Professional Documents
Culture Documents
E K Miller PCs For AP 1995
E K Miller PCs For AP 1995
E K Miller PCs For AP 1995
86 IEEE Anfennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 37, No. 1, February 1995
it was not so easy. The said that they would figure out how to do it Contribution by C. C. Lin,Dornier GMBH, Deutsche
and send me an e-mail, but I have had no word from them yet.” Aerospace,AppliedResearchDivision, POBox 1420, D-7990
Friedrichshafen 1, Germany.The following contribution was
originally sent to Hal Shrank for his “Antenna Designer’sNote-
Accuracy and publication book,” but he felt that it might be somewhat more appropriate for
“PCs for A p , ” given the topic and approach described. 1 agreed to
I hope that you read the new policy regarding quantitative include it in a future column; unfortunately, a great deal of time has
accuracy statements, which are to be required in future articles elapsed (almost matching the time between submittal and publica-
appearing in the AP-S Maguzine, which was published in the Octo- tion in the Transactions!)because of Hal’s and my travels, which
ber, 1994, issue on page 39. This statement should not be viewed as resulted in our misplacing the manuscript, for which we apologize
the “last word” on the subject, but as an initial attempt to evolve a to the author.
final, working policy Over the last few decades, our community
has gotten away from routinely providing objective accuracy state- 1. Abstract
ments in written and oral presentations that could be rigorously
justified according to accepted practice and standards. Instead, they A FORTRAN subroutine is presented, which accurately
have been replaced with subjective and fuzzy claims, such as “good determines the effective width of a waveguide and its length, by
agreement” and “agree closely,” whose acceptance, like beauty, measuring the resonance frequencies of the cavity made of the same
most often lies in the eye of the beholder. waveguide. This measurement method only necessitates a scalar
network analyzer and standard waveguide components.
There are at least two ways by which this unfortunate trend
might be reversed One would be to carefully develop a complete,
rigorous, formal policy that would be put in placeat some future 2. Effective width of a waveguide
time, with the expectation that it would remain in effect indefinitely.
It can be appreciated that following this approach would take much An accurate knowledge of the wavelength within a waveguide
effort, and likely entail long delay. The other, chosen by the Magu- is a necessary requirement for a phase-error-free design of slotted-
rine to realize a more-immediate change, would be to develop a waveguide antennas In principle, this can be achieved by a precise
policy incrementally This can be done by beginning with a modest measurement of the waveguide cross section, including the radius
first step, designed to achieve real improvement without generating of the rounded corner. This is, however, a tedious task, necessitat-
untoward resistance, and permitting revision as experience dictates. ing special instruments, which are often not available in one’s labo-
This is the approach that has been chosen. Any comments and sug- ratory Even if the cross section was known, the correction formula
gestions that you mighthave concerning this new policy are wel- involving the comer radius [ I ] would be only first-order accurate
come. An alternative, and simpler but accurate way, to determine the
wavelength or the effective width is to measure the resonance fre-
This same policy is being considered by ACES for its publica- quencies of a cavity made of a short section of the waveguide to be
tions. Also, there w i l l also be a special session at the ACES 1995 characterized In the following, a FORTRAN subroutine is pre-
meeting, in Monterey, California, being held during the week March sented, which iteratively calculates the effective width and
20-24, on the topic of software and model validation. If this is a waveguide length by matching the eigenfrequencies of the cavity to
topic of particular interest to you, information about the meeting the measured ones. This method is especially useful when one
can be obtained from the Symposium Administrator, Dr. R. W. wishes to characterize waveguides for applications in extreme tem-
Adler, ECE DepartmendCode ECAB, Naval Postgraduate School, peratures (high-temperature or cryogenic applications).
Room 437, Monterey, CA 93943-5121. Dr. Adler’s telephone and
Fax numbers are (408) 646-1 11 1 and (408) 649-0300, respectively, 3. Eigenfrequencies of waveguide cavity
and his e-mail address is 5541304@mcimail.com.
Figure 1 shows the measurement setup of the waveguide cav-
ity. The cavity, formed by the waveguide section and thetwo
Contributions solicited for IEEE Polenfink screens at both ends, is weakly coupled to the coax-to-waveguide
transitions, through a small hole at the center of each of the screens.
As an IEEE member, you may be aware of the student maga- As a rule of thumb, a maximum transmission level of between -40
zine Potentials, now published six times per year, and for which I
to -30 dB, within the frequency range of interest, is most adequate
have the privilege of being the present Editor. (Past AP-S President for the resonance-frequency measurement.
Allan Love is one of our Associate Editors.) This magazine, which
has a circulation of about 50,000, and which is available to non- Assuming the fundamental Hlo mode within the waveguide,
student members for S15.00 per year, covers topics of interest to
the eigenfrequencies of the cavity are given by
students, including education, career development, and technical
‘b
areas. We continueto seek prospective articles from practicing
engineers on any topics that mightbe appropriatefora student
audience. Submitted articles are reviewed by a panel of student
TO network
mhlzsr A
n
m*
To nework
m m n
Screen whh
\
- Waveguldero w mewred
i-;
Sclsen whh
Cwhavegu#de
VWC3KioT
I t must be noted that the f,“’s are not the directly measurable
resonance frequencies, but those of a lossless cavity. The measured
resonance frequencies, in fact, include the effects ofthe ohmic
losses in the cavity walls, as well as the coupling losses towards the
exterior. They are given by The convergence criterion is satisfied if
where fJi) and f’) are the measured upper and lower -3 dB fre-
quency points. The desired resonance frequencies (of the lossless where E, is the relative convergence criterion (e+., E, = IOd).
cavity) are related to f,””by [2]
5. Example
f y
QP=
a, = 15.799 [mm]
and
do = 2 15.0 [mm]
and
d = 215.07 [mm].
88 IEEE Antennas and Propagation
Magazine, Vol. 37, No. 1 , February 1995
6. References DO 20 L=L-START,L-END
A1 l=Al I+DFRODD(A,D,LMODE(L))**2
1, W. B W . Alison, Handbookfor the htecha)mxl irolera)?cingo j
& DFRODD(A,D,LMODE(LL))
Wavegurde Conrportenrs, London, Artech House, 1987. 20 A22=A22-A22DFRODA(A,D,LMODE(L))**2
DELTA-A1 1 *A22-A12**2
2 M. Sucher and J. Fox, Hmdhook ofM/cronJaveMeaslrrernents, IF (ABS(DELTAj.LE.0.0 THEN
Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, Microwave Research Institute, PRINT 100
Contract DA-36-039 sc-73166, Brooklyn, NY, 1963 100 FORMATi' *** DETERMINANT=O DETECTED IN
& SUBROUTINE
EFFDIM!')
RETURU
3. K Arbenz and A Wohlhauser, Ana/yse Numerique, Lausanne, END IF
Switzerland, Presses Polytechniques Romandes, 1980. AI I=Al IlDELTA
A12=AIZfDELTA
A22=AZ?DELTA
P
c
7. Program C CALCULATE RESONANCE FREOL'ENCY
~
C DEVIATIONS
C**************************************~************
DO 30 L=L-START,L-END
C SUBROUTINE EFFDIM(A.D.FRO.LMODE. 30 DELFRO(L)=FRE(LI-0.5*C*
CL-START,L-END.EPSR) & SQRT(At*i-2)+(LMODE(L)ID)**2
C***************************************************
C
,c. C CALCULATECORRECTEDDIMENSIONS,EQS. (6)
C FUNCTION: ESTIMATION OF CAVITY DIMENSIONS "A" C AND 171
C AND "D"FOR A GIVEKSET OF RESONANCE DELA=O.O'
C FREOLENCIES "FRO" DELD=O.O
c PARPIMETERS: DO 40 L=L START.L END
C A--EFFECTIVEWIDTH OF WAVEGUIDE (MM) [INITIAL & DELA=DELA+DELFRO(L)*
c VALUE AS I N P U T , FINAL
VALUE AS OWPUT] & (DFRODA(A,D,LMODE(Lj)*All
C D--LENGTH OFWAVEGUIDE CAVITY (MM) [INITIAL & +DFRODD(A.D.LMODEfLL\)*A12)
~,~ ,~~-~ ~ \ ~ ~ , ,
c VALUE AS INPUT.. FINAL
~ VALUE AS OUTP~l 40
I~
DELD=DEL%DELFRO(L)*
~ ~ ~~~
6
~ ~~ ~ ~~
A=A-DELA
C WAVELENGTHS (CORRESPONDING TO "FRO") D=D-DELD
C L-START-IKDEX SPECIFYINGTHESTARTING OF C
C THE FREQUENCYSUBSET TO BE USED CTESTOFCOhVERGENCE, EQ. (14)
C L-END--INDEX SPECIFYISG THE END OF THE IF (ABS(DELNA).LE.EPSR .AND. ABS(DELDD)
c FREQUENCY SUBSET TO BE USED (L-END - .LE.EPSR THEN RETURN
c L-START C > 2) END IF
C EPSR-RELATIVE COSVERGEKCECRlTERlON (E.G. IF(N.GT.100) THEN PRIST200
C I .E-6) 200 FORMAT(' *** CONVERGENCE PROBLEM IN
C & SUBROUTINE
EFFDIM!)
