Wireless
New data pricing from Verizon, AT&T may complicate family life
July 25, 2012 3:31 pm | by Sinead Carew, Reuters | News | Comments(Reuters) - Arguments around U.S. family dinner tables may soon go from who talked too much on the phone this month to who used up the family's Internet service.
Lab manual assists XBee experimenters
July 25, 2012 3:09 pm | Product Releases | Comments"The Hands-On XBee Lab Manual," By Jonathan A. Titus, Newnes/Elsevier, Waltham, MA, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-12-391404-0. List price: $US 44.95. 301 pages, paperback. This book supplies 22 hands-on experiments for engineers, product designers, students, and electronic enthusiasts who want to use the popular Digi International XBee modules
Proximity sensor enables human body detection
July 25, 2012 9:54 am | 3M Electronics Solutions Division | Product Releases | CommentsSemtech Corporation today announced the SX9300, an ultra-low power capacitive proximity sensor with on-chip Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) engine for human body detection. Semtech is the first to provide a robust and cost effective proximity sensor with true discrimination between a human body and inert material.
Navy radio system might be crippling garage door openers in part of Connecticut
July 23, 2012 4:42 pm | by PAT EATON-ROBB Associated Press | News | CommentsA radio signal being transmitted out of a submarine base is likely behind reports of garage doors failing to open and close in southeastern Connecticut, the U.S. Navy said Monday.
Oscillator features typical phase noise of -106dBc/Hz
July 20, 2012 1:43 pm | Product Releases | CommentsCrystek's CVCO33BE-1662-1708 VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) operates from 1662 MHz to 1708 MHz with a control voltage range of 0.5V~4.5 V. This VCO features a typical phase noise of -106 dBc/Hz @ 10KHz offset and has excellent linearity. Output power is typically +2 dBm.
Programmable serial port to Ethernet device server enables network interface
July 20, 2012 12:40 pm | Product Releases | CommentsICP DAS USA announced its PDS 700 series of programmable serial to Ethernet device servers.
High frequency transistor delivers low noise figure and high gain
July 20, 2012 11:04 am | Renesas | Product Releases | CommentsRenesas Electronics and California Eastern Laboratories (CEL) released a new SiGe:C High Frequency Low Noise Transistor, the NESG7030M04.
Verizon's wireless glows in second quarter, while broadband hits a wall; FiOS growth to slow
July 20, 2012 10:18 am | by Peter Svensson, Technology Writer, Associated Press | News | CommentsVerizon Communications Inc., parent of the country's largest cellphone carrier, on Thursday said its net income rose 13 percent in the second quarter as its wireless arm pulled in record profits.
RFID reader boasts hardware faster, higher memory array
July 18, 2012 4:01 pm | News | CommentsU.S. semiconductor maker Ramtron International Corporation and China-based Module Technology Co. Ltd. announced that they have entered into a technology partnership. Under the partnership, Ramtron and Module Technology will enhance Module Technology’s standard RFID reader hardware to support the faster and higher memory array of the Ramtron MaxArias wireless memory. The partnership will impact a wide range of customers—from smart metering, industrial manufacturing, high-value asset tracking and other data-intensive logging applications that can benefit from low power, fast write wireless memory solutions.
Near-field communications
July 18, 2012 9:29 am | by Jon Titus, Technical Contributor | Articles | CommentsNear-field communications, which arose from earlier RFID applications, have gained in popularity as manufacturers added NFC capabilities to smart-phone and tablet-computer and as merchants have installed NFC payment devices. So instead of carrying a wallet full of credit and debit cards, consumers can use their smart phones as a mobile-payment "account"...
Solve 3.3-V relay design issues
July 16, 2012 3:04 pm | by Kalyan Cherukuri, Texas Instruments, www.ti.com | Articles | CommentsToday’s telecommunications industry is trending towards the use of 3.3-V relays in their end applications. Traditionally, only discrete components were available to switch and drive low-voltage relays. Each relay requires one transistor, one resistor, and in some cases a diode. Data routing applications need to switch and drive four-to-seven relays, requiring eight to 21 discrete components. Additionally, these applications often need
Radio-on-a-chip enables three-year battery life for BORND’s E220 wireless mouse
July 16, 2012 1:07 pm | Product Releases | CommentsCypress Semiconductor today announced that BORND has selected Cypress’ 2.4-GHz WirelessUSB-NL radio-on-a-chip for its E220 next-generation wireless mouse. WirelessUSB-NL’s low power consumption enables two AA batteries to power the E220 mouse for up to three years. The long range of WirelessUSB-NL also enables the E220 to operate at a distance of up to 30 meters.
Who is minding the Fourth Amendment gate?
