March 9, 2006 Newsletter

==============================
Microwaves & RF UPDATE
MWRF - www.mwrf.com
March 9, 2006
==============================

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. Growth of GPS Is Inevitable 
2. Trimble Offers GPS Licensing Software 
3. NoiseWave Debuts Coaxial Noise Source 
4. Conexant Launches DVB-S2 Satcom TV Receiver Card 
5. Report Predicts Growth of Broadband Technology 
6. RapidIO Radio To Begin Broadcasting 
7. Single-Chip Radio Targets WiMAX 
8. Happenings - Conferences 


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***************
1.  Viewpoint 
***************
Growth of GPS
Is Inevitable

Wireless technology takes on many forms and application. The most 
obvious to the "man (or woman) in the street" is cellular 
communications, with cell phones on virtually every ear. Service 
providers promise us that the cell phone will become even more 
important in the years to come, even advertising that "it's your 
life in there" with reference to the memory of the cell phone 
replacing our own humble and (as the marketing people would have us 
believe) limited memories. But wireless technology is not just 
cellular communications.

Within many new cell phones is an arm of wireless that may one day 
considered as important as the cellular network: the Global 
Positioning System (GPS) receiver. The troops in Iraq and 
Afghanistan no doubt do not take the importance of GPS position and 
location data for granted. And civilians in search of a new location 
are learning the value of those GPS satellites when driving newer 
vehicles equipped with the receivers. The announcement below by 
longtime GPS supplier Trimble should help speed the proliferation of 
GPS technology. But, inevitably, it will be the recognition of its 
immense value by the consumer that expands the GPS market. 

JACK BROWNE
Technical Director


*************
2. News
*************
Trimble Offers GPS Licensing Software

Long-time Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment supplier Trimble 
has introduced the first software license product in its TrimCore 
family of Trimble core GPS products. The product line is a software 
approach to segmenting GPS into modular, reusable building blocks 
for implementing GPS, whether on digital signal processing (DSP) 
cores, microprocessors, or GPS chipsets. The company also announced 
that its TrimCore GPS Navigation Engine (NE) software technology is 
available for the u-Nav GPS chipset family, starting with the uN9018 
chipset and continuing through to u-Nav's single monolithic GPS IC. 
TrimCore NEu is the first software GPS licensed product offering 
from Trimble as part of an alliance with u-Nav.
u-Nav ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=234D3:49027F
Trimble ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=234DA:49027F
 

*********
3. News
*********
NoiseWave Debuts Coaxial Noise Source

Noise source specialist NoiseWave as announced the immediate 
availability of their new NW2G-CS coaxial noise source for 
applications from 10 kHz to 2 GHz. Available with excess noise 
ratios (ENRs) of 15 and 30 dB, the source is deal for 
built-in-test-equipment (BITE) and noise-figure-measurement 
applications. It exhibits flatness of better than +/- 1 dB over the 
full frequency range and is available with both male and female SMA 
connectors. It operates from +28 VDC with 20 mA maximum current draw 
and is supplied in a housing measuring just 0.75 x 0.5 x 1.25 in.
NoiseWave---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=234D5:49027F


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*********
4. News
*********
Conexant Launches DVB-S2 Satcom TV Receiver Card

Conexant Solutions announced the world's first satellite television 
receiver card reference platform based on the industry's newest 
digital video broadcast standard, DVB-S2, for personal computers 
(PCs). The reference platform is aimed at manufacturers developing 
products that allow subscribers to watch, record and replay satellite 
broadcast programs on their PC. It consists of two Conexant set-top 
box (STB) solutions and one PC video device. Components include a 
digital video broadcast DVB-S2 demodulator (model CX24116) and 
forward error correction (FEC) decoder, a third-generation 8PSK 
satellite tuner (model CX24118), and a PCI audio/video (AV) broadcast 
decoder (model CX23883). The reference design is backward compatible 
with the previous DVB-S and DSS standards.
Conexant Solutions ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=234D7:49027F


