« June 2008 | Main | August 2008 »

July 2008 Archives

July 1, 2008

An Engineer in Wonderland - Land speed records, and steam

SSC.JPGI am never going to forget those pictures of Thrust SSC with the shockwave angling back across the desert.

There is something magnificent and a little bit mad about land speed records.

A record attempt takes a lot of engineering.

Gone are the days when someone bolted a huge engine into a little tiny car and then just pointed it down a runway.

Which is a good thing in my opinion because a lot of talented people have ended up dead because they took too many chances, or didn't see enough of the potential problems.

Continue reading "An Engineer in Wonderland - Land speed records, and steam" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 1, 2008 3:33 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 2, 2008

A call for book reviewers - Next-Gen Mobile Access, Wireless Network Security

book 1.jpgbook 2.jpg
Two more books up for grabs, on just one condition... You provide us with a publishable review to a length of at least 300 words.

The two books are:

    Next Generation Mobile Access Technologies
    Implementing TDD
    Edited by Harald Haas, Stephen McLaughlin (Cambridge, ISBN13: 9780521826228)
   
    Security and Cooperation in Wireless Networks
    Thwarting Malicious and Selfish behaviour in the Age of Ubiquitous Computing
    Levente Buttyán, Jean-Pierre Hubaux (Cambridge, ISBN-13: 9780521873710)
 
If you are interested, drop me a line at webmaster@electronicsweekly.com

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 2, 2008 10:56 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 3, 2008

An Engineer in Wonderland - Waterwheels

Big Otter Mill.jpg

I have always had a soft spot for waterwheels, but like many things historic, thought they were all much of a muchness.

But Windmills and Waterwheels Explained by Stan Yorke has changed all that for me.

So fascinating I find difficult to put down, it has taught me that there were innovations in waterwheel design throughout their history.

For example, for thousands of years the central axle of water wheels carried power into the mill building.

Then some bright spark realised that you can bolt a great big gear to the wheel, and mesh it with a little gear to take power into the building.

The new drive shaft runs faster - so less gearing up is needed inside - and can be thinner because it is transmitting less torque.

Continue reading "An Engineer in Wonderland - Waterwheels" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 3, 2008 8:12 AM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

July 2, 2008

Use analogue switches to multiplex your signals

analogue switch diag.jpgCheck out another recent feature added to our site: Use analogue switches to multiplex your signals

Written by Paul Rako, Technical Editor of our sister site EDN, it looks at the myriad applications and multifaceted specifications of analogue switches, showing that there is more than meets the eye with these ubiquitous little parts.

He begins:

Few IC-schematic symbols are simpler than the one that depicts an analogue switch (Figure 1a). A basic switch comprises just an input, an output, a control pin, and a couple of power-supply pins. Yet, bedazzling complexity hides behind this simple appearance (Figure 1b).

Continue reading "Use analogue switches to multiplex your signals" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 2, 2008 12:40 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 7, 2008

An Engineer in Wonderland - Cunning power transmission

wheal martyn.jpgThinking about waterwheels the other day reminded me of a power transmission scheme that I happened across while cycling in Cornwall.

Question:
Given a waterwheel on one side of a hill, and a pump on the other, how do you power one from the other?

Now I could come up with all sorts of schemes involving pulleys and chains, hydraulic pressure, and rotating shafts in tunnels.

None of which are as simple and elegant as one at the Wheal Martyn china clay mine (pictured).

No longer in use, although the mine is still active, the power is transmitted by a series of linked horizontal rods, each running on a couple of rollers.

Connected to a crank on the waterwheel, which does still work, the rods oscillate back and forth a metre or so.
 

Continue reading "An Engineer in Wonderland - Cunning power transmission" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 7, 2008 8:01 AM | | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

July 8, 2008

Q5 interview - George Elliott, MED

09jul08Meredith.jpgThe latest Q5 interview is with George Elliott is chairman at Edinburgh-based miniature OLED display company MED.

The former CFO at Wolfson Microelectronics reveals his thoughts on breaking into the market in China, technology triggers for venture backing and the state of the high tech start-up community in Scotland.

The five short sharp questions this week are:

1. How would you describe the state of the high tech start-up community in Scotland?

2. What are the key "technology triggers" when trying to get venture backing?

Continue reading "Q5 interview - George Elliott, MED" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 8, 2008 11:11 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 10, 2008

Printing press for solar cells



Technology, eh. It's amazing what you can do with a printing press. In this case, it's the merging of inkjet print and solar cell technology - see Printing energy.

