 Quality basic education is everyone's business by Mark Heywood, Section27
It seems that the SA engineering profession, like many others in our society, has grown accustomed to and accepting of a failing public education system... ( more) |
 In conversation with Steve Drehobi, Microchipby Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT
When Steve Drehobi, V-P of Microchip jetted into Johannesburg for a brief visit, I asked him about embedded microcontroller and semiconductor devices, and the impact that the world economy is having on the industry... ( more) |
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by Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT
Most of us are unaware that a very small aperture terminal (VSat) enables services such as purchasing petrol, obtaining scripts at pharmacies, ATM withdrawals and making purchases at a chain store in small towns. In this panel discussion we explore the technology and its challenges... ( more) |
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EngineerIT Inbox
Letters to the editor
The letters page covers advice from an industry veteran on the acquisition of skills (the winning letter); and on cellphone roaming costs... ( more) |
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Q&A - Ask an Expert
Answers from Michael Garnham, IDX
Q: I don't have Profibus, but how can I make use of its fortes? A: It's not uncommon for users of other fieldbuses to want to implement devices specific to Profibus... (more)
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Ka-band technology - the future of satellite data communications
by Gustav Engelbrecht, Saab Grintek Technologies
This article details the opportunity to present a satellite communication variant which provides renewed confidence in satellite communications to bridge the digital divide, and to speedily satisfy South Africa's Broadband 2020 goal... ( more) |
Five steps to creating a more flexible data centre
Information from ABB
Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, famously observed back in 1965 that "The number of transistors incorporated in a chip approximately doubles every 24 months." The timeframe has since been shortened to 18 months, and transistor count has faded as the metric for computational power... ( more |
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Data centres - uncompromising and critical to business operations
Information from Aurecon
Businesses require increasingly advanced solutions to protect their data and virtual assets. Data centres should achieve uncompromising levels of performance. The impact of catastrophes such as power outages and security breaches at these centres can have a significant effect on business operations...
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Rechargeable batteries - their evolution and beyond: Part I
by Dr. Paul Lefley, Ayodele Soge, University of Leicester, and Jonathan Starkey, Converteam
Reducing carbon emissions has become a growing concern for policy makers, car manufacturers and building designers alike. Consequently, batteries have taken centre stage in the search for alternative energy and the development of low-cost hybrid electric vehicles... ( more) |
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Perfect, comfortable climate in the office
Information from Beckhoff Automation
People are sensitive beings: not only their comfort, but also their performance level and motivation depend on the climatic conditions in their environment. For this reason, more attention is paid to achieving a pleasant room climate when planning and technically equipping buildings today... ( more)
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Process Expo Africa 2013
The Process Expo Africa 2013 will be held from 21 - 23 May 2013 at the Nasrec Expo Centre, Johannesburg. Exhibitors include AC/DC Dynamics, Adroit Technologies, Allpronix, Beckhoff Automation, Burkert Contromatic, Comtest Technologies and more... ( more) |
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Joining forces to raise energy efficiency and tenant comfort
by Frost & Sullivan
Integrating disparate systems within facilities helps facility owners and managers achieve synergies that would otherwise not be possible with the traditional silo approach to managing HVAC, lighting, access control, security, fire & life safety and communications systems... ( more) |
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Integration of end-to-end value chain planning and scheduling
by Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT
Managing complex, dynamic bulk handling value chain operations is often challenging, especially in businesses that have greater ownership of the various value chain components. In many instances the various business units that need to be synchronised and perform efficiently are disconnected from each other... ( more) |
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Thermography - exploring new applications
by Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT
The use of thermal imagers in the electrical industry is a common application for detection of bad connections, poor switching, looming transformer breakdown and many other electrical problems... ( more)
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Thermal measurement for LEDs
by Rajendra Swamy, Osram Opto Semiconductors
One of the most critical design parameters in an LED illumination system is the system's ability to draw heat away from the LED package. High operating temperatures at the LED junction affect the performance of the LED adversely, resulting in colour shifts and decreased light output and lifetime for the LED package... ( more)
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Are different chip versions needed for softness-improvement?
by M Bäßler, A Ciliox, P Kanschat, Infineon Technologies, Germany
Infineon's latest 1200 V IGBT4 chip generation comes in three versions optimised for low, medium and high power applications. The driving force for these distinctions have been varying switching softness requirements related to the applications power or rated current level, respectively... ( more)
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| Amateur Radio: SA AMSAT turns to innovation for its CubeSat
by Hans van Groenendaal, EngineerIT
Southern African Amateur Radio Satellite (SA AMSAT) does not have the R2-million needed to buy a satellite kit, so the team had to go back to the drawing board and design as many of their own components as possible... (more)
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Telecoms developments in Africa
Compiled by Matthew White
- Solar-powered internet school penetrates rural areas
- Egypt to reconsider ban on private satellite channels
- Tanzania halts next phase in digital migration
- Ethiopian government uses tax funds to spy on political rivals
- Kenya to get secure online transaction system
- Rwanda gets US$8-million loan for telecoms in private sector
- Namibia to get own PoPs for WACS connection
- Nigerian experiences stampede from CDMA to GSM
- Zimbabwe internet firm to roll out 4G LTE technology... (more)
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Gadgets4Geeks
- Get your adrenalin going with a quad-copter
- This camera sends your pics straight to Facebook
- A compact, convertible mobile computer
- How about a pair of video-recording sunglasses?... (more)
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