Newsletters
PCB test system designed for aircraft, transportation, and manufacturing industries
March 26, 2013 3:33 pm | Saelig Company, Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsSaelig Company has introduced the System 8 Diagnostic Solution Plus - a unique, versatile, easy-to-use PCB test system that uses a selection of CD-drive-size modules to create a PC-driven PCB test station. The System 8 Diagnostic Solution Plus, which can be built in a PC case or 19" rack-mounted...
Analog input boards boast 24-bit A/D resolution and 120 kilosample/second maximum sampling rates
March 26, 2013 10:36 am | United Electronic Industries | Product Releases | CommentsUnited Electronic Industries (UEI) announces the release of four new analog input boards. All four of the boards offer 8 analog input channels, 24-bit A/D resolution and 120 kilosample/second maximum sampling rates. All four boards also offer complete, 350 Vrms channel-to-channel and channel-to-chassis isolation.
Automotive Systems-on-Chip capable of delivering more than 25,000 DMIPS
March 26, 2013 10:20 am | Renesas | Product Releases | CommentsRenesas Electronics Corporation and Renesas Mobile Corporation announced the availability of a new member of the R-Car Series of automotive Systems-on-Chip (SoCs). Capable of delivering more than 25,000 DMIPS, the R-Car H2 provides high performance and state-of-the-art 3D graphics capabilities for high-end multimedia and navigation automotive systems.
Injection-molded enclosures achieve a flammability rating of UL94 V-0
March 26, 2013 9:11 am | Product Releases | CommentsSerpac’s Industrial Line (I-Series) has created a smaller version of its popular I-352 enclosure; the I-342. The new smaller I-342 is made out of a UV stabilized Polycarbonate with a flammability rating of UL94 V-0.
Power shelf offers up to 96% efficiency
March 25, 2013 4:53 pm | Product Releases | CommentsDongAh Elecomm announced a high-efficiency NESpace Energy-Saving Power Shelf that offers up to 96% efficiency and a loss reduction of greater than 50%. NESpace significantly reduces energy consumption and loss over standard power supplies. Easy installation and maintenance make it ideal for power-hungry datacom and telecom applications....
Instant-on tower security light delivers 1500 watts
March 25, 2013 4:29 pm | Larson Electronics Llc | Product Releases | CommentsLarson Electronics Magnalight announced the release of the WAL-TSL-300W-LED LED tower security light. Modeled after the successful metal halide light series, the LED version of this amiable security light features ‘instant on’ and hot restrike capabilities.
Internet sales tax will only benefit the state
March 25, 2013 3:34 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsGet ready to pony up more dollars for online purchases. On Friday, the U.S. Senate passed the innocuously-titled "Marketplace Fairness Act" through the upper chamber on a 75-24 vote. The bill would require e-tailers to collect and remit sales tax on interstate commerce, even when the business has no physical presence in the state.
Solar-powered everything!
March 25, 2013 3:14 pm | by Chris Rendall, Mechanical Engineer, PCDworks | Blogs | CommentsI’ve heard for years that “soon we’ll have solar panels on everything.” To be honest, I’ve never paid much attention to the hype because these magical solar panels that can fit on and inside everything never seemed to materialize commercially, or if they did they were always way too expensive for the everyday consumer, or maybe just for me.
HotSpot Episode 5: Robo cloud
March 25, 2013 2:10 pm | Videos | CommentsThis week on WDD’s HotSpot, brought to you by Memory Protection Devices: Rapyuta allows robots’ data-processing functions to be performed in the cloud, helping to decrease the amount of onboard computational hardware in the bots. The environments of different robots can be linked together....
Nuclear power: The future of human civilization
March 25, 2013 10:23 am | by Tom Ligon, Technical Contributor | Blogs | CommentsThis is not an article about the environment. This is not an article about oil. This is an article about the long-term future of human civilization. Are you with me so far? Are you in favor of human civilization having a future, not just for another hundred years, but for thousands ... tens of thousands?
The best way to improve distributors, according to engineers
March 22, 2013 4:43 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | CommentsHow do you deal with distributors? Distribution is a key aspect of the engineering process, and it's important to choose the right distributor. You need dependibility, reliability and transperency to make the relationship between distributor and manufacturer work.
Silicon photonics chips boast 100 gigabits per second 4x25 QSFP package
March 22, 2013 4:42 pm | Product Releases | CommentsKotura announced a silicon photonics industry first. The company unveiled its Optical Engine in a Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable (QSFP) package. Kotura's Optical Engine uses Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM), in which different signals can share the same path.
