News and Information from Besser Associates • March 2008
In this issue:
- Next Free Webcast: WiMAX
- Special Price: EMC Benchtop Fundamentals Webinar
- New Wideband Book, Course, & Free Webcast
- Upcoming Courses - San Jose April 2008
- Upcoming Courses - Boston May 2008
Next Free Webcast: WiMAX
The 2008 Webinar series from Microwave Journal and Besser Associates continues this month with a tutorial on WiMAX. Instructor Doug Morais will present the upcoming FREE webcast on March 18 at 11AM Eastern Time. WiMax is an exciting broadband technology that offers high speed wireless internet access. This presentation offers an introduction to that technology and its application to fixed and mobile environments. Don't miss out on this opportunity to see the presentation and ask questions in the Q&A session that follows. Visit the Microwave Journal Resources page for more information about the upcoming webcast, and to sign up. You can also view the recorded sessions of previous webcasts in the series.
Special Price: EMC Benchtop Fundamentals Webinar
Equivalent to a full day seminar, our webinar series consisting of five 90-minute live sessions is now offered for the special price of $199. Similar to a live course, these seminars feature a small audience where you can ask as many questions as you want at any time. You will receive a PDF copy of the course manual so that you can print it out and take notes as the course progresses. Corporate exclusive webinars are available for a variety of subjects and are a great way to train groups that are spread out across the continent or around the world. Our next public webinar course, EMC Benchtop Fundamentals, will be presented March 24-28 , 2008 by Kenneth Wyatt. Just log-in to the class from your computer each day with a high speed internet connection and speakers or headphones - no travel required!
Very often, simple EMC bench-top pre-compliance measurements and troubleshooting techniques can identify issues early when the cost of implementation is substantially lower and design improvements may be made with less impact on schedules. This seminar covers the basics of EMC design, simple bench top measurement methods and includes a number of simple techniques and tools.
Kenneth Wyatt, Sr. EMC Engineer, Agilent Technologies, holds degrees in biology and electronic engineering and has worked as an product development engineer for 10 years at various aerospace firms on projects ranging from DC-DC power converters to RF and microwave systems for shipboard and space systems. For over 20 years, he has worked as an EMC engineer for Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies in Colorado Springs. A prolific author and presenter, he has written or presented topics including RF amplifier design, RF network analysis software, EMC design of products and use of harmonic comb generators for predicting shielding effectiveness. He has been published in magazines such as, RF Design, EMC Design & Test, Electronic Design, Microwave Journal, HP Journal and several others.
New Wideband Book, Course, & Free Webcast
Besser Associates' instructor Allen Hollister has authored a new book titled Wideband Amplifier Design from SciTech publishing. This book offers a technique using simplified algebraic models to understand the operation of high frequency circuits. By adding elements that have traditionally been left out of such models, the equations provide surprising accuracy while maintaining their simplicity. One can then intuitively understand the effects of different factors on the overall circuit performance. The entire process is validated and enhanced further through the use of modern CAD/CAE analysis.
Based on the ideas presented in the book, our new Wideband/HF Amplifier Design Techniques course demonstrates not only the theory and practice of wideband amplifier design, but will also deliver techniques that provide a “gut level feel” for designing almost any analog circuit. Using these techniques, the student will learn how to derive equivalent circuits, some containing negative elements that describe for example, why oscillations occur. Once the basic theory is developed, a variety of additional simulation tools are brought in to complete the last 10% of the design and provide verification of the efficacy of the simplified algebraic models. The new course is offered this August in San Jose, CA and also this November in Dallas, TX. Attend the course and receive a free copy of Allen's new book (see above).
Upcoming FREE Webcast: Allen will be presenting a free webcast on T-Coils this April. When attempting to create wide bandwidth amplifiers, RF designers are confronted by the fact that the load eventually becomes capacitive and the source has a finite driving point resistance. This creates a single pole filter with a bandwidth of 1/(2πRC). To get more bandwidth, we use the concept of "peaking circuits". One such circuit is called a T-Coil (so named because of its schematic representation). You can learn more about these circuits by attending the free webcast from Agilent Technologies on April 3, 2008. Remember to sign up for the full course presentation either in August or November.
