As is always the case, we've been busy adding plenty of new stuff to Microwaves101. We ain't been slack, Cap'n Walker!
New for February 2023: In case you missed it, February 2nd was Groundhog day... is there any more ridiculous tradition? The festival brings around $1M into small town of Punxatawney PA each year, when up to 35,000 people visit "Gobbler's Knob" (no, we did not make up that name). Punxatawney Phil has a pretty ugly life in a cage the rest of the year, he's not even allowed to hibernate, and PETA would like to see the tradition scrapped. At least Hallmark Cards has not tried to monetize this event.
Groundhog day was once a celebration of Pagan origin by Germanic people, to denote when bears might come out of hibernation. It was exported to the New World by the "Pennsylvania Dutch", who are not really Dutch at all, they were originally German immigrants. "Dutch" has been used as a nickname for German individuals in the United States since early in the 20th century. Prohibition-eras gangster Arthur Simon Flegenheimer went by the name Dutch Shultz, He died in a shootout in 1935. We have no information on whether Dutch Shultz ever celebrated Groundhog day... But we digress as usual....Back to what's new on the Microwaves101 site!
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Back in November we attended the ARMMS conference. This is a small venue held in UK twice a year, dedicated to microwave engineering skewed toward test automation. So of course we had to create a Microwaves101 page on it!
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The ARMMS conference is also the subject of another Unknown Editor rant. This time he brought two imaginary friends with him. What a lonely guy he must be... but he did win a prize!
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We have a new entry on our page on free EDA software. FlatCAM will get you rolling in the world of circuit board milling. And thanks to Carsten, we fixed a whole bunch of dead links on that page.
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Updates to our where-are-they now page include: KCB Solutions was just acquired by Micross Components Inc., and will become known as Micross HiRel RF Solutions. A-Alpha Waveguide just got bought by Quinstar Technology. Thanks to Tom and going back in time quite a bit, a firm known as Microwave Concepts was acquired by Micronetics, and is now part of Mercury Systems.
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We recently heard from Randy Rhea, the bowtie-wearing entrepreneur who developed software that is currently known as Keysight Eagleware. In 1985 he started a company called CIRCUIT-BUSTERS, you can read about that here We probably don't need to point this out, but the movie "Ghostbusters" came out in 1984... That "busters" suffix sure got around: after the Patriots were destroyed by the Chicago Bears in Superbowl XX (1985) you could buy a "Bearbusters" tee shirt reduced to maybe 99 cents at your local K-Mart. Randy was way more successful than the 1985 Patriots, and among other things now operates a winery. He was apparently skimming through Microwaves101 recently and decided to contribute an improved two-section lumped-element branchline coupler. You'll find his design on this page.
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Speaking of branchline couplers, we split apart our material on this subject, and will work to add to it. The main page is here. Here is a list of new sub-pages.
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Printed circuit board milling is used for making fast prototypes. The "mill" is basically three-axis computerized numerical-controlled positioner (CNC), and a router. In January's featured video, our old friend Graybeard demonstrates how to repurpose existing tools combined with shareware to make this happen.
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It's still early but you should plan on attending IMS2023 in San Diego, June 11-16. The EverythingRF/Microwaves101 booth is number 1617, the nearest big booth is Copper Mountain. See the exhibition layout here (you will have to zoom in to read it). We are pretty much in the middle of the field. There are quite a few booths left to rent, tell your BD people!
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We have some major additions to our page on the BCICTS history, thanks to a perennial insider. We now have all of the conference dates and venues, and we have most of the attendance numbers. We even have some detailed history of the BCTM conference, we will add that soon.
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On our discussion board, we've always got some questions that need YOUR answers. Discussions increased over the holiday break, as people were looking to do anything to get away from their in-laws no doubt! Please try to help out our members... Step it up and go!
history-of-pim-passive-inter-modulation-products - recent question, a couple of answers.
near-field-microwave-measurements - recent question, a couple of answers.
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Pop on over to the discussion board to register and sign in, then chime in on existing threads, or start your own topics. Our user approval process is quick and anonymous, blocks most bots, and eliminates spam by more than 99%. At least that's what the sales rep told us.
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We're always fixing typos and making corrections of one kind or another. As an example, we found a replacement link to the history of PTFE, after the previous link died on our PTFE page (thanks to Vincent!) Feel free to point out any and all errors and we will fix them!
Attention forward thinking microwave marketeers: check out recentlyt updated in information on advertising with us. Sponsorship information is but a click away...
As always, we want you to sign up for the MW101Stuff newsletter, or submit a photo for our Microwave Mortuary. We'd love to hear from you, whether you have nice things to say about Microwaves101.com or just want to tell us how we've ruined your life.