**********
5. News
**********
Report Predicts Growth of Broadband Technology

A new report by Technology Futures, Inc. (TFI), "Transforming the 
Local Exchange Network: Third Edition," emphasizes that incumbent 
local exchange networks (ILENs) and telecom equipment suppliers will 
need to invest in new technology for high-speed broadband and video 
services. According to one of the report's authors, Dr. Lawrence K. 
Vanston, "Wireless, cable telephony, and VoIP continue to erode the 
traditional voice market and destroy the value of traditional ILEC 
assets such as copper cable and circuit switches. We forecast that 
by 2010, ILEC narrowband access lines will have fallen to 71 million 
down from a peak of 187 million in 2000. The report includes TFI's 
latest recommendations on depreciation lives for local exchange 
telephone plants, accounting for technology displacement, and loss 
of access lines due to competition. Copies of the report are $1995 
until March 31st. 
Technology Futures ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=234CB:49027F
 

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*********
6. News
*********
RapidIO Radio To Begin Broadcasting

In support of the RapidIO high-speed interconnect standard, the 
RapidIO Trade Association (Austin, TX) announced the schedule for 
the debut season of RapidIO Radio, a series of free quarterly 
podcasts presented by the association and its members. RapidIO Radio 
will be broadcast on www.RapidIO.org as well as through the iTunes 
Music Store. Tom Cox, executive director of the RapidIO Trade 
Association, notes "As deployment of RapidIO products gains momentum 
across market segments including wireless infrastructure, ATCA, 
triple play, military and many others, it is incumbent on the 
RapidIO Trade Association to deliver design tips, technology 
updates, and other data using the most accessible media available." 
RapidIO Radio will debut in March 2006, with additional podcasts 
scheduled for June, September, and December 2006. Tom Cox will host 
the initial broadcast Tundra Semiconductor will delve into 
interoperability in June, with IDT focusing on the benefits of 
Serial RapidIO in the wireless infrastructure in September.  The 
introductory year will be rounded out by a podcast from Wind River 
dealing with software considerations in December. The RapidIO 
interconnect architecture is an open standard that seamlessly 
enables the chip-to-chip, board-to-board, control, backplane and 
data plane interconnections needed in high-performance networking, 
communications and embedded systems.  
RapidIO Trade Association ---> http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=234DB:49027F


*********
7. News
*********
Single-Chip Radio Targets WiMAX

Model AT86RF535A is a single-chip 3.5-GHz WiMAX radio with multiple 
bandwidth options. It is the first in the MAX-Link series of 
transceivers designed specifically for WiMAX, with additional models 
aimed at other frequencies. Each transceiver contains a low-noise 
amplifier, power amplifier driver, receive/transmit mixer, 
receive/transmit filters, voltage controlled oscillator, 
synthesizer, receive gain control, and transmit power control. 
Designed to comply with the IEEE 802.16 wireless broadband standard 
for WiMAX, the transceivers operate under digital control. The 
devices are expected to provide as much as 40 Mb/s per channel for 
fixed and portable access applications in a cell radius of 3 to 10 
km. The transceiver is priced at $18 each for 10,000 quantities. 
http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=234CD:49027F


*******************************
8.  Happenings - Conferences
*******************************
RF & Hyper
March 21-23, 2006
CNIT
La Defense, Paris, France
http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=234D4:49027F

2006 IEEE Sarnoff Symposium
March 27-28, 2006
Nassau Inn, Princeton, NJ
http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=234D0:49027F

Del Mar Electronics Show 
April 26-27, 2006
Del Mar Fairgrounds
Del Mar, CA
http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=234DE:49027F

Broadband Wireless World
April 26-28, 2006
Caesar's Palace Event Center
Las Vegas, NV
http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=234CC:49027F

IMAPS International Conference on 
High-Temperature Electronics (HiTEC 2006)
May 15-18, 2006
Hilton of Santa Fe
Santa Fe, NM
http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=234CF:49027F

International Microwave Theory & Techniques 
Symposium (MTT-S)
June 11-16, 2006
Moscone Convention Center
San Francisco, CA
http://news.mwrf.com/t?ctl=234D9:49027F

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MICROWAVES AND RF (MWRF) UPDATE e-NEWSLETTER CONTACTS
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Managing Editor: John Curley
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