RF

http://www.edn.com/design/analog/4398951/What-PCB-material-do-I-need-to-use-for-RF-?utm_content=buffer44212&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer Is plain old FR-4 (also known as “Glass Epoxy”) PCB material suitable for use in RF designs? This question comes up time and again. Many say no, fewer say yes – who’s right? This article is from few years back, but still is valid. Besides RF applications you need to consider material with very →

http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/the-practicing-instrumentation-engineer/4418080/Shields-are-your-friend–except-when-?utm_content=buffer6cce1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer Engineers just love to put shields on circuits, mostly as a defensive measure against signals on the outside getting into and disturbing our circuits, but they also keep signals inside from getting out and this really makes the folks responsible for EMI compliance happy. So what could go wrong? Well 10 years ago, not →

http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4458585/How-to-pre-test-your-product-s-antenna?utm_content=bufferf9cb7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer Your wireless product’s end-to-end success dictates that your customers will rely on your antennas to perform well in their system. Most hardware and software is thoughtfully tested before sale or deployment, but why are so many antennas ignored? There is no reason to defer or ignore your antenna evaluation; help is available. This article →

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_connector A banana connector is a single-wire (one conductor) electrical connector used for joining wires to equipment. The term 4 mm connector is also used, especially in Europe,because the pin’s diameter is nominally 4 millimetres (0.16 in).The pin has one or more lengthwise springs that bulge outwards slightly, giving the appearance of a banana. The original plug consists of a cylindrical metal pin about 20 millimetres (0.79 in) long.However other →

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/06/23/aes_256_cracked_50_seconds_200_kit/ Side-channel attacks that monitor a computer’s electromagnetic output to snaffle passwords are nothing new. They usually require direct access to the target system and a lot of expensive machinery – but no longer. Researchers at Fox‑IT have managed to wirelessly extract secret AES-256 encryption keys from a distance of one metre (3.3 feet) – →

http://websdr.org/ A WebSDR is a Software-Defined Radio receiver connected to the internet, allowing many listeners to listen and tune it simultaneously. SDR technology makes it possible that all listeners tune independently, and thus listen to differentsignals;  this is in contrast to the many classical receivers that are already available via the internet. →

https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/19/researchers-train-drones-to-use-wi-fi-to-look-through-walls/?ncid=rss&utm_source=tcfbpage&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29&utm_content=FaceBook&sr_share=facebook This is quite interesting -or frightening – WiFi radar application. A new system by University of California, Santa Barbara researchers Yasamin Mostofi and Chitra R. Karanam uses two drones, a massive Wi-Fi antenna, and a little interpolation to literally see through solid walls. One drone blasts Wi-Fi through the structure and another picks up the signal. →

http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/rowe-s-and-columns/4458491/IMS-2017–RF-microwave-test-equipment–part-1?utm_content=buffer9eaa6&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer The IEEE International Microwave Symposium is in Honolulu, Hawaii in 2017. Here is some of the new test equipment seen by EDN staff. →

http://www.popsci.com/radio-wave-shield-space-weather?src=SOC&dom=fb This is interesting if true. This is not the first I have heard EM signals from earth affecting ionosphere.  When the Navy wants to send a message to an underwater submarine, it sometimes uses very low frequency (VLF) radio waves. Some end up in space and according to a new report, they may be forming a →

http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/aerospace/space-flight/scientists-figure-out-possible-new-threat-to-spacecraft Micrometeoroids don’t pack enough punch to get through a spacecraft’s hull. But according to new simulations reported this week in the journal Physics of Plasmas, they can generate a potentially crippling pulse of radio-frequency radiation. →