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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:
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.
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.
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!
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...
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.
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.
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.
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...
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!
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.
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).
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...
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.
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/
I like to make at least one present for someone at Christmas. 
Welcome to another post in the series by Nick Locke, of 
Just a quick post to flag we have updated the 
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. 
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.
I'm pleased to flag another new photo gallery, this time concerning a spy glider that uses circuit boards for wings... See 
It's well overdue time for another in our series of posts featuring the excellent electronics cartoons from 
Welcome to another post in the series by Nick Locke, of 
Just a quick post to flag that you can win an Android-related piece of kit on another Electronics Weekly blog - check out the 
It's like with London buses - you wait ages for one Picture Gallery and another one comes along straight after it!
From the University of Cambridge: 