Author Archives: Mike

About Mike

Mike Buetow is president of the Printed Circuit Engineering Association (pcea.net). He previously was editor-in-chief of Circuits Assembly magazine, the leading publication for electronics manufacturing, and PCD&F, the leading publication for printed circuit design and fabrication. He spent 21 years as vice president and editorial director of UP Media Group, for which he oversaw all editorial and production aspects. He has more than 30 years' experience in the electronics industry, including six years at IPC, an electronics trade association, at which he was a technical projects manager and communications director. He has also held editorial positions at SMT Magazine, community newspapers and in book publishing. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois. Follow Mike on Twitter: @mikebuetow

Now Hear This: Micro Headset Technology

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One of the perks of this job is the occasional invitation to take a close look at a range of products. Usually the device is something I would never consider using, rendering the review moot. So it was a pleasant surprise this week when a pair of wireless earphones arrived at the door.

The K True Wireless Headphones (Kfit) are designed by KuaiFit, which insofar as I can tell is a web-based sports training outfit that offers personal training and related apps and devices to get you moving. It’s the first venture into wireless by KuaiFit, although they do offer wired micro-headphones and other sensor-based products related to personal fitness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At first blush, there are small but sturdy. I don’t think dropping them repeatedly will have any effect on reliability. KuaiFit tells me they weigh only 4.1 grams and have 3-6 hours of play time. Charging is done via a standard USB (included).

I tested out the earphones on a range of songs, from rock to country to classical. (Jazz lovers, find another reviewer!) I streamed the following tracks using Amazon Music:

  • Mozart, “Serenade in G K.525”
  • Beethoven, “Piano Sonata 14 in C Sharp Minor”
  • Travis Denning (“David Ashley Parker from Powder Springs”)
  • Eric Church, “Desperate Man”
  • Zebra, “Whose Behind the Door”
  • Rush, “The Spirit of Radio”
  • Pete Yorn, “Strange Condition”

With any micro headset, audio quality is going to be compromised somewhat. I would characterize the sound as clear albeit a bit tinny, with some loss on the low-end. No real surprise there. Streaming wasn’t perfect; there were occasional dropouts. Not so much to be a deal-breaker, but enough that I must disclose them here. The music softens when a text alert is incoming; a plus.

Because these are intended as sport headphones, I took a short run with them in. (Imagine the annoyance if one fell out on a run, especially in dim light.) They are really comfortable and — just as important — do stay in place. They also passed the comfort test of my 12-year old son, who was notably impressed. They come with various eartip sizes, which are simple to switch out.

 

Since KuaiFit specializes in sports fitness, there are also downloadable apps which can be tied to KFit for custom training plans (running, cycling, gym, triathalons, etc.) I haven’t explored those yet.

All in all, Kfit is a cool innovation. They are funding the new device through Kickstarter. See below for details:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1384443073/k-sport-headphones-with-in-ear-personal-trainer?ref=9czlv5

New Podcast with Marc Benowitz of iNEMI

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Our latest podcast features Marc Benowitz, the new CEO of iNEMI. Before joininh the electronics consortium, he spent nearly 40 years at AT&T, Lucent, Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Bell Labs, where he began as a member of the technical staff in the interconnect technology lab, and ultimately worked his way up to senior director of the reliability, hardware test and eco-environmental engineering organization.

He speaks with me about the transition from the private sector to fulltime consortia work, and his goals and priorities for iNEMI at pcbchat.com.

Shocker at Sanmina

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Jure Sola spent 26 years atop Sanmina as chairman, president and eventually CEO. His replacement lasted less than 12 months.

In a stunning announcement, Sanmina today announced the resignation of Bob Eulau as chief executive. The move is effective immediately.

Eulau was handpicked to replace Sola as chief executive of Sanmina, a move that took effect last October. At the time, Sola gushed over his successor’s abilities, stating “Bob has a deