Lau Defense Systems starts operations under Vista Controls name
The Vista Controls and Lau Defense Systems operations of Curtiss-Wright Flight Systems are combining their operations in Littleton, Mass., and in Santa Clarita, Calif., by operating under the name of Vista Controls in Santa Clarita. Company leaders say they are making the change to position the companies for growth. Curtiss-Wright acquired Lau Defense Systems and its subsidiary Vista Controls in November 2001. The Massachusetts branch of the firm specializes in contract and legacy products, providing research, design, and obsolescence engineering for military electronics systems and subsystems, and systems integration and electronics design, manufacturing, and engineering services. The Santa Clarita facility focuses on military programs and products. For more information contact Vista President Darwin Beckel by phone at 661-257-4430, by fax at 661-257-4782, by e-mail at dbeckel @Vistacontrols.com, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.Vistacontrols.com/.
Themis offers I/O UltraSPARC single-board computer
Officials of Themis Computer of Fremont, Calif., are offering a new family of USPIIe-USB VMEbus single-board computers. The USPIIe-USB comes in versions with 500 MHz, 600 MHz, and 650 MHz UltraSPARC microprocessors with the Solaris 8 or Solaris 9 operating system. Configuration options are available to enhance users' I/O flexibility and performance, Themis officials say. The USPIIe-USB combines the UltraSPARC-IIi processors with a local PMC peripheral controller slot and a high-performance bridge. The USPIIe-USB is available in one-slot, two-slot, and three-slot configurations, VME64 interface, dual Ultra3 80 megabyte-per-second SCSI port, as many as two 10/100Base-T Ethernet ports, and as many as six RS-232 serial ports. Memory is expandable to as much as four gigabytes using memory mezzanine cards, Themis officials say. For more information contact Themis by phone at 510-252-0870, by fax at 510-490-5529, by e-mail at [email protected], by post at 3185 Laurelview Court, Fremont, Calif. 94538, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.themis.com/.
Dolch introduces sealed harsh-environment portable computer
Dolch Computer Systems of Fremont, Calif., is offering the sealed and ruggedized MilPAC portable computer, built to survive military and industrial applications where laptops and conventional portables cannot survive, Dolch officials say. The new computer is engineered to survive remote field applications such as military deployment, on-site maintenance, flightline systems analysis, geophysical exploration, shipboard exposure, and factory floor environments. For field ruggedness, MilPAC's case is corrosion-protected aluminum that shields internal components from shocks as strong as 40 Gs, and is rated for weatherproof storage and transit. An upgrade to the MilPAC Plus provides an IP 65 rating for water-resistant operation. The computer has a fold-up keyboard, 14.1-inch hi-bright XGA TFT display readable even in bright ambient light. For more information contact Dolch by phone at 510-661-2220, by fax at 510-490-2360, by post at 3178 Laurelview Court, Fremont, Calif. 94538, or on the World Wide Web at http:// www. dolch.com/.
E-Beam improves semiconductors with irradiation process
Officials of E-Beam Service Inc. of Cranbury, N.J., are offering a fast-turnaround contract irradiation process that they claim can enhance switching speeds, minimize backflow leakage, eliminate chemical usage, and reduce costs of semiconductor wafers, chips, power diodes, and optical components for thyristors, rectifiers, diodes, transistors, and other components. Candidates for this process are components that operate above 400 Hz that need secondary processing, E-Beam officials say. The company's electron beam irradiation creates controlled nano-electron defects within the crystalline matrix of the semiconductor. These defects provide pathways for enhancing electron flows for the high-frequency operation, company officials say. For more information contact E-Beam by phone at 877-413-2326, by post at 118 Melrich Road, Cranbury, N.J. 08512, or on the World Wide Web at http://www ebeamservices.com/.
Lockheed Martin studies multi-sensor integration aboard aircraft
Scientists at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Sensors Directorate in Rome, N.Y., are looking to systems designers at Lockheed Martin Corp. in Syracuse, N.Y., to build a prototype multifunction surveillance system, as well as to study aspects of mitigating electromagnetic interference. Lockheed Martin won a 30-month contract worth $932,805 from the Air Force Research Lab, and an 18-month contract worth $484,134 to do the electromagnetic interference study. "The contractor's researchers will study multiple radars on a single aircraft and address how the radars interfere with each other," says John E. Maher, a Sensors Directorate engineer. "They will also be developing ways to mitigate that interference."
ECE unveils multi-purpose I/O processing unit for military applications
Engineers at Electronic Concepts & Engineering (ECE) in Holland, Ohio, are introducing a multi-purpose I/O processing unit for control, data acquisition, and testing for military and aerospace applications. The unit has digital, analog, and power inputs and outputs, serial communications, a programmable processor, wired and fiber optic network interfaces, and rugged construction to operate in harsh environments and extended temperatures. Integrators may use the unit by itself or as a network node in a distributed system. For more information contact ECE by phone at 419-861-9000, ext 114, by fax at 419-861-9002, by e-mail at [email protected], by post at 1306 Kittle Road, Holland, Ohio 43528, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.eceinc.com/.
