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Electronic Design UPDATE e-Newsletter
Electronic Design Magazine
PlanetEE ==> www.planetee.com
September 21, 2005
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Today's Table Of Contents:
1. Editor's View
  *In Katrina's Wake, Ham Radio Triumphs
2. Focus On ASICs
  *Design Kit Opens SOI Design To Broader Use
3. News From The Editors
  *Connectors Provide Miniature Docking For Portables
  *Small UAVs Search For Katrina Survivors
  *Add 3D Stereo To Mobile Phones
4. Magazine Highlights: September 15, 2005
  *Cover Story: Engineering Feature -- The WiMAX Wait Is Over
  *Technology Report -- Wireless Mesh Expands The Boundaries Of 
   Networking
  *Leapfrog: First Look -- Camera Sensors Capture The Cell-Phone 
   Landscape
  *Design View/Design Solution -- Take A Peek Inside Today's 
   Spectrum Analyzers
5. Electronic Design Helpline
  *RS-232C Signal

Electronic Design UPDATE edited by Lisa Maliniak, eMedia Editor
mailto:[email protected]
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A T-Shirt For Your Thoughts

Here's your chance to select the best design and product articles 
that appeared in the pages of Electronic Design during the past 
year. Take our short Readers' Choice online survey and get a chance 
to be one of 20 lucky participants who'll walk away with a coveted 
Electronic Design t-shirt. Look for the results in our "Best" 
special issue hitting your desk (and browser) on December 1.

http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=141FD:1001CD

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**********************
1. Editor's View -- Exclusive to Electronic Design UPDATE
**********************

In Katrina's Wake, Ham Radio Triumphs

By David Maliniak (AD2A), EDA Editor

A few months ago, NBC's Tonight Show staged a race between a pair of 
ham-radio operators with Morse-code keys and a couple of kids with 
text-messaging cell phones to see who could communicate faster. The 
hams won hands down, proving, in the minds of some, that old 
technology could hold its own against new. In recent days, ham radio 
was put to the test again by Hurricane Katrina. This time, however, 
lives were at stake...

Read the full article at 
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=141F4:1001CD

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**********************
2. Focus On ASICs
**********************

***Design Kit Opens SOI Design To Broader Use
Believed to be an industry first, SOISIC now offers a 
customer-owned-tooling (COT) design kit for 90-nm 
silicon-on-insulator (SOI) processes. The immediate availability of 
the kit marks the entry of SOI technologies into the mainstream COT 
market. The kit should enable fabless semiconductor companies to 
make designs up to 35% faster, reduce power consumption by as much 
as 50%, and implement chips that are 10% smaller when compared with 
chips manufactured on bulk CMOS processes. SOISIC's design kit is 
silicon-proven on Freescale Semiconductor's advanced 90-nm SOI 
process technology. The company developed the kit using its 
SOI-specific patented intellectual property, patented 
characterization methodology, and proprietary architectures. Its 
standard-cell libraries have versions of cells constructed with 
multiple transistor types that offer different threshold voltages to 
better optimize cells for low power or high performance. Additional 
resources in the design kit include memory compilers and standard 
I/Os for manufacturing on Freescale's 90-nm SOI process technology. 
     SOISIC Inc. 
> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=14204:1001CD

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3. News -- From The Editors
**********************

***Connectors Provide Miniature Docking For Portables
Portable devices such as digital cameras, audio players, and mobile 
phones can employ the CradleCon connector system from Molex to 
provide a cradle docking system. According to Molex, the dual-row 
0.50-mm pitch provides about 50% space savings compared to previous 
single-row docking solutions. The pc-board pattern layout of the 
CradleCon system is the key to its space savings. Its dual-row 
staggered surface-mount (SMT) pattern is easier to solder, and it 
doesn't increase in size incrementally as quickly as in-line solder 
patterns. The CradleCon system is available in a variety of SMT 
board-to-board options and custom cable versions. Board-to-board 
types feature the right-angle pc-board plugs most often used on the 
equipment side and straight and right-angle pc-board receptacles 
used on docking units. A 14-circuit pc-board plug costs $0.78 each 
in 50,000-piece quantities. Lead time is stock to six weeks.
     Molex Inc. 
> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=141FF:1001CD

***Small UAVs Search For Katrina Survivors
Using two types of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), scientists 
from the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR) at the 
University of South Florida worked with other Florida rescuers to 
search for survivors in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. CRASAR 
is funded by the National Science Foundation. This is believed to be 
the first use of small UAVs in an actual disaster. The UAVs captured 
video imagery to help responders focus their efforts and avoid 
potential hazards.
View video at http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=141F1:1001CD

One of the UAVs is a 4-ft long airplane with mounted 
video and thermal cameras that can capture details from up to 1000 
ft away. Launched by hand, the craft gives rescuers a broad overview 
of the disaster area. The other UAV, a camera-equipped, miniature, 
electric helicopter called T-Rex, can hover at heights approaching 
250 ft and zoom its camera to peer inside windows or scan distant 
rooftops.
     National Science Foundation 
> 
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=141F2:1001CD

***Add 3D Stereo To Mobile Phones
Designers can add full-bandwidth stereo and 3D audio to mobile 
phones and other battery-powered devices with the Boomer LM4844 
audio subsystem. The 3.3-V device combines 1.2-W stereo speaker 
amplifiers and headphone drivers, volume control, mixing, 
power-management features, and the company's 3D sound enhancement 
into one 2.5- by 3-mm micro surface-mounted device package. The 
output capacitor-less (OCL) headphone topology eliminates the need 
for external capacitors at the headphone outputs. It also improves 
low-frequency response and reduces the pop-and-click noise of the 
headphone amplifier. The subsystem further reduces pop-and-click 
noise from the headphone and speaker outputs with suppression 
circuitry. Integrated stereo speaker drivers deliver 495 mW of 
output power per channel into an 8-ohm load, and the stereo 
headphone drivers deliver 33 mW into a 32-ohm load. Pricing is $2 
each in 1000-unit quantities.
     National Semiconductor 
> 
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=14200:1001CD

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BEST Designs of the Year 

Electronic Design is searching for the industry's best designs. Have 
you created an especially innovative or unique product within the 
past year? Get the recognition you deserve by submitting your design 
for consideration as an Electronic Design "Best Design of the Year." 
We're going to feature articles about the winning products in our 
December 1, 2005 "Best of" special issue. You'll also get cash, as 
the top design wins $1000. Good luck! 

Get details at http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=14201:1001CD 

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**********************
4. Magazine Highlights
**********************
In case you missed them, here are some of the high points of our 
most recent issue.

September 15, 2005:

* Cover Story: Engineering Feature -- The WiMAX Wait Is Over
A parade of new chips helps accelerate the development and 
infiltration of this promising wireless broadband network. 
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=141F5:1001CD

* Technology Report -- Wireless Mesh Expands The Boundaries Of 
Networking
Greater range and reliability, plus much lower costs, have 
businesses scrambling for wireless mesh to implement into their 
short-range wireless setups.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=141F7:1001CD

* Leapfrog: First Look -- Camera Sensors Capture The Cell-Phone 
Landscape
Equipped with higher-resolution image sensors, camera-based cell 
phones deliver higher-quality images and work at lower light levels.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=141F8:1001CD

* Design View/Design Solution -- Take A Peek Inside Today's Spectrum 
Analyzers
Depending on what kind of signals you're examining, a swept-tuned, 
vector, or real-time spectrum analyzer may be the optimum choice. 
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=141F6:1001CD

For the complete Table of Contents, go to Electronic Design 
>
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=141FC:1001CD

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Visit the microsite now:

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Technology in the News

Electronic Design has a new online feature! Read our latest 
"Technology In The News" story about the recent announcements from 
Apple Computer. Take an in-depth look at the technology behind the 
new iTunes cell phone and iPod nano music player.

http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=141F3:1001CD

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**********************
5. Electronic Design Helpline
**********************

***RS-232C Signal

An Electronic Design reader asks:

"I need to use an RS-232C signal that goes high when the port is 
active (RTS) to power a relay that requires +5 V dc to activate. 
Does anyone have a simple circuit that will handle the positive and 
negative movement of the line? I do have a +5-V dc source, but I 
only need it on when the RS-232C port is active."

Do you have any tips, ideas, or resources to offer? Please e-mail 
your ideas to Lisa Maliniak at mailto:[email protected] for 
posting on the Electronic Design Web site.

Readers seeking help with design problems, looking for parts, or in 
need of advice on tips and techniques are encouraged to e-mail us at 
mailto:[email protected] for posting in future editions of the ED 
Update newsletter.

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Embedded in Electronic Design (EiED) Online is your source for 
technical insight and hands-on reviews. Read one of Technology 
Editor Bill Wong's latest EiED Online columns, "ARM In Hand." 
Freescale's new development board for the iMX1 from Cogent Computer 
Systems fits in the palm of your hand. Bill takes a look at the 
package, which includes GX-Linux from Microcross. He also tests the 
system using Cornice's hard-disk eval kit.
http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=141F9:1001CD

**********************

TAKE A POLL!

Should the U.S. implement strict federal recycling policies for 
e-waste?

-- Yes, it's a huge enviromental problem
-- Eventually, but it's not imperative
-- No, let it be done on the state level
-- No, it's a waste of time and money
-- Not sure

Vote at Electronic Design ==> http://www.elecdesign.com

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***LAST CHANCE -- SUBMIT BY 9/30***

Want Your Picture Published In Electronic Design? It's Easy! 

Send us some photos showing you (and your team) at work. We need 
them for our "Day in the Life of an Electronic Designer" photo 
essay, which will appear in Electronic Design's Oct. 20 special 
issue. There's a $500 Grand Prize for best photo series and $250 
prize for best photo, and we pay $50 if we use any of your photos in 
the issue. Please include the names and titles of all photo 
subjects, as well as company name and the type of work-in-process 
illustrated by the photo. Digital photos should be in .tif or .jpg 
formats and must have resolution of at least 300 dpi. Deadline for 
submission is Sept. 30.

E-mail digital photos to Richard Gawel at mailto:[email protected]

Mail hard-copy photos to:
 
Richard Gawel
Electronic Design
Managing Editor
45 Eisenhower Dr., 5th Floor
Paramus, NJ 07652

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Electronic Design
45 Eisenhower Dr., 5th Floor
Paramus, NJ 07652 
USA