RF & Microwave

Altimeters are an essential component in an aeronautical safety-of-life system, but they can be at risk as the RF spectrum shifts to 5G, warns Peter Matthews of Knowles Precision Devices. Pilots rely on radio altimeters to provide accurate measurements of an aircraft’s distance above the Earth’s surface, especially during the approach and landing phases of a flight. Data received from ...

RF instruments from Siglent, the SSA5000A spectrum analyser and the SSG5000A RF signal generator for satcom, radar and mobile comms developers are now available from Telonic Instruments. The SSA5000A spectrum analyser has an operating range of 9kHz-26GHz and the SSG5000A RF signal generator operates at 9kHz-20GHz. Both instruments support X- and K-band measurements for microwave frequency bands. Two models in ...

There are technical challenges to implementing multiple radios in the IoT, explain Chris Barratt and Dr Nick Wood of Insight SiP. The IoT, or Internet of Things, is something of a catch-all term, but it is all about providing connectivity between electronic devices and the internet. In a large proportion of cases that involves wireless connectivity, because frequently the connectivity ...

O-RAN is a major disruptor for the communications industry and one in which pre-silicon validation is essential, says Dylan McGrath of Keysight Technologies. The wireless communications industry is moving rapidly from closed, proprietary radio access networks (RANs) to a disaggregated open RAN (O-RAN) that breaks the traditional hardware-centric RAN into several sections (radios, hardware and virtualised functions) using open interfaces ...

Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, Ultra-Wideband, broadcast radio, 802.11p V2X, 4G LTE (or 5G) and GPS have been wrapped in an automotive-grade shell by NXP, which has called the resulting development module ‘OrangeBox’. “OrangeBox is a single, security enhanced, modular development platform that provides a unified interface between the vehicle’s gateway and its wired and wireless technologies,” according to ...

Synzen Precision Technology of Taipei has has unveiled two low-profile antennas for IoT devices. both are only 1.6mm high. Alcor (SZP-C-2L22) is a 5G surface-mount antenna that has been developed cover 617MHz to 6GHz “and a fallback to 4G – 3G -2G”, according to the company. It occupies 40 x 10mm. Clearance is 40 x 13.5mm. Atria (SZP-C-2L23 / 2L24) ...

The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which is responsible for space-based intelligence, has awarded six study contracts around commercial radio frequency (RF) remote sensing. The six companies involved are Aurora Insight, HawkEye 360, Kleos Space, PredaSAR, Spire Global, and Umbra Lab. The organisation – an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, which develops and operates America’s spy satellites – ...

Filtronic has announced an E-band transceiver for carrier-grade 5G back-haul, mid-haul and front-haul, together known as xHaul. Called Morpheus X2 and designed to work at 71 – 76GHz and 81 – 86GHz, it offers +23dBm linear transmit power, 3dB higher than the company’s earlier Morpheus II product, from the same 90 x 80mm footprint. “This higher power level enables longer ...

Move-X is aiming at tracking applications that need meter-level accuracy and a long-range battery-powered wireless connection with a module that is physically compatible with Arduino’s 63mm long MKR boards. Called Cicerone, it is built around u-blox’ MAXM10S GNSS (sat nav) receiver module and Move-X’ MAMWLE LoRa transceiver module, which has a Semtech SX126x inside. “This combination allows for synergy between ...

Astronode S is an RF module from satellite operator Astrocast, intended to be built into land or sea-based battery-powered IoT devices. It is based on an architecture developed by French research lab CEA-Leti, and an IC co-developed with Astrocast to optimise its link budget and power consumption to suit a particular Astrocast’s ground-to-satellite protocol – which offers a variable user ...