CREMARK: END IF
c --"A". ' n
-" . - - ''FRO" ARE IN DOUBLE PRECISION
AND ~ ~ ~
C
C --"L-START> AND ''L-END- ALLOW A SUBSET OF N=N+1
C ALL
AVAILABLE RESONANCE
FREQUENCIES
IN GO TO 10
c THE ARRAY TO BE USEDFOR THE ESTIMATION C
C iAT LEAST RESONANCE
3 FREQUEKCIES) END
c C***************************************************
C' AUTHOR:
c c. C'. LIN DOUBLE PRECISION FUNCTION
C DORh-IERGMBH,DEUTSCHEAEROSPACE
C APPLIED RESEARCHDIVISION
C PO
BOX 1420
C D-7990 FRIEDRICHSHAFEN 1 C PARTIAL DERIVATIVE OF EIGENFREQLJENCY WITH
C GERMAW C RESPECT TO ..A',EQ. (8)
r
C TEL. t49-7545-83914 L
c
h C***************************************************
r
C DATE:
SEPT. 30, 1992 c
C DOUBLE PRECISION C,A,D
.................................................... PARAMETER (C~299.7925)
c C
DOUBLE PRECISIOS C.A,D.FRO(ZO,EPSR, DFRODA=-O,S*C!(A**3*SQRT(A**(-2)
& DFRODA,DFRODD,DELFRO(20),DELTA,AI 1,A12, & +ILMODEIDI**2))
& ,422,DELA.DELD C
DIMENSION LMODE(2O) RETURV
PARAMETER iC=290.7925) EhD
C
N=O
10 CONTISLY DOUBLE PRCISION FUNCTION
c & DFRODD(A,D,LMODEI
C CALCULATE SC3fMATIONS OF PARTIAL ....................................................
C DERIVATIVES. EQS. (101, ( I I ) , (12) AND (13) f-
L
A 1 I =0.0 C PARTIAL DERIVATIVE OF EIGENFREQUENCY WITH
A12-0.0 C RESPECT TO "D". EQ. (9)
A22=0.0 C
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 37, No. 1, Februlary 1995 89
You may wonder if the world needs another consultants’
C network. More than a score of them have sprung up, under the
DOUBLE PRECISION C,A,D auspices ofthe IEEE, overthe past several years. Computer-
PARAMETER (C=299.7925) software consultants dominate these networks.Most IEEE consult-
C ants’ networks are organized around geographic regions. Because
DFRODD=-0.5*CtLMODE**2/(D**3
& *SQRT(A**(-2)+(LMDEtD)**2)) these networks cover a broad range of disciplines, with fewer than
C 100 individuals, they are often unable to refer a potential client to
RETURK an appropriate consultant ThehlTT network is the only IEEE
END network organized around a technical area; thus, it should be more
successful at matching the consultant to needs of the client.
Jim L‘ssailis RF and microwave engineers have not played in these tradi-
tional consulting roles. Typically. we work for a company that
Another consultants’ network has evolved. In June, 1994, originally hired us to solve a specific set of problems. We are then
Steve Maas ofNonlinear Technologies, Inc., convinced the AdCom retained to put out the occasional “fire.” In the interim, many of us
of the IEEE hlicrowave Theory and Techniques (MTT) Society to are thrust into program management. A microwave consultant
support this network. Steve has become the de-facto leader, while I should be a natural fit for the needs of many of the smaller and
volunteered to be the holder of the database, and the contact point medium-sized firms. The recent military downsizing has only
to theoutsideworld. We are currently aliveand well, with 23 increased the need for microwave consultants. Many businesses
members So far, I have not been overwhelmed with calls from cannot afford to keep hll-time microwave engineers on their staff,
potential clients. This is undoubtedly not due to a lack of enthusi- This same downsizing has also increased the ranks of consultants.
asm, but is probably due to a lack of marketing and a small mem- All that is required, to serve both groups, is a network to align con-
bership. sultant with client.
We are seeking new members Anyone who has a connection Don’t be a voice in the wind; be a voice that directs this
with RF or microwave consulting is encouraged to join. This effort. Become part of thegroup that represents only RF and
includes antenna, propagation, radar, Ehfl,etc., specialists. Both microwave engineers. There is no formal application. Simply send
f u l l - and part-time consultants are welcome. The purpose ofthe your name, affiliation, telephone number, Fax number, ofice, and
group is to network, share leads, and spread the word about our- email addresses, together with a 20-word or less statement describ-
selves and our profession. Presently, there are no dues or fees. ing your specialties, to the MTT Consultants’ Network at either of
the addresses below. Also, include a list of no more than 20 key-
We do receive some support from MTT In the next few words, related to your specialty. A DOS-format disk, with comma
months, we plan to use that support to market ourselves within the delimiters, is appreciated, but not necessary You may direct any
IEEE fraternity. As we grow in fame, we plan to begin to advertise questions to Steve Maas or myself
in the trade journals At that time, we will propose an appropriate
dues structure, for vote by the membership
Steve Mass Jim Ussailis
Those of you that have undertaken the full-time consulting Nonlinear Technologies, Inc. Ussailis Engineering
route realize the value of marketing. One cannot open a business 238 E. San Antonio Drive 24 O’Donnell Drive
and wait for clients. You must getthe word out A consultants’ Long Beach, CA 90807 Florence, M A 01060
network is one relativity inexpensive marketing tool Andit is Tel: (310)426-1639 Tel: (413) 586-5111
effective: Over sixty percent of my income during 1994 was attrib- Fax: (310) 426-1639 Fax.
(413) 585-8645
utable to my listing with the Boston Section Consultants’ Network. s.maas@ieee.org ussaiIis@forum.phast.umass.edu
111111111111111111IIIIII11111111111111111111lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
90 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 37, No. 1, February 1995
Edmund K. Miller
Ohio UniversHy
Deportment of Electrical and Computer Engineering
331 Stocker Center
Athens, OH 45701
(614) 593-1603
(614) 59343X7 (FAX)
emiller8bobcot.ent.ohiou.edu (ernail)
___
importance, even if publishing per se is not so stressed. Wherever their failures. But in many cases, finding out what doesn’t work can
one works, the pressure to publish is partly driven by funding in any be at least as valuable. Most research is not conducted in an unbro-
case, because successful proposalwritersaremore likely to be ken string of successes, but is, instead, a process of learning what
those whose workis better known through theirpublications. Thus, works and what doesn’t. To the extent that finding out what works
at least in engineering, the P or P rulehasbeenaugmented to will be helphl to others, who can thus avoid the same mistakes,
become “find hnding and publish, or perish,” i.e. not get promoted, publishing negativeresults should beat least tolerated, if not
or notgettenure, or not keep your job. Publicationhas also encouraged. This is not something that most journal editors Seem
become more common as a “ticket” to the proliferating number of willing to do.
meetings being held, where giving a paper is often the only way to
ensure attending a meeting.Finally, there are also more journals
being published and more pages per journal, for more publication 2.2 Publishing: meeting presentations
proliferation.
When open publication is chosen, a decision to publish nowa-
The result of these pressures has been an apparently substan- days is probably most often first made in connection with giving a
tial increase in the amount of publication by those active in their ‘‘paper” at a meeting. Since meeting dates are out of the individ-
fields. It has possibly also created a number of associated problems ual’s control, one can’talwayshaveneatly tied up a project to
with regard to publication ethics and related issues. Because of its coincide with them. Since due dates are often monthsahead of the
length, this column is the first of two parts, addressed to thegeneral actual meeting, the presentationsgiven at these forums havegrown
topic of research and publication practices, andethics. more to resemble a series of ongoing progress reports, ratherthan
presenting a final description of some concludedwork. There is
nothing intrinsically wrong with this, but we should all understand
2. Information dissemination, i.e., publishing what the “rules” of this kind of publishing are. For example, ifthere
are three or four meetings, having overlapping themes, during the
There are numerousdimensions to being a practicing member course of the year for which the work in question is relevant, and
of the engineering profession, one of the more prominentbeing we want to make a presentation ateach meeting, is itappropriate to
information dissemination, or publishing. First, it should be noted speak on the same general topic at each, and are there any guide-
thattheterminologyof publishing can be confusing. Theterm lines that apply to thissituation?Most of us would agreethat
“article”is reserved here for items that are publishedinarchival sending identical abstracts to each of these meetings would not be
journals, for which the term “manuscript” or “draft” is used for the right, but further questions arise:
original version submitted by an author. A “paper,” on the other
hand, is used to denote something that is verbally presented at a If identical abstractsare not acceptable, howdifferentshould
conference,meeting, or symposium. Thewrittendescriptionthat these abstractsbe?
accompanies that papermay be an abstract of afew hundred words,
a summary of possibly a couple of thousand words, or a more Would an abstract at one meeting, a summary at another, and a
complete write-up that could run to several thousand words. The full article at the third, all on the same topic and having the same
latterare publishedin whatare usuallycalled proceedings or results be acceptable?
digests.
As an alternative, would it be all right for each presentation to
report different results, obtained using the same procedure?
2.1 Publishing: why bother?
How different need those resultsbe?
Professionalassignments,wherewriting is partof thejob,
include not only some basiccommonissues,butalso some that Can the procedureitself be reported onmore than once?
might differ for an individual working alone, as opposed to soma
one working as part of a team. These issueswill also vary depend- Fundamentally,how much newmaterial is requiredbeforeit is
ing on employer. Open publication is a job requirement for some appropriate to give another presentation?
(academia), whereas it might even be proscribed by other employ-
ers, because of proprietary or security reasons, two categories that For presentations given at successive (e.g., yearly) meetings, how
are not considered in detail, here. Nevertheless, most of us whose much overlap betweenthem is proper?
jobs require documenting our work will, atsometime or other,
confront questions likewhat, when, where, how and, perhaps most If the meetings involve essentially disjoint attendance, does that
importantly,why, to publish,Le., adocumentation decision. The change anything?
answers to thesequestionsare self-evident,when contractually
required documentation is needed,such as progress reports, etc. I don’t know what would be regarded as reasonable answers
The answers are not so clear, when the documentation is optional, to these questions, nor am I sure that we would all wen agree on
or peripheral to specific job needs but pursued because of personal just what constitutes “new” material. The “bottom line” concerning
interest, or simply as partof a feltprofessionalresponsibility to meeting presentations is that they are generally intended to be a
inform colleagues of information that might be of wider benefit. different kind of forum,usuallynotarchival.While the rules
Other reasons for optional publication are bringing credit to your governingthem are consequently less rigid,rulesstillapply,and
employer, or to provide sponsors of your work with tangible evi- they possibly need to be enunciated more clearly.
dence of its value.
