December 17, 2008
[New Products] 22.5-mm Contactor Offers Four Motor Starter Functions
The Contactron solid-state reversing contactor from Phoenix Contact combines four functions in a module that’s just 22.5 mm wide. Designed for three-phase ac motors up to 4 kW/5 HP in size, the contactor provides forward, reverse, overload protection, and redundant emergency stop contactor functionality.
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Staff
December 16, 2008
[New Products] Universal Loop-Powered Signal Isolator Targets Multiple-Input Control Systems
The ITXPlus configurable loop-powered signal isolator from Weidmuller can measure, filter, and isolate different input parameters and then convert them into an industry-standard 4- to 20-mA output. With this unique capability and 12-mm profile, it saves both I/O wiring and panel space.
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Staff
December 16, 2008
[White Paper] WHITE PAPER: Liquid-Level Monitoring Using a Pressure Sensor
This article will explain how to automate a liquid monitoring system using a pressure sensor. Since obtaining the pressure is just one vital piece of the information, how to convert the sensor's output voltage into the liquid's height using an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) will also be explained. Details of the pressure sensor, ADC connections, system calibration and calculations, as well as an example application, are available to guide designers through the development phase.
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Staff
December 10, 2008
[New Products] 2770- To 2920-MHz VCO Offers 0.5- To 4.5-V Control Voltage
The CVCO55CC-2770-2920 voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) from Crystek Corp. operates from 2770 to 2920 MHz with a control voltage range of 0.5 to 4.5 V. It also offers a typical phase noise of –106 dbc/Hz at a 10-kHz offset with excellent linearity, according to the company.
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Richard Gawel
December 10, 2008
[New Products] Instrumentation Amplifier Provides Industry-Best CMR In Half The Space
The AD8295 precision instrumentation-amplifier front end from Analog Devices uses 50% less board space than competing amplifier solutions for industrial process controls, precision data acquisition systems, medical instrumentation equipment, and Wheatstone bridge measurement applications, according to the company.
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Richard Gawel
December 11, 2008[Pease Porridge] Bob's Mailbox
BOB, I read your article “What’s All This Analog Engineering Stuff, Anyhow?” (Oct. 2, p. 18, ED Online 19754) I totally agree that the need for trained analog engineers is not going away. (I am not so interested in training, but in education. /rap) I have been in analog...
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Bob Pease
December 11, 2008[TechView: Analog & Power] Direct Conversion Creates Pull For Continuous-Time Sigma Delta
It’s curious how a nascent trend can unleash a breakthrough technology with far-reaching effects. The case at hand involves an evolving movement toward the commoditization of basestations that tends to favor direct-conversion receivers, according to Nitin Sharma, product marketing manager for high-speed converters at Analog Devices. This trend led ADI to look at the continuous-time (CT) sigma-delta architecture for a standalone analog-to-digital...
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Don Tuite
December 11, 2008[Ideas For Design] Micro-Structured Transducer Accurately Measures Pressure
Today’s micro- and nano-structured sensors boast excellent linearity, resolution, and wide measurement ranges. As a result, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are playing an increasing role in many more applications. This design describes a novel use of such a sensor—a non-contact differential variable-reluctance transducer (NCDVRT)—in the pressure port of a system. The application involves the selection of a stainless-steel membrane and...
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J. Jayapandian
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December 11, 2008[Ideas For Design] Tame Switching Supply Noise While Maintaining Efficiency
A number of situations could benefit from the high efficiency of a switched power supply, save for the supply’s intrinsically high noise level. For example, an optical communications application using a large number of laser diodes could employ a switched power supply to avoid the need for heat-removal techniques. However, the laser diodes require a noiseless environment. A hasty decision to use a switcher would not be rewarding ...
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Samuel Kerem
December 5, 2008
[TechView: Communications] Clock Generator Solves Most Nightmares
The Si5338 from Silicon Laboratories provides up to four separate clock outputs, each at an independent frequency, with any common output voltage format. Designers can use it to time four different circuits such as embedded processors, FPGAs, ASICs, memory chips, or PHY chips.
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Louis E. Frenzel
December 4, 2008
[Analog/Mixed-Signal Design] Use Software Filters To Reduce ADC Noise
Let’s say you chose a particular microcontroller for its 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC). You built up your system, and although the ADC gives you 12 bits of resolution, the lower couple of bits are frustrating and “unreliable,” to put it nicely. Fortunately, you can reduce or remove this noise with one of two different types of software filters.
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Dave Van Ess
December 4, 2008
[Web Exclusive] 2008 BEST Electronic Design Winners
Need a rundown of the best technology of 2008? See company listings and the products that have been deemed the technologies-of-the-year by Electronic Design.
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Staff
December 3, 2008
[New Products] Motor Controller Drives Low-Power, Single-Coil, BLDC Fans And Motors
The AH5792 smart motor controller from Diodes Inc. can be used to drive low-power, single-coil, brushless dc (BLDC) fans and motors. This single-chip solution integrates a Hall sensor and amplifier, complete digital control circuitry, and a full bridge output driver into a low-profile, SOT553 package.
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Richard Gawel
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