Nanosolar has created a press capable of printing up to 1GW's worth of cell structures a year, it says, using nanoparticle ink to produce back-contact thin-film cells.

Continue reading "Printing press for solar cells" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 10, 2008 3:10 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

July 11, 2008

Selecting video op amps

figure 3.jpgDon't miss an in-depth article recently added to our site: Selecting video op amps

Written by By Barry Harvey, of Intersil Semiconductor, it covers the use of video amps and their various characteristics, and amplifier topologies.

He begins:

Video op amps have improved significantly since their debut in the early 1990s. The first versions operated from ±15V supplies, featured bandwidths of 50 MHz, and delivered slew rates in the low hundreds of volts per microsecond. Today's fastest amplifiers run on ±5V supplies with bandwidths of 1.4 GHz and slew rates of 6000V/µsec. There are hundreds of versions available, and, to add to the challenge, many applications require the lowest possible supply voltage.

Continue reading "Selecting video op amps" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 11, 2008 8:07 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 14, 2008

Q5 interview - Damon de Laszlo, Harwin

16jul08damondeLaszlo.jpgThe latest Q5 interview is with Damon de Laszlo, chairman of Portsmouth-based connector manufacturer Harwin.

He reveals his thoughts on UK competitiveness in global markets, the most exciting technologies, and the next big innovation in connector design.

The five short sharp questions this week are:

1. Describe Harwin's Business Model

2. Is it still economically competitive to manufacture product in the UK?


Continue reading "Q5 interview - Damon de Laszlo, Harwin" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 14, 2008 10:49 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Directive Decoder - a blogging century

GaryNevisonnew small.JPGHats off to Gary Nevison and his Directive Decoder blog, which gives the expert's lowdown on WEEE, REACH, RoHS and all aspects of environmental legislation.

It's a blogging century for Gary, with his most recent post being the 100th on the blog - check out "REACH fees", covering how the authorisation of substances under the REACH Regulations can be a costly business.

Other choice posts from the last month, for example, include "RoHS v REACH approach to risk"  (considering how the basis for RoHS and REACH substance restrictions are quite different) and "RoHS and 'backyard' recycling" (on the hazard posed by uncontrolled recycling of e-waste sent to Asia and Africa).

Continue reading "Directive Decoder - a blogging century" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 14, 2008 2:47 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 15, 2008

The Electronics Football Championship

08ChampionsBroadcomA.JPGWhich electronics company has the best footballers? The answer, it seems, is Broadcom, who have now won the 9th Silicon Gorge Football Tournament.

The Broadcom 'A' team  proved too strong for XMOS 'A' in the final, running out 5 - 1 winners. Icera and ST Micro were the losing semi-finalists who nobody will remember...

The picture shows the victorious team (Left to Right: Jesus De Los Reyes Darius Richard Tuck Justin Rees Richard Evans Derry O'Donoghue Andrew Hubert (capt) James Brooking Scott Clark)

"130 engineers in 20 teams from 14 companies battled it out in the pouring rain," said Peter Davy, marketing manager of Mentor Graphics UK, which organises the event.

Continue reading "The Electronics Football Championship" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 15, 2008 5:20 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 18, 2008

Sensor-rich designs

fig 1 sensor rich.jpgHave a look at another in-depth article added to the site - Sensor-rich designs

Written by Robert Cravotta, Technical Editor of our sister site EDN, it looks at how designers are adding sensors and intelligent processing to fill the holes in their end-system capabilities, yielding designs that cost less to produce and operate.

He begins:
As the cost of microprocessors and sensors continues to drop, autonomous and semiautonomous systems can incorporate more intelligence and make more optimal decisions based on a better understanding of their internal condition and the immediate environment surrounding them.

Continue reading "Sensor-rich designs" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 18, 2008 3:29 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 21, 2008

Electronics Weekly references on Wikipedia

wiki logo jpg.jpgI've written before about Electronics Weekly serving as a reference on Wikipedia, with a new entry on Memristors. But checking our site's stats, on HitBox for the month so far, brought home the wide range of material we are referenced for.

