Power Integrations’ power-over-Ethernet chip DPA422; press release of the week

Doug Bailey, VP of Marketing at Power Integrations sent over a press release about the new DPA422 switch (pdf) that can be used in power over Ethernet (POE) applications. This 10-Watt chip is perfect for VOIP phones. The DPA-Switch family devices include a monolithic 220 V MOSFET and feature voltage-mode feedback control which requires no slope compensation, an internal, tight tolerance cycle-by-cycle current limit which needs no external current sense components and output overload and loop fault ‘auto-restart’ protection. Other benefits include remote ON/OFF control, low EMI, high efficiency, soft start and hysteretic thermal shutdown. The DPA422 device is available in the DIP-8 and SMD 8 package. Devices in the DIP-8 are priced at $0.97 in 10,000-piece volumes.

While I am doing press releases I want to mention one I got from Motorola. They are announcing that they are investing in a company called Aminon. These guys are making a wireless radio that will send uncompressed HDTV between a set-top box and a TV. Am I such and old curmudgeonly jaded mob soldier? I think it is better to have a cable between your video source and a TV. I mean, the thing about HD is that the data rates are not that great so what is the big deal about a wireless standard? Can’t 802.11 handle it? I guess the goal is to use some patented proprietary scheme that can lock people in. Maybe Dipert will take pity on me and give us the 411. Anyway all my best to Motorola and Aminon but I prefer $1.50 worth of wire to yet another radio source. Bathing ourselves in radio sources, even frequency hoppers, is only going to lower the range of all the devices. My buddy had to change the frequency channel of his 802 that was streaming MP3s to him while he cut the grass after his neighbor got a new cordless phone. It would be cool if you could keep the set top box on the end-table where you can poke at it or keep the blue-ray disk in the end able and use wireless to send the HD to the TV but you still have to get 100V to the blue-ray player. I don’t get it. Sorry. Here is their application page.

And now a press release (pdf) far more important and pertinent than one announcing radios that hook your TV up, National Adhesives has published a flyer explaining how its line of Bondmaster acrylic adhesives for electric motor assembly reduce production costs and increase production yield. National Adhesives is a subsidiary of National Starch and Chemical Company and before you think that is silly I might remind you that they earned 3.7 billion dollars last year, more than most analog semiconductor companies. That is a lot of starch.