Automatic Cutter
The MMC100 automatic cutter by Eraser Co., Syracuse, N.Y., cuts materials from cellophane to copper wire, with a maximum force of 600 pounds (272 kg). Visit www.eraser.com.
Sporty’s Products
Sporty’s, Batavia, Ohio, offers an IFR (instrument flight rules) risk management DVD with IFR Weather Briefing, IFR Crew of One, and Data Link Weather for $25. It also offers test preparation guides. Visit www.sportys.com.
Cable Harness Mounts
Waytek Inc., Chanhassen Minn., now carries cable harness mounts from HellermannTyton in "arrow push" and "fir tree" styles. Visit www.waytekwire.com.
Network Access Controllers
Data Device Corp., Bohemia, N.Y., has announced its GigExtreme series of intelligent Gigabit Ethernet network access controllers. The ET-71000 cards feature a dual-redundant architecture with autonomous failover or dual independent channels. They are designed for flight critical military applications and harsh environments. Visit www.ddc-web.com.
Microwave Power Module
L-3 Communications Electron Devices, San Carlos, Calif., now offers the M1221, 28-volt direct current (VDC) microwave power module (MPM) with 100 watts of output power over 6 to 18 GHz. Visit www.l-3com.com/edd.
Weather Services
AccuWeather Inc., State College, Pa., has announced a premium wireless service to be offered to 130 million cellular customers through 15 service providers. The service will deliver weather information on demand to the customer’s cell phone. Visit www.accuweather.com.
Wireless LED System
Securaplane Technologies, Tucson, Ariz., has entered into an agreement with Luminator of Plano, Texas, to create a wireless light emitting diode (LED) lighting system for cabins. The system, which will be marketed to both business and commercial aviation, will combine Luminator’s LED Enhanced Cabin Light System (ECLS) with Securaplane’s "flight-essential" wireless system currently flying on more than 1,500 aircraft.
The wireless LED system will allow cabin crews to control the lighting through a wireless control panel. The digitally controlled lamps can provide continuous and gradual color shifts. They can be programmed to gradually match the lighting conditions at the plane’s destination, so that the passengers have an easier transition.
The system also can provide "mood" lighting. The control panel menu features several preset lighting styles like sunset and "relaxation." These settings can be changed during meal times, sleep times or movie viewing to provide the greatest comfort to the passengers.
Securaplane also has announced an addition to its CAM line of cameras. The CAM-14 is a high-resolution, quad-color camera with four-color imagers that can be used for in-flight entertainment, safety and ground maneuvering, among other applications. CAM-14’s new imaging technology also provides improved color reproduction and dynamic range over all lighting conditions, the company says.
CAM series cameras are lightweight (1.85 pound/0.84 kg), with easy antenna installation. The series also can be interfaced directly with Securaplane security systems, as well as with in-flight entertainment systems and cockpit displays. Visit www.securaplane.com.
Signal Conditioning
New from PCB Piezotronics, Depew, N.Y., comes signal conditioning and other electronic products that support transducer electronic data sheet (TEDS) "smart" sensors. Now available are TEDS multichannel and dual-mode signal conditioners for use with charge output, vibration, pressure and force sensors. Visit www.pcb.com.
Interconnect System
W.L. Gore & Associates Inc., Elkton, Md., is offering its ultra high density (UHD) interconnect system. The cable-to-board and cable-to-cable coaxial interconnect was designed for test heads and probe cards used in automatic test equipment, front-of-system connections, backplanes in high-data rate applications, and bench-top testing, the company claims. Visit www.gore.com/electronics.
Fan-Out Switch Matrix
From Dow-Key Microwave, Ventura, Calif., comes a new CANbus-based switch matrix system. The 3203 switch matrix has an Ethernet control interface, an operating bandwidth of 20-1100 MHz, and is available in full fan-out configurations from 8×8 to 16×16. Visit www.dowkey.com.
Ada Environment Support
LynuxWorks Inc.’s LynxOS and LynxOS-178 real-time operating systems (RTOS) will support the IBM Rational Ada programming environment, known as Apex 4.4.0, according to the San Jose, Calif., RTOS developer. The Apex development environment for real-time, embedded Ada applications–which features a family of Ada compilers, cross-compilers and related programming tools–was created to meet military and avionics software reliability requirements. LynuxWorks provides two of the three third-party RTOS supporting the embedded Ada developer package. Visit www.lynuxworks.com.
Aircraft Heaters
From Ametek Aerospace & Defense, Wilmington, Mass., comes Airscrew modular aircraft heaters. The heaters employ fiberglass-reinforced silicon rubber heating elements and can be used alone as a duct heater or with a fan to heat cargo and animal bays, crew rest areas, galley areas, cockpits and other areas where supplementary heating is needed. Visit www.ametekaerospace.com.
Software `Padded Cell’
For the many military programs using the open source Linux operating system, Green Hills Software (GHS) now offers Integrity PC, an extension of the company’s Integrity operating system. "PC" in this case stands for "padded cell," a technology that implements a "virtual computer" on top of the Integrity operating system. Multiple applications running on guest operating systems can function concurrently in virtual computers on embedded hardware, Green Hills says.