Perhaps themost common aspect of reading journal articlesis 2.3 Publishing: journal articles
the reader’s expectation of finding accounts of successful research
anddevelopmentactivities. This is not surprising,since most Archivalpublications areconsidered important, for at least
authors are more willing to share their successes with others than two reasons, by those interested in them. One is the value such
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magarine, Vol. 37, No. 2, April 1995 79
publications have to those who need such information for theirown improved, it might not be the bestreview to get, since itcould
work, Researching the literatureis especially important when a per- signify that the reviewers have not done a careful job. Second, and
son first becomes involved in a field of study, obviously to avoid perhapsthe bestdecision,is one where theeditor recommends
repeating work already done, and also to get an idea of what prob- publication as submitted, but with only minor changes. This means
lems are considered important in the field. The other is that the that the author has specific guidelines, to help clarify points and
archival literature isdefined by the fact that it contains only improve the discussion, by taking advantage of the comments and
“reviewed” or “refereed” articles, thus ensuring that some quality suggestions in the reviews. Third, less desirable but still positive, is
control is exercised over what is published. A subsidiary, and com- an editorialdecisionthat says the article is acceptable only with
mensurate, attribute to those in academia is that it is their reviewed major revisions, and after subsequent review. It’s really advisableto
publications that are given most weight in that component of PLT read the reviewsmostcarefullythen, as sometimes whatare
decisions. Reviewinghas twooppositeaspects, dependingon regarded as major needed changes are ratherminor, once an author
whether you’re the onebeing reviewed or performing the review. understands the reviewers’ suggestions. For both of the latter two
editorial responses, it’s also highly advisable to include a letter to
When thework to be reported ismore“mature” or has the editor, with the revised manuscript, that describesin detail what
reached a natural reporting point, then instead of-or in addition to- changes have been made, or an explanation of why they have not
a meeting presentation, it should probably be written as an article, been made, when anauthor feels this course is justified.
for submittal to ajournalor some otherappropriate forum for
archival purposes. Then, as in selecting a meeting to at which to Finally, the fourth, least-desirable, editorial decision, concern-
present, it is necessary to select a journalin which to publish. If we ing one’s paper, isthat it’s rejected outright. Although this outcome
have any past relevant experience, choice of a journal will probably may be most discouraging, the reviews should again be carefully
be basedon the samekinds of considerationsthatdictatewhat considered. It may rarely happen that a reviewer and/or the editor
meeting to attend: who attends the meeting, versus what audience have made an outright mistake that, when pointed out diplomati-
does the journal reach? Certainly, additional factors, such as how cally, will change the decision. Most often, however, this will not be
long the reviewing cycle is likely to take, how the editor(s) handle a feasible response. Instead, the original manuscript, suitably modi-
disagreements, whether there are page charges,what page length is fied, might be submitted to another journal.It’s probably not advis-
acceptable, etc., also will be considered. The anticipated fairness of able, at this point, to mention that the article waspreviously submit-
the entire process, from reviewing through the editor’s decision- ted elsewhere. However, it’s also highly advisable to take advan-
making, can be an important consideration, which raises the issues tage of the originalreviews in modifying the paper, rather than
of reviewer’s responsibilities that are touchedon fbrther, below. resubmitting it without change. Keep inmind that ours is a rela-
It’s worth noting that an editor may welcome suggestions, by an tively small community, and it could happen that your manuscript
author, for reviewers, although the editor is also likely to select at will be sent to one of its original reviewers, with predictable conse-
least one otherreviewer beyond those suggestions. quences if it hasn’t been revised.
As with many aspects of life, therearetwo sides tothe The flip side of being reviewed is reviewing the work of oth-
“reviewing equation:” being reviewed or performing reviews. Each ers. There are some obligations of reviewing which a reviewer who
of these activitiesis consideredbelow. accepts an article agrees to honor, implicitly if not explicitly. One of
the more obvious is acknowledging to the sending editor whether
any colleagues have participated in the review process. Another is
3.1 Being reviewed that in accepting a paper, the reviewer is implicitly indicating some
appropriate degree of expertise in the subject matter, a question
One of the inescapable facts of publishing is the need to sub- that is sometimes made part of the review form that accompanies
ject one’s work to the scrutiny and evaluation of others, known as the article. Still a third is avoiding any conflict of interest in per-
“referees” or reviewers. To some of us, this can be an ego-threaten- forming the review.
ing and intimidating experience, not something for the faint-hearted
or thin-skinned. I have colleagues who, though gifted and capable, The latter is probably one of themore commonly encountered
have deliberately chosen not to publish, because they don’t wantto dilemmas for a reviewer. Naturally, papers are sent to reviewers
deal with possible rejection. It’s hard not to take negative reviews known to have some knowledge in the subjectaddressed in the
personally,evenwhen the reviewisdiplomaticand constructive; paper. This also means that the author will probably be known to
when the review is blunt and negative, it’sall the more difficult. My the reviewer, and both author and reviewer can be, in some sense,
personal experience has been that it’s almost always possible to get competitors, either forfunding, recognition, to be the first to report
one’s work published if one is convinced of its value, and is not on a significant new results, etc. This may make it difficult for a
willing to take no for an answer. But this takes persistence and reviewer to be appropriately objective, and possibly result in a bias
commitment. Furthermore, the reviewing process is not all bad, by that the reviewer isn’t even aware of A good reviewer is aware of
any means: it should be recognized that well-done reviews can be this possibility, andtakes careto avoid it.
extremely valuable to improving material submitted for publication,
andit’s to an author’s advantage to begin the process with this Perhaps the key issue concerning reviewing isjust what is the
expectation as an “initial condition.” review supposed to accomplish? Reviews and reviewers are sought
by editors for quality control, and to ensure that their publication
After the reviews have been received with the editor’s deci- maintains thestandardsintended. Thus,reviewers are asked to
sion, there are usually three good or acceptable possibilities, from consider such questions as whether the submitted material is appro-
the author’s perspective. First, the editor
might decide that articleis priate for the publication; whether it reports on work that is new
acceptable for publication without any changes. This sounds ideal, andoriginal; whethertheresults it reports are significant;and
but since I knowpersonally that my writingcanalways be whether its referencesare complete.Also, the reviewerwill be
80 Propagation
Magazine,
IEEE Antennas and Vol. 37,No. 2, April 1995
asked to consider whether reducing the length of the submittal is some work and time, but this is what one should strive for, when
recommended, or if some aspects need more elaboration. Finally, an agreeing to doa review in the first place.
overall rating of the submittal is usually requested of the reviewer-
say, ranging from poor to excellent-and a bottom-line recommen- Finally, one last reviewer responsibility deserves discussion:
dation that can range from “publish as is” to “reject outright.” protecting the “property rights” of the author. Material sent by an
author to an editor, and thence to a reviewer, is “privileged” infor-
In my opinion, a good review is not one that consists simply mation. This means that it cannot be referenced, or otherwise used
of checked-off boxes on a review form, without %rther comment. by anyone in the review chain, without explicit permission by the
This kind of review is not very usefU to an editor, nor to an author. author (my interpretation). That aspect of the publication process
If the article is recommended for rejection, it doesn’t provide the would be generally agreed to by all parties.
author any substantive reason why, nor any suggestions for improv-
ing it. A one-sentence comment, such as “This paper contains no However, it may sometimes happen that a reviewer or editor
new material and isn’t worth publishing,” is hardly any more useful, finds the submitted material helpful in their own work and, being
as it gives no explicit evidence for why the reviewer can make this eager to check this out, contacts the author, to receive permission
claim. Even a positive review, with the comment “This is the best to do so. Even if the author agrees, it’s fair to ask whether this is
paper this reviewer has seen on this topic,” is not all that helpfbl to permissible. M e r all, there may be many others who would be
an editor. Some additional elaboration is needed, if only to show similarly benefited, but not become aware of the workuntil it’s sub-
the editor thatthe reviewer has at least read the paper. sequent publication. Once the material is in the publication cycle, it
would seem that the author is no longer in a position to give per-
A negative review that demonstrates an objective and carehl mission to anyone to use that material who comes across it in that
reading of the submittal, andmakeshelpful suggestions, is obvi- process. Whether the author gives the material to others, independ-
ously much more valued by an author than a negative review that is ent of the publication chain, for their prior use after submittal for
gratuitously insulting which, unfortunately, some reviews are. The publication, is another story, the appropriateness ofwhich is not as
best reviewis one that provides constructive commentary, and clear cut.
shows theauthor how the article mightbeimproved from the
reviewer’s perspective. For a reviewer to achieve the latter requires [To be concluded in the June issue.] i.2
ANTENNA OPTIMIZERS
XFDTD
The X-WindowGraphical User Interface that
provides interactive menu control of
Finite Difference Time Domain calculations
3 Interactively generate, mesh, and modify geometries
0 Use menus to set FDTD calculation parameters
0 Calculate transient near zone and far zone EM fields
0 Visualize transient fields using color intensity
0 Antenna impedancevs fkquency via FFT
0 Antenna Gain Patterns
0 AntennaEfficiency
0 Biological Effects including S A R
0 Microwave Ciarit Design
0 Electromagnetic Scattering
0 Electromagnetic Coupling and Shielding
For colorbrochure and pricing call or write:
REMCOM, Inc.
Calder Square
PO Box 10023
State College, PA 16805-0023
PhoneDax 814353-2986
email remwm@nctcom.com
/E€€
Pmpagation
Magazine,
Antennas
and Vol. 37, No. 2, April 1995 81
Edmund K. Miller
Department of Electricaland Computer Engineering
3 3 1 Stocker Center
Athens, OH 45701
presents one’s work, there are many factors to consider. I’ve cho-
T his column continues a theme begun in the April, 1995, col-
umn, on thetopic“Research and Publication Practicesand
Ethics.” I won’t repeat the reasons for having discussed this topic,
sen here to discuss those that relate to ethics and professionalism,
rather than presentation style and design. First of all, it would be
as they were included in that earlier column, but I do acknowledge widely agreed, I think, that one of the most important personal
that this general discussion strays towardsthe“EMReflections” professional attributes any of us has is our credibility and trustwor-
end of the column’s name. I hope that most readers willfind this thiness Can what we be believed, or must it be “filtered,” because
discussion at least somewhat relevant to their own experiences, and of our known biases or past behavior? It takes a long time and a lot
n,ould welcome any feedback that you’d like to share, positive or of hard work to acquire a good reputation: it’s too valuable to risk
negative. through inappropriate publicatlon activities.
