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 Op amps can never achieve the ideal performance that you would like to see in your products. Their always non-zero gain error can mark the difference between pass and fail at the system level. This article attempts to demystify the myth of ideal op amp performance. Its discussion includes several diagrams and transfer functions for illustration.
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Tools Generate Test Signals
 Sometimes solving a problem requires looking in a most unlikely place. For example, industry stalwart Jon Titus has created two Visual Basic macros that run in Microsoft® Excel® to create and manipulate test signals to your specification. Design News helps present his ideas and provides a link to download the software.
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 Electronic test has two distinct functions. It catches faults in products after you build them, but it also provides information to improve product future yields. Though usually confined to the fault-identifying step, Agilent Technologies outlines how automated optical inspection can also serve well in process feedback to minimize manufacturing defect rates.
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Know the Companies You Deal With
 When it comes time to choose a test equipment vendor, it often helps to consider other company's choices. Some vendors have gained while others have slipped. This Test & Measurement World survey looks at the health of the overall industry in 2005 and the relative success of some of its leaders.
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S. Himmelstein and Company
MCRT Compact Digital Torquemeters
 Our new MCRT® 48200V Series Digital Torquemeters. These compact, non-contact devices have full scale ranges from 25 to 10,000 lbf-in. They output ±10V or ±5V analogs of torque, as well as engineering unit data via a resident com port. Two accuracy grades are offered: 0.2% and 0.15%. Go here to visit our Web site.
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Versatile Products II
Manufacturing Parts Inspection Systems
 Versatile Products II manufactures thread inspection systems and sensors to detect thread presence, depth, pitch, and quality. Because we utilize eddy current principles our equipment will work in the presence of coolants, oil, grease, etc. Our systems are very modular so there is no practical limit to how many holes we can inspect simultaneously.
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Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
Complimentary One-Hour Market Access Webinar
 Receive high-level information to assist you with determining product requirements for your intended market. This one-hour webinar will provide a regulatory overview for: Europe, China, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. More information and registration for this complimentary Webinar.
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 Switching to lead-free solder requires adjusting processes to a material with a higher melting point, lower wetting, and lower flow than its leaded predecessor. Different root cause errors were exhibited as well. A Circuits Assembly article advocates early inspection and correction to minimize the impact of this transition on product quality.
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True RMS Measures Non-Linear Loads
 In HVAC and cooling applications, modern solid-state adjustable speed drives and heating controls containing power semiconductors or rectifiers (non-linear loads) draw current in short bursts rather than conventional sine waves. Average responding RMS test tools may read from 5% to 40% low in these situations. Test equipment manufacturer Fluke recommends "true RMS" tools for greater accuracy.
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Meeting European EMC Specifications
 The strict electromagnetic compatibility specifications required of any product sold into the European Union has caused considerable difficulty among electronics manufacturers around the world. Compliance must be verified by a certified EMC test laboratory. This page from one such laboratory — TUV — explains the nature of the problem and the regulations to which manufacturers must adhere.
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 A manufacturing and test service must offer customers a balance between high-quality products and reasonable prices. Achieving this goal means eliminate waste wherever possible — waste materials, waste labor, unnecessary processes, etc. This article describes one company's success, and provides hints on how to get similar results in your own operation.
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Sypris Test and Measurement
The One You Choose for Product Test and Component Screening
 With over 40 years of component and product testing experience, Sypris Test & Measurement has the right equipment, right standards, and right people to meet your critical testing needs. Sypris' laboratories are ISO 9001:2000 registered, A2LA accredited, ISTA certified, and DSCC suitable. Contact a Sypris representative today by calling: 800-839-4959.
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Uson, L.P.
Hardness and Crack Tester for Harsh Environments
 Eddy current is a clean, non-destructive test method that inspects every part at production line speeds. Its accuracy can meet or exceed traditional test methods without lengthy preparation or damage to parts. Now with a new heavy duty enclosure, Uson's multi channel InSite tester can be put to work — even in harsh environments.
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Dice
A Better Job Search by Design
 DiceEngineering.com offers thousands of quality engineering jobs at top technology and engineering companies. Find jobs in your area of expertise. Search now.
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 A test engineer looking for a new job faces a considerable challenge. Companies needing qualified test engineers tend to experience equal frustration. The Just Test Web site offers both parties a place to browse the available candidates and possibly identify a perfect match. Find positions in engineering or sales in the test field.
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Where Test Engineers Meet
 Test engineers do have a peer-to-peer professional network. The American Society of Test Engineers (ASTE) provides a valuable source of technical information to professionals involved with any kind of testing. It offers news of conferences and symposia, reviews more than 20 technical magazines every month, and provides a host of other services.
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 Astronomers around the world recently observed a rarely seen event — a star about to explode as a supernova. The star briefly bathed the earth with light 1000 times greater than normal. The last known occurrence of such an event was recorded by astronomer Tycho Brahe in 1572.
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The Chicken and the Egg of HDTV
 Everyone is talking about HDTV. The price of the sets is falling, and manufacturers are hoping that come this year's holiday season, everyone will want one. At the same time, however, the number of HDTV programming choices remains very limited. A Dallas Morning News article describes the sometimes conflicting expectations of retailers and their customers.
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