. Simon, Technical Contributor | Blogs | CommentsThere is a push on to make buildings more energy efficient. This is in part being accomplished by making them meet LEED Standards. What does LEED stand for? Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED promises to "Reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions".
USB thermocouple and vibration DAQ modules aimed at academic users
April 29, 2013 10:50 am | Data Translation, Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsData Translation announced two sensor specific, USB-powered modules with application software for the growing educational market. These new devices allow lab and field testing for experimentation, sound, vibration, and temperature analysis.
Guns are only as ‘smart’ as we are
April 29, 2013 9:48 am | by Stephanie Carmichael, Contributor | Blogs | CommentsI’m uncomfortable with the phrase "smart gun." Maybe that’s because the words make me think of Skynet in Terminator, or the great lesson to man about the dangers of artificial intelligence gussied up in a blockbuster action-movie franchise. While it’s probably not going to rebel and nearly exterminate all of mankind, in the wrong hands, real-world technology can become a tool for evil.
A look back at Lightfair 2013
April 26, 2013 4:54 pm | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | CommentsCold weather has been hanging on well into April here in the northeast. But if you were in Philadelphia this week, you would be forgiven for walking around wearing sunglasses – especially indoors at the Pennsylvania Convention Center – a sure sign that Lightfair is in town.
IP65-rated pushbuttons include new brushed chrome option
April 26, 2013 12:07 pm | NKK Switches | Product Releases | CommentsNKK Switches announced it has updated its YB2 Series of 24mm square and 25mm round tamperproof pushbuttons. New to the series is a brushed chrome cap and bezel option for non-illuminated models. This new option gives design engineers greater flexibility to match YB2 Series devices with the style of their designs.
Constant-current power supply achieves efficiencies up to 91%
April 26, 2013 11:16 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe series of constant current (CC) models of the high-voltage output (maximum output voltage up to 280VDC) with IP65/67 design for customers’ choices and with the efficiency up to 91%. This series are built-in two-stage PFC circuit to achieve the EU harmonic interference limited of lighting products requirements....
Regulators feature constant on-time control architecture
April 26, 2013 10:16 am | Product Releases | CommentsAlpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited released AOZ1237, the latest addition to a family of high efficiency, easy-to-use synchronous EZBuck regulators featuring a proprietary Constant On-Time (COT) control architecture that enables smaller solutions and simplifies designs.
Sensor provides solution for crystal oscillators, sensors requiring temperature compensation
April 26, 2013 9:50 am | Heraeus Sensor Technology | Product Releases | CommentsThe Heraeus Sensor Technology SMD Platinum RTD temperature sensor element provides an ideal solution for crystal oscillators, sensors, and other components requiring temperature compensation. The 0805 SMD package RTD offers the stability of a thin film Pt RTD in a standard surface mount package.
Engineering Update #9: The gossiping Pinoccio and the power line inspecting Skysweeper
April 26, 2013 9:09 am | Videos | CommentsThis episode of ECN's Engineering Update is brought to you by Mouser Electronics. In this week's headlines: A new device named Pinoccio is a socially-adept networking tool designed with the Internet of Things in mind. The microcontroller allows engineers to connect their own handmade devices to the internet as well as other devices in the home.
Computers are sorcery! Kill them with fire!
April 25, 2013 4:13 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsIt's hard to believe we were ever this dumb. And it's hard to believe the '90s ever happened. This wacky decade — when we were all still finding our digital bearings — spawned gems like "Komputer Tutor", a VHS series from "America's Digital Goddess", Kim Komando, that takes simple computer concepts and dumbs them down even further ... and further and further. It's comedy gold.
Keystone Electronics releases new catalog
April 25, 2013 1:50 pm | Product Releases | CommentsKeystone Electronics Corp. has released the 2nd edition of its original M60 full line Catalog of interconnect components and electronic hardware, Catalog M60.2. This latest 152-page edition features a variety of new products and product updates that are easy-to-locate within product category sections.
The newest storybook: Scannable pjs
April 25, 2013 1:49 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | Blogs | CommentsIt was really only a matter of time before QR codes invaded bedtime, but at least they made it interesting. Smart PJs (patent-pending) are a new kind of clothing complete with QR code-like scannable patches that could make bedtime a little more fun.
Driving RGB LEDs for interior lighting applications
April 25, 2013 1:42 pm | by Wim Van de Maele, ASSP Marketing Manager at ON Semiconductor | Articles | CommentsRGB LEDs are becoming increasingly popular for applications inside vehicles. For reasons of style and personalisation, as well as driver comfort and safety, they present an exciting opportunity for interior designers at major car makers. As multiple light points are required inside the vehicle in order to achieve the implementation of an effective solution....
