TECHKNOWLEDGEY 2008
on investment may take a while, as
the project cost $58.5 million, about
half of which was funded by the
Department of Energy. But the mission
is to “modernize the electric grid,
enhance security and reliability of the
energy infrastructure, and facilitate
recovery from disruptions to energy
supply.” Sounds like a worthy goal.
HEFTY DVR STORAGE
Using an external N-channel
MOSFET, it can drive as many as
14 1A white LEDS from a 12V input
to deliver over 50W. The high-side
current sense allows it to be used in
boost, buck, buck-boost, or SEPIC
and flyback topologies. Frequency
can be adjusted between 100 kHz
and 1 MHz and, because the device
is better than 94 percent efficient in
boost mode, no heatsinking is
required.
The LT3755 uses True Color
PWM™ dimming to deliver constant
color with a dimming range of up to
3,000:1. Two versions are available:
the standard LT3755, which offers
an open LED status pin; and the
LT3755-1, which replaces the pin
with a frequency synchronization pin;
In production quantities, they’ll run
you about $2.75 each. For $3.15,
you can get an extended-temperature
version. NV
You’re probably familiar with
Seagate’s line of hard drives
aimed at computer data storage, but
the company recently announced the
Seagate® Showcase, a series of
products that extend the storage
capacity of DVRs. Designed for
compatibility with Motorola’s eSATA
capable high-definition products (but
you also can connect via a standard
USB 2.0 cable), they are slated for
market soon, perhaps by the time
you read this. The boxes will initially
come with 1 TB of storage, which
translates into 200 hr of HD movies
or 1,000 hr of standard-def TV.
The Showcase family features
Seagate’s Pipeline HD series of
hard drives.
The Pipeline drives are designed
specifically for DVRs, providing topnotch high-definition performance
and capacity with “bedroom-quiet
acoustics,” low-power operation, and
the ability to support up to 12
simultaneous HD streams. The drives
are Windows Vista certified, making
them suitable for home media
centers. The list price has not been
divulged, but the product does come
with a one year warranty and free
tech support even after the warranty
expires. You can check for price and
availability at www.seagate.com.
60-V LED DRIVER
Linear Technology
( www.linear.com) recently
announced the LT3755 device, a
60V output, high-side current sense
DC/DC converter designed to drive
high current LEDs. It has a 4.5V to
40V input range, making it useful for
such applications as automotive,
industrial, and architectural lighting.
for Engineers
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