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The past few weeks have seen Taiwan’s semiconductor industry hit by a variety of disasters that are creating more problems at a time when an international semiconductor shortage is creating problems around the world, including in the US, where a shortage of critical chips has hurt production of new vehicles. A worsening drought and rolling blackouts are also terrorizing the island. Now, two more Taiwan tech suppliers have been hit by new clusters of COVID-19 cases, creating another disruption to production that’s threatening to have an outsize impact on the global supply chain. According to Nikkei, King Yuan Electronics Co...

It still looks like we are nowhere near the end of the ongoing global semi chip shortage. Even worse, more manufacturers are confirming that the shortage could last “for at least another year”, catalyzed by sharp post-pandemic demand for automobiles and electronics. Flex, the world’s third-biggest electronics contract manufacturer, offered up the “gloomiest” forecast for the crisis yet to FT this week. The company has more than 100 sites in 30 countries and works with major names like Dyson and HP. Lynn Torrel, Flex’s chief procurement and supply chain officer, told FT: “With such strong demand, the expectation is mid...

Readers have been briefed on the ongoing semiconductor shortage that may last a “couple of years.” The auto industry has grabbed the spotlight as the hardest-hit industry, with some of the world’s biggest manufacturers restricting production. According to a new report, the worldwide chip shortage is impacting the agriculture industry that may last for a couple of years and has already impacted the price of potato chips. Hoosier Ag Today reports, “The biggest factor impacting the ability of US farmers to produce the food we need has nothing to do with the weather, the markets, trade, regulations, or disease. The...

Robert Glorioso, W1IS,who describes how he solved some problems in making dual-band J-poles(intended mostly for field use) function well on both 2 meters and 70 centimeters.

Arlington, Va. – Today, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) endorsed bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Ron Wyden, Rand Paul, Patrick Leahy and Mike Lee aimed at ending the legal loopholes that allow for warrantless surveillance on Americans. The Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act closes major loopholes in federal privacy law and ensures the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which regulates law enforcement access to Americans’ information, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which regulates intelligence agencies, are the exclusive means by which the government can surveil Americans. AFP Senior Policy Analyst Jeremiah Mosteller issued the following statement: “We can keep...

UPDATE: February 23, 2021 at 9:27 p.m. PT: KRON4 has confirmed that Fry's Electronics is closing its doors permanently. The report states that the company is expected to post closure details on its site sometime on Wednesday. Fry’s Electronics has been a staple in the consumer electronics industry for a few decades now, and it would seem that it’s time has come. Some reports are starting to surface claiming that Fry’s Electronics is closing its doors for good as of February 23, 2021

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – Fry’s Electronics is going out of business. KRON4 has confirmed that the iconic Bay Area retailer is permanently closing the doors of all stores nationwide. The company is expected to post closure information on its website early Wednesday.

I received a log periodic antenna designed by ham radio operator WA5VJB from Kent Electronics. They are rated from 2 to 11 GHz, so this model will cover several of the ham bands. These antennas are made on PCB's and are ideal for use in the amateur microwave bands as compromise dish feeds. In this video I do a test of such a feed versus my patch antenna on the 3.4 GHz band. https://www.wa5vjb.com/products1.html I mounted one in place of the original dipole feed on a 2.4 GHz (13cm) gridpack at the same focal point. Whilst gain will be down...

Anthony Quinn Warner is a 63-year-old Tennessee man who has been named as the person of interest accused in the explosion of a parked RV in downtown Nashville on Christmas morning, according to CBS News. An RV similar to the one used in the Nashville bombing was once parked at an address linked to his name in images available on both Google Maps and Google Earth. Jeff Pegues, a CBS News journalist, wrote on Twitter, “@CBSNews has learned the name of a person of interest tied to the explosion that rocked #Nashville on #Christmas Day. Multiple sources tell us that...

Sales at electronics and appliance stores jumped much higher in July, pushing up overall sales despite a reported decline in sales of autos. Retail sales at electronics and appliance stores jumped 22.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, following a 37.6 percent gain in the prior month, data published by the Commerce Department on Friday showed. Compared with a year ago, July’s appliance and electronics sales were down 2.8 percent.