Check out this list of twenty-nine Electronics Weekly-sourced references:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3GPP_Long_Term_Evolution

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application-specific_integrated_circuit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P.A._Semi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STMicroelectronics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PWRficient

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_Electrical_and_Electronic_Equipment_Directive

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronics_Weekly

Continue reading "Electronics Weekly references on Wikipedia" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 21, 2008 2:27 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Q5 interview - John Bruggeman, Wind River

John Bruggeman

The latest Q5 interview is with John Bruggeman, chief marketing officer at Wind River, the real-time operating system and development software company.

He reveals his thoughts on multi-core systems, Nokia's recent open-source move and the main RTOS market drivers.
The five short sharp questions this week are:

What are the main drivers in the real-time operating system (RTOS) market?

Is software keeping up with the move to multi-core systems?

How important is Linux and move to open-source environments?

Continue reading "Q5 interview - John Bruggeman, Wind River" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 21, 2008 3:03 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 23, 2008

Keitai Shosetsu - a literary form for the mobile age

Nokia phones.jpgThis Mannerisms post caught my eye - Japanese Pioneer The Handset Novel

A new literary form is emerging in high-tech Japan, with stories being specifically created for mobile handsets. Apparently the works - collectively known as Keitai Shosetsu - are avidly consumed by younger phone users.

With the tales being divided into short, tantalising excerpts - each of which takes about three minutes to read (about the average time between stops on the Japanese Tube) - David Manners draws an interesting parallel with the Victrorian-style serialisation of Dickens' novels.

Continue reading "Keitai Shosetsu - a literary form for the mobile age" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 23, 2008 4:01 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 24, 2008

An Engineer in Wonderland - portable toilets

portable toilets.jpgThere is something wonderful about portable toilets.

Not only because they are the difference between privacy and bearing your bum in public, but because the construction is so neat.

There are a few simple plastic mouldings, which I assume are vacuum or pressure formed from flat sheets on a single-side mould.

Then there are pop rivets

A few bent bits of metal for fittings

A hand pump

Continue reading "An Engineer in Wonderland - portable toilets" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 24, 2008 8:53 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

An Engineer in Wonderland - Madness in Battersea

30jul08BatterseaEM1 small.JPGBattersea power station in London, with its chimney at each corner, is an icon - not least for having made it onto the cover of Pink Floyd's Animals album and having been designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott - he of red telephone box fame.

There are plenty of other reasons to love the place, including a rather fine art-deco interior and it once having been part of a large CHP (combined heat and power) scheme that heated a housing development on the other side of the Thames.

But an odd thing is going down at the site, which has been derelict for years and is prime building land.

30jul08BatterseaEM2.JPGThe main building is well worth saving as is has two beautifully decorated cathedral-like spaces solidly built in brick - it is the biggest brick building in Europe.

However, those famous chimneys have to come down. They are fatally riddled with cracks - the result of an incomplete understanding of reinforced concrete when they were built.

Here comes the madness:

Continue reading "An Engineer in Wonderland - Madness in Battersea" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 24, 2008 11:53 AM | | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

July 29, 2008

An Engineer in Wonderland - A car alternator surprise

AliceAlterator2.JPGI was asked to have a look at a car that was not charging properly yesterday.

It is a kit car based on a Renault 6.

When I measured the battery, it was charging at about 13.8V - with and without the lights on. This is a bit on the low side for a car, but acceptable.

As the owner said it had not been charging at all, I thought I would pull the alternator brushes, just in case they were worn.

So we took the thing off, a SEV Marchal unit, and dismantled the back end where the brushes normally are.

No brushes. 

Continue reading "An Engineer in Wonderland - A car alternator surprise" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 29, 2008 12:26 PM | | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

July 31, 2008

An Engineer in Wonderland - Alice-machine interface

06aug08RadioOld2.JPGThese days, I own a car.

And as I have a car, I feel the need for Radio 4 and music.

So a year or so ago I replaced the standard worn cassette-radio with a CD-radio (left).

It cost £50ish from Lidl, and its major selling point was that it also played USB sticks and SD cards.

Incidentally, the necessary fitting kits, bought from Halfords, to convert Ford's non-standard radio orifice to fit a DIN standard radio cost almost as much as the new radio - thanks Ford.

Continue reading "An Engineer in Wonderland - Alice-machine interface" »

Tags:

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 31, 2008 3:31 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

About July 2008

This page contains all entries posted to Electro-ramblings in July 2008. They are listed from oldest to newest.

June 2008 is the previous archive.

August 2008 is the next archive.

More posts can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

Subscribe to this blog's feed
[What is this?]

Search


Powered by
Movable Type 4.37