Here Come the Calculators!

I've been experimenting with JavaScript a bit lately and came up with a bit of code to make creating calculators for RF Mentor users quite a bit easier. Based on the fact that most of the online calculators share some common functionality as far as the website is concerned, I've created some base "formula" and "variable" objects to handle the creation of the input form and display tasks. As a result, creating a new calculator is a much simpler matter of defining the variables and writing a function for the calculation of the output value.

Greetings from the International Microwave Symposium Hawaii

Greetings from the 2017 International Microwave Symposium in Honolulu, Hawaii! This show is a great opportunity to re-connect with fellow RF and wireless professionals, learn about the latest design techniques, and see the newest products being offered at the exhibition. Besser Associates is here at booth #942. The show is always an opportunity to get new ideas and brainstorm for new courses and resources that we can offer on the RF Mentor site.

dBm to Milliwatts Conversion Tutorial with Python

I was recently updating one of the online workbooks for the RF Technology Certification program and decided to try and re-write one of the calculators using Python. The topic is teaching how to convert from dBm values to milliwatts without using a calculator, so the calculator does not just calculate the conversion, rather it tries to demonstrate the process of approximation in your head. In the end, I decided to keep the original Javascript calculator with some updates rather than replacing it with the Python version.

Transmission Line Elements on Smith Chart Web App

I've successfully added transmission line elements to the Smith Chart matching web app here on RFMentor.com. These include series, shorted shunt section, and open shunt section. There's a trick you can use to have these transmission line elements use an arbitrary characteristic impedance. The elements adopt the same characteristic impedance as the chart normalization impedance (default is 50 Ohms).

Femtocells: Design & Application

Author
Joe Boccuzzi

This in-depth resource provides comprehensive coverage of femtocells and how they integrate with existing 3G and emerging wireless protocols and standards. Femtocells: Design & Application provides a technical roadmap for migrating to femtocell technology, covering network architecture, media protocols, system performance, and security issues. Detailed architectural diagrams illustrate various deployment options. This is a practical guide to the pioneering technology that enables extended indoor service coverage.

Analytical Impedance Match with Python

I created a quick Python function to calculate the component values for an impedance match between two real (resistive) terminations using the technique taught in the Introduction to Impedance Matching course. Here is what the code ends up looking like, and it shows how useful Python can be for working as a "quick programmable calculator." In the old days, I might have been tempted to program my old HP48 calculator to crank out the same values. It only took a few minutes to put the code together, which is the beauty of working with Python.