Inside Frequency Control

Can you hear that?! ...Listen closely. Can you hear it now??

...Those are Christmas bells jingling in the distance because the holiday season is here once again!!!

 

While the expansion of the private sector into space is still in its infancy, there is little doubt that it will prove to be one of the most significant economic developments of this century, and RF engineers are one group of industry specialists that are making it happen. Indeed, it's almost impossible to overstate the impact that engineers specializing in radio frequency tech have had and will continue to have, not only with operating and maintaining commercial space activity but shaping it as well. Let’s explore all the different ways that RF engineers are making the “Space 2.0” era possible.

So much of what defines our modern lives is made possible through radio wave technology, which has changed the world in ways the first researchers could never have anticipated. But where did anyone get the idea that radio waves existed in the first place, and that they could be harnessed for wireless communication? It’s a fascinating story that continues to unfold to this day. Let’s go back to the beginning to understand how this technology has evolved.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a broad term which encompasses the multitude to wirelessly connected devices that surround us. It applies not only to smartphones and tablets, but to millions of machines, devices, and new twists on traditional products which were previously not connected to the internet. But what makes it all possible? How do these devices connect to the internet and communicate with each other?

The international space station (ISS) is traveling in orbit around our earth at about 217 Miles (350 km) above earth’s surface. That’s equal to about 1,148,294 feet (yes, over 1 MILLION feet) or 350,000 meters above you. Those are some crazy heights! The ISS and other satellite communication devices must be able to cover a ton of earth’s surface from there, right?

Maybe. Maybe not. Let’s explore...

 

Radar technology has become extremely important in today's world.

They help guide the freighters which ship the electronics, clothing, and countless other products we use every day to our shores.

They help meteorologists detect advanced weather patterns to produce the weather forecasts we see every morning on the news.

Further, radar is used for:

• Air traffic control and navigation
• Military applications
• Astronomical and meteorological study
• Law enforcement purposes. (You can thank the radars in police radar guns for that speeding ticket you may have gotten.) 
• Continually growing amounts of uses

Clearly radar is important for many reasons. Here's a deeper look into what exactly radar technology is and what makes it so effective for many applications. 

CMOS Clocks are a key technology that enables everything from laptops and smartphones to satellites and spacecraft to function. But what exactly do these devices do, and how are they beneficial in extreme environments and demanding applications? In this article, we will give a quick overview of the benefits of CMOS clocks, and how RF engineers put them to work in some of the most challenging applications.

The harnessing of the electromagnetic spectrum represents one of the greatest technological leaps in human history. So many luxuries and necessities, products, services, and systems we take for granted are all, in some way, linked to electromagnetic technologies. More specifically, to those which make use of the RF spectrum. But as anyone who works in the industry knows, the first order of business when designing a new product or system is to determine what part of RF spectrum will be the best fit for the application.