More broadlv, however, plagiarism-related questions most Another necessary decision is whether to writeone single,
often fall in gray areas that aren’t so easily defined. Perhapsthe comprehensive articleon given work, or to write it as two or more
most common example that can occur in academia, government, shorter ones. When resumes and CVs are evaluated by their length
and industry alike is the advisor, sponsor,or manager expecting rather than quality, it’s natural to decide on the latter, and probably
their names to be included in an author list, possibly even listed as easier, too. It’s also one way around page-length limits, imposed by
first author. I would argue that it’s always appropriate for a thesis some journalson published articles. Probably one of the better ways
advisor to have their name included as aco-author when, as is to handle this kind of problem is to report initial work in letters or
usually the case, they have defined the problem, provided guidance short articles, and to write a longerarticle to pull it all together. For
for its solution by thestudent, and probably also obtained the work that might extend over a Significant period of time, this means
funding that has supported the work. On the other hand, if the stu- that high points can be reported in a more timely fashion, while the
dent has been pretty much self-guided in these areas, then whether concluding summary provides the important aspects, all in one
the advisor should be a co-author is not so clear. Similar observa- place.
tions can be made regarding sponsors and managers, Having been a
manager for many years myself, I know the difficulties and hard A particular problem that arises these days, probably because
work that getting funding can entail, and also how much an effec- of the ease of “cut-and-paste” computer-document preparation, is
tive manager can contribute to a successful outcome. Unless spe- the apparently increasing proliferation of multiply-published results.
cific, significant contributions have been made, however, I would Maybe it’s my imagination, but it seems to me that in the pre-
not expect a manager’s name to be listed as primary author. computer days, the average number of articles published by active
researchers must have been quite a bit less than now. When there
were no copy machines. either, making multiple copies of a submit-
4.3 Referencing and acknowledging the contributions o f others tal required carbon copies or photographic processes, while revising
a document usually meant having the whole thing retyped. Perhaps
It’s interesting to note that plagiarism is defined to include not the sheer difficulty of preparing articles suppressed the number
only taking the words of another, but also their ideas. What about submitted. Of course, there are also more journals being published
when such words or ideas are not in written form, but the result of today, so perhapsthere’sa “chicken-and-egg“ question lurking
private, or even public, conversations? I would think that when here.
one’s own work has been influenced or assisted by the suggestions
of others, whatever the circumstances, an obligation arises on the Another issue, important and complex enough to justify sepa-
part of the recipient to make some appropriate acknowledgment of rate discussion, is that of scientific publication versus commercial
that contribution. This can be done either explicitly, asa formal advertising. In reporting scientific results, it’s to be expected that
written acknowledgment in a publication, or in the form of a refer- the tools used in getting those results are mentioned and described,
ence to ‘ private communication ” whether experimental hardware or computersoftware.However,
when one of those tools is proprietary and available to others only
The obligation to acknowledgeothers’work is otherwise for purchase, and not enough details are given in thereportfor
most often satisfied by referencing. Almost anything one does has someoneelse to replicate that tool (assuming they have the
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 37, No. 3, June 1995 63
its schedule. It may be hard to believe, but the scheduled programs our careers, unless we’re fortunate enough to be financially inde-
we’ve come to expect were not the rule years ago, and speakers pendent.Confrontation with financial reality, for most of us,
and audience alike had no accurate idea of when particular papers probably becomes more personal as we enter college, considering
might be given. The other comes at the end of the talk when the the fact that in the United Sates, college costs have increased faster
chairman asks, “Are there any questions?’ It’s very discouraging to than inflation overthepast 10 or 20 years. Certainly, going to
most of 11swhen there’s a dead silence from the audience. In such graduate school can make the problem more acute, as does finding
circumstances, a good chairman will have oneortwoquestions employment during periods like we’renow experiencing. Some
ready to ask. This makesthespeaker feel much better, and also graduatestudentsarefortunateenough to find professorswho
very often begins some interactive audience participation. Chairmen provide a research position and financial support, but many may not
who don’tperform this function are one ofmy pet peeves. be so fortunate.
64 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 37, No. 3,June 1995
8. Concluding
comments years, I submitted
shorter
rougha draft to Ross,
encouraged
who
me to continue withthis theme. Perhaps we might have some ongo-
As I mentioned to Ross Stone, in discussing with him the ing discussion aboutthese issues, if not forthe benefit ofthoseof
suitability of the topics addressed in these last two columns forthe us already set in our ways, then for those who are newer to the
AP-S Muguzine, I didn’t want them to sound“preachy,” But never profession, and whoarelookingfor guidelines about professional
having, t o my recollection, seen a comprehensive discussion of the conduct. If you have any comments about what I have said, please
topicsthese columns havecovered, and having heard numerous let me hearfrom you. :i$
colleagues mention some of these same issues over the past few
This column includes input from others as well as some additional commentary by yours truly.
Elsewhere in this issue of the Magazine you will find a feature article on MININEC Pro, a new,
and improved version of what has become a widely used antenna model, MININEC, that first
appeared in Basic for the Apple II computer. I think that you will find this new edition of
MININEC to be a very attractive one, about which a few more comments appears elsewhere in
this column. Related to MININEC is the Visual ElectroMagnetics (VEM) example that follows
below, courtesy of the MININEC Pro authors plus L. Russell. Also included here are some
comments on teaching electromagnetics based on my recent experience at Ohio University as
instigated by some observations due to Professor Brian Austin of the United Kingdom.
Concerning MININEC Pro, I had hoped to be able to include a personal review based on
running it under SoftWindows on my Macintosh 7100. Unfortunately, neither I nor the authors
were able to get this brand new MININEC program operating in the Mac-SoftWindows
environment. I was able to experiment with the graphical interface, which did look very
attractive, but was unable to execute any models once the input data had been prepared. If this
situation is fixed at a later date, Ill then provide a review. If anyone else would like to perform a
guest review running MININEC Pro on a PC platform, I would be glad to include it in this
column. Mathematica CEM model.
New visualization tools are being developed to aid in interpreting the output from computational
codes and measurements used in the design and analysis of the electromagnetic topsides of Navy
ships. One of the principal outputs of interest is the radiation pattern of shipboard antenna
systems (e.g., communication, electronic warfare, surveillance, ...). The radiation patterns are
used as part of an evaluation of the link performance of the individual antenna system.
Both computational electromagnetic codes and measurement can generate a large quantity of
pattern data. Fast and efficient analysis of this large amount of data requires sophisticated
visualization techniques. A user friendly interface improves utilization of the entire visualization
capability. The SGI IRIS Inventor is being used to provide user friendly scene interaction for a
suite of electromagnetic visualization programs. Inventor is a C++-callable library of functions
which allows simplified development of GL-based scene building and scene interaction.
PCs for AP, August 1995, page 1
A three dimensional surface can be used for displaying three dimensional pattern data. The
radiation pattern is complex (i.e., magnitude and phase) data which is a function of theta and phi.
The theta angle is defined from the z-axis toward the x-y plane. The phi is defined from the x-
axis in the x-y plane. The radiation pattern also has two components in the theta and phi
directions, respectively. For a given component the pattern can be displayed as a colorful three
dimensional surface. The distance from a point on the surface to the origin is proportional to the
log of the magnitude of the data at that point. There are several options for the coding of the
color. The color can be coded to magnitude. This helps to emphasize magnitude. Other
options include coding the color to phase, zenith angle and azimuth angle. These four types of
3D pattern visualization are depicted in Figure 1 (no longer available). The top, left-hand figure
shows the color coding of magnitude. The top, right-hand figure shows the color coding of
phase. The bottom, left-hand figure shows the color coding of zenith angle. Finally, the bottom,
right-hand figure shows the color coding of azimuth angle. The color coding of phase appears to
give the most colorful of the presentations. All of these displays can be rendered as a solid or as
a wire grid. in addition the displays can be rotated to allow it be viewed from any direction.
The three dimensional radiation pattern display provides wonderful qualitative information
regarding the performance of an antenna system, but often what is needed is quantitative
information. As a result a three dimensional thresholding technique has been developed using a
semitransparent thresholding grid. This allows a reference antenna such as a quarter wave
monopole to be overlaid with the original display. The reference antenna provides a threshold
for the pattern. The reference can be stepped in 1 decibel step sizes. This allows a quick
interpretation of the antenna performance for a given pattern at a particular theta and phi value.
An example of this display is shown on Figure 2 (no longer available). The top figure displays a
3D pattern with no thresholding. The bottom figure shows a thresholding at 3 dB below a
quarter wave monopole. The portion of the radiation pattern above the threshold is quite
apparent.
For additional information concerning the above pattern displays and MININEC Pro, see the
feature article in this issue or contact one of the authors at 619-553-5688 or 619-553-3780.
Yes, it's quite a challenge teaching the subject (i.e., electromagnetics, EKM), and like you, I find
PCs for AP, August 1995, page 2
real basic stuff just as demanding as the more esoteric! Particularly now that entry standards are
dropping so alarmingly. (We have a saying here which will have a very different meaning in the
States: our policy on admissions is determined solely, so it seems, by the need to get as many
"BUMS ON SEATS" as possible!.. posteriors and not vagrants - yet!).
On that score I was intrigued to read that your junior fields course, which I take to mean your
first-year students, actually spend five days per week on EM and manage to cover the whole of
Sadiku's book. Here, and not without some arguing with colleagues, we give then one lecture
per week for 24 weeks in the first year followed by the same in the second year. Whereas I'm no
longer teaching either of those courses I did a while back and used Kraus as the textbook, but
really just as background reading for those who could afford to buy it or who were prepared to
use the library. It's a sorry tale. I'd be most interested, as will my few EM colleagues, to get your
comments on the calibre of your students and how the rest of the EE course is structured so that
we can compare it with ours, which is typical of all UK universities.