CoB array delivers 6000 lm and desirable beam uniformity
April 25, 2013 10:26 am | Philips Lumileds | Product Releases | CommentsPhilips Lumileds introduced the LUXEON CoB (Chip-on-Board) portfolio. The family can deliver up to 6000 lumens and reaches efficacies of up to 120 lm/W (hot tested) for bright white 80 CRI lights. This makes the arrays appropriate for high-lumen downlights, spotlights and directional lamps.
Going through smartphone withdrawal
April 25, 2013 9:34 am | by Meaghan Ziemba, Editor, WDD | Blogs | CommentsI recently attended a concert in Madison, WI. I placed my phone in my back pocket to avoid carrying a purse and to have it easily accessible when I wanted to update my status and snap a few photos. Unfortunately, after a visit to the facilities and a horrifying plop, I knew that I was in trouble.
LED drivers promise enhanced dimming performance, color rendering in indoor and outdoor lighting
April 24, 2013 5:15 pm | Texas Instruments | Product Releases | CommentsTexas introduced three new DC/DC LED drivers that simplify white color tuning for high-color rendering and ultra-low dimming in professional-grade indoor and outdoor LED lighting applications. The TPS92660 two-string LED driver and TPS92640/1 synchronous buck controllers address
Oscillator boasts stability 1,000 times more accurate than typical OCXO
April 24, 2013 5:03 pm | IQD Frequency Products, Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsIQD’s latest high performance oscillator, the IQRB-1, offers a stability around a 1,000 times more accurate than a typical Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO). This means it can be used as a free run frequency source in applications such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) systems that require exceptional timing accuracy.
Single board computer simplifies instrument control
April 24, 2013 3:24 pm | Mosaic Industries | Product Releases | CommentsThe PDQ Lite is a low cost single board computer and development board that hosts the Freescale HCS12/9S12 MCU and an embedded RTOS. This GNU C-programmable instrument controller is well suited for data acquisition and control, PWM drive, I2C sensor interfacing, laboratory automation, scientific instruments, SCADA, instrumentation and automation.
VPX processor blade provides up to 8GB DDR3-1333/1600 dual channel ECC memory
April 24, 2013 2:17 pm | Adlink Technology | Product Releases | CommentsADLINK Technology announced its flagship VPX product line, the VPX3000 Series rugged 3U VPX processor blade. The VPX3000 Series is ideal for system integrators who have a need for an advanced VPX board with VPX REDI and OpenVPX compliance in order to deploy high performance military and aerospace applications requiring quick time-to-market.
VCXO delivers small size combined with low jitter
April 24, 2013 1:55 pm | IQD Frequency Products, Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsIQD’s new IQXV-40 series Voltage Controlled Crystal Oscillator (VCXO) launching at Design West 2013 satisfies market demand for smaller package styles and low jitter. Measuring just 3.2 x 2.5mm and housed in a hermetically sealed package with a grounded metal lid for low EMI radiation...
Modular DC electronic load designed for multi-channel DC source testing
April 24, 2013 1:43 pm | B&K Precision Corporation | Product Releases | CommentsB&K Precision announced its new MDL Series, a modular programmable DC electronic load system. The MDL Series comprises six unique modules ranging in power from 200 W to 600 W. Any combination of these modules can be installed for multi-channel operation in the 4-slot MDL Series mainframe....
Intelligent light sensors high sensitivity, flexibility for display and non-display applications
April 24, 2013 12:13 pm | Ams-Taos Usa Inc | Product Releases | Commentsams AG introduced a digital light sensor family that offers low-light sensitivity down to 0.000377 lux. Offering a wide 600M:1 dynamic range up to 88,000 lux (bright sunlight), the company asserts the TSL2591 device family increases design flexibility and offers
Reference design implements highly accurate automotive intelligent battery sensor
April 24, 2013 11:44 am | Product Releases | Commentsams AG released a reference design implementing a complete automotive Intelligent Battery Sensor (IBS) based on its highly accurate AS8515 data acquisition front end. The IBS design from ams is suitable for monitoring the state of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH) of the latest lithium-iron-phosphate automotive batteries as well as conventional AGM (lead-acid) batteries.
Dispensable thermal pads tout desirable performance for LED lamps, luminaires
April 24, 2013 11:41 am | Product Releases | CommentsDow Corning introduced new Dispensable Thermal Pads, which are positioned as providing cost-effective thermal management in LED lighting applications. The new materials are said to enable LED lamp and luminaire manufacturers t
Cloud-based application includes built-in design guidelines
April 24, 2013 10:55 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe Lighting Designer from Luger Research e.U. is a sophisticated cloud-based application platform to design complete LED lighting system solutions in minutes. This integrated design environment combines multiple modules including light sources, secondary optics, power supplies, connectors, heat sinks and boards to develop a system solution.
