David Vye, MWJ Editor | Microwave Journal

David Vye is responsible for Microwave Journal's editorial content, article review and special industry reporting. Prior to joining the Journal, Mr. Vye was a product-marketing manager with Ansoft Corporation, responsible for high frequency circuit/system design tools and technical marketing communications. He previously worked for Raytheon Research Division and Advanced Device Center as a Sr. Design Engineer, responsible for PHEMT, HBT and MESFET characterization and modeling as well as MMIC design and test. David also worked at M/A-COM's Advanced Semiconductor Operations developing automated test systems and active device modeling methods for GaAs FETs. He is a 1984 graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, with a concentration in microwave engineering.

Synopsys buys Magma

December 1, 2011

David Vye

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Chip-design software maker Synopsys Inc ( SNPS.O ) agreed to buy peer Magma Design Automation Inc ( LAVA.O ) for $7.35 a share in cash, to add complementary technology offerings to its portfolio, and forecast a strong first quarter. Synopsys will pay a premium of 28.5 percent over Magma's Wednesday closing price of $5.72. Including debt, the deal is valued at about $507 million. "This acquisition will enable Synopsys to accelerate the delivery of the technology our customers need to keep the overall cost of design in check," Chief Executive Aart de Geus said in a statement. Synopsys, which plans...

Mobile Emergency Alerts Should Save Lives

November 17, 2011

David Vye

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When wildfires, tornadoes, and other public-safety emergencies strike, MetroPCS customers will soon be able to receive government alerts on their mobile phones. The network operator is the latest to announce it will use the affordable, hosted Commercial Mobile Service Provider (CMSP) Gateway from Interop Technologies to deliver the Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) alerts when they become available in 2012. Bluegrass Cellular of Kentucky announced earlier this month that it also will rely on the hosted Interop gateway to provide CMAS service....

A Stellar Partnership

September 2, 2011

David Vye

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Those of you following me on twitter (@mwjournal) received a tweet yesterday as I was about to meet with the folks at Stellar Industries in Millbury Massachusetts –a quiet New England town blending residential homes and “old-school manufacturing” facilities on the outskirts of Worcester. Stellar Industries, a manufacturer with just over 30 employees specializes in custom designed substrates and direct bond copper for photonics and microelectronics. The company does a brisk business selling products to the Telecom, Biomedical, and Defense Industries. The company believes there is a good business opportunity for their products in the RF market, thus they requested...

RF Things to look for in the UK

August 18, 2011

David Vye

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At the Journal, we are currently working on our September European Microwave Week Show issue. This year the event takes place in Manchester, UK and so England is on our minds. The show is about six weeks away and early signs of heavy activity among Journal advertisers and EuMW exhibitors is indicating a strong show. If you are among the microwave professionals travelling to the UK keep your eyes out for the RFID way-finding system that is being deployed troughout the country to assist the blind and partially sighted. According to RFID News, a UK-based charitable organization known as Guide...

NI Week: Austin in August

July 29, 2011

David Vye

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Every year in August, National Instruments hosts NIWeek, a truly impressive event that focuses on graphical system design and the company’s test & measurement and controller software. This conference attracts more than 3,000 of the world's brightest engineers, educators, and scientists. NIWeek 2011, the company's 17th annual customer and technology conference, opens August 2 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas, for three days of interactive technical sessions, targeted summits, hands-on workshops, and exhibitions on the latest developments for design, control, automation, manufacturing, and test. The conference also features keynote presentations and demonstrations that highlight how engineers and...

Industry Hardware Gets 15 Minutes of Fame

July 25, 2011

David Vye

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I get that this is entertainment and not real news, so please indulge my little rant, which is meant for your entertainment. My "exposure" to the daily television show GMA (Good Morning America) occurs as a captive viewer stuck on a treadmill at the local gym. With no access to the TV controls, getting in shape usually means turning a little piece of my brain into mush on those days. Between the steady diet of "mind-numbing repetition of that day's big story with little depth or insight" or the "day after day reporting of nothing new in some long-drawn...

The Week's Microwave News... in Rhyme

July 8, 2011

David Vye

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Editor's note: Even though its summertime, news from the Microwave industry remains quite active in both military and commercial markets with announcements of contract wins, new products, M&A activity and more. We offer this light version of this weeks news as a reminder to enjoy the lazy days of summer. From Raytheon Stimulus money can still be found As Raytheon breaks new ground To deploy 700 Megahertz LTE Dedicated to serving public safety From Suncastle Microwave A new antenna with decade-plus bandwidth and high gain Will help extend the coverage range Of UAVs on special missions Thanks to Suncastle...

Uplink and Downlink to Follow Two Different Technology Directions

June 21, 2011

David Vye

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A new report released today by Mobile Experts predicts an industry shift away from the 3GPP roadmap, which calls for evolution to 8x8 MIMO (Multiple Input-Multiple Output) technology. “Field testing has shown limited benefit from the simple addition of more antennas and early implementation of Multi-User MIMO” said Joe Madden, Principal Analyst at Mobile Experts. “Instead of blindly following the 3GPP evolution path, mobile operators are looking for different, creative ways to boost throughput and capacity. Interference cancellation and Cooperative Multipoint (CoMP), as well as advanced MU-MIMO will be important technologies during the next few years”. “Mobile Experts is...

New TASC Report Defines Cyber Vulnerabilities

June 1, 2011

David Vye

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A new report published by TASC, Inc. examines today’s key cyber threats facing the United States and highlights the deep interrelatedness of the challenges facing the nation. As the White House and Congress consider cybersecurity legislation to protect the nation’s cyber systems, there is an urgent need for better coordination and cooperation across government and industry. “The integration of the Internet into critical operational structures of all levels of the government, the military and the nation’s economy has created a collective reliance on information technology that will only increase in the coming years,” says Steve Winterfeld, cyber technical lead at...

Comparing Active and Passive Mixers with Besser Associates

May 24, 2011

David Vye

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In a recent webinar, one of the attendees commented that Besser Instructor Allen Podell was presenting results based on "rather wimpy performance assumptions" for his active mixer versus passive mixer comparison (see below) and suggested using newer active mixers such as ADL5801 or LT5557 from ADI or LTC? This attendee asserted that mixers based on these particular devices compete very well with the best passive mixers. Allen took up this challenge and did a little investigation. His response is below. Post-webinar response from Allen Podell - First of all, I must admit that it is true that the ADL5801 and...