News Briefs

Executives and shareholders of Harbor Electronics, a manufacturer of PCBs for semiconductor test applications, announced a decision to join Everett Charles Technologies (ECT). Harbor VP Tim McNulty (pictured) has been appointed president of ECT's Semiconductor Test Group (STG) and will be responsible for the existing STG-MN (St. Paul) and STG-AZ (Tempe) operations, in addition to Harbor Electronics.

Pat Flynn, president of ECT, commented, "Harbor has established a leading position in their market, and we are convinced this trend will continue. Harbor's advanced PCB manufacturing capabilities and capacity complement our existing test socket, performance board, and IC handler product lines and augment STG's leadership position in this segment of the semiconductor test industry. This transaction serves as another indicator to our global customer base that STG is committed to providing local support, wherever they do business, with world-class products and services." www.ectinfo.com.

Electro Rent, a test-and-measurement and computer-equipment rental company with operations in North America and China, has established Electro Rent Europe. ER Europe was scheduled to commence operations at the end of September.

As part of its plans, ER has acquired the operations of Everest ES, a Belgium equipment rental, sales, and leasing business, which has been operating in an alliance with Electro Rent for several years. David Saeys, the owner of Everest, will become the GM of ER Europe.

"We are very excited about establishing a local presence to provide quality service at competitive prices in the European market," commented Dan Greenberg, Electro Rent chairman and CEO. "We intend to build a significant market presence and provide European technology companies with access to one world's largest inventories of test and measurement and computer equipment." www.electrorent.com.

Tektronix reports that Taiwan-based VIA Technologies has selected digital systems analysis tools from Tektronix for developing digital products based on serial data standards such as second-generation PCI-Express and SATA III. To perform design validation and interoperability and compliance testing on its products, VIA has selected the TLA7012 and TLA7016 logic analyzers, the 12-GHz TDS 6124C oscilloscope, and the 15-GHz TDS 6154C real-time oscilloscope. TLA7000 series logic analyzers include the iLink tool set, which integrates the logic analyzer with an oscilloscope to speed the debugging of multiple signals.

"High-speed serial buses such as second-generation PCI Express and SATA III present new challenges when making design and compliance measurements," said Chewei Lin, VP of product marketing at VIA Technologies. "The combination of TLA7000 logic analyzers and TDS6000 oscilloscopes from Tektronix supports our measurement needs at each stage of design, validation, compliance, and debug, and will enable our engineers to test high-speed serial designs with total confidence." www.tektronix.com; www.via.com.tw.

Magsoft has announced an agreement with Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA) covering the sale, distribution, and support of the CEA's simulation software—CIVA release 7.1—in North America. CIVA, a computer-aided-engineering (CAE) simulation tool, solves problems for a variety of application and device configurations concerning nondestructive evaluation. It simulates the design of nondestructive sensor components and is currently available for both eddy-current and ultrasonic methods of detection.

CIVA combines a graphical user interface with semi-analytical methods to let the user define a problem, solve it, and review the results. The user can explore the nature of a transmission signal that produces the optimal reflections for determining whether a flaw exists. CIVA is suited for sensor designs intended to detect flaws for the aircraft and aerospace industries, Magsoft reports.

"CIVA is exciting new technology, and we are proud to be the conduit for its entry into North America," said Shep Salon, president of Magsoft. "This technology can really make an impact on a variety of industries and marketplaces, and it can help to make the world a cleaner, safer place, which benefits us all." www.magsoft-flux.com.

Agilent Technologies has put the features of its DSO/MSO 6000 series oscilloscopes into four 100-MHz models. Like the series' 300-MHz, 500-MHz, and 1-GHz models, the 100-MHz version is available in two-channel and four-channel units with and without 16 logic inputs. Designed for embedded-system developers who need to look at microcontroller I/O signals, these mixed-signal scopes let you trigger an acquisition on a 16-bit digital pattern and on a set of analog conditions such as voltage level. Specific signal triggers include USB, I²C, and CAN serial buses as well as numerous TV-signal triggers.

Each of the four 100-MHz models samples signals at 2 Gsamples/s and can store up to 1 Msample over two channels. Four-channel models store 500 ksamples on each pair of channels when running three or four channels. Upgrades boost waveform memory from 1 Msample to either 2 Msamples or 8 Msamples. The deep memory lets the scopes maintain full sample rate at any timebase setting. All models have a screen update rate of 100,000 waveforms/s and include IEEE 488, Ethernet, and USB ports.

The four models range in price from $4595 for a two-channel unit to $7595 for a four-channel unit with 16 logic inputs. Agilent Technologies, www.agilent.com/find/scope-new.

Matrox Imaging has announced remote-head versions of its Iris P-Series family of programmable smart cameras, which combine image-sensing and processing hardware with a software API for image analysis. The new cameras employ a two-piece design in which a standard Camera Link cable connects a remote head to a processor unit. The compact remote head is designed to fit small spaces and to offer flexibility for deployment in equipment destined for automotive, electronics, robotics, and other applications.

An Intel Ultra Low Power (ULP) Celeron embedded processor runs the Windows CE .NET real-time operating system in each processor unit, which is programmable using Microsoft's embedded Visual C++ language. OEMs and integrators can develop their own image capture, processing, analysis, display, and archiving applications with the Matrox Imaging Library (MIL) software; those applications will run directly on Matrox Iris P-Series units. Onboard flash and SDRAM memory store the operating system, MIL, and a custom machine-vision application. Data communications can take place over Ethernet and RS-232 ports.

Base price: $2495. Matrox Imaging, www.matrox.com/imaging.

International Test Conference (ITC), November 8–10, Austin, TX. Sponsored by IEEE. www.itctestweek.org.

Vision 2005, November 8–10, Stuttgart, Germany. Sponsored by Messe Stuttgart. www.vision-messe.de.

Productronica, November 15–18, Munich, Germany. Sponsored by Messe Muenchen. www.global-electronics.net/id/21310.

To learn about other conferences, courses, and calls for papers, visit www.tmworld.com/events.