MEMS switches are another possibility. They are still maturing but a few companies are actually selling devices and evaluation units. About a year or so ago I was looking into the feasibility of a 256 by 256 IF switching matrix, and MEMS was one of the possibilities. It became pretty obvious early on that it would just not really work out as I needed to switch up to 2 GHz with fairly high isolation. MEMS is however slowly is evolving into a technology that may be mature enough and cost effective enough in the near future (another 10 years). - Mike
Mike B. Feher, N4FS 89 Arnold Blvd. Howell, NJ, 07731 732-886-5960 -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Brooke Clarke Sent: Monday, June 20, 2005 6:49 PM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Data collection cycle -- multiple sources to onecounter? HI David: A PIN diode is great for switching RF frequencies above the diode's lifetime. But not so good at switching DC coupled signals. The FET type switches, like the MAX458 are designed for switching DC coupled signals. Have Fun, Brooke Clarke, N6GCE -- w/Java http://www.PRC68.com w/o Java http://www.pacificsites.com/~brooke/PRC68COM.shtml http://www.precisionclock.com David Kirkby wrote: > Poul-Henning Kamp wrote: > >> Instead of minicircuits I would be looking for video-cross-bar chips. > > > Any reason to prefer them over the pin diode or GaAs switches from > Minicircuits? I must admit to having no idea how they would compare here. > >> Maxim as a bunch: >> >> http://para.maxim-ic.com/compare.asp?Fam=Vid_Mux_Buff&Tree=SwitchMux&HP=Swit chMux.cfm&ln= >> >> >> A MAX458 8x4 switch would be able to drive two counters which could >> measure any two of eight sources against each other. >> >> http://pdfserv.maxim-ic.com/en/ds/MAX458-MAX459.pdf >> >> There is even an eval board which does most of the job already: >> >> http://pdfserv.maxim-ic.com/en/ds/MAX459EVKIT.pdf >> >> As far as I can tell you could drive it from a parallel port >> with bit-banging. >> > > One thing to note is that Maxim have a *very* nice policy on samples, > which effectively means for experimental purposes, the chips are free. > > Just register on their web site, tick what chips you want (limit of > about 6 or 8, no more than two of the same type) and they courier them > to the next day. If you need more than a couple of one type, pick a > standard and an extended temperature range model, and perhaps a mil spec > one too. Or order some more the next day. > > I don't think you can get evaluation boards for nothing, but I have not > actually tried. > > In contrast, I've always had to pay for Mincircuits bits, but do happen > to have one of their PIN diode switches sitting around. > _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list [email protected] https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list [email protected] https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