At many institutions, fields have literally disappeared from the undergraduate curriculum, at least
as a requirement. This has two related consequences. One is that those students who do actually
elect to take fields will be more interested in the topic, not a bad outcome in and of itself. The
other, less attractive result from an EMers perspective is that fewer fields courses are needed, at
both the graduate and undergraduate levels. At places like Ohio University where a substantial
EM requirement remains, a requirement unfortunately becoming rarer these days, 10 quarter
hours of fields are given in two 5 classes/week doses. Since 217 quarter hours are required for
graduation at Ohio University, this also means that most of the students regard fields as just
another requirement to get by in somewhat the same way that students of my day regarded
kinematics, hydraulics, mechanical drawing and shop. Its hard not to sympathize with them in
the circumstances as some students in my courses reported having a load of 24 credit hours or
more.
Another trend can also be identified, somewhat related to the first, in that many students now
seem to feel that the main purpose of an education is to fill in the blanks on a transcript rather
than actually to acquire the knowledge theyre paying so much to acquire. Maybe this was also
the case when I was an undergraduate, and I just have a bad memory. Stated in different terms,
given a choice between having higher grades and less knowledge as one outcome compared with
the converse, many students actually say that they would choose the former. In these
circumstances, its not surprising that none of the students in either of the two undergraduate
fields course of that two-quarter sequence that I taught answered in the affirmative when I asked
how many would take fields courses if they werent required. Fields courses have the reputation,
not unfairly, of being very difficult and mathematically intensive, besides which their relevance to
what most EE students expect to be doing on the job, most likely involving computers, is not at
all clear. Teaching in such a circumstance can become somewhat like an endurance test for the
PCs for AP, August 1995, page 3
class and professor alike.
It wasnt until the second term of fields, when we had finally ventured into electrodynamics as
opposed to the statics to which the first term was limited, that I had a flash of insight about one
cause for this situation and how an improvement might be effected. It happened by my
discovering that none of the students were able to state verbally in class (mostly juniors with a
few seniors), in response to a direct question, the boundary condition that applies to the electric
field at the surface of a perfect electric conductor, although this was a topic covered in the first
term. Probing further, none of the students seemed even able to say just what a boundary
condition is. Yet, they were able (most of them) to evaluate numerically the electric or magnetic
field near some simple charge or current distribution or solve similar kinds of problems.
Apparently, given an algorithmic-type question whose structure provides a clue about which
formula to use, they were able to plug and chug (the students terminology) to a numerical result
without necessarily understanding why that formula is relevant or what it means from a physical
perspective.
Being able to select the correct formula and obtain answers to standardized questions may
represent an acceptable entry-level understanding in some circumstances, but it also shouldnt be
surprising that if thats how a course is designed or thats all thats expected of the students, then
thats the goal to which most students will aspire. But a formula-based goal to learning doesnt
seem likely to lead to the conceptual knowledge that, to me, represents a more fundamental
understanding of a subject and something more worthwhile to students whose only exposure to
the subject matter is limited to that one particular course. Thus, a relevant question to consider is
how best to promote conceptual understanding for students who have no motivation in doing so
in subjects they dislike.
Ive concluded that teaching electromagnetics to non-EM majors using an approach appropriate
for students intending to specialize in electromagnetics is not the best way to go for the former. I
base this conclusion partly on my own, admittedly limited, time in the trenches as well as the
much more extensive experience of Carol and Robert Ash in teaching calculus to non-
mathematics majors. They produced The Calculus Tutoring Book, published by the IEEE Press
in 1986 and one of its all-time best-sellers, because they were motivated by the realization that
the mathematics needed by engineers is not the same as the mathematics used by working
mathematicians. As noted in a second tutoring book, The Probability Tutoring Book by Carol
Ash, also published by IEEE Press, mathematicians and consumers of mathematics (such as
engineers) seem to disagree as to what mathematics actually is. To a mathematician, its
important to distinguish between rigor and informal thinking. To an engineer, intuitive thinking,
geometric reasoning, and physical argument are all valid if they illuminate a problem, and a
formal proof is often unnecessary or counterproductive.
Continuing from the preface, The typical mathematics text includes applications and examples,
but its dominant feature is formalism. Theorems and definitions are stated precisely, and many
results are proved at a level of rigor that is acceptable to a working mathematician. This is bad.
After teaching many undergraduates, most quite competent and some, in fact, blindingly bright,
it seems entirely clear to me that most are not ready for an abstract presentation. At best, they
will have a classroom teacher who can translate the formalism into ordinary English (what this
really means is ...). At worst, they will give up. Most will simply learn to read around the
abstractions so that the textbook at least becomes useful as a source of examples.
By changing a few of the key words, the above observations might just as well be made about
PCs for AP, August 1995, page 4
teaching electromagnetics as a required course to non-EM majors. It would be better if the likely
uses of electromagnetics that these students might eventually make were acknowledged to be
different from that of EM specialists. Thus, rather than concentrate on derivations, mathematical
detail and formalism, the emphasis could be placed on physical principles and practical examples
that illustrate where these principles are encountered.
As a result of reaching this conclusion, I altered the way I approached the subject about halfway
through the term devoted to electrodynamics. Rather than exclusively following the derivation
path, we instead spent more time on interpreting the mathematics and concentrating on a few,
key principles that I felt the students should take away from the course, using some computer
movies and other visual aids. Of the 16 problems on the final exam, 8 required no formula
evaluation at all, but instead could be answered by referring to some physical principle or key
relationship. I had told the students that anyone who didnt know the condition on the electrical
field at the surface of a perfect conductor would not pass the corse. I was pleasantly surprised
that 21 of 22 students did give acceptable answers to this question, which was simply to explain
why the electric field is normal at the surface of the conductor. The one remaining student
answered a wholly different question than the one asked, and otherwise doing barely acceptable
work, was given a grade of D- (Im a softy at heart).
There is one other conclusion that I also reached concerning teaching undergraduate
electromagnetics to all students. It seems that the almost-universal approach remains, as it was
when I was introduced to fields, to begin with statics followed by time-harmonic dynamics.
Possibly some numerical methods may also be added towards the end of the course. Were I to
design a course from scratch, I would reverse this order, starting with the time-domain wave
equation and numerical methods as a means of developing solutions to interesting problems,
while also making use of visual electromagnetics to illustrate the beauty of the results and their
physical interpretability. By showing students that numerical models provide access to
interesting physics and make possible the solution of practical problems, I believe that they would
be more turned on to the subject and more willingly confront the abstract mathematics needed
to transform theoretical formulations into useful results. It seems to me this is where the payoff
from activities like CAEME could be realized.
Obviously, I have not accumulated the teaching experience to have reached any truly
generalizable conclusions. However, I am quite convinced that using a one-size-fits-all approach
to teaching electromagnetics can be counterproductive to the majority of students who will take
only the EM courses required of them. If the purpose of these courses is to give such students
some appreciation of electromagnetics and how fields arise literally in every area of electrical
engineering, then turning them off to the topic by focusing mostly on mathematical rigor doesnt
seem the way to go. Id like to receive any comments, pro or con, that youd like to offer.
FIGURE CAPTIONS
Figure 1. Four types of 3D pattern visualization are depicted here. The top, left-hand quadrant
shows the color coding of magnitude while the top, right-hand quadrant shows the color coding
of phase. The bottom, left-hand figure shows the color coding of zenith angle. Finally, the
bottom, right-hand figure shows the color coding of azimuth angle.
Figure 2. Two types of pattern thresholding are shown here. The top half displays a 3D pattern
with no thresholding, while the bottom figure shows a thresholding at 3 dB below a quarter
wave monopole. The portion of the radiation pattern above the threshold is quite apparent.
PCs for AP, August 1995, page 5
Edmund K. Miller
Ohio University
Department of Electrical and Cornpuier Engineering
331 Stocker Center
Athens, OH 45701
(614) 593-1603
(614)593-0007 (FAX)
emlllerQbobcat.ent.ohiou.edu(email)
erhaps this hotsummer, in the United States at least,has On a Mac, this can take various forms, one being that when
causedcomputerproblemsforthoseofyounotfortunate power is turned on and tire start key is depressed. rhe computer
enough to work in an air-conditioned environment Here in Santa monitor lights up and somethtng begins to happen: but then it “stalls
Fe,at 7,000- feetelevation, hardlyany privatehomes are air- out.” Wien this happens, if you’re lucky; it can be enough to just
conditioned(ours is not), asthetemperaturedoesn’tthatoften reset by turning the computer off and back on, after which the sys-
reach 90 deg F or more,andtherelative humidity is usually no temworksasnormallyas it ever does. Another.more-traumatic
higher than 20 per cent or so. I don’t know whether I can blame instance of the computer’sintransigence is that, rather than emitting
some of the problems that I’ve had lately on the weather, bad luck, a single chime when the startkey is pushed, a chime chord is played
incompetence or ignorance: take your pick. Since theymay origi- and the monitor displays the ugly Mac “face.” something that has
nate from a source common to may PC users, I’ll discuss some of begun to substantiallyraise my bloodpressureEncounteringthis
my problems belom, and would welcome any suggestions for fixing combination, which can occur immediately or sometimes later in the
same.Other topics to be coveredincludereaderfeedback, a new startup sequence, has usually meant that more than simply turning
archival-storage technology, and CEM software. off and back on will be required.