And the media know it. When former president Barack Obama told supporters last week that the Justice Department’s decision to drop the case against former White House National Security Adviser Mike Flynn is a “threat to the rule of law,” he was relying wholly on the fiction, willingly propagated for years by a pliant media, that the Russia-Trump collusion probe launched by his administration was lawful and legitimate.But of course it wasn’t. A string of recently released documents have confirmed that the entire Russia-Trump investigation, which eventually entrapped Flynn and forced then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself, was an...

There’s no reason to ignore the mounting evidence that Obama administration officials were corrupt in their handling of the Trump–Russia investigation. Those sharing #Obamagate hashtags on Twitter would do best to avoid the hysterics we saw from Russian-collusion believers, but they have no reason to ignore the mounting evidence that suggests the Obama administration engaged in serious corruption. Democrats and their allies, who like to pretend that President Obama’s only scandalous act was wearing a tan suit, are going spend the next few months gaslighting the public by focusing on the most feverish accusations against Obama. But the fact is...

It is a risky bet for US President Donald Trump’s administration to push for building advanced semiconductor factories in the US due to growing fears about the US’ heavy reliance on Asia for chip supply and potential disruptions from uncontrollable factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The US government is in discussions with chipmakers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), to build new fabs in the US to create a self-sufficiency in chips, the latest in a slew of Trump’s renewed “Make in the US” efforts, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. Even before the pandemic, the US had...

TOKYO — Japanese high-tech firm Hitachi Wednesday unveiled an electric motor that does not use "rare earths", aiming to cut costs and reduce dependence on imports of the scarce minerals from China. The prototype 11 kilowatt motor does not use magnets containing rare earths and is expected to go into commercial production in 2014, the company said. Hitachi started work on the project on 2008. Other Japanese firms, including automaker Toyota, have been working towards the same goal, spurred on by high prices of the minerals. Permanent magnet motors usually contain rare earth such as neodymium and dysprosium and are...

TOKYO (Reuters) – Vast deposits of rare earth minerals, crucial in making high-tech electronics products, have been found on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and can be readily extracted, Japanese scientists said on Monday.

Friday, May 6, 2011 Rare Earths Seen Growing Less Rare SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--Demand for rare earth elements that has driven up prices more than tenfold since 2009 is likely to be met by a surplus of supply by 2013, as Western companies start up new mines to compete with the Chinese firms that now dominate the market, Goldman Sachs analysts predicted Thursday. The forecast calls into question the sustainability of the current boom in rare earths, a suite of 17 elements used in products from high-powered magnets, and fuel refining to energy-efficient light bulbs and mobile phone screens, as well...

Approximately 13 million metric tons of rare earth elements (REE) exist within known deposits in the United States, according to the first-ever nationwide estimate of these elements by the U.S. Geological Survey. This estimate of domestic rare earth deposits is part of a larger report that includes a review of global sources for REE, information on known deposits that might provide domestic sources of REE in the future, and geologic information crucial for studies of the availability of REE to U.S. industry.

Electronics are banned from Trump's impeachment hearing. Some senators reportedly flouted this rule, and wore (Apple) smart watches to the proceedings. According to decorum guidelines given to senators before the trial began, electronics are not allowed in the room at all. The rules read "No use of phones or electronic devices will be allowed in the Chamber. All electronics should be left in the Cloakroom in the storage provided." The rules prohibit tools that senators would typically use to connect with the outside world and share information on social media, although it seems likely that Trump himself will be on...

Dakota Bordeaux had rarely traveled outside his home state of Oklahoma before he joined the Navy in February 2017. He’d certainly never seen the ocean. But only four months later, Bordeaux was standing at the helm of the USS John S. McCain, steering the 8,300-ton destroyer through the western Pacific. Part of the Navy’s famed 7th Fleet, the McCain was responsible for patrolling global hot spots, shadowing Chinese warships in the South China Sea and tracking North Korean missile launches. It filled the high school graduate with pride. “Not many people of my age can say, ‘Hey, I just drove...

China is making swift progress on its 200 billion yuan (US$29.08 billion) fund aimed at investing in home-grown semiconductor development, as the world’s second-largest economy looks to reduce dependence on foreign chips amid a tech war with the US. New investment is likely to lean towards applications in the downstream supply chain, such as chip design, advanced materials and equipment areas, according to the report. The fundraising progress comes amid an escalating tech war with the US, which has seen China tone down statements on its wider “Made in China 2025” policy ambitions, after President Xi Jinping first called for...