Out in Front: September 12, 1996

Essential assembled components are following the trend toward smallness that ICs and passive components have set. The V-Type voltage-controlled crystal oscillator (VCXO) from Vectron Technologies Inc is a six-lead, surface-mount device in a 7.5×5×2-mm-high package. The VCXO is available for center frequencies of 1.024 to 52 MHz. Applications include modems, PCMCIA cards, and ISDN interfaces.

Pull range for this quartz-stabilized square-wave generator is ±100 ppm via a control voltage spanning 0V to the supply rail. A TTL-control line lets you disable the output; another control line lets you select TTL or CMOS output-waveform symmetry. Phase jitter is less than 200 psec. The 5V, ±10% device requires 0.5 mA/MHz and costs $5 (OEM).

—by Bill Schweber

Vectron Technologies Inc, Hudson, NH. (603) 598-0070, http://www.vectron-vti.com.