Sensors and sophisticated algorithms together deliver check heart-rate variability and other exercise metrics. Alisher Kholmatov, Recep Ozgun Micros, Security & Software Business Unit, Maxim Integrated From weekend warriors to professional athletes, most people who engage in regular sports activity take note of various factors that influence their performance. Some meticulously track certain metrics from game […]
FAQ
Basics of monitoring vs. testing in current, voltage and power
Industrial measurements often must take place via specialized transducers sized specifically for the current and voltage swings involved. Will Delsman | NK Technologies Older ammeters worked great when the current flowed at a steady 50 or 60 Hz. Consider the antique GE model 8AK1A1AF. I have one that remains accurate after decades of use and […]
Capabilities of modern data recorders
Fast sampling rates and long recording times make data recorders useful for documenting signal qualities that ordinary test equipment can easily miss. Jamie Pederson | B&K Precision Corp. Data recording instruments have a long history that dates back to the 1800s when Charles Babbage incorporated an instrument into a rail car to record over a […]
FIPS 140-2 security testing for wireless medical devices
Design engineers should be aware of several testing issues surrounding encryption standards designed to protect data from bad actors. Jay White | Laird Connectivity The bad guys don’t care about your social security number and credit card numbers as much as you might think. Stolen security numbers are almost literally a dime a dozen on […]
Detecting counterfeit integrated circuits without a microscope
Curve-trace testing can reveal whether an incoming batch of ICs are bogus without resorting to destructive inspection measures. Alan Lowne | Saelig Making fake “lookalike” integrated circuits which resemble real ones takes minimal skill. It may simply require finding cheap parts in the same package and applying new markings. This problem has arisen due to […]
The complexity of wireless receiver testing
Eric Hsu | Keysight Technologies, Inc. The demand for wireless communications now challenges the physical limitations of today’s wireless communications systems. Interference can easily arise when systems operate in a crowded wireless environment using a shared spectrum. Signal congestion makes the process of designing, testing, and isolating system problems more complex. In the next few […]
Working with scope-based spectrum analyzers
The spectrum analyzer is a member of the oscilloscope family. An electrical signal is fed, by means of a BNC cable or probe, into an input port on the front panel, and its graphic image appears on the LCD screen. But rather than the oscilloscope’s familiar time domain graph, in which amplitude in volts is […]
Basics of voltage doubler circuits
Voltage can be doubled (and therefore multiplied by any power of two using cascading devices) through purely electronic means without resorting to a transformer. Voltage-current ratios apply, so doubling is not a question of getting free electrical energy that did not previously exist. Doubling the voltage and thus reducing the current available at the output […]
Basics of troubleshooting power supplies
When a piece of equipment turns up completely dead, one of the first things to look at is the power supply. If using an oscilloscope for this sort of troubleshooting, it should be a hand-held, battery-powered instrument isolated from ground, at least at the outset. The reason is there may be internal voltages that are […]
COVID-19 and climate change
A single coronavirus particle mutated and survived the transition from animal carrier to human victim, and so far with verified U.S. cases exceeding one million, there is no known therapy or protective vaccine. An unexpected consequence of mediation efforts is that for the first time in generations, Los Angeles and other urban areas have blue […]