March 6, 2008

Protection at full power
Protecting circuits may not be at the forefront of every design engineer's mind, but it is paramount in the minds of Littelfuse engineers, who subject components to excessive current, lightning, ESD, overvoltage, and extreme temperatures. Read More

Nomadic products put power sources to the test
Cellphones and other wireless communications devices can be difficult to test because of the dynamic requirements they place on their batteries. As a result, the power sources that substitute for batteries during test and evaluation need features that often aren't available in general-purpose supplies. Read More

Nonsignaling technique improves RF test
Many wireless devices now combine GSM, WCDMA, Bluetooth, WLAN, GPS, and FM technologies while also operating at the high data rates required for mobile Internet. And because customers demand that mobile radio service be available on any continent, many devices also operate in multifrequency bands and support multimode operation. Read More

OFCNFOEC: The increasing demand for bandwidth
Wednesday at OFCNFOEC 2008 featured a panel discussion with members of companies ranging from Facebook to Avago Technologies to Reuters. Dave D'Andrea of Avago commented, "Today's connectors and transceivers never achieved a low enough price." Read More

Measurement in the hospital
I'm about to be discharged from the hospital after three long days. Despite all the measuring the doctors have subjected upon me, they can't explain what happened over the weekend that brought me to the emergency room. For more

Did you miss these articles?
Our Web site contains lists of our top feature stories, Web-exclusive articles, and blog postings, based on reader clicks. Read about testing IEEE 802.11n products, compare handheld oscilloscopes, and learn how researchers are developing electronic systems to bring a measure of freedom to patients “locked in” by injury or illness. Plus, you can listen to songs written for test engineers and read last year's salary survey. Read more. For more

Anritsu analyzers test HSDPA HDR, W-CDMA Band XI
Two new options from Anritsu bring HSDPA High Data Rate (HDR) and W-CDMA Band XI test capabilities to the MT8820B and MT8815B radio communication analyzers. Read More

White paper examines RapidIO interoperability testing
The RapidIO Trade Association, together with Fabric Embedded Tools (FET), has released a white paper, which identifies three key implementation challenges that often affect device interoperability. 
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Averna acquires Mindready assets
Averna today announced the acquisition of substantially all assets of Mindready Solutions, a move which will expand Averna’s RF and communications product portfolio and will establish a footprint in the European market. Read More

Challenge yourself: How do you eliminate ringing?
Our latest Oscilloscope Challenge is now live.

Question: What is the quickest way to attempt to eliminate ringing on a measured signal?
Prize: TomTom ONE GPS
Sponsor: Yokogawa

Take the Oscilloscope Challenge

March issue now online
One article in our March issue looks at the importance of the modulation transfer function of a lens, another describes the wall that has arisen between structural and functional test, and a third explains that the IPC prefers the devil it doesn't know. Plus, the issue also includes the PXI Test Report. For more

Industry calendar of events
Upcoming events include APEX (April), SAE World Congress (April), and Design Automation Conference (June). For more information about these and other test-related events, visit our online calendar.