58 IEEE Plnrennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 37, No. 5, October 1995
active terminator is intended to provide power on the transmission I’mcuriouswhether any ofyou haveexperienced SCSI
line if the computer is unable to handle all of the devices connected, problems Are there any solutions to the kinds of problems that I’ve
and to adjust termination power and impedance cn all of the data encountered?Mustusing aSCSI chain boil down to cut-and-try
and handshaking lines of the SCSI bus. experimentation to tryfinding a combinationthat works? There
must be a better way
Prior to receiving the SCSI Sentry, the internal drive died, but
was able to be resurrected using a disk utility for the Mac called
Lido,and is back in operation, after being reformatted. The remov- Future data-storage technology?
able 270 MByte cartridges initially lookedirreparable.but were (Excerpted from an article, in the June 30, 1995, issue of the Los
later brought back to life, partially at least, using an AI’S disk utility Alamos National Laboratory News Bulletin, by Jim Danneskiold)
called Alliance Power 7001s. Although neither cartridge could be
formatted or initialized when I first attempted this, a “blind-luck” Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have devel-
work-around did the trick. which involved putting one partition on oped a prototype of what could become the archival storage tech-
each cartridge, upon which initialization was successlid Apparently nology of the hture. Theirapproachusesneithermagnetic nor
these problems came from a forgotten internal terminator in one of opticalstorage.butinstead is based on anapproach. infinitely
the drives I had inmy original setup, but which, not being at the refined, somewhat comparable to the punch cards used in the old
end of the chain, should not have worked that way. Eventually, I days If successfully developed, four sets of encyclopedias could fit
was able to get a three-external-device SCSI chain working, with onto a single inch-long steel pin. According to Roger Stutz. one of
two external drives and the printer with the A P S ;Sentry at the end the developers of this technology (along withBruce Lamartine), the
of the chain. I am not sure at this point whether the Sentry makes storage density currently is as high as 23 gigabitslsq inch!
any real difference, as I still get “ugly Macs” regularly on the first
try at booting the computer, but it usually works on the second or The technique. designated as High-Density Read-only Mem-
third try ory (HD-ROM), uses an ion beam to inscribe information on pins of
metal, such as stainless steel, iridium or similar materials The HD-
ROM uses a specially modified. focused-ion beam mlcromill, devel-
This, however, was not the totality of problems that seem to
oped by Lamartine, with the writing process achieved via a process
havecome out of theSCSIadventures. I also discovered thatI
called sputteretching. The etching process removesmaterial by
could no longer use my external modem. getting a previously-not-
atomic collisions in the region of the ion beam. The key to making
encountered error messagethat said themodemportwas busy
this process practical is the high-vacuum environment in which the
whenever I tried to dial out. None of the usual sources I contacted
ion beam doesitswriting, as collisions of the ionswithambient
wasable to help me withthisproblem and. finally,again in des-
molecules disperses them spatially, and limits the size of the small-
peration, I called Apple for help, the first time ever The first person
est feature that can be “written.” The actual writing is controlled by
I talked to wasn’t veryhelpful,but my second call provided the
a computer, with the data encoded in binary format. or as analog
solution. to reset all of theinternalcomputervariables to their letters, numbers, and graphical images. The device routinely writes
default values. This is done on the Mac by, after hitting the start features as narrow as 150 billionths of a meter, about 560 atoms in
key. holdingdown the option, command, P, andl R keysprior to width.
getting the startup chime. Although once might work. I was advised
to continueholdingdown these keysthroughfivesuccessive While writing in a vacuum makes high-density storage possi-
chimes, and to then release them. Magically, my modem problems ble, reading can be done in air, using a “souped-up“ version of a
disappeared. A few days later, I saw this trick described in a com- commerciallyavailableatomic-forcemicroscope. In comparison
puter column in the local paper. withmagneticrecording, the HD-ROM requires no bit-stream
interpreter, or embeddedprotocolthattellshow todecodethe
So, what’s the bottom line? First of all. I have come to really read-backsignalInstead, for binary data,the HD-ROM can
detestthe SCSI system. To befair,mostpeopleI’vetalked to include. in a human-readable format. the encoding scheme used for
about this say that connecting more than two or three devices is writing the subsequent data records For ASCII-type and graphics
probably asking for trouble. That seems to be a pretty limiting solu- data, the records can be visually decoded.
tion;since it meansthatyoucan’thang on all of the various
peripherals that you’d like to have simultaneous access to at one Itis anticipatedthatmagnetic-storagetechnology will con-
time,andwhich theSCSI arrangementtheoreticallypermitsI tinue to improve, so that in 10 years,perhaps a densityof
should think that one solution might be to add new instructions to 5 gigabitsisq inch will be possible The already-demonstrated HD-
the computer ROM, so that if the external SCSI chain doesn’t look ROM technology is nearly 5 times that, and densities of 400,000
right, the computer will block it out until it has booted, and then is gigabitdsq inch are projected in the near term, or 80.000 times the
able to perform some diagnostics. At least at that point, it might be densitythat may befeasiblewithfuturemagneticstorage. Aside
possible to find outwhichdevicesandcablest:lecomputercan from the storage density, an especiallyimportantadditional prop-
examine, and to obtain clues about what the problems are. I sup- erty of HD-ROM storage is that it is virtual impervious to degrada-
pose that the issue is one of cost, as this might require RF hard- tion due to thermal or mechanical shock, or from electromagnetic
ware fields that can degrade magnetic and optical media. Potential users
might firstincludeorganizations having a need for a low-cost,
Second, a lesson I’ve burnedinto my corsciousness previ- highly durable,data-storagemedium,suchas the US Library of
ously, is to back up everything. preferably twice. 1 lost some of my Congress, the FederalBureauofInvestigation. and (ugh’)the
backups and originals during these perambulations,, and am thankful Internal Revenue Service
for being so conservative. In addition, it’s a goodl idea if the back-
ups are independent in terms of media or devices, so that a single- Stutz and Lamartine have applied for patents covering various
point failure can’t cause the loss of all of them at one time. One aspectsoftheir work.They havealsoprepared an article fora
thing that I haven’t done yet is to store backups ‘outside my home, h t u r e issue of Scientijic American, and are actively seeking com-
something that I hope I don’t have cause to regret mercial partners. Further information can be obtained by contacting
60 Propagation
IEEE Antennas
Magazine,
and Vol. 37, No. 5,October 1995
excuse the practice. I feel, morally, if not always legally, the source I received the following announcement from Joseph Finnerty
of graphs, tables, etc. MUST be properly credited. This should be that might be of interest to NEC users. You can expect to find a
done in the caption, rather than only in the text If a publisher says longerdescription of AEC-Win Basic in oneofJohnVolakis’
this is not their practice, I would actively try to change their posi- upcoming columns in the A4agazine.
tion. To use others’ work without appropriate endeasilyfound
acknowledgment is simply wrong. “A demo version of,VEC-Wzn Basic has been uploaded to the
following FTP sites:
As toauthor’s permission, I don’t believethat is needed,
although if use of that author’s figures or material!; I S from a nega- Rp.netcom.com/pub/ra/rander/NEC
tive or criticalviewpoint,itwouldcertainlybe courteousto let
themknowOncetheirmaterialappears in the public domain, I and
don’t perceive thathrther authorapproval is, really needed,
although I believe that books sometimes will include phrases like emclab,ee.umr.edu/pub/aces/NEC
“. .used with permission of ....” (emclab is a mirror of netcorn, but is easier to access).
Available software: Wriedt’s Code Listing “3) When you arehappy with the image,press ‘P’ to send the
image to a print buffer. Press ‘Q’to exit XEC‘YU. A box will open,
A code listing, developed by Dr. Thomas Wriedt (Institut h e r allowing you to preview the antenna and change the colors before
Werkstofftechnik, Badgasteiner Str 3, D-28359 €3remen, Germany. printing. Click on the Exit button when finished
Tel. +49-421-218-2507, Fax +49-421-218-5378,
E-mail
“4) Click on the upper-right-most button (Surface plot). When the
thw@iwt.uni-bremen.de) was included in the Demmber, 1994, col-
Surface-Plotboxappears,click on Continue. Press ‘Q’ when
umn Dr. Wriedthasrecentlysent me followingmessage: “The
finished viewins the surface pattern (printing also available).
scattering-codes list [can now be] found [on] a WWW sewer Its
URL is givenbelow.Ithas been extendedand updated. Listof
electromagnetic-scattering programmes: *‘5) Since the antenna is a Log-Periodic you can look at the trans-
mission-line geometry by clicking on the main menu bar Options
http.//imperator.cip-iwl.uni-bremen.de/fgOl/cod~s2.ht1nl” then Transmission Line.
“6) Click on the second button from the upper right (polar plot)
NEC-Win Basic interactive demo Compare the radiation pattern of the Log-Periodic with a Yagi by
provided by Joseph Finnerty, jdfll2@psu.edu, Paragon clicking on the Add File button in the box that appears. In the File
Technology (home of the NEC-win family) BOX choose Yagi.nou andthen click OK. Click on thecheckbox
EE E Magazine,
Propagation
Antennas
and ‘Val.37, No. 5,October 1995 61
next to elevation for the Yagi and then choose a line style for total of measured data, usehl for people tying to develop inverse or
gain and a color Click on Generate Graph thenAutoScalethen imaging codes, or for those trying to validate scattering codes. It
Redraw. You should see both elevation patterns on the plot. You can be obtained via FTP This is exfrc.n7r/j,valuable for those doing
can add a title, copy and paste, or analyze the antenna by using the this kind of work 1f you or your colleagues have data sets-meas-
menu options. ured, or even computed using well-tested-and-verified codes-which
you are willing to share.pleasesend mean announcement. We’ll
“I hope the demo version of MTC-Win Busrc will be helpful in see to it that our colleagues can take advantage of the availability of
allowingyou to evaluatethepackage. Note that the manual such data.
included with the full product contains fill1 documentation for each
feature and many examples ” ‘ 4 An additional data point. Inmy last column,Igavesome
figures for the performance of different types of drives as backup
11111111111111111111lllllllll1llllllllll11111111l1111111111111111111111111111 devices. I have one additional data point to add to that. Using Cen-
tral Point Software’s CPBmku(?,ferDOS and writing to the Fujitsu
DynaMO 230 drive, with “compression to minimize time” selected
Editor‘s Comments Continuedfrom page 47 (and using a 90 MHz Pentium). the data rate from hard disk to the
cover almost since we became a .Mugmitre There is a story behind DynaMO is 2 5.2MBimin This is actually faster than the Iomega
this I was at the Dallas Symposium in June of 1990, just after our Bernoulli 150.