July 13, 2012 9:33 am | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | CommentsFor all the cool and exciting features that our smart phones provide, it’s easy to forget that these pocket-sized computers/entertainment centers aren’t always as liberating as they seem – and I’m not just talking about the burdens that come with the data plans. Recently, Rep. Edward J. Markey, co-chairman of the Bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus, requested the 2011 surveillance records from the nation’s cellular carriers.
Cambridge Consultants helps take world’s largest telescope out of the lab
July 9, 2012 5:12 pm | News | CommentsThe statistics are vast – a central computer with the processing power of 100 million PCs, enough optical fiber to wrap twice around the earth, and raw data to fill 15 million 64 GB iPods every day. So when Cambridge Consultants, a leading technology design and development firm, was tasked with turning an antenna design for the world’s largest radio telescope into a viable product for volume manufacturing, it was no ordinary challenge.
Modbus RTU data acquisition modules feature compact design for din rail mounting
July 6, 2012 11:54 am | Product Releases | CommentsICP DAS USA, Inc. introduced the tM series, a new family of tiny network data acquisition and control modules. The tM series provides digital input output functions like photo-isolated digital input, photoMOS relay output, relay contact and open-collector output.
CAN to Wi-Fi converter supports point to point and ad-hoc communication
July 6, 2012 11:29 am | Product Releases | CommentsICP DAS USA, Inc. introduced I-7540D-WF, its CAN to Wi-Fi Converter, which will allow CAN bus devices to communicate with other CAN bus devices over wireless Wi-Fi networks.
Controller chip supports all communication between ZigBee RF4CE devices and set-top box, gateway
July 5, 2012 2:49 pm | Product Releases | CommentsGreenPeak Technologies announced the general availability of its GP510 communication controller chip, supporting all communication between ZigBee RF4CE enabled devices and the set-top box or gateway. The chip is intended to
Buried treasure: Unlock the processing power of wireless modules
July 2, 2012 3:58 pm | by Jacques Suire, Sierra Wireless | Articles | CommentsWhen looking to add cellular connectivity to an embedded system, many designers choose a wireless module like the one shown in Figure 1, since the device contains all the analog and digital circuitry necessary for producing, transmitting, and decoding data over a cellular network.
Wireless networking's effect on the industrial environment
July 2, 2012 10:46 am | by Brian Buchanan, On Semiconductor, www.onsemi.com | Articles | CommentsWithin the Industrial segment, there are many functional wireless networks deployed and many more in the various stages of deployment. A system of connected machines can increase productivity, reduce costs and improve operational efficiencies for the industry. The idea of machine-to-machine landscape has the potential to allow multiple devices to communicate through a common network feeding real-time data back to processing centers.
Multilayer band pass filter comes in 1005 size
June 29, 2012 12:28 pm | Product Releases | CommentsTDK Corporation has developed a multilayer band pass filter in size 1005 with dimensions of 1.0 mm x 0.5 mm x 0.37 mm. The insertion height of the new DEA102450BT-1278A1 band pass filter has been reduced by more than a third and its volume by 75 percent. The filters are
Fractal Antenna Systems demonstrates practical invisibility cloak
June 29, 2012 11:04 am | News | CommentsFractal Antenna Systems Inc. announced successful demonstration of the world’s first practical invisibility cloak, at microwave frequencies. The device clearly shows the ability to “see through to the other side” for large, 3-Dimensional objects, thus rendering them invisible over a wide frequency range.
Application server enables allows remote access to virtually any serial device via a GSM/GPRS or Ethernet network
June 29, 2012 10:27 am | Product Releases | CommentsLantronix today announced the launch of its new PremierWave XC, a unique, hybrid GSM/GPRS and Ethernet dual-port serial device server that allows remote access to, and management of, virtually any serial device via a GSM/GPRS or Ethernet network. PremierWave XC, which is the company's most recent Linux-based application server product...
Digital compasses integrate motion and magnetic sensing in a small package for portables
June 28, 2012 12:03 pm | Stmicroelectronics | Product Releases | CommentsSTMicroelectronics expanded its sensor portfolio with a compact e-compass module. The integration of motion and magnetic sensing in a 3 mm x 3 mm x1 mm package is positioned as opening new possibilities for advanced navigation and location-based services
Wireless SoCs free designers from proprietary software frameworks
June 28, 2012 10:03 am | Product Releases | CommentsNordic Semiconductor introduced the first members of its new nRF51 Series of ultra-low power (ULP) RF integrated circuits (ICs) that feature a new multi-protocol 2.4GHz radio and a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0 based processor. The company’s software architecture for
Data acquisition vendors let users phone-in for increased productivity
June 27, 2012 10:18 am | Articles | CommentsData acquisition continues to migrate from the desktop to smaller, portable solutions. This portability, combined with advances in USB and wireless connectivity plus applications for smart phones and tablets, has made the process of gathering and analyzing data from remote locations simple and ubiquitous.
