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NXP Semiconductors invites RF engineers and students worldwide to submit creative application ideas for NXP’s RF power components, with prizes worth US$ 25,000 in total. The NXP HPRF Design Challenge will award prizes to design entries based on criteria including creativity, design efficiency, usefulness, originality and proof of concept. The top prizes include a trip to the International Microwave Symposium in Baltimore (USA) on 5

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Since the widespread commercial use of the transistor, electronics minded people have assembled their circuits on a printed circuit board (PCB). Even if the circuits are increasingly complex, PCB design is actually becoming easier thanks to the availability of efficient design tools in the CAD realms. Whereas ten years ago CAD software to accomplish serious PCB design was beyond the reach of many, today you can download some of these tools for free on the internet. Often these tools are free but with limitations of some kind in terms of board size, number of components or file exporting. By contrast, a recently launched product called DesignSpark PCB has no restrictions, says the supplier RS Components (in the USA: Allied Electronics).
 
As an Elektor reader you’re probably aware that we design a lot of PCBs and we know you're doing the same. So there’s a good reason to try RS Components’ new PCB software to see what it's worth. Is it powerful enough to adopt it? We installed the latest version of the software on a computer and took out DesignSpark for a test drive. Our findings may be found on the Elektor Embedded Blogspot.

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RS Components DesignSpark on Elektor Embedded BlogspotRS Components DesignSpark homepageAllied Electronics



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Elektor, NXP and Circuit Cellar magazine are jointly staging a global design contest based on the mbed LPC1768 kit. Thousands of designers from around the world have already registered and secured a kit. Have you started yet? Or are you almost done with your project?

The contest closes on February 28, 2011. To help you on the way with submitting your project in the proper way (so the judges don’t bin it straight away!), a dedicated web page has been set up for your convenience at:

 

extra/source-code-submission-guide-for-the-nxp-mbed.1626626.lynkx

 

If you feel you could do with a little help in implementing your project, we’re happy to refer you to the book

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RS Components has announced the launch of DesignSpark, the centrepiece of its initiative to provide a comprehensive online design environment for engineers. DesignSpark is an online gateway that gives engineers trusted and reliable information and resources, bringing together design information, user generated reviews and new, free tools to speed up the design process.

Developed in partnership with FreshNetworks, a leader in social media development, the site is being launched initially in English, German, Chinese and Japanese, with further language versions to follow throughout 2010. The partner portal has been specifically created in order to allow DesignSpark members to connect with companies and individuals who can help provide information, support or resources that enable faster design development.

A major feature of DesignSpark is a library of independent reviews of development kits and evaluation platforms, provided by engineers for engineers. This allows users to post comments and star ratings for each kit. Initially, it will cover a range of up to 1100 microcontroller, microprocessor, analogue and FPGA development kits, with new kits being added regularly.

DesignSpark also gives users access to a dedicated design centre with technology tips and hints posted by DesignSpark members. The centre informs engineers on the latest design trends and contains links to the range of RS website tools, making component selection and integration into design software packages fast and simple.

DesignSpark offers members free access to a range of design tools hosted in the Spark Store, including RS’s new, fully featured PCB design tool DesignSpark PCB. After registering as a DesignSpark member, site visitors can access the full functionality of DesignSpark PCB.

Image: RS Components
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a complete reference design for advanced remote controlled racing toys that operates at 2.4 GHz and supports game play features previously impossible with conventional 27 MHz and 49 MHz remote control systems. These features include racing with multiple friends, using waypoints to define free-form racetracks, feeling crashes through controller vibration, and the ability to collect, see and share racing data.

The nRFready R/C Racing reference design includes two cars, two controllers, four waypoints, a USB dongle, the nRFready Racing Studio PC application, and all necessary source code and hardware design files. The cars, controllers and waypoints are based on Nordic’s single-chip nRF24LE1 2.4 GHz transceiver, which provides a flexible development platform with flash memory as well as a smooth migration path to Nordic's lower-cost one time programmable variants for mass production.

The cars in the nRFready R/C Racing reference design feature continuous steering and throttle control and crash sensors, as well as blinker lights and headlights that can be switched on and off from the controller. The controllers include LEDs for car battery status and force (vibration) feedback to indicate crashes. The cars can also detect when they are in close proximity to a waypoint and wirelessly send race statistics such as lap times, speed and number of crashes to the nRFready Racing Studio PC application through the supplied USB dongle.

Image: Nordic Semiconductor



 
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