Allen Hollister received Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of Nebraska where he graduated Cum Laude and became a member of Eta Kappa Nu and Sigma Tau (the electrical engineering honorary and all engineering honorary respectively). After college, Allen worked for Tektronix for 15 years rising to the level of Principal Engineer. He spent two years teaching advanced electronics at Portland State University. He has served on numerous committees including three years on the IEEE 802.11 committee. He was the first chairman of the VXIbus consortium and was one of the key contributors for the electrical design of that standard. Allen holds eight patents and has filed for six more including four in the field of RFID. Allen authored the book Wideband Amplifier Design for SciTech Publishing. Allen has served as either a Director of Engineering or VP of Engineering for the last 15 years. He is currently VP of Engineering for Probe Science Inc., a consulting and contract engineering firm specializing in RF, communications, and medical electronics. Allen’s specialty areas include, but are not limited to, instrumentation, communication, GPS, 802.11, Bluetooth, analog, systems, and RFID. Allen was one of the principal inventors of RFID technology for Identifi Inc, an RFID startup specializing in very high speed and accurate reading of RFID tags in dense tag environments.
Upcoming Courses - San Jose April 2008
| RF Measurements:Principles & Demonstration | |
| Apr 07-Apr 11, 2008 | Course 135-3891 |
| Presented by Al Scott and Rex Frobenius | Register by 3/14/2008 and pay $2195, otherwise pay $2395  |
| Signal Processing for Wireless Communications | |
| Apr 08-Apr 11, 2008 | Course 029-3951 |
| Presented by Joe Boccuzzi | Register by 3/14/2008 and pay $1595, otherwise pay $1695 |
| RF Wireless System Design Fundamentals | |
| Apr 08-Apr 10, 2008 | Course 063-3892 |
| Presented by Rick Fornes | Register by 3/14/2008 and pay $1295, otherwise pay $1395 |
| Magnetic Components for RF and Signal Processing | |
| Apr 09-Apr 11, 2008 | Course 197-3950 |
| Presented by Orin E. Laney | Register by 3/14/2008 and pay $1295, otherwise pay $1395 |
Upcoming Courses - Boston May 2008
| Modern Digital Modulation Techniques | |
| May 12-May 16, 2008 | Course 016-3894 |
| Presented by Irving Kalet | Register by 4/7/2008 and pay $1995, otherwise pay $2195 |
| RF Transceiver Architecture, Design and Evaluation | |
| May 12-May 16, 2008 | Course 031-3898 |
| Presented by Ed Niehenke | Register by 4/7/2008 and pay $1995, otherwise pay $2195 |
| Short Range Wireless Networks | |
| May 12-May 15, 2008 | Course 085-3899 |
| Presented by Robert K. Morrow | Register by 4/7/2008 and pay $1595, otherwise pay $1695 |
| Advanced Wireless and Microwave Techniques | |
| May 12-May 16, 2008 | Course 086-3911 |
| Presented by Allen Podell | Register by 4/7/2008 and pay $1995, otherwise pay $2195 |
| Advanced RF Power Amplifier Techniques | |
| May 12-May 15, 2008 | Course 114-3895 |
| Presented by Steve Cripps | Register by 4/7/2008 and pay $1995, otherwise pay $2195 |
| Applied Design of Wireless Digital Modulation Systems | |
| May 12-May 14, 2008 | Course 161-3901 |
| Presented by Chris Potter | Register by 4/7/2008 and pay $1295, otherwise pay $1395 |
| Production Testing of RF and SOC Devices for Wireless Communications | |
| May 12-May 16, 2008 | Course 166-3896 |
| Presented by Keith Schaub | Register by 4/7/2008 and pay $1995, otherwise pay $2195 |
| Applied RF Techniques for Modern Radio Design | |
| May 12-May 16, 2008 | Course 188-3897 |
| Presented by Rick Fornes | Register by 4/7/2008 and pay $1995, otherwise pay $2195 |
| WiMAX Broadband Wireless Access | |
| May 14-May 16, 2008 | Course 176-3893 |
| Presented by Douglas H. Morais | Register by 4/7/2008 and pay $1295, otherwise pay $1395 |
| Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) Design | |
| May 14-May 16, 2008 | Course 181-3902 |
| Presented by Ali Darwish | Register by 4/7/2008 and pay $1295, otherwise pay $1395 |
| EMC Design, Bench Top Measurements and Troubleshooting Techniques - A Practical Approach | |
| May 14-May 16, 2008 | Course 196-3900 |
| Presented by Kenneth Wyatt | Register by 4/7/2008 and pay $1295, otherwise pay $1395 |
