April 17, 2008

FIRST partners with NI to provide students with CompactRIO
The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) organization has selected National Instruments' CompactRIO embedded control platform as its next-generation FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) robot controller. Read More

Oscilloscope features need not be proportional to bandwidth
Giving users of mid-range oscilloscopes the software tools typically found on only high-end scopes is the goal of LeCroy, which has introduced six new full-featured M-Type scopes in the 200-MHz to 2-GHz range.
Read More

Test engineers should vote to save Windows XP
Microsoft has announced that it will end sales of Windows XP on June 30, 2008. Read More

Robotic gladiators
During the Boston regional of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition, young engineers put their skills on display as they built robots for battle in what looked like an automated version of American Gladiators. Read More

Acquiring data during flight test
Dr. Patrick Walter, a professor of engineering at Texas Christian University and the senior measurement specialist at PCB Piezotronics, recently described some of the challenges involved with collecting data during flight test. Read More

Corelis ports development tool to latest AMCC processors
Corelis announced that its CodeSymphony software development and JTAG debug environment now works with PowerPC 460EX and 460GT embedded processors from Applied Micro Circuits Corp. Read More

Analyze HDMI audio streams
Audio Precision has added support for testing High-Definition Media Interface (HDMI) 1.3 and Blu-Ray audio to its eight-channel APx585 audio generator and analyzer. Read More

USB DMM has 6½ digits
The SMU2055 from Signametrics lets you add a DMM to any Windows PC through a USB port. Read More

T&MW's Top Articles for March 2008
Readers chose "Protection at full power" and "Nonsignaling technique improves RF test" as their two top picks from our articles published in March. Chris Grachanen's guest commentary on Metrology was our most popular Web-exclusive article, and Rick Nelson's "Hummer vs. hybrid" was the most popular blog entry. See our other top articles for March 2008.  Read More

Oscilloscope Challenge: Which features aid troubleshooting?
Answer our April oscilloscope challenge question correctly, and you could be eligible to win a prize.

Question: Which oscilloscope features are useful for serial-data-bus troubleshooting?
Prize: TomTom ONE GPS
Sponsor: Yokogawa

Take the Oscilloscope Challenge

April issue looks at MIMO test
One feature in our April issue explores why test-system manufacturers need to develop automatic test equipment that can handle MIMO devices during high-volume production. Another describes the negative effects that dust and moisture can have on electronics and explains how you can design your products to meet insulation requirements.
Read it today!

Industry calendar of events
Upcoming events include the Design Automation Conference, The Vision Show, and the International Microwave Symposium, all scheduled for June. For more information about these and other test-related events, visit our online calendar.