Batteries Present A Great Hope For U.S. Manufacturing

 By Robin Tichy, Micro Power Electronics Inc.

The battery industry is being lauded as the great hope for domestic manufacturing and job creation. Much of the economic stimulus package has been directed toward the fabrication and recycling of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries in the United States. The $790 billion economic stimulus legislation includes tens of billions of dollars in loans, grants, and tax incentives for advanced battery research and manufacturing.

Control Current And Voltage Precisely For Regulators, Oscillators, And Amps

 By Gregory Mirsky, Milavia International

This current regulator boasts a very high current stability of around 1.7% within a temperature range that spans -40°C to 125°C. It can be used in precise current and voltage regulators, oscillators, and amplifiers. It comprises thermal coefficients of bipolar transistors and Schottky diodes, which efficiently compensate for each other, as well as a very high feedback loop gain employing a JFET.

DIN Supplies Pack High-Power Punch In Compact Packages

Sporting a footprint allegedly 50% smaller than conventional versions while delivering up to 20 A of output current, the PS-C DIN-rail, single-output power supplies from Altech Corp. can provide an upfront power surge by boosting 50% more power in the first three seconds followed by 100% of continuously rated power in service.

DAC Boards Handle Demanding Sonar Chores

In response to emerging naval requirements, the ICS-1620 and ICS-1640 digital-to-analog converter (DAC) boards from GE Fanuc Intelligen Platforms address sonar applications by providing a high dynamic range for detecting smaller targets at longer distances, board-to-board synchronization to support high-channel-count systems, and a short-form PCI Express form factor to enable compact, lightweight systems.

Industrial Supplies Deliver Reliable Performance

The T-SERIES DIN-rail, single-phase industrial power supplies from Weidmuller Interconnections promise users reliable performance under the most demanding conditions such as load startup with high inrush currents. A good choice to power sensitive loads in industrial process control systems and machine tools, the supplies are available in nine models with outputs ranging from 12 through 48 V dc with output currents up to 25 A.

Programmable Mic Preamp Improves Dynamic Range

Promising significant improvements in dynamic range and design flexibility to designers of pro audio equipment, the THAT1570/5171 microphone preamplifier chipset from That Corp. teams a differential audio preamplifier (1570) with a separate digital preamp controller (5171). Both offer up to 130 dB of dynamic range when operating from ±17-V supplies, allowing users to trade off power consumption versus dynamic range.