first two issues as the A4agozhe had come out. I was talking with a
group of people about that, and I said that if we could sell the back Closing thoughts. In the US and Canada, November brings a
cover as a color ad, it would pay for having color on the front holiday we callThanksgiving Althoush it originated n-ith the Pil-
cover. Dick Flam was there, and without hesitationhesaid, grims whosettled onthis continent in the early 1600s. thishas
“You’ve got itl’. He actually had me call his office from the meet- become a time in which we express our thanks for all that has come
ing,and the (ailright it was late, too) June, 1090,issuecarried a to us in the past year So, to our readers and our very professional
Flam and Russell ad on the back cover, and color on the front. It’s volunteer Staff, I say a very heartfelt and sincere “Thank you”’
been there ever since. Yes, the ad helps to sell their product-but it
also was, and is, an act of faith and support for which AP-S should
be very grateful Color on the front cover is important for at least
ttvo reasons. It is an important element in making the publication
credible as a magazine. It is also valuable to our readers, because I
canofien nil1 figurest\hich need color to conveyinformation on
thecover, and thus save the substantial cost of having to run
“editorial color“ inside
62 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 37, No. 5,October 1995
Edmund K. Miller
3225 Calle Celestial
Santa Fe. NM 87501
(505) 82CF7371
emilierBesa.lanl.gov(e-mall)
Some follow-up discussion on validation of published numerical Quoting from dERE’s brochure, “The disABLED need to
results; express themselves, communicating ,with those able and disABLED
about their general condition, challenges and triumphs. It is hard for
A revisiting of publication ethics; some disABLED people to communicate with others, especially in
today’s hectic world where time waits for no one.” From a personal
Some “spinoff’ computer packages based on NEC and MININEC; perspective, Mark says, “The reason that I have started Project
dERE is that I have come torealize ,just what technology can mean
And a personal experience with modern telephone systems. to an individual with a disability.” Project dERE is “Dedicated to
providing the Technology and Knowledge so disABLED individu-
als can master the Powerof electronic communication.”
Project dERE: The disABLED Electronic Resource Exchange
Project Inc. The first challenge dERE chose to tackle was establishing a
computer bulletin board.“dERE-Net!” is a multi-node bulletin-
One of the more-rewarding aspects of “modern” technology is board system accessible to all. It allows for the free exchange of
the uses to which it can be put, to help those having various dis- information between disABLED people, and is available to anyone
abilities to live filler lives. There are a large variety of examples, with a computer, modem, phone line, and any telecommunications
including control enhancements for automobiles; improved prosthe- software. As the brochure fkther states, “But, for just a minute,
ses for helping to overcome the loss of limbs; better and smaller imagine that you are confined to a wheel chair, your speech pain-
hearing aids; and vision aids to assist those with limited eyesight. hlly slow and slurred, but your mind is as clear and as sharp as
While many technologies are helping the disabled, increasingly it is ever. By linking in to The &RE-Net! Bulletin Board System you
computer-based systems that are making the biggest difference. are in a new world, where your irdelligence is not measured by
what you look like, or what you sound like, but rather by what your
Most of you have probably heard of Stephen Hawking, who is thoughts and opinions are. You are free to express yourself as your
confined to a wheel chair and no longer able to speak, because of really are, not as the world may view you.”
having Lou Gehrig’s disease. This Nobel-Prize-winning physicist
has continued to contribute to findamental studies on the origin of I wanted to mention dERE here for at least two reasons. One
the universe and cosmology. Hecommunicates via a computer key- is to provide an example of how electronic and electrical-engineer-
board and voice synthesizer, being paralyzed except for the use of ing advances can help those with special problems. Another is to
two fingers. Although limited in a physical sense, he is certainly not mention that dERE needs help, specifically in the form of computer
limited intellectually. Because of modem-computer technology, he equipment. “Many disABLED persons do not have access to com-
has remained a visionary thinker, and is holder of the Chair at Cam- puters.dERE is working with cor,porate America to obtain and
bridge which was once theprovince of Sir Isaac Newton. refurbish their outdatedcomputer systems no longer in use and
train disABLED users to utilize them for work, education and on-
I was reminded of this when I found an article in the Colum- line networking. dERE will also serve as an information center for
bus Dispatch newspaper, several months ago while at Ohio Uni- computer recipients.”
versity. It was about a Columbus resident, Mark Tokarz, who has
started an organization designed to exploit electronic technology You are welcome by dERE to getinvolved with it in any way
for assisting those with disabilities. The name of the organization is that you choose. If you, yourself, or someone you know, could
“ProjectdERE,” which stands for The disABLED Electronic benefit from a computer or would like to donate a computer no
Resource Exchange Project, Inc. The emphasis is on the abilities longer in use, write to dERE, or call dERE’s Voice Information
that an individual retains, rather than on those they have lost. It is a System at (614) 478-9940. If you want to call dERE-Net!, set your
non-profit group that Mark and his wife, Mary Ann Wojton, began telecommunications software t o 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity,
in 1993. Mark himself has Ataxia (a term used to describe a lack of and dial (614) 478-dERE (3373) to llog on to the BBS. The mailing
Mark Tokarz, who is 30 years old, hasn’t let his own chal- The latter information is desirable and valuable. However, the
lenges hold him back. According to his biography, he holds numer- initid statement forms thenub of the policy. My intention was that
ous degrees from various institutions, and started work on a PhD this statement should be located in a separate section, immediately
degree in Computer-Based Instructional Design at Ohio State Uni- following the introduction, together with whatever elaboration is
versity, in the fall term of 1995, considered appropriate by theauthor.(The idea of aseparate
“accuracy” section, which should always follow the introduction,
was part of my draft version of the policy, but not included in the
Validation of computed results version that appeared in the Magazine. I felt that this small degree
of standardization would make it easier for reviewer and reader
A statement, concerning a new policy for the AP-S Magazine, alike, always to know where theycould find this information. It also
requiring that quantitative-accuracy statementsbe included in all makes crystal clear what the author needs to do.) It was suggested
articles submitted beginning January 1, 1995, appeared in the Octo- that further elaboration of each of the above items could also be
ber, 1994, Magazine, on page 39. Having authored this policy contained in the body of the article, but that it was imperative that
statement, with input from several AP-S and ACES (which is also this summary section be included.
implementing this policy for its Newsletter) members, I was hopefil
that we might also expect to have a similar requirement be adopted Evidently, a major concern of those who have reservations
eventually by the Transactions.Evidently, I was overly naive about about such a requirement is the perceived difficulty an author might
the acceptability of such a policy to many AP-S members, at least have in filling in the blanks in the accuracy statement. But note that
those with whom I have had discussions about it. Possibly this was there is not a list of means by which this would have to be done:
caused by some confusion about just what would be required, and that is left to the author. It would be hoped that some substantive
how much extra work that might entail. evidence could be cited, to indicate why the author feels that the
accuracy of the presented results can be claimed to be so many dB
The problem of validation was again a topic for discussion at or per cent or whatever. But if the author were tobase an accuracy
the Newport Beach luncheon meeting of the Muguzzne StafF, at estimate on something else, such as past experience in doing similar
which various Transacfions Staff members were also present. I computations, or by observing that the results are comparable to
specifically suggested that the Transactions consider adoptinga other published results (in either case, appropriately cited),that
similar, or the same, policy. The gist of the discussion that followed would be acceptable. At least an author would now have to think
can be summarized succinctly as, “It’s a good idea but we can’t explicitly about justifying why those results merit publication, and
impose such a policy because ,” where
the blank can howaccuratethey might be. Admittedly, most authors probably
be filled in by any one of a number of reasons. Paraphrased exam- now must consider these issues, but fail to address them in a quanti-
ples about why this might be so include: tative, explicit way.
“Such a requirement is not appropriate for theTransactions;” The original policy statement may appear to impose a sub-
stantial additional effort on theauthor’spart Possibly, that is
“Authors have widely varying resources to satisfy it;’ because all of the items mentioned above were indicated to be nec-
essary to comply with the new accuracy policy. In retrospect, per-
“Different people will use different yardsticks as a measure of accu- haps the accuracy requirement would have appeared less threaten-
racy;” ing had it been limited to the statement enclosed in quotes That is
what I’m proposing here, as a less-intrusive way of an accuracy-
“Authors can ‘fidge’ their results;” policy implementation. It doesn’t seem to me that complying with
this latter requirement would be an unreasonable imposition on
“It won’t work;” anyone who has the vaguest idea of what they’re doing, when using
a numerical model. If they can’t comply with this, what on earth
“It’s not reasonable to expect everyone to adhere tosucha can anyone conclude about thevalue of their results?
requirement;”
Because such a policy can’t work without the support of Ap-
“It should be voluntary. not mandatory;” etc., etc., etc. S members, I would appreciate receiving feedback on this issue.
Any comments that you’d like to submit would be welcome, but in
You may be able to sense my own frustration and disappointment particular, it would be most helpfbl if you were to express a specific
overthesereactions I don’t see what is so unreasonable about opinion on the following statement:
expecting authors to make a quantitative statement about the accu-
racy of numerical results that they think are important enough to
publish in an archival journal. Do you? To refresh your memory, a The A P - S should impose a requirement in both the Magazine and
statement like the following was needed to satisfy the accuracy Transactions that an accuracy statement be included in all articles
requirement: containing numerical results, which, asa minimum, provides the
informatioK “The results presented here are estimated to be accu-
“The results presented here are estimated to be accurate to rateto based on using the following kinds(s) of validation
, based on using the following kinds(s) of validation exer- exercise(s):
cise(s):
Please check onebox: I agree 0 I disagree 0
Further information regarding the kinds of problems to which this
accuracy estimate is also applicable was to follow, along with the Please return your opinion to E. K. Miller, 3225 Calle Celestial,
nominal sampling densities required to achieve thataccuracy, Santa Fe,NM 87501-9613, or by e-mail to emiller@esa.lanl,gov.
Various versions of NEC and MININEC have become avail- “ELNEC has become the standard for antenna modeling pro-
able from sourcesother than the originators ofthese popular grams. Carefully designed to be friendly and easy to use, ELNEC
modeling codes.For example, the ham-radio community has uses the powerful MININEC calculating engine. ELNEC can model
embraced computer modeling of amateur-radio antennas. One nearly any type of antenna you can make from straight wires or
source ofMININEC (MININECfor Amateurs) is R. P. Haviland of tubes, connected any way you want. You can model Yagis, long
Daytona Beach, FL, who has sold over 1,000 copies (see the April, wires, phased arrays, verticals, or tbe crazy antenna in your back
1990, and February, 1991, columns). Mr. Roy Lewallen, also a ham yard. ELNEC can model most type:; of antennas having up to 6-8
(W7EL), has developed two modeling codes based on MININEC total wavelengths of wire or tubing. MaxP (described below)
and NEC-2. Thesetwocodes are briefly described below, as approximately doubles this capability. ELNEC is an economical way
excerpted from Mr. Lewallen’s e-mailing to the NEC-list bulletin to model antennas, and it will run on nearly any DM-PC compati-
board. ble machine. All ELNEC files can be directly read by EZNEC if you
decide later to upgrade.
“Announcing EZNEC
“ELNEC lets you save and recall antenna descriptions and
“ELNEC (seebelow) has become the standard for antenna patterns, gives you single-key analysis of gain, front-to-back ratio,
modeling programs because of its combination o f speed, accuracy, beamwidth, and more. It tells you S W R , trap loss, and nearly any-
and user-friendly interface. It does have limitations, however, due thing else you’d like to know about your antenna. You can super-
to its MZNINEC calculating engine. ELNEC can’t accurately model impose patterns for comparison, and see a 3-D representation of
wires which are lower than about 0.2 wavelength. Quads are difi- your antenna, with currentsand even the patternsuperimposed.
cult, and results are inaccurate for long Yagis.
“ELNEC features an exclusive spreadsheet-like entry system,
“EZNEC overcomes ELNEC‘s limitations, because it’s based to make antenna description and modification fast and easy. It has
on the powefil NEC-2 code. And it does it without compromising many features to help you describe your antenna design easily. For
the friendly, easy-to-use ELNEC user interface. example, you can rotate a wire or change its length without having
to figure out thenew wire end locations.
‘%ZNEC has all the advanced features of ELNEC. . .
“Because of its MININEC computing engine, ELNEC can’t
Easy-to-use spreadsheet-style data entry accurately model antennas with horizontal wires lower than about
3-D antenna view display, with currents-and even the antenna 0.2 wavelength. Quads can be analyzed with very good accuracy,
pattern-superimposed but changes are tedious, and ELNEC can handle only about 3 ele-
Group editing features tohelp you make complex antenna ments maximum. And ELNEC isn’t suitable for long VHF and UHF
descriptions fast Yagis. But for nearly all other antenna types, ELNEC will give you
0 The ability to rotate wires and change wire lengths or antenna excellent results, as many, many amateurs, commercial users,
height with a single entry broadcasters, and universities can confirm
Frequency sweep
Multiple plots on the same screen for comparison “ELNEC can be run on any 1BM-PC compatible computer
One-key analysis to display gain, frontback ratio, beamwidth, and with hard disk, 640k o f R A M , and CGA, EGA, VGA, or Hercules
other important information graphics adapter. Plots print on Epson-compatible 8/9 or 24 pin
True current sources aswell as voltage sources dot-matrix printers or HP LaserJet or DeskJet printers. Color
No copy-protection hassle DeskJet printers are supported, but printing is monochrome.
And many, many other features tomake modeling fast and easy
“Two types of ELNEC are available: Standard, for use with a
.. .plus coprocessor, and N,for non-coprocessor systems. Please specie
which type you need. Ifyou need both types, just add $5.00 to your
* Fast, fast operation order.
500 segments (twice the capability of ELNEC and MuxP
combined) for very complex antennas “The Maximum Pulse Option ( M a p ) approximately doubles
* Transmission line models, including stubs the complexity of antenna you can model with ELNEC. MuxP
* Color printing with color DeskJet printers requires acoprocessor. It can be ordered with ELNEC or ata
Easy copying of plots to Windows documents hture date.
Automatic segmentation
Comprehensive automatic modeling guideline check “A $20 discount is offered for ELNEC customers who later
And, of course, thefull NEC-2 ground model upgrade toEZNEC.
“Ordering information for EZNEC, ELNEC,and MmP:
“EZNEC requires an 80386, 80486, or Pentium processor;
coprocessor (built in to ‘486DX and Pentium); at least 2 megs of EZNEC, $89 ELNEC, $49 MaxP, $25
available extended memory; and EGA, V G 4 or SVGA graphics.
Supported printers are HP LaserJet, color and monochrome Desk- all postpaid to US and Canada. VISAand Mastercard accepted.
Jet, and Epson dot matrix, or compatibles types. EZNEC can be run
under Windows as aDOS application. “International orders: Please add $3.00for air mail to coun-
tries other than the US and Canada. Make payment in US currency;
“EZNEC is just$89.00, postpaid tothe US and Canada. international check or money order i n US funds payable through a
VISA and Mastercard accepted. Please see ordering information at US bank; postal money order in US f h d s redeemable at a US post
the end. office; VISA; or Mastercard.
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 37, No. 6, December 1995 91
“Make checks payable to Roy Lewallen. their design just a few decades ago. The changes here, as in most
other “modern” technologies, are due to the electronics revolution
“Order
from:
Roy
Lewallen,
W7EL, PO Box 6658, and the computer. Central offices areno longer places where physi-
Beaverton, OR 97007, USA, Questions? Call (503) 646-2885, or cal pairs of wiresterminatefromthetelephonessewed by that
email w7el@teleport.com .” exchange, and where the switching is done atmechanical switch-
boards. Instead, this function is now performed via software-con-
trollable electronic networks,having few mechanical components.
Revisiting publication ethics
These changes have added much functionality to telephonic
A reader (Professor Doug Miron, of South Dakota StateUni- communication,someexamplesbeing call forwarding,automatic
versity) has called my attention to a serious omission in the two rollover, caller identification, etc. However, they also open the door
columns (April and June, 1995) devoted to this question. Specifi- for peculiarproblemsthatdidn’tpreviously arise. Onehappened
cally, in discussing the responsibilities of reviewers, I inexplicably with my home-officetelephone,sinceaboutthetime it was first
forgot to addressoneofthemost-frequentcausesofcomplaints connected two yearsago.Overthat time, weoccasionally had a
aboutthereviewprocess:thesometimesinexcusablylongtime calling party ask for confirmation of my office number (through
lapse between paper submittal and receiving the reviews. Some of anotherroute),astheywereunable to reach me. Afterthis had
themostegregiousexamples (many ofyou may haveprobably happened enough to appear to be a real problem, I decided to call
experienced such delays) extend up to a year or more, before the the local telephone company. The basic complaint was that calls to
author hears back from the Editor/Associate Editor to whom the my office sometimes seemed to end up in some electronic “black
paper was sent. hole,” where no one had ever heard of me, if the phone was actually
answered.
If we can all agree that ayear is not a reasonable review time, The servicepersonwhoanswered our complaintmadean
then we need to consider what might be an acceptable upper bound interesting discovery. It seems as thoughmy number had previously
on this process. Most of the journals for which I review ask for a been assignedto an address a few houses down the street. The wire
response in a month to six weeks, but some request the review to pair had been changed to our house, but an extension phone in their
becompletedwithinatwo-weekperiod.Somealsocontactme guest house had been left connected to the same physical line. The
before sending it, to ask if I’m willing to review a specified manu- homeowner was unaware of this, and it was only when someone
script, while others just appear out of theblue. After completing the was staying at the guest house that they sometimes answered my
review, I sometimes receive an acknowledgment and thanks. More line. This problem was corrected, and presumably solved the prob-
rarely, I’ll getasummary of thereviewers’consensus and the lem.
Editor’s decision. I think the usual result is that I don’t hear any-
thing at all about the dispositionof the manuscript. But, problems persisted. Sometimes people calling me were
answered by a business to whom I was a complete stranger. Once
As an author, most ofus would vote for review times as short more, we called the phone company. After determining that thefirst
as possible, say two weeks to a month. But, as a reviewer, most of fix was still in place, additional detective work found a totally dif-
us would want to extend that time, possibly to as much as three ferent explanation for the problem, one that didn’t involve my ofice
months. I suspect that I’m not alone in usually waiting up until the phone alone. Because I’m frequently using my computer modem,
last fewdaysprior toa reviewdeadlinebeforeactuallygetting we have a rollover feature that sends office calls to our home num-
down to doing it. I suppose that stretching the review process out is ber, when the office phone is busy. Unknown to us, and forgotten
one way of controlling the number of reviews one ends up doing; it by the phone company, was a software-controllable rollover on our
seems reasonable to reject additional review requests when there home phone, that was left over from the previous customer. When
are already several in the queue. So, another reader request that I’ll our home phone was busy too, the call was forwarded once again,
make is to seek your opinion on how long the review period should this time to a local business. The combination of circumstances that
nominally be (not for special issues or other instances where thereis caused this to happen was rather rare, and so escaped our notice
a hard deadline). I’d be interested in your opinion. until we received enough comments to take it seriously. One lesson
from this experience is that,whilethe systemis computercon-
trolled, it is humans who do, or forget to do, the programming. It’s
Idiosyncrasies of modern telephone systems also worth noting that if you find your outgoing calls sometimes
goingawry,itcanbe helpful to getthenumberyou’veactually
Most of you are probably aware that modem telephone sys- reached, in casesomethinglikethis is happening to thenumber
tems,particularlytheswitchingnetworks,areworldsapartfrom you’re calling..<e: