Electro-ramblings

Electronics Weekly Index - February 2012

A periodic check on the market capitalisation of publicly quoted UK electronics companies...

I've just taken the February snapshot of industry market capitalisation, for our Electronics Weekly Index... see The market capitalisation of the UK electronics industry

With the number of companies stabilised, for better or worse this month can serve as the first benchmark...

How stands the industry? Well, it is currently worth at least £842.2 billion...

Continue reading "Electronics Weekly Index - February 2012" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on February 2, 2012 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

An Engineer in Wonderland - 15,000 lm torch

LED torch maker 4sevens has demonstrated the production version of its 15,000 lm XM18 torch - or flashlight as the company would say.

Take a look at this video over at Geeky Gadgets

'Alice'

Should you feel the need, respond to alice@electronicsweekly.com with 'Torch' in the title.

Please don't respond below as our spam blocking system doesn't work and the inbox is overwhelmed by all kinds of generous offers from a multitude of rather annoying people.

No email addresses are collected for marketing (or any other) purposes from responses to this blog. I will keep it that way for as long as possible.

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on February 1, 2012 3:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Only Connect: UL markings

Welcome to another post in the series by Nick Locke, of Nicab Ltd, who has over 15 years experience in the electronics manufacturing industry specialising in interconnection cable assembly.

In this week's blog post I am going to show you how easy it is to understand UL ratings on Cable.

This is often an area of confusion as we have the BS Standard, CSA (Canadian Standards Association), and (Underwriters Laboratories) ratings - it's hard to know where to start or which standard to adopt.

For many the default standard of choice is the UL for cable & wire. The main reason for this is the international association of the standard. Pretty much everywhere in the world recognises the standard. What's more, the leading brands such as Belden & Alpha use UL ratings as standard.

Continue reading "Only Connect: UL markings" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 30, 2012 7:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

An Engineer in Wonderland - How wings really lift

From the University of Cambridge: A one minute video sets the record straight on a much misunderstood concept.

The University said:

It's one of the most tenacious myths in physics and it frustrates aerodynamicists the world over.

Continue reading "An Engineer in Wonderland - How wings really lift" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 27, 2012 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Gadget Master compo sees Android IOIO board up for grabs

Just a quick post to flag that you can win an Android-related piece of kit on another Electronics Weekly blog - check out the current compo on Gadget Master.

Specifically, up for grabs is the IOIO board (pronounced "YoYo"), from SparkFun. It is an easy way to get I/O from an Android smartphone's USB connection (OS versions 1.5 and greater).

Continue reading "Gadget Master compo sees Android IOIO board up for grabs " »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 25, 2012 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Picture Gallery - CES International 2012

It's like with London buses - you wait ages for one Picture Gallery and another one comes along straight after it!

Following on from the recent Spy Glider series, check out our picture gallery of a certain consumer electronics show that took place in Las Vegas.

Take a look at the people, gadgets and keynotes at CES International 2012, including the Sony Ericsson SmartWatch, the Invoxia NVX610, a PowerBag, the GreenWave Reality energy management system, keynotes from Intel and Microsoft, and more...

View the latest photo gallery >>

View all Electronics Weekly photo galleries >>

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 24, 2012 8:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Only Connect: On education in electronics

Welcome to another post in the series by Nick Locke, of Nicab Ltd, who has over 15 years experience in the electronics manufacturing industry specialising in interconnection cable assembly.

They say that if you always run your car on empty eventually it wall cause damage to the engine and cost you more in the long term, I believe it is the same for your mind.

If we only invest in the minimum to get by we will mostly just get by. However, if we constantly keep our minds topped up we will run in peak performance which leads to long term happiness, and isn't that what we all want?

It's not easy, it takes hard work and more effort but then anything worth having is always harder to gain. If you work in a highly technical industry such as ours it is well worth taking the opportunity to improve your knowledge, and it is possible. After all, learning about something your are interested in is always easier.

Continue reading "Only Connect: On education in electronics" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 23, 2012 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

OhmArt Cartoon: Logic Families

It's well overdue time for another in our series of posts featuring the excellent electronics cartoons from OhmArt! Check out more on Barney's blog, too...

This one takes us into the rather strange world of Logic. Grandfather Aristotle has a lot to answer for!

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 20, 2012 2:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Updated: The market capitalisation of the UK electronics industry

Updated 19/1/2012: Did I say £18bn? Make that £800bn! Thanks to Ciaran for pointing out the omission of CSR (!) and there is also e2v and BAE Systems to add to the mix. They make a big difference! Hopefully we have now reached a good set working set for the future.

Is the UK electronics sector an ~~£18bn~~ £800bn industry? That is, based on the market capitalisation of the major listed companies...

Playing around with Google Docs spreadsheets, dipping my toe into data journalism as it were, I've put together something that may prove useful over the coming months or years. We live in interesting times and I thought it would be worthwhile to try and create a sort of Electroincs Weekly Index based on the share value of publicly quoted UK electronics companies...

Continue reading "Updated: The market capitalisation of the UK electronics industry" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 19, 2012 3:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Picture Gallery - Spy-in-the-sky circuit-board glider

I'm pleased to flag another new photo gallery, this time concerning a spy glider that uses circuit boards for wings... See Picture Gallery - Spy-in-the-sky circuit-board glider

The US Navy has tested a spy-in-the-sky glider 30cm across made from circuit boards. Its lack of a motor and small size make it nearly undetectable in flight, says the US Naval Research Laboratory...

