Blog

At Murrietta Circuits, we have exhibited in our share of trade shows over the last few years, so when our friend Judy Warner, of Zentech Manufacturing, recommended we check out IMS we were very open-minded. Once we reviewed the website, we quickly agreed with Judy that this would be the perfect venue to showcase Murrietta Circuits and the eSurface technology that we offer.  http://www.murrietta.com/licensed-esurface-manufacturing.html

We are “newcomers” to IMS and with that comes new opportunities.  We have been in business for about 35 years and during that time we’ve been involved in programs for the military; drones and wireless communications, aerospace; satellites and radar, medical; implantable devices and controllers for devices.  These are all very interesting and exciting programs and we take great pride in the quality of service we provide our customers.  

(…You Were Going to be an Engineer?)

When the IMS steering committee met for the first time last November in Phoenix, to begin putting the wheels-in-motion for IMS 2015, those of us on the publicity committee thought it would be fun to get a glimpse of the history and humanity behind some of the talented RF/Microwave engineers that attend IMS each year. Additionally, we thought that these stories would inspire and resonate with the STEM students that will be involved in this year’s conference. No doubt, these stories will be full of surprises and a bit of humor, too.

So, when did you know you were going to be an engineer? Was it your obsession with Legos? Was it because you wanted to know how everything worked? Was it because you were a whiz at Math and Science? Was it because you kept deconstructing and reconstructing things? Was it that chemistry set you got for Christmas—or that Science fair you won? No doubt, every story is unique, and that “aha” moment came in different ways, at different ages for every one of you that chose an engineering profession.

Finally I can have warm toes.

Have you heard of wearable Wednesday? If you have not yet, you’ll hear about it now. This year at IMS (on Wednesday funnily enough), we are promoting the use of wearable electronics for anything and everything from Fitbits for counting steps on the show floor to iPhone apps for ‘Sleep Cycle’ tracking and reminding us of all of the sleep we are not getting.

But let me share with you what has me excited about wearables—finally that I can have warm toes all year long! On a flight back from Texas recently, I grabbed a copy of United Hemisphere Magazine to read on the descent into LAX. One article (and its image) caught my attention…“Bluetooth is the new Black.”

Being at one of the early 2015 IMS committee meetings I heard about some event called “having a beer with Steve Cripps”. I must have missed the meeting prior where the concept was discussed. I did not take it seriously and thought it was just another IMS idea that had beer in it. Seems like we have a lot of those!

I know of Dr. Steve Cripps – by name - from his book and work in the use of load line contours for matching PA’s. In fact, the philosophical subject comes up periodically at work. To load-pull or not to load-pull and use the “Cripps Method”…now that is the question.  

I also know Steve is a regular attendee at IMS and personally I like the idea of grabbing a beer with him to get to know him.  Meeting new people and seeing old friends in the industry is one of the facets of IMS I really enjoy.

Bring yourself, your love of the outdoors and no ties to this premier event… the IMS2014 Kickoff Celebration. Why wait until the end of the week when we are all exhausted to celebrate? Let’s get started early. Monday night. Don’t miss it.