New Stuff 08/08/12

National Instruments unveiled what it says is the world’s first RF vector signal transceiver (VST): the NI PXIe-5644R; the device also includes a new class of software-designed instrumentation. The VST boasts as much as 6-gigahertz frequency coverage and 80-megahertz instantaneous RF bandwidth, and it’s built on FPGA technology programmable with LabVIEW. It covers such wireless standards as 802.11ac and LTE, and it can expand to support multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) configurations or parallel testing in a single PXI chassis…MetroPCS Communications claims to be the first to commercially offer Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services while also selling the world’s first VoLTE-capable handset, the LG Connect 4G Android. The first sale was made in Dallas, but the operator will roll them out in selected U.S. stores in the coming weeks. Says Roger Linquist, chairman/CEO, "VoLTE also provides a foundational capability for future Rich Communication Services (RCS), which we plan to launch later this year”…Tunable RF semiconductor maker WiSpry Inc. says its WS1033 LTE Antenna Tuner “has successfully extended usable bandwidth on an LTE smartphone from 25 MHz to 180 MHz without changing the production antenna.” Using two identical, commercially available LTE phones, WiSpry modified one phone with the WS1033-based antenna-tuning network and left the second phone unmodified. WiSpry showed that the phone modified with the WS1033 had far higher usable bandwidth of 180 megahertz (700 MHz – 880 MHz) compared to <25 megahertz for the unmodified phone…Integrated Device Technology Inc.’s Zero-Distortion base transceiver station (BTS) diversity mixer is a low-power, low-distortion, dual 400 MHz-1,000 MHz RF-to-IF mixer it says improves IM3 by more than 15 dB while simultaneously reducing power consumption by more than 40 percent compared to standard mixers. “These performance qualities result in better signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for improved quality of service (QoS) along with lowered heat dissipation to ease heat-sinking requirements in the densely populated radio card enclosure (1.15 W at 5 V and up to +43 dBm IP3O),” it adds. “Offering unmatched performance and efficiency, the F1102 is ideal for multi-carrier, multi-mode 4G LTE and EGSM BTS systems”…What supposedly is the first hybrid system-on-chip (SoC) family that integrates powerline communication (PLC) and wireless capabilities on a single chip now is available from Greenvity Communications. The Greenvity Hybrii chip family supports both the HomePlug Green PHY PLC and ZigBee worldwide standards simultaneously; family members include the Hybrii-XL chip for smart grid, smart energy management, industrial and consumer applications and the Hybrii-PLC device for rugged high-temperature conditions. By using only one chip, customers can reduce costs and power consumption. In addition, the Hybrii chip automatically chooses the best medium to transmit energy-related data (wirelessly or via existing power lines) and extends the range to cover an entire home or building.