Spectrum analyzer maker ThinkRF and Cellular software publisher CelPlan have joined forces to integrate their products, letting engineers monitor the newly opened 3.5 GHz Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band. The product integration lets RF engineers conduct drive tests and evaluate network performance, map coverage, or identify issues in the 3.5 GHz CBRS band. CBRS…
Digital modulation basics, part 1
Mobile devices have evolved from basic analog phones to digitally enabled smartphones that fit in the palm of your hand. Voice communications are still part of the mix, but voice calls are handled by converting the voice signal from analog to digital and transmitting it digitally. This means that mobile wireless systems are focused on…
6G might be closer than we thought
5G took some fifteen years to develop, starting around 2004 at university research labs. When 3GPP Release 15, the first 5G new radio (5GNR) standard, was approved in late 2017, the race to deploy began. That includes mmWave Frequencies starting around 24 GHz. At roughly the same time, research labs began looking at frequencies above…
5G health concerns and conspiracy theories
While the wireless carriers, equipment suppliers, and component suppliers have cranked up the 5G marketing hype, there is some resistance to deploying the technology because of health concerns. There is some credible evidence in the science regarding health effects resulting from exposure to RF energy. In 2019, Larry Desjardin looked at the science in a…
Signal Hound API adds Linux
With 5G ramping up and much of it operating below 6 GHz, engineers need to generate and analyze signals in the FR1 band. Signal Hound, a maker of PC-connected RF signal sources and spectrum analyzers, now offers Linux support for its software. You are now free to develop your own applications for the company’s…
Isolators cut reverse-traveling signals at mmWave frequencies
To minimize issues from standing waves, engineers have long used Faraday rotation isolators that let forward-traveling signals pass to the load while attenuating reverse-traveling signals such as reflections. Higher frequencies, however, bring a new set of problems such as insertion loss that Micro Harmonics claims to have solved with its mmWave isolators. The series consists…
RF components cover sub-6 GHz and mmWave frequencies
Pasternack announces a comprehensive portfolio of 5G RF solutions serving the urgent needs of engineers and technicians around the world with high-grade RF components and cable assemblies shipped same-day to support 5G innovation, testing and deployments. The “RF Components for the Next Generation” suite is comprised of thousands of active, passive, interconnect and antenna products…
Novel Communications Architecture for Future Ultra-High Speed Wireless Networks
The radio frequency spectrum, the basis for wireless telecommunications, is a finite resource that needs to be managed effectively to satisfy the demands posed by the exponential growth in wireless internet access. IMDEA Networks researchers have developed a novel communications architecture for future ultrafast wireless networks that promises to achieve data rates previously only possible…
Laser Trick Produces High-Energy Terahertz Pulses
A team of scientists from DESY and the University of Hamburg has achieved an important milestone in the quest for a new type of compact particle accelerator. Using ultra-powerful pulses of laser light, they were able to produce particularly high-energy flashes of radiation in the terahertz range having a sharply defined wavelength (colour). Terahertz radiation…
Antennas of Flexible Nanotube Films an Alternative for Electronics
Antennas made of carbon nanotube films are just as efficient as copper for wireless applications, according to researchers at Rice University’s Brown School of Engineering. They’re also tougher, more flexible and can essentially be painted onto devices. The Rice lab of chemical and biomolecular engineer Matteo Pasquali tested antennas made of “shear-aligned” nanotube films. The…