This final part continues the look at MIL-STD-1553B with an overview of formats and protocols, as well as available hardware and development/debug tools. Formats and protocol Q: What is the basic signal format described by the standard? A: A Manchester code is used to present both clock and data on the same wire pair and […]
MIL-STD-1553B alive and well: part 1
For engineers who are not involved in military/aerospace designs or similar systems requiring extreme reliability, ruggedness, and redundancy, the MIL-STD-1553B connectivity standard may be an unknown or just a vague recollection. Perhaps they came across the standard many years ago, and if they did, it must be obsolete by now, right? Yet that’s not the […]
Busbars are simple in principle, complicated in practice: part 3
Not every design needs large bus bars; some only need smaller, localized ones or PC board-mounted bus bars. This part looks at these situations, as well as testing of high-current/voltage bus bars. The previous part explores additional bus-bar considerations. Part 1 can be found here. Smaller busbars also fill a need Voltage drop is well known to […]
Busbars are simple in principle, complicated in practice: part 2
These substantial conductors serve a vital role and must meet many conflicting constraints. This part explores additional bus-bar considerations. Part 1 can be found here. Laminated bus bars While some busbars are single conductors and carry only one power rail, there’s an increasing trend towards using laminated busbars, seen in Figure 1. These multilayer units […]
Busbars are simple in principle, complicated in practice: part 1
Bus bars appear to be simple and low glamour in comparison to many other active and even passive components, and in some ways, they are. However, they are also sophisticated structures that require an understanding of voltage drop due to conductor resistance, materials science, thermal issues, mechanical joining, insulation, coating chemistry, and electrical safety and […]
FAQ on cable impedance: 50 Ω versus 75 Ω
The 50-ohm impedance is standard in RF design, while 75 ohms is also used, so it’s important to understand the attributes of each and not confuse them. One of the issues that beginning electronic engineers must grasp is the concept of impedance and impedance matching, especially concerning transmission lines, cables, and connectors. This FAQ will […]
Signal integrity can’t kill the breakout box
Just when you thought the trusty breakout box would fall victim to high-speed digital signals, it lives on
Getting one wire to do more, Part 4 – headphone wire as antenna
Using one wire in two very different roles is widely done, requiring some simple circuity and basic components. Using a headphone wire as an FM antenna The earliest portable AM/FM portable radios used two antennas: an internal long wire wound on a ferrite core for the lower-frequency AM band (550-1600 kHz), and a “whip” antenna […]
Getting one wire to do more, Part 3 – Powering the antenna LNA
Using one wire in two very different roles is widely done, requiring some simple circuity and basic components. Providing DC power to an antenna amplifier via an RF coaxial cable In most applications where the antenna is located at a distance from the radio receiver front end, it is desirable or necessary to add a […]
Getting one wire to do more, Part 2 – Phantom power for the microphone
Using one wire in two very different roles is widely done, requiring some simple circuity and basic components. Powering microphones over the audio cable A classic engineering objective is to figure out a way to get one set of wires to provide a second function at little cost. This second part in the series looks […]
