March 15, 2007 Newsletter

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Microwaves & RF UPDATE
PlanetEE - http://www.planetee.com/
MWRF - http://www.mwrf.com/
March 15, 2007
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Greetings and welcome to your personal copy of PlanetEE's Microwaves and RF 
UPDATE e-newsletter. Please see below for address-change or 
subscribe/unsubscribe instructions.

Today's Table of Contents:
1. Broadband Can Flourish Without Power Lines 
2. Research Firm Applauds RFMD's GaN Strategy 
3. Broadband Over Power Lines To Outpace Cable 
4. Rodelco Develops X-Band Receiver 
5. Motorola Invests in AMIMON's WHDI Technology 
6. Catalog Collects Cable Assemblies to 50 GHz
7. Compact Antenna Covers Two Bands 
8. Happenings - Conferences 


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***************
1.  Viewpoint 
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Broadband Can Flourish Without Power Lines

Demand for broadband services, including high-speed data and video, is 
increasing steadily in the United States, prompting the installation of fiber-
optic cables, wireless networks and, in some cases, modulation of power lines. 
Although at least one study (see news below) points to huge growth for the 
broadband over power line (BPL) approach, it is hardly the most optimum means of 
delivering broadband services. 

While it appears practical, with so much power line infrastructure already in 
place, the approach essentially transforms those power lines into long, 
radiating antennas, creating radio interference for numerous existing 
communications systems, including amateur ("ham") radios. Other approaches, such 
as WiMAX, can provide those broadband services without the interference, and by 
leveraging existing cellular infrastructure such as towers and cell sites. For 
more on the realities and problems of BPL technology, visit the ARRL amateur 
radio site at www.arrl.org. 

JACK BROWNE
Technical Director


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2. News
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Research Firm Applauds RFMD's GaN Strategy

Research and consulting firm Strategy Analytics has concluded that the gallium 
nitride (GaN) device activities of RF Micro Devices represent a coherent 
business strategy for the company. Their report, "RF Micro Devices Adds GaN 
Foundry Strategy To Maintain Leadership in Compound Semiconductor Industry," 
points to orders from the military sector as helping to offset cyclical sales in 
the commercial sector. The research firm forecasts that the market for GaN 
devices will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 151 percent through 2010, 
with military applications accounting for 50 percent of the GaN device demand.
RF Micro Devices ---> http://www.rfmd.com/
Strategy Analytics ---> http://www.strategyanalytics.com


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3. News
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Broadband Over Power Lines To Outpace Cable

Tremendous growth is projected in the number of US households receiving 
broadband communications services by means of broadband over power line (BPL) 
technology, according to a report from Parks Associates. The report, "FTTx and 
BPL: Analysis and Outlook," projects that BPL users in the US will increase from 
400,000 in 2007 to 2.5 million by 2011. According to the report, BPL technology 
will outpace cable and DSL technologies over the next five years.
Parks Associates ---> http://www.parksassociates.com/


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4. News
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Rodelco Develops X-Band Receiver

Rodelco Electronics has designed and manufactured a custom airborne receiver 
with dual-downconversion superheterodyne architecture for use at X-band 
frequencies. The receiver includes a variety of precision components, including 
an attenuator, low-noise amplifier (LNA), RF bandpass filter, local-oscillator 
(LO) filters, ceramic bandpass filters for the first intermediate frequency 
(IF), and lumped-element bandpass filters for the second IF. The airborne 
receiver achieves better than 70 dB conversion gain with spurious suppression of 
better than -90 dBc.
Rodelco Electronics Corp. ---> http://www.rodelcocorp.com/


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5. News
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Motorola Invests in AMIMON's WHDI Technology

Motorola, through its Motorola Ventures venture capital arm, has made an equity 
investment in AMIMON, Inc., a developer of semiconductor solutions for wireless 
high-definition (HD) video transmissions. AMIMON's wireless high-definition 
interface  technology enables wireless transmission of uncompressed 
high-definition video streams in the unlicensed 5-GHz band. According to Dr. 
Yoav Nissan-Cohen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AMIMON, "The 
investment from Motorola will fund our plan to set WHDI as a new industry 
standard for connecting high-definition video sources to displays wirelessly."
AMIMON, Inc. ---> http://www.amimon.com/
Motorola ---> http://www.motorola.com/


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******************************************************************


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6. News
*********
Catalog Collects Cable Assemblies to 50 GHz 

The Tyco Electronics M/A-COM High Performance Coaxial Cables Assemblies catalog 
features cable assemblies for applications from DC to 50 GHz in ground-based, 
shipboard, airborne, and space-based systems. The catalog includes an easy-to-
use selection guide sorted by cable diameter (from 0.05 to 1.4 inches), product 
listing by market segment, application notes, and ordering information. For a 
free copy, call (800) 366-2266 or visit the website.
M/A-COM ---> http://www.macom.com/


*********
7. News
*********
Compact Antenna Covers Two Bands

The model UFDD224580303PT ceiling-mount dual diversity omnidirectional antenna 
is designed to cover the wireless-local-area-network (WLAN) bands at 2.4 to 2.5 
GHz and 4.9 to 5.9 GHz. The flat antenna employs vertical linear polarization to 
achieve 3 dBi nominal gain in both bands with better than 25 dB isolation 
between frequency bands. The horizontal beamwidth is truly omnidirectional, at 
360 deg., while the vertical beamwidth is 55 deg. at 2.4 GHz and 40 deg. at 5 
GHz. The antenna is designed to handle 25 W maximum input power at either 
frequency band. 
PCTEL Antenna Products Group ---> http://www.maxrad.com/

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8.  Happenings - Conferences
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RFID World 2007
March 26-28, 2007
Grapevine, TX
http://www.rfid-world.com/

ARMMS RF And Microwave Society Conference
April 16-17, 2007
Milton Hill House
Steventon, Abington, Oxfordshire, England
http://www.armms.org/

IEEE Sarnoff Symposium 2007
April 30-May 2, 2007
Sarnoff Labs
Princeton, NJ
http://www.sarnoffsymposium.org

2007 IEEE/MTT-S International Microwave Symposium
June 3-8, 2007
Hawaii Convention Center
Honolulu, HI
http://www.ims2007.org/


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RF and microwave test equipment and measurement techniques. Sponsored by 
Keithley Instruments, this blog highlights hot new products, white papers, and 
application notes. And while you're there, take a look at the new RF Components 
Blog, sponsored by M/A-COM for the latest component news, at:

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====================================================
Technical Director: Jack Browne
mailto: [email protected]
Managing Editor: John Curley
mailto: [email protected]

Advertising/Sponsorship Opportunities:
Paul Barkman at 1-908-704-2460 or
mailto: [email protected]
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