HEWLETT PACKARD
A complete test solution for installing and maintaining radio-frequency infrastructure systems for Cellular Digital Packet Data and mobile data base station equipment was introduced by Hewlett-Packard Co. at the Personal Communications Showcase ’98 trade show last week in Orlando, Fla. The solution is available as an option to the HP 8935 Series E6381A Time Division Multiple Access base station test set, which evaluates the performance of CDPD RF base station equipment to help ensure the integrity wireless signals. The CDPD option allows technicians to test key RF parameters for both the forward-channel transmitter and reverse-channel receiver, including block-error rate sensitivity, as well as busy-set and busy-clear flag performance. The test solution can decode and display packet-data units for verifying the parameters set in the MDBS. The HP 8935 Series E6381A TDMA base station test set is available for $44,600. Option 003, which includes automation software and a connection kit costs $11,400. Option G03, for retrofitting an existing E6381A is available for $12,600. (650) 857-1501.
JBRO BATTERIES
The new JB-9049, NiCd, 7.5-bolt, 1200 mAh battery from JBRO Batteries Inc. is a replacement for Motorola Inc.’s Radius P1225 radio. The replacement battery measures 5.5 inches by 2.3 inches by 0.85 inches. The battery-part #1327-comes with an 18-month non-prorated warranty. (630) 964-9358.
VLSI TECHNOLOGY
VLSI Technology Inc. disclosed details of its Velocity Rapid Silicon Prototyping initiative, a new custom integrated circuit design style developed by the company to narrow the design productivity gap cited by many as a key challenge facing the semiconductor industry, said the company. Based on internal studies and field trials, VLSI said it believes the Velocity design style can reduce system-on-a-chip product development times by more than half. The Velocity design style can give customers the exact silicon they need in half the time to speed time to market, the company said. (404) 434-3000.
DSP COMMUNICATIONS
DSP Communications Inc. said samples of its new WorldTDMA D5204 baseband processor chipset are scheduled for delivery to original equipment manufacturers early in the fourth quarter. The Interim Standard-136A chipset consists of only two chips-a baseband engine chip for core voice processing, channel coding, modem and control functions; and an interface chip, which has an integrated audio codec for interfacing to the radio-frequency/intermediate-frequency and audio sections of the subscriber unit. By reducing the number of components from three to two, OEMs can reduce the overall size of their handsets and also decrease power consumption, thereby increasing talk and standby times, the company said. (408) 777-2700.
PHILIPS
Philips Consumer Communications last week unveiled the Fiori 1F1, a singing pager targeted at the 15-to-25 age group, at the Personal Communication Showcase ’98 in Orlando, Fla. The pager will alert users in any one of 16 preprogrammed melodies or any of six tunes the user can custom create. A feature called MelodyID identifies callers by the tune that their phone number has been programmed to play. The Fiori also has a silent vibrating alert. The Fiori stores up to 30 messages, up to 250 characters per message. The liquid crystal display shows up to 16 characters and function icons, and three operation buttons on the front of the pager are designed to be easily accessible. The pager has a curved body and interchangeable front bezels in seven colors so users can color-coordinate their pager with their wardrobe. (972) 432-1300.
DOUBLE-TIME
Double-Time Battery Corp. said a new invention called the Power-Clip doubles the talk time of cellular phones. The Power-Clip, which Double-Time said can be made for any make or model of wireless phone, is like a belt-clip holster with its own miniature power supply. Ed Bachner, an engineer, co-inventor of the Power-Clip and president of Double-Time, said the product is likely to be popular with users of very small wearable phones, and that the combination of the phone with the Power-Clip “is only slightly larger than the phone in a standard belt-clip. There is a patent pending on the Power-Clip technology, which is owned by Double-Time. (708) 301-1170.
L.M. ERICSSON
Ericsson Mobile Phones introduced the I-888 Global System for Mobile communications World Phone that gives international travelers the ability to use one digital phone almost anywhere in the world, said the company. The GSM phone works on both the network frequency used in the Americas and the frequency used in Europe as well as most other countries, added Ericsson. (800) 374-2776.
MAGELLAN
Magellan Corp. showcased for the first time its GSC 100 handheld device at PCS ’98 last week, which provides worldwide Global Positioning System service and e-mail communications using Orbcomm’s constellation of satellites. The two-way satellite messaging device has received type approval from the Federal Communications Commission. The GSC 100 saves up to 100 messages, can store up to 150 address and allows users to display characters in large, medium and small type sizes as well as include GPS information in a message. The device’s GPS feature has six graphic navigation displays, a full-featured track plotter, and can store up to 200 user-defined waypoints, five reversible routes with up to 15 legs, five coordinate systems including LAT/LON, UTM and OSGB, sunrise/sunset and lunar calculations, and differential-ready NMEA outputs. The GSC 100 is available for $1,000 plus a one-time activation fee of $50. (800) 611-7955, ext. 8897.
WORLD ACCESS
The Transport and Access Systems Group of World Access Inc. introduced a new local area network suite of products and announced at PCS ’98 shipments of two radios. The WavePLEX wireless metropolitan area network product series is a suite of wireless networking solutions designed to build flexible data networks for a variety of applications, including campus networking, high-speed Internet access and cellular data networks. The 38 GHz WavePLEX Compact digital microwave radio is now shipping. The device offers a connectivity solution for short-haul wireless, cellular and Global System for Mobile communications applications in the millimeterwave range. The 23 GHz WavePLEX Compact provides cellular operators with a solution for delivering point-to-point network services through T1/E1 access to support voice, data and video communications. (978) 694-3017.
IFR SYSTEMS
Three new test instruments were introduced by IFR Systems Inc. at PCS ’98 last week. The 2935 Global System for Mobile communications digital handset tester, featuring IFR’s Phone Test software, is designed for cost-effective service and test operations. The tester offers capability for testing 900 MHz GSM, 1800 MHz Digital Cellular System and 1900 MHz personal communications services handsets on one platform. The 2959 Advanced Multimode Cellular Test-Set provides measurements for Advanced Mobile Phone Service and digital AMPS phones. The 2959 incorporates the new ACELP voice vocoder and offers the option of a Spanish language user interface. The 2398 is a new spectrum analyzer with a frequency range from 9 kHz to 2.7 GHz. Features of the analyzer include split-screen operation for simultaneously tracking two signals, low phase noise and wide input range. The 2398 costs less than $7,000. (310) 277-5162.
