RFD Buyers Guide

Engineers don't read buyers guides—except when they are getting ready to buy. More than any issue, the December Buyers Guide offers superior value. The RF Design Buyers Guide is the easiest electronics reference guide to navigate because listings are both in alphabetical order and by category. Advertisers get unlimited category listings which reference their ad and page number. Your ad in the buyers guide not only targets potential customers at the moment that they are contemplating making a purchase, but it gives you an opportunity to strategically place your ad within a product category and tailor your message to a specific buyer. With the amount of attention this issue gets your ad in RF Design, our buyers guide offers a huge return on investment.

The RF Design 2007 Sourcebook is one of the most important advertising buys you'll make all year. As the key buying reference for RF and microwave design engineers, the Sourcebook presents your information to prospective customers at the exact moment they're ready to buy. Targeted ads and enhanced listings ensure your company receives repeated exposure throughout the year. Don't miss this important opportunity to distinguish yourself from the competition!

Directories Spur Buying Action!
74% of buyers guide recipients have taken direct buying action as a result of using their industry directory.**

Actions taken as a result of using an industry buyers guide:**

54% contacted a supplier by phone

53% visited a supplier’s Web site

35% purchased a product/service

Design Tools/Software
Simulation Enhances Accuracy of Military Receiver Documentation
In general, specs for new handheld receivers come from users in the field. Some are easy to assess such as weight, size, power requirements (based on available battery size), etc. Others are not as easy and are usually addressed in technical information meetings (TIMs) between representatives of the military and the manufacturer/developer. Even within this group there remains a set of requirements considered as legacy hand-me-down from previous specifications. Nevertheless, writing all the specs for new military receivers is not a simple task. This article attempts to provide a better understanding and description of what military receiver documentation is all about and shows how simulation can be of value in the development of military specifications.

Signal Processing
Superconducting Data Converters Enable All Digital RF Receiver
Conventional data converters (ADCs and DACs) and digital circuits are simply not fast enough. However, superconductors can provide ultra-fast mixed-signal and digital circuits with the linearity and dynamic range required for true direct, digital-RF processing. This article describes a true all digital HF-VHF receiver that exploits high performance superconducting data converters and digital ICs.

Batteries
Fuel Cells Offer Alternative Power Solution to Military Systems
Unmanned ground vehicles or robots are quickly being adopted by the US military and many law enforcement agencies. These robots are used in the areas of surveillance, bomb disposal and force protection. One of the biggest issues continually facing the deployment of these robots is power and how it is provided. Current battery technology is unable to keep up with the increasing demand for power and energy that these systems impose on them. Designers are looking to alternative power solutions such as fuel cells. In this article, the author discusses a robot that is retrofitted with a fuel cell system that is capable of delivering twice the runtime specification of the legacy battery powered version.