Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Spectis 6.0 Spectrophotometer Video published on YouTube



I interviewed GL Optic’s Mikolaj Przybyla at the electronica show in Munich, who described their Spectis 6.0 programmable spectrophotometer.
This rackmounted spectrometer can easily be programmed for LED and luminaire quality test procedures to meet USA standards, including temperature control.


Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Latest Saelig Video Describes CleverScope's many virtues!

CleverScope from New Zealand is an amazing  PC-connected 10-14-bit 100MHz oscilloscope with digital channels and sophisticated triggering and math capabilities.  This 18-minute video describes some of its best features: 
http://youtu.be/c5jY2pEsAKk

Monday, December 8, 2014

 
Picoscope Software for PC oscilloscopes has a continuous update rate of over 100,000 waveform/s, faster than any other PC oscilloscope, says PicoScope.
The fast persistence mode is available on all oscilloscopes from the PicoScope 3000 Series upwards, with the PicoScope R6.10.2 beta software or later. Using dedicated hardware, this mode can achieve update rates up to 120,000 waveform/s on USB 3.0 deep memory scopes such as the PicoScope 6000C/D Series. With USB 2.0 deep memory scopes, the update rate can now reach 80,000waveform/s.
Even faster capture rates are possible using rapid trigger mode, which collects bursts of up to 10,000waveforms at a rate of up to onemillion waveform/s into segmented memory for later viewing.
All users can download the latest software update free of charge from the company website and non-users can download the software and run it in demo mode.
http://www.picotech.com

Pico Technology's Busy 2014!


2014 was a busy year for our supplier Pico Technology, with the release of new PicoScopes and new
  software features. (Make sure you check your inbox for our newsletters in 2015, as they have plans for many more new products and software updates!  Here's what happened in 2014:
 
  January - PicoScope for Linux is released. Now you can use a beta version of the familiar PicoScope software on a free, non-Windows operating system. They also provide an SDK for programmers.  http://www.picotech.com/linux.html
  February - The PicoScope 4824 8-channel oscilloscope - with more inputs than an average oscilloscope, but also delivers high-quality measurements with its 12-bit vertical resolution and 70 dB dynamic range. Its deep memory makes it ideal for long-duration power quality monitoring as well as general workshop and laboratory use.  http://www.picotech.com/picoscope4824overview.html
  March -  Drivers for more PicoScope oscilloscopes under MathWorks MATLAB, backed up with example code. http://uk.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/authors/292982
  April -  Received the great honor of a Queen's Award for Enterprise, recognizing achievements in exporting oscilloscope and data logging technology all over the world. http://press.picotech.com/pr/en/QA.html
  May - PicoScope math channels gain new low pass, high pass, band pass and band stop filters and a duty cycle graphing function. http://www.picotech.com/picoscope6-maths-channels.html
  June - A new beta version of the PicoScope software for Apple Mac OS X users, including an SDK for programmers, is released. http://labs.picotech.com/#mac
  July - Continuing improvements to PicoScope result in faster waveform update rates and faster data streaming over USB. Up to 100,000 waveforms per second now possible in the new fast persistence mode. http://www.picotech.com/oscilloscope-waveform-update-rates.html
  August - A custom version of PicoScope runs on the ARM-based BeagleBone Black development board. http://www.picotech.com/support/topic14347.html
  September - The new PicoScope 3000D MSO Series adds 16 digital inputs to a high-performance deep-memory oscilloscope to allow analysis of complex embedded systems. Capture 512-megasample waveforms at 1 gigasample per second. Multichannel serial decoding of formats such as I2C, SPI and UART is included as standard, as is a built-in arbitrary waveform generator.
  October - More drivers for ARM-based development boards--Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone Black--are released.  http://www.picotech.com/support/topic14649.html
  November - Guidance for using Java Native Access (JNA) with PicoScope drivers.
  December - PicoScope for Linux wins a place in the EDN Hot 100 Products list!  

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

SIGLENT at Electronica 2014




http://www.siglent.com/newsletter/2014-12-01/ME-2014-11-20-1-a.jpg

During the exhibition, they showcased their affordable digital oscilloscopes along with their latest "Super Phosphor Oscilloscopes"; arbitrary waveform generators with output frequencies ranging from 5MHz to 160MHz; DC power supplies with both LCD and LED displays; portable handheld oscilloscopes including isolated and economy ones; desktop digital multimeters with LCD displays; and a new lightweight spectrum analyzer, totaling six categories of test and measurement instruments covering a broad spectrum of testing needs; and new products to be released in Q2 2015.  Watch this space!

Monday, December 1, 2014

Plessey's dotLED named as one of EDN's Hot 100 Products of 2014

Our UK-based supplier Plessey says that EDN (Electronic Design News) has named its smallest packaged gallium nitride on silicon MaGIC (Manufactured on GaN-on-Si I/C) high-brightness LEDs, the dotLED, as one of the Hot 100 Products of 2014. Chosen by EDN's editors and readers, the 2014 EDN Hot 100 highlights the electronics industry’s most significant products of the year based on innovation, significance, usefulness, and popularity. 


The PLW13D003, a white LED in a 1005 SMT package, is designed specifically for the demands for ever smaller LED components, producing highly collimated light. It is targeted at the surging wearable electronics market and small-display applications. The 1005-size of the PLW138003 (1.0mm x 0.5mm) is a standard electronic component size, handled by the common surface-mount machines used in high volume consumer electronics. Weighing 0.2mg and with a profile of 0.25mm, dotLEDs provide an option for any wearable application with LED content that demands low-profile electronic components, says Plessey.

The dot-sized LEDs delivers up to 0.7 lumen of white light with a 130deg viewing angle from a 5mA drive current. A blue version (PLB138003) is also available. Further additions to the dotLED family will be colour variants and a series in the larger 1608 footprint. Plessey also provides a range of blue LED die for users needing a further breakthrough in size.

Plessey’s LEDs are produced using its proprietary MaGIC technology. By using standard silicon semiconductor production techniques, the firm is able to produce high-volume, industry-standard LEDs for the consumer electronics market. The 1005-size dotLEDs represent the latest product family using this technology.

“Plessey is demonstrating its commitment to bringing to market a comprehensive range of LED products across all performance points, markets and applications, and the recognition as one of EDN’s Hot 100 products is an honour and reflects the focus on innovation through our GaN-on-Silicon LED technology,” says Plessey’s marketing director David Owen.

More info here:  http://www.plesseysemiconductors.com/led-plessey-semiconductors.php