Primagraphics offers radar scan converter in PMC format
Officials of Primagraphics of Charlottesville, Va., introduced their Eagle radar scan converter card in PCI Mezzanine Card (PMC) format for naval command and control display consoles, radar head monitor systems, airborne radar display consoles, and ground based simulators. The card is the latest in the new Hawkeye family of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) sensor input and display cards, company officials say. Eagle operates in a wide range of environments, including high temperature and vibration. The card uses the White-Powell algorithm for radar scan conversion, which produces no holes or spokes in the displayed image, even when zooming-in at long range, to display all single-point targets, company officials say. Eagle digitally combines the generated radar image with the output from a standard DVI output (PanelLink) graphics card. During video keying, the Eagle is able to place the video from the graphics card either as an underlay or as an overlay to the radar image to present target symbols as overlays and maps. Eagle can scan convert radar data simultaneously from three independent sources, each being displayed in up to eight windows. For more information contact Bruce Carriker of Primagraphics by phone at 434-951-9460, by fax at 434-951-9461, by e-mail at [email protected], by post at 1000 Research Park Blvd., Suite 106, Charlottesville, Va. 22911, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.primagraphics.net/.
Elma unveils convection-cooled ATR circuit card enclosures
Elma Electronic Inc. of Fremont, Calif., is offering a line of convection-cooled air transport rack (ATR) enclosures for VME, VME64X, and CompactPCI applications. All of Elma's new enclosures meet ARINC 404A specifications and come in 1/2, 3/4, 1, and 1 1/2 ATR tall long formats, Elma officials say. In addition Elma's ATR racks meet MIL-STD 5400, 810E, 461E, 704A, and 275A, and are appropriate for use with commercially available cards in airborne, ground mobile, or shipboard applications that do not require a sealed, conduction-cooled units, company officials say. Standard options include: 5-to-15-slot 6U by 160 millimeter card cages, 150-to-750 watt power supplies, 28-volt DC 90-to-230 volts AC 440 Hz input, cooling as strong as 470 cubic feet of air per minute, and configurable I/O. For more information contact Elma by phone at 510-656-3400, by fax at 510-656-3783, by post at 44350 Grimmer Blvd., Fremont, Calif. 94538, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.elma.com/.
Texas Instruments unveils new line of enhanced plastic devices
Leaders of Texas Instruments (TI) Semiconductor in Dallas are unveiling a new line of plastic-packaged semiconductors called the Enhanced Plastic (EP) portfolio. The new devices, which include digital signal processors, analog, FIFO, logic, and ASICs, complement TI's military-grade ceramic devices, company officials say. The EP line is for applications that require devices to function beyond the standard commercial environment, TI officials say. Benefits include one assembly and test site, enhanced product change notification, extended temperature performance, and quality pedigree. Some devices in the EP line can operate at the full-military temperature range of -55 to 125 degrees Celsius. On these devices, TI experts pay special attention to reliability and electromagnetic checks, electrical characterization, and package performance. For more information contact the TI product information center by phone at 972-644-5580, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.ti.com/sc/ampic/.
Kopin unveils tiny new liquid crystal display
Kopin Corp. in Taunton, Mass., is offering at tiny active-matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD) with color filter technology called the CyberDisplay 180K. The 180,000-pixel display delivers power efficiency in a 0.24-inch diagonal package, Kopin officials say. The display is viewable in bright sunlight and can be used with optics and plastics from existing CyberDisplay 320 enabled products. Kopin also announced the availability of a reference design kit. The Color Video Module (CVM) 180K is compatible with high- and low-resolution component and composite video signals, which enables portable electronics designers to integrate the CVM 180K in display-enabled applications that use either the emerging component standard or the older composite standard, Kopin officials say. For more information contact Kopin by phone at 508-824-6696, by fax at 508-824-6958, by post at 695 Myles Standish Blvd., Taunton, Mass. 02780, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.kopin.com/.
NAI Logitek unveils ruggedized power supply for VME and VXI applications
Designers at the Logitek Power Division of North Atlantic Industries in Bohemia, N.Y., are offering a low profile ruggedized power supply to support VME and VXI chassis power requirements. The 57S81 is for airborne, shipboard, and ground-mobile applications, and accepts either 115 volts AC single-phase or 270 volts DC. It generates as many as eight outputs and delivers 500 watts. The 57S81 is designed to NAVMAT guidelines for component de-rating and 100 percent temperature screening. It meets MIL-STD-461D for EMI filtering, and MIL-STD-704D for transient protection. It has remote error sensing, remote digital on/off, current limiting, and supports VME and VXI with ANSI/VITA signaling. For more information contact NAI Logitek by fax at 631-567-1823, by post at 170 Wilbur Place, Bohemia, N.Y. 11716-2416, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.naii. com/.
Sarcon to use Sarnoff MEMS facility for uncooled IR sensor arrays
Leaders of Sarcon Microsystems of Knoxville, Tenn., are awarding a production contract to Sarnoff Corp. of Princeton, N.J., to build Sarcon's 320-by-240-pixel microelectromechanical infrared sensor array. Users of this device are building thermal "see-in-the-dark" cameras and temperature sensors. Sarcon officials say they will deliver the IR detector engines with related electronics for evaluation to systems integrators by the end of next March. For more information contact Sarnoff Corp. by phone at 609-732-2507, by fax at 609-734-2040, by post at CN 5300, Princeton, N.J. 08543-5300, or on the World Wide Web at http://www. sarnoff.com/.