Boeing is using the Integrity PC software solution in the company’s Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Cluster 1 program. The JTRS effort is developing flexible, software-defined waveforms for next-generation military communications. The core JTRS software–the wideband networking waveform (WNW)–is understood to be written as a Linux application. Using Integrity PC, GHS says, engineers do not have to port Linux code to a secure operating system, and they can easily incorporate updates to the Linux-based code.
The idea of Integrity PC is to force guest operating systems and their applications to run as "user mode" Integrity operating system applications. This prevents the applications from altering the underlying hardware to circumvent the protections imposed by the GHS operating system. All input/output (I/O) operations are monitored, including network communications, so that any aberrant activity can be detected and filtered.
Integrity PC guarantees resource availability for each encapsulated application, so no application can commandeer processor cycles and memory resources needed by another application. Visit www.ghs.com.
Customizing Software
Niborex Inc., Tampa, Fla., has announced Portable Electronic CoPilot software for Pocket PCs. The software allows pilots to customize information, such as checklists, notices to airmen (NOTAMs), weather images and runway diagrams, and bring it on board. The software also allows users to create custom functions. Visit www.niborex.com.
Hand-Held Beacon Tester
Whiffletree Corp., Marshfield, Mass., has released a line of WST hand-held beacon testers for 406-MHz satellite safety/emergency beacons. The testers allow beacons to be verified without removing them from the aircraft, which eliminates the need to ship them to service centers. Visit www.whiffletreecorp.com.
Sensor Encoder
Micronor, Newbury Park, Calif., has introduced the MR312 ZapFree incremental rotary encoder, an all-optical, passive design for rotary sensor applications such as landing gear wheels, brake systems, flight control actuators, pumps, compressors and turbine engines. The unit requires only one optical fiber connection to an MR310 remote encoder interface module. Micronor claims the "totally passive" MR312 is immune to electromagnetic interference and radio frequency interference, impervious to lightning and atmospheric static, safe for use in hazardous and explosive environments, and operable over temperatures from -60 to +150 degrees C. Visit www.micronor.com.
Acquisition Software
Analog & Digital Peripherals Inc. (ADPI), Troy, Ohio, has unveiled a data acquisition system designed for Windows-based handhelds, tablet and laptop computers. The DATAQ CF2 consists of a 24-bit compact flash card with 32 Kbytes of random access memory (RAM). Embedded "test panel" software enables users to acquire, analyze, store and view data. ADPI claims the unit can turn a pocket PC or laptop computer into a data logger, oscilloscope, multimeter, vibration analyzer, PH meter and other instruments. The DATAQ-CF2 was designed to be programmable using National Instruments’ LabVIEW 7 Express and supplied virtual instruments. It has six software-reconfigurable data acquisition channels. Visit www.adpi.com.
Power Supply
North Atlantic Industries, Bohemia, N.Y., has released an AC/DC VME and general-purpose power supply. The 56P51 provides 230 watts of output power at full load, with a low profile and low noise output, plus fault protection features. It is designed for military and aerospace applications like airborne and command, control, communications and intelligence (C3I). Visit www.naii.com.
High-Pin Count Tester
German electronics test specialist, Digital-test GmbH, has introduced the MTS888 system, which can verify the performance of very large boards down to the chip level. The large tester boasts up to 7,040 analog test pins or up to 3,456 hybrid test pins. Its non-multiplexed (1:1) pin structure, with a logic family definition for each pin, eliminates the need to generate a test program before designing the test fixture. Data compression and up to 256 Kbits of memory behind the driver/sensor enable each pin to execute onboard programming and boundary scans. Visit www.digitaltest.com.
Analog Output Modules
Acromag Inc., Wixom, Mich., has introduced IP231, an analog output Industry Pack module. The single-size mezzanine card provides up to 16 output channels, each with its own 16-bit digital-to-analog (D/A) converter. The IP231 also comes in 8-channel and extended-temperature versions. Visit www.acromag.com.
EMC Products
3M has released a new line of products designed to protect electronic and electrical components. The electromagnetic interference/radio frequency interference (EMI/RFI) products include shielding foil and fabric tapes, sheets and films, absorbing materials and conductive cushions. Visit www.3m.com.
Portable Map
Available from Sporty’s is the new AvMap GeoPilot. The portable moving map GPS has a 5.6-inch (14-cm) color liquid crystal display and uses Jeppesen’s NavData for the U.S., Canada, Central and South America. Visit www.sportys.com.
Rubidium Frequency Transfer
The new Model 2975AR Disciplined Rubidium Frequency Standard from Nova-tech Instruments Inc., Seattle, features synthesized output that generates any frequency from 100 Hz to 50 MHz with a resolution of 1 ?Hz. It employs an atomic rubidium oscillator and an auto-adaptive disciplining algorithm for use with 1 pulse per second sources like GPS timing receivers. Visit www.novatech-instr.com.