Visual design tool supports PIC MCU-based GUI creation on Windows, Linux or Mac computers
March 22, 2013 4:21 pm | Microchip Technology Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsMicrochip Technology Inc. announced the release of Graphics Display Designer X (GDD X), an enhanced visual design tool that provides a quick and easy way of creating Graphical User Interface (GUI) screens for applications using Microchip’s 16-or 32-bit PIC MCUs. With GDD X, developers may
Raspberry Pi Breadboard PCB Kits are 100% compatible with Pi Cobbler
March 22, 2013 3:52 pm | Newark | Product Releases | CommentsMaking permanent connections is as easy as pie for fans of the credit-card size computer sensation known as Raspberry Pi. Available in full, half and quarter sizes at leading electronics distributor Newark element14, Adafruit’s Perma-Proto for Pi Breadboard PCB kits feature the same labelled breakouts as their Pi Cobbler, assuring a seamless transition.
Industry’s first reconfigurable DC arc detect reference solution enables designers to safeguard high-power DC systems
March 22, 2013 3:08 pm | Texas Instruments | Product Releases | CommentsTexas Instruments introduces the industry’s first fully programmable DC arc detect reference solution. The RD-195 makes it faster and easier for designers to address a growing need to safeguard high-power DC systems, such as automobile and aircraft battery management systems....
Smart grid technology of the future
March 22, 2013 2:53 pm | Articles | CommentsWe asked our industry experts to weigh in on our Smart Grid question: What home energy technology do you expect to see as a breakthrough in the next 12 months?
Solderless LED mounting process delivers rugged illuminated SMT tactile switch for sensitive applications
March 22, 2013 2:48 pm | C&K Components | Product Releases | CommentsC&K Components has developed a new series of illuminated tact switches that combines consistent light output with excellent tactile feel and clear audible haptic confirmation. The K8 Series illuminated tactile switch offers several unique features and design elements, including a constant illumination cone.
What home energy technology will break through in the next 12 months?
March 22, 2013 2:41 pm | Articles | CommentsOur energy and Smart technology experts weigh in to answer our smart grid question for this month: What home energy technology do you expect to see as a breakthrough in the next 12 months?
Step-up DC/DC converter features ultra-low 22µA quiescent supply current
March 22, 2013 2:29 pm | Advanced Power Electronics Corp. | Product Releases | CommentsAdvanced Power Electronics announced the APE2902, a high-efficiency VFM Step-up DC/DC converter for small, low input voltage or battery powered systems with ultra-low quiescent supply current. Devices can operate from a positive input voltage between the start-up voltage and VOUT and convert it to a higher output voltage....
The LED rundown
March 22, 2013 2:16 pm | by M. Simon, Technical Contributor | Articles | CommentsThe life of a light-emitting diode (LED) isn’t as simple as some advertisers may lead you to believe. Manufacturers offer numbers like 100,000 hours as the expected lifetime of high-powered LEDs, but those numbers reflect calculations done using optimum conditions and specification points.
Reader's Response: What energy management technology will generate the most buzz over the next 12 months?
March 22, 2013 12:31 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsWe wanted the lowdown on Smart Grid and the future of the engineering, so we asked our readers to answer a question: What energy management technology will generate the most buzz over the next 12 months?
Bendable display technology takes the stage
March 22, 2013 12:06 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Managing Editor | Corning, Samsung | Articles | CommentsIt happens to everyone who owns a smart phone or tablet. One ill-fated toss into the car or accidental drop on the hardwood and suddenly the screen is too cracked to read. Not only does this render the phone useless until you can get to a store, it can mean spending hundreds of dollars on a new screen or an entirely new phone.
NYC's terrible subway map idea
March 22, 2013 11:46 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | CommentsSometimes ideas that seem well-intentioned (in theory) actually fall somewhere in the realm of “worst idea ever” when it comes to real-life implementation. This includes ideas like holograms in the airport or QR codes for remote real estate signs (or using QR codes for anything at all, ever).
Online guide offers quick selection of LVDT position sensors
March 22, 2013 11:46 am | Macro Sensors | Product Releases | CommentsMacro Sensors offers an online Position Sensor Guide that quickly identifies the right LVDT linear position sensor for an application based on desired options such as measurement range, output, body diameter, operating temperature and other specs. Using selection criteria, the
Counterfeit devices take us all the way to the scene of the crash
March 22, 2013 10:44 am | by George Karalias, Director of Marketing & Communications at Rochester Electronics | Rochester Electronics, Llc | Articles | CommentsIn early January 2013, the CBC News concluded its investigation about Canada’s new Hercules C-130J aircraft military transport aircraft containing counterfeit Chinese parts in the cockpit instrumentation. The report confirms what a leading U.S. testing lab has known since 2010 — that the parts are fake and could leave pilots with blank instrument panels in mid-flight.
