Adventures with SiTime’s MEMS-based Super-TXCOs – Super Accurate Clocks for the Future – Part 1
Clocks are integral to most electronic systems. Timing and communications systems need extremely accurate clocks. When I started working with electronics, in the heyday of Citizen’s Band (CB) radio, quartz crystals were on sale everywhere, even at Radio Shack. The CB crystals congregated around 27 and 28 MHz, but many more frequencies were on offer. As I started designing circuits as an engineer, I used many specific crystal … Read More → "Adventures with SiTime’s MEMS-based Super-TXCOs – Super Accurate Clocks for the Future – Part 1"
The Case of One Dead Digital Multimeter
There’s no more fundamental piece of test gear for electrical engineers than a multimeter. I own a bunch, starting with my Micronta 22-150 analog multimeter with a mirrored scale, which I bought from Radio Shack in my high school days back in the 1970s. Miraculously, that meter still works. I’ve got at least five Cen-Tech 3½-digit Digital Multimeters that Harbor Freight used to give away … Read More → "The Case of One Dead Digital Multimeter"
Unleashing the Power of Quantum Computing
Before we dive into this topic with gusto and abandon (and aplomb, of course), it’s probably only fair for me to inform you that I don’t have a clue what I’m about to be talking about, if you see what I mean. “So, how does this differ from your other columns,” I hear you mutter under your breath. I’m obliged to admit … Read More → "Unleashing the Power of Quantum Computing"
National Instruments to Apple Mac: Buh-Bye
National Instruments (NI) recently released a new version of its LabView test automation programming environment for the latest Apple Macintosh computers based on the Arm-based Apple M1 CPU/GPU SoC. At the same time, NI let its customers know that this release would be the last one for Apple Macintosh computers, sending a shock through some portion of the company’s customer base. Here’s the text … Read More → "National Instruments to Apple Mac: Buh-Bye"
Don’t React, PreAct!
Is it just me, or are things becoming even more exciting than they already were? I’m not sure if it’s just because I’m getting older, or if it’s all down to the world spinning faster. How old am I? Well—let’s put it this way—I’m so old that the kids next door believed me when I told them one of … Read More → "Don’t React, PreAct!"