The United States Department of Transportation unveiled a new regulatory framework for the unexpectedly rapid rise of self-driving automobile technology, just days after Uber’s recent announcement of its first driverless taxis. US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the federal government intends to set the safety standards for cars of the future where no human is … [Read more...]
Mystery Signal Disrupts Singapore Train
Singapore’s Today Online reported that the "Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SMRT have not been able to determine the source that caused the “intermittent loss of signalling communications” on the Circle Line (CCL) late last month". This has led to several days of train service delays, and continues two weeks after the LTA began investigations. "On Aug 29, persistent … [Read more...]
Blog Post: Budget SDR-Based Spectrum Analyzer
Kenneth Wyatt describes a low cost software defined radio (SDR) based spectrum analyzer that costs just $200. The analyzer is perfectly suited for general EMI troubleshooting. The free software applications are PC-based. To read the full post, click here. … [Read more...]
Blog Post – Welcome to Mega Automotive
By Joanna Hill (Testing Electronic Subassemblies (ESAs). Today is Arnold’s first day at Mega Automotive. He is fresh out of college with an electrical engineering degree and is eager to meet his new boss, Mr. Buttsworth. Mr. Buttsworth: Hello Arnold welcome to Mega Automotive. I’m sure you’re going to like it here. It’s a fast-paced environment with lots to learn and loads of … [Read more...]
FCC Field Offices to Close in January
(Sept. 14, 2016) According to Radioworld.com, "the Federal Communications Commission is proceeding with its plan to eliminate field staff and close many offices." Meanwhile, few details have been made public about the creation of emergency “Tiger Teams” to handle special enforcement situations and some observers are skeptical that the approach will be effective. January 2017 … [Read more...]
Semiconductor Supplier Acquires Company for Cash Payment
(Sept. 19, 2016) ON Semiconductor Corporation has recently announced its purchase of Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. for $2.4 billion cash. “The acquisition of Fairchild is a transformative step in our quest to become the premier supplier of power management and analog semiconductor solutions for a wide range of applications and end-markets,” said Keith Jackson, … [Read more...]
Product Testing and Certifcation Firm Expands Lab Presence in Florida
TÜV SÜD recently announced the acquisition of the assets of Walshire Labs, LLC.(Walshire) along with Product Safety Engineering, Inc.(PSE). In combining the existing TÜV SÜD Tampa lab with two regional partner labs, clients in central Florida and the southeastern US will have access to a 12,000 sq/ft facility for global testing and certification services. Walshire Labs, LLC … [Read more...]
Self-Driving Cars Soon to Hit Pittsburgh
(August 18, 2016) The BBC has reported the ride-sharing firm, Uber, will allow users to hail self-driving cars shortly. Uber said the launch would take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and will be teaming up initially with Volvo in sensor-equipped XC90 SUVs. Volvo intends to have delivered 100 such cars by the end of the year. "At first, the vehicles will be supervised by a … [Read more...]
Blog Post – DC-DC Converter Noise Evaluation
By Kenneth Wyatt More of my clients are starting to use small third-party DC-DC converters to provide the multitude of voltages required for today’s processor and DDR RAM ICs. While these are convenient to drop onto a circuit board, they can be quite a source of radiated and conducted emissions – especially those that switch in the MHz range... To read the full blog post, … [Read more...]
Blog Post – EMC & It’s Role in Reliabilty
By Ken Javor Totally anecdotal, but this just happened to me. My wife uses a powered wheelchair. A very high end, high quality chair. We were on vacation driving north and had just crossed the 45th parallel in the state of Michigan. The 45th parallel anywhere is halfway between the equator and the North Pole. In Michigan it’s also halfway to nowhere, and it was there my wife’s … [Read more...]
