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Commercial Market First Four Globalstar Satellites Launched The first four low earth orbit (LEO) satellites of the Globalstar system were launched in February from Cape Canaveral, FL. The $2.6 B Globalstar system, which comprises 48 LEO satellites and approximately 60 ground stations, will provide worldwide telephone service via cellular-sized...

The Book End RF Microelectronics Behzad Razavi Prentice Hall 335 pages; $70 This book deals with the analysis and design of RFICs and systems with a specific focus on RF electronics, leading into the design of RF transceivers and circuits. The text emphasizes architecture and circuit-level issues with respect...

A Low Cost DC to 500 MHz Logarithmic Amplifier Analog Devices Inc. Wilmington, MA Logarithmic amplifiers are key components in a wide range of RF system applications. By virtue of its DC to 500 MHz frequency range and 92 dB dynamic range, the model AD8307 logarithmic amplifier can be...

A 900 MHz, Single-supply GaAs Power Amplifier IC ANADIGICS Inc. Warren, NJ The current trend toward making cellular telephones smaller, lighter and more efficient continues to place high demands on component manufacturers to follow suit. Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), the largest segment of the cellular marketplace, appears...

A 50 W, Solid-state C-band Amplifier for Outdoor Use Wavesat Inc. Montreal, Quebec, Canada Satellite communications systems are expanding at an unprecedented rate and service providers require increasing numbers of satellite uplink stations to satisfy their customers’ needs. At the same time, cost control becomes a critical concern when...

An RF Distribution Amplifier Datum Beverly, MA The task of delivering a centralized reference signal to a number of different equipment stations without degrading the signal or creating crosstalk can be difficult, particularly when up to 100 locations require this signal. This situation is encountered in many engineering and...

An OCXO with Rubidium Oscillator Performance MTI-Milliren Technologies Inc. Newburyport, MA Precision crystal oscillators are widely used in systems for navigation, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) and cellular telephone applications. In many ways, the crystal oscillator is the cornerstone in determining critical performance such as bit error rates,...

Design of a Wideband, High Dynamic Range Downconverter Used in Smart Antenna Applications This article details the design of a wideband, high dynamic range downconverter from concept through production. The downconverter is a part of the Smart Adaptive Appliqué (SAA) used in cellular base stations to increase channel utilization...

Effects of Matching on RF Power Amplifier Efficiency and Output Power To date, one of the most important design methods for RF power amplifiers (PA) still consists of matching the large-signal input and load impedances of an active device. These large-signal impedances are supplied by the manufacturer of the...

News From Washington LLLC Receives Two Major Awards Longbow Limited Liability Company (LLLC), a Lockheed Martin/Northrop Grumman joint venture, has received two major awards from the US Army for elements of the Longbow Apache system. The first contract from the Army's Aviation and Missile Command calls for full-rate production...