View the latest photo gallery >>

View all Electronics Weekly photo galleries >>

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 19, 2012 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

An Engineer in Wonderland - Op amp needed for a current source

I was pondering a simple way with a low drop-out voltage to power a grounded LED from a grounded supercapacitor. Something that would be tolerant of the LED being powered from elsewhere when the capacitor is empty.

The easiest option is to use a resistor, but this will mean brightness is dependent on capacitor voltage.

A complicated way, which could deliver maximum efficiency and maximum power extraction, is to implement a buck/boost converter.

Continue reading "An Engineer in Wonderland - Op amp needed for a current source" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 18, 2012 4:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Elektra 2011 Winners in video form!

The Elektra 2011 winners share their thoughts!

After receiving their trophies at the recent Elektra 2011 European Electronics Industry Awards the winners were whisked away for some post award video interviews. And here they are...

You can view the full set of interview questions, or see further below for the individual questions they all answered.

Elektra 2011 Awards - The Winners >>

Industry salutes business pioneer Dick Skipworth >>

Picture Gallery - Elektra Awards 2011 Attendees >>

Continue reading "Elektra 2011 Winners in video form!" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 17, 2012 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Only Connect: Quality of workmanship and value of UK Manufactured

Welcome to another post in the series by Nick Locke, of Nicab Ltd, who has over 15 years experience in the electronics manufacturing industry specialising in interconnection cable assembly.

Having recently completed another round of IPC Training I am furthermore reminded that we are really very good at what we do in the UK Electronics industry.

I am not saying this to "blow my own trumpet" but rather that we as a whole are very good. What's more, talking to the trainer our standards of workmanship seem to be on a real high with more companies choosing to up-skill and focus on high-value mission critical product markets.

Continue reading "Only Connect: Quality of workmanship and value of UK Manufactured" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 16, 2012 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

An Engineer in Wonderland - High Speed 2 maps

Just in case you are curious, the official route maps for HS2 are on the Department for Transport website.

Turn's out that there is a lot of existing rail infrastructure in North London that I have never heard of.

Continue reading "An Engineer in Wonderland - High Speed 2 maps" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 11, 2012 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Elektra Awards 2011 in photo form

Just a quick post to flag we have updated the Photo Galleries index with Elektra Awards 2011 content.

The gallery of attendees went live last year but the gallery of winners has just gone live, as well. Look out for more pictures of the winners in the coming issue of the magazine, too.

Take a look at what was a very enjoyable evening at the Park Plaza Hotel in London!

Photos: Elektra Awards 11 - Winners

Photos: Elektra Awards 11 - Attendees

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 11, 2012 1:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Let the breaking news come to you, with RSS

The best way to get the latest electronics news as soon as it is published? RSS!

Check out all the RSS feeds that are available for Electronics Weekly content. The feed for Latest News can be found here.

There are 10 Electronics Weekly feeds you can tap into:

News
Jobs
Products

Continue reading "Let the breaking news come to you, with RSS" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 10, 2012 2:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Texas Instruments Technical Resource section - January update

Don't forget to bookmark the Texas Instruments Technical Resource section on Electronics Weekly, providing design engineers with access to resource guides, videos, articles and catalogues - www.electronicsweekly.com/static-pages/ti-microsite/

As always, we are updating the resource section every month, but the new year sees a whole new layout and re-organisation of categories, too. Check them out:

Analogue Resources >>

Embedded Processor (Microcontrollers & DSPs) Resources >>

Wireless Connectivity Resources >>

Applications Resources >>

Visit the Texas Instruments Technical resource section >>

Continue reading "Texas Instruments Technical Resource section - January update" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 10, 2012 8:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Only Connect: 3M Twin Axial Cable

Welcome to another post in the series by Nick Locke, of Nicab Ltd, who has over 15 years experience in the electronics manufacturing industry specialising in interconnection cable assembly.

For my fist blog of the year I thought I'd start with a new product innovation from 3M. For those of you who are into high-speed data then this is for you!

The 3M Internal Twin Axial Ribbon Cable SL8800 Series is a new ultra low-profile, high-speed, high signal density cable. The products in the SL8800 Series are only the first of a new family of high-performance cables from 3M.

The information in the 3M tech specs state the SL8800 Cable Series is a longitudinally shielded cable construction and is made to exacting tolerances. The cable suffers little to no resonance or "suck out," where traditionally spiral wrapped twin axial cables exhibit an enormous loss of signal at a particular range of frequency.

Continue reading "Only Connect: 3M Twin Axial Cable" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 9, 2012 2:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

An Engineer in Wonderland - DVMs from Santa's workshop

I like to make at least one present for someone at Christmas.

This time it was little pocket DVMs for those gathered around the Christmas tree that maintain their own cars and motorbikes.

A little time consuming, but the result was three happy relatives.

Continue reading "An Engineer in Wonderland - DVMs from Santa's workshop" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 3, 2012 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Happy New Year - get things in perspective

Happy New Year everyone!

How about this for an impressive InfoGraphic to start the year? The only response is, Wow! View Scale of the Universe and journey from atom to solar system...

Thanks to Sue P. for flagging it, one to file under the Digital Life category.

It was developed by Cary Huang at htwins. Check it out! >>

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 3, 2012 1:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)