Quartz Packaging
Fox Electronics, Fort Myers, Fla., has announced a quartz crystal packaging technology that it claims is up to 20 percent cheaper than conventional ceramic packaging in quantities of 50,000. The FQ series initially will be offered in three sizes, each in a two- or four-pad configuration: 10 by 4.5 mm, 5 by 7 mm, and 6 by 3.5 mm. Smaller sizes are in development. Visit www.foxonline.com.
Staffing Solutions
Jet Professionals and the Professional Aircraft Maintenance Association (PAMA) have formed a joint venture to deliver staffing solutions for PAMA’s corporate and individual members. Launched on Jan. 1, 2005, the program allows candidates to post their resumes online and search for job openings. Visit www.jet-professionals.com and www.pama.org.
Modeling Language Upgrade
I-Logix, Andover, Mass., has added a new capability to its UML (unified modeling language) 2.0-based model-driven development (MDD) product, Rhapsody. The Rhapsody Department of Defense architecture framework (DoDAF) pack provides an industry-standard notation to model the architecture. Users can create consistent DoDAF architecture descriptions across operational, systems and technical views. Visit www.ilogix.com.
Multifunction Test
Tel-Instrument Electronics Corp., Carlstadt, N.J., has announced its new multifunction test set, featuring a transponder, DME test functions, a large four-line display, and hardware that supports emerging European testing requirements. The TR-211 is designed to replace the TR-210 in the Tel-Instrument transponder test family. Visit www.telinstrument.com.
Digital Optical Receivers
Discovery Semiconductors Inc., Ewing, N.J., offers two new digital 2-R PIN optical receivers. The DSC-R601PIN and DSC-R602PIN models have a usable spectral wavelength range of 800 to 1,650 nano-meters. The receivers have a small footprint and can be used in test and measurement analyzers, telecom and datacom systems. Visit www.chipsat.com.
Test Development Software
Geotest-Marvin Test Systems Inc., Irvine, Calif., has released the newest version of its test development software, ATEasy 5.0. The software offers a test executive designed for touch-screen applications, a fault dictionary, as well as user-based and group-based privileges and customization. Visit www.geotestinc.com.
Wireless Ethernet
Racal Instruments, Irvine, Calif., has unveiled its new Ethernet M-module carriers. The EM405D carrier is a wired and wireless Ethernet carrier that allows users to create small test and data acquisition subsystems that can be accessed by Ethernet or wireless interconnections.
Racal also has announced the Model 1260-101, a single-slot, C-size VXI Adapt-a-Switch carrier that can accommodate two Adapt-a-Switch plug-ins. A third new product, the Model 3165, is a 100MS/s, 14-bit 2-channel, PXI-format arbitrary waveform generator that features two independent analog outputs. Visit www.racalinst.com.
CompactPCI Board
SBS Technologies, Albuquerque, N.M., has released the CL9 single board computer (SBC), featuring an Intel Pentium M processor with Intel SpeedStep technology. The 3U CompactPCI unit fits applications such as transportation, imaging, multimedia and robotics. Visit www.sbs.com.
For the Library
The Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Md., has released Howard Hughes: Aviator by George Marrett, a former test pilot with Hughes Aircraft Co. Available for $27.95, the book purports to tell the inside story about this eccentric aviation genius. Visit www.navalinstitute.org.
Cable Jack
Trompeter Electronics, Westlake Village, Calif., has added a new bulkhead-mounted cable jack to its line of miniature 250 BNC products. The unit features the same bayonet coupling mechanism that is standard on the UPL 250 series. Visit www.trompeter.com.
Cable Restraint
New from Pulizzi Engineering, Santa Ana, Calif., comes a vertical cable restraint and management system. The KIT-CABLRES-2X features a cable tray that secures to the power distribution unit with mounting clamps. Visit www.pulizzi.com.
Radio Mezzanine
Interactive Circuits and Systems Ltd. (ICS), Ottawa, Ontario, has unveiled the PMC571, a rugged, single-channel software radio mezzanine card. The company claims it is the first rugged PCI mezzanine unit with wide-bandwidth, analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversion capabilities at software radio frequencies. ICS is a unit of Radstone Technology. Visit www.ics-ltd.com.
Matrix Composites
CPS Corp., Chartley, Mass., now offers lightweight aluminum silicon carbide (AlSiC) metal matrix composites for airborne and space applications. AlSiC’s high thermal conductivity and coefficient of thermal expansion suit the needs of microwave electronics. Visit www.alsic.com.
Cable Wrap
From M.M. Newman Corp., Marblehead Mass., comes a full line of fire-resistant spiral wrap for bundling, organizing and protecting wires and cables. The Heli-Tube fire-resistant polyethylene spiral wrap meets all UL94V-1 requirements for flame-retardant materials. Visit www.mmnewman.com.
Mode Chokes
Pulse, San Diego, has released the ChipChoke series of common mode chokes. They eliminate common mode noise in high-speed networks using the USB2.0 standard. ChipChoke can be used in handheld devices, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), personal computers and other devices. Visit www.pulseeng.com.