Fwd: Microwaves & RF UPDATE December 21, 2006

Thu Dec 21 19:43:00 CST 2006

>
>
>==============================
>Microwaves & RF UPDATE
>MWRF - www.mwrf.com
>December 21, 2006
>==============================
>
>Greetings and welcome to your personal copy of PlanetEE's Microwaves
>and RF UPDATE e-newsletter. Please see below for address-change or
>subscribe/unsubscribe instructions.
>
>Today's Table of Contents:
>1. Ham Radio Reaches End Of An Era
>2. No More Morse Code In Ham Radio Tests
>3. Focus Enhancements Receives FCC Approval For DS-OFDM UWB
>4. Silicon/Crystal Timing Market To Expand
>5. MEMS To Move In 2008
>6. InGaP LNA Boosts Satellite Radio Receivers
>7. Maury Hosts Load-Pull Seminar
>8. Happenings - Conferences
>
>
>************************ ADVERTISEMENT****************************
>
>
>      You take WiMAX forward.  See how Agilent clears the way.
>
>Agilent cleared the way for fixed/mobile WiMAX and WiBro with the
>industry's first design tools like our Advanced Design System (ADS)
>suite of software tools, ESG signal generator with Signal Studio
>software, and VSA modulation analysis software.  Now you can
>anticipate potential roadblocks with fast and efficient test using
>Agilent WiMAX MXG signal generation and MXA signal analysis - see how
>at http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=44714:494174 . It's WiMAX testing at the
>edge of possibility.
>
>For more information, click on the link below:
>http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=44724:494174
>
>******************************************************************
>
>
>***************
>1.  Viewpoint
>***************
>Ham Radio Reaches End Of An Era
>
>Amateur radio operators hold an important and noble place in this
>country. Not only are they people dedicated to maintaining skills in
>radio communications, they represent this country's "safety net" for
>emergency communications should some disaster or terrorist activity
>render all normal communications networks useless. Those who
>remember the movie classic On The Beach may recall the main
>characters' hope of finding survivors following a nuclear holocaust
>after receiving a Morse Code message on a ham radio.
>
>That scene has suddenly become severely dated, with the FCC's
>willingness to grant higher-level Amateur Radio operator's licenses
>without knowledge of Morse Code. Obviously, this has opened the door
>to many more people becoming ham operators, who may have hesitated
>previously when considering the Morse Code requirement. But this
>relaxation of the requirements also "cheapens" the license somewhat,
>in the manner of granting a driver's license in a large city without
>requiring the skill of parallel parking.
>
>With newer radios and communications technologies available, the
>FCC's move away from Morse Code is understandable. But, as that
>scene in On The Beach showed, that Morse Code may come in handy
>one day.
>
>JACK BROWNE
>Technical Director
>
>
>*************
>2. News
>*************
>No More Morse Code In Ham Radio Tests
>
>Morse code will no longer be a requirement for earning any Amateur
>Radio (ham) license in the US. The United States Federal
>Communications Commission announced last week that it had eliminated
>testing for proficiency in Morse code for all Amateur Radio license
>classes. Although many ham operators are well versed in Morse Code,
>it will no longer be required for a license as per FCC Report &
>Order in WT Docket 05-235. Since 1991 it has been possible to earn a
>"Technician" class Amateur Radio license without passing a Morse
>examination. The higher class licenses, "General" and "Amateur
>Extra," required at least five words per minute code proficiency.
>The Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) reported that requests for
>study materials for new licenses had doubled within 72 hours of the
>FCC announcement that Morse Code had been dropped from the testing.
>For more information, contact the ARRL.
>ARRL ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=44722:494174
>
>
>*********
>3. News
>*********
>Focus Enhancements Receives FCC Approval For DS-OFDM UWB
>
>Focus Enhancements, a pioneer of sending wireless video with
>ultrawideband (UWB) technology, has received US Federal
>Communications Commission (FCC) approval for its direct-sequence,
>orthogonal-frequency-division-multiplex [DS-OFDM(TM)] modulation
>technique. The approval allows full use of the UWB spectrum without
>waiver, providing 880-Mb/s rates to UWB product designers and users.
>Focus is also the only wireless chip manufacturer to receive
>approval without waiver. As a result, DS-OFDM UWB radios will be
>able to use all or any part of the bandwidth allocated by the FCC
>for UWB applications (3.1 to 16.6 GHz). According to Tom Hamilton,
>executive vice president and general manger of Focus Enhancements'
>semiconductor group, "While several WiMedia companies have received
>FCC approval for UWB technology, none have done so without waiver -
>until now." The firm's flavor of UWB technology allows wireless
>high-definition (HD) and standard-definition (SD) video transmission
>at data rates from 37 to 880 Mb/s with distances sufficient for
>whole house wireless video coverage.
>Focus Enhancements ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=4471C:494174
>
>
>*********
>4. News
>*********
>Silicon/Crystal Timing Market To Expand
>
>The market for silicon-based and crystal-based timing devices will
>grow from $4.2 billion in 2006 to exceed $5.7 billion in 2011
>according to a new study from ABI Research. While silicon-based
>timing devices are still not as capable of sophisticated tasks as
>crystal oscillators, they are getting better, and will eventually
>replace crystals in many contexts. The report, "The Timing Solution
>Market: Quartz Crystal, Crystal and SAW Oscillators, and Silicon
>Timing Devices," notes that the strongest growth will occur in the
>Asia-Pacific region.
>ABI Research ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=4471A:494174
>
>
>**********
>5. News
>**********
>MEMS To Move In 2008
>
>The latest ABI Research study on microelectromechanical systems
>(MEMS) technology projects that 2008 will be a banner year for the
>MEMS in mobile phones. The report, "Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems
>(MEMS) in Mobile Phones," predicts five major application areas for
>MEMS in the mobile phone: in RF filters, adaptive tuning circuits,
>resonators and oscillators, audio microphones, accelerometers, and
>motion sensors. Cost is still a concern, although it should drop
>with the expected volumes for mobile phones.
>ABI Research ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=4471B:494174
>
>
>************************ ADVERTISEMENT****************************
>
>
>      You take WiMAX forward.  See how Agilent clears the way.
>
>Agilent cleared the way for fixed/mobile WiMAX and WiBro with the
>industry's first design tools like our Advanced Design System (ADS)
>suite of software tools, ESG signal generator with Signal Studio
>software, and VSA modulation analysis software.  Now you can
>anticipate potential roadblocks with fast and efficient test using
>Agilent WiMAX MXG signal generation and MXA signal analysis - see how
>at http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=44714:494174 . It's WiMAX testing at the
>edge of possibility.
>
>For more information, click on the link below:
>http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=44724:494174
>
>******************************************************************
>
>
>*********
>6. News
>*********
>InGaP LNA Boosts Satellite Radio Receivers
>
>Model UPG2310TK is a low-noise amplifier (LNA) fabricated with an
>InGaP monlithic-microwave-integrated-circuit (MMIC) process. Ideal
>for Industrial-Scientific-Medical (ISM) applications in the
>2.3-to-2.5-GHz band as well as for SDARS satellite radio receivers,
>the LNA features 27 dB gain and 1.8 dB noise figure at 2.3 GHz. The
>third-order intercept point is +28.5 dBm at that frequency. The LNA
>is supplied in a compact TK package measuring 1.5 x 1.3 x 0.55 mm.
>California Eastern Labs ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=44723:494174
>
>
>*********
>7. News
>*********
>Maury Hosts Load-Pull Seminar
>
>Maury Microwave is hosting a three-hour seminar on load-pull testing
>using the company's high-reflection impedance tuner with a
>commercial vector network analyzer. The seminar, which is scheduled
>from 1 to 4 PM on January 10, 2007 at the 2007 IEEE Radio and
>Wireless Symposium in the Long Beach Convention Center (Long Beach,
>CA), uses the optimization of a GSM/EDGE power-amplifier (PA) module
>as an example. Attendees can register to win a 4-GB iPOD nano. For
>more information, contact John Sevic at e-mail: jsevic at maurymw.com
>or visit the company's web site.
>Maury Microwave Corp. ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=44720:494174
>
>
>*******************************
>8.  Happenings - Conferences
>*******************************
>2007 IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium (RWS)
>January 7-12, 2007
>Long Beach Convention Center
>Long Beach, CA
>http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=44719:494174
>
>Software Defined Radio (SDR) Forum Meeting
>January 15-18, 2007
>Sheraton San Diego Hotel, Mission Valley
>San Diego, CA
>http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=4471E:494174
>
>2007 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC)
>February 11-15, 2007
>San Francisco Marriot Hotel
>San Francisco, CA
>http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=44721:494174
>
>IEEE Sarnoff Symposium 2007
>April 30-May 2, 2007
>Sarnoff Labs
>Princeton, NJ
>http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=44716:494174
>
>2007 IEEE/MTT-S International Microwave Symposium
>June 3-8, 2007
>Hawaii Convention Center
>Honolulu, HI
>http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=4471F:494174
>
>
>************************ ADVERTISEMENT****************************
>
>
>                For The Best In Test and Components
>
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>
>                 http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=4471D:494174
>
>******************************************************************
>
>======================================================
>MICROWAVES AND RF (MWRF) UPDATE e-NEWSLETTER CONTACTS
>======================================================
>
>Technical Director: Jack Browne
>mailto:jbrowne at penton.com
>
>Managing Editor: John Curley
>mailto:jcurley at penton.com
>
>Advertising/Sponsorship Opportunities:
>Paul Barkman at 1-908-704-2460 or
>mailto:pbarkman at penton.com
>
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>Microwaves & RF
>Penton Media Inc.
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Richard Barth *** W3HWN(at)ARRL.NET *** Silver Spring, MD