News and Information from Besser Associates • September 2006
In this issue:
- Learn from Microwave Legends
- Mentoring Tip: Know What Your Company Does
- Upcoming Webinars
- NEW GSM Measurements Course
- Enjoy Low Cost Travel with our Dallas Courses
Learn from Microwave Legends
The concept of mentoring for new engineers may be disappearing in today's fast-paced corporations, but you can still learn directly from some of the people who helped shape the industry as we know it today. Microwaves and RF Magazine recently published a list of 45 people, places, and things that were the most influential contributors to the development of the microwave industry in the last 45 years. Among the "Microwave Legends" on the list are four current and former instructors for Besser Associates. Les Besser helped change the way engineers design RF circuits by pioneering his COMPACT simulator program. Today he is the founder of Besser Associates and still teaches the Applied RF Techniques I circuit design course. Allen Podell is the founder of Pacific Monolithics, which was an innovative developer of GaAs IC amplifiers, oscillators, mixers, and receiver front ends. He currently presents the RF Fundamentals webinar as well as the Advanced Wireless and Microwave Techniques course. Also on the list are two former instructors, Steven Adam and Bob Wenzel.
Mentoring Tip: Know What Your Company Does
You may be an expert at the task that you were hired to do, but for long-term success in your career consider this advice from instructor Ed Niehenke: learn as much as you can about what your company is doing — what each division does and the responsibilities of the groups within your division. You may want to read some tutorials or check out a text from the company library to learn more about the disciplines that are involved in developing your company's products. (Perhaps a course from Besser Associates may be justified!) Expanding your knowledge beyond your area of responsibility will enable you to offer better input on design choices on your own projects. Modifications to product designs become more and more expensive as the project evolves from initial design to production, so having a good grasp of the different disciplines involved in making your product can help avoid costly workarounds and delays down the road. Even non-technical personnel should at least be fluent in the terminology and issues that the company is working on (may we suggest the RF and Wireless Made Simple course). Managers take note: this type of orientation is extremely useful for new employees as well. Most importantly, your expertise will make you an invaluable asset to the company as well as offering you some flexibility as the company evolves.
Upcoming Webinars
Instructor Allen Podell will be presenting a live real-time webinar September 11-15 on RF Fundamentals. This course is basically the equivalent of one full day's worth of material spread out over five 90-minute sessions (Monday through Friday). Instead of traveling to the course location, you just log in from any computer with a high-speed internet connection at the time that the course starts (9AM Pacific Time). Now you can learn about RF, ask questions, view CAE examples on the instructor's computer, all with a minimal interruption in your daily schedule. A new Webinar series on EM Shielding Fundamentals provides training in techniques for EMC, coupling and radiation, shielding, and grounding - without leaving your desktop. The new webinar will be available this October 16-20.
NEW GSM Measurements Course
Eighty percent of the 3 Billion cell phones in the world today are GSM. Most of these phones provide excellent voice quality service, but limited data capability, using GPRS, of about 50 kbps, which is about the same as wired telephone dial up. The GSM community has an evolution plan to grow its data capability through EDGE, WCDMA and HSDPA to over 1 Mbps. Industry analysts believe that all GSM customers will be serviced by WCDMA for voice and HSDPA for data by 2010. The new RF Measurements for GSM Evolution course will demonstrate the use of modern signal generators, spectrum analyzers, and vector signal analyzers to measure RF components and systems to each of the specification sets in the GSM global hierarchy. This 3 day course is a follow-on to Besser Associates popular RF Measurements—Principles and Demonstrations course, and will be offered this October 24-26 in Sunnyvale, CA.
Enjoy Low Cost Travel with our Dallas Courses
Our location in Dallas, TX features inexpensive hotel accommodations that are conveniently located right next door to the classes. The nearest airport, DFW international, is a major hub for many airlines. The program runs this November 13-17.
| Applied RF Techniques I | |
| Nov 13-Nov 17, 2006 | Course 001-3659 |
| Presented by Bob Froelich | Register by 10/2/2006 and pay $1995, otherwise pay $2195  |
| RF Transceiver Architecture, Design and Evaluation | |
| Nov 13-Nov 17, 2006 | Course 031-3661 |
| Presented by Ed Niehenke | Register by 10/2/2006 and pay $1995, otherwise pay $2195 |
| Antennas & Propagation for Wireless Communications | |
| Nov 13-Nov 15, 2006 | Course 037-3666 |
| Presented by Steven Best | Register by 10/2/2006 and pay $1195, otherwise pay $1295 |
| RF CMOS Design | |
| Nov 13-Nov 14, 2006 | Course 084-3678 |
| Presented by James Young | Register by 10/2/2006 and pay $795, otherwise pay $895 |
| Advanced Wireless and Microwave Techniques | |
| Nov 13-Nov 17, 2006 | Course 086-3662 |
| Presented by Allen Podell | Register by 10/2/2006 and pay $1995, otherwise pay $2195 |
| Wireless Circuits, Systems and Test Fundamentals | |
| Nov 13-Nov 17, 2006 | Course 112-3669 |
| Presented by Rick Fornes | Register by 10/2/2006 and pay $1995, otherwise pay $2195 |
| Wideband CDMA and Multi Carrier CDMA for UMTS/UTRA | |
| Nov 13-Nov 17, 2006 | Course 177-3658 |
| Presented by Savo Glisic | Register by 10/2/2006 and pay $1995, otherwise pay $2195 |
| Wireless Data Systems Made Simple: WiFi, WiMAX, HSPDA & More | |
| Nov 13-Nov 14, 2006 | Course 179-3657 |
| Presented by Al Scott | Register by 10/2/2006 and pay $795, otherwise pay $895 |
| Short Range Wireless Networks | |
| Nov 14-Nov 17, 2006 | Course 085-3663 |
| Presented by Robert K. Morrow | Register by 10/2/2006 and pay $1595, otherwise pay $1695 |
| RF Productivity Improvement | |
| Nov 15-Nov 17, 2006 | Course 009-3668 |
| Presented by Al Scott | Register by 10/2/2006 and pay $1195, otherwise pay $1295 |
| DSP Made Simple for Engineers | |
| Nov 15-Nov 17, 2006 | Course 027-3660 |
| Presented by Rick Lyons | Register by 10/2/2006 and pay $1195, otherwise pay $1295 |
| Frequency Synthesis and Phase-Locked Loop Design | |
| Nov 15-Nov 17, 2006 | Course 052-3667 |
| Presented by Eric Drucker | Register by 10/2/2006 and pay $1195, otherwise pay $1295 |
| WiMAX Broadband Wireless Access | |
| Nov 15-Nov 17, 2006 | Course 176-3664 |
| Presented by Douglas H. Morais | Register by 10/2/2006 and pay $1195, otherwise pay $1295 |
Online registration with a credit card is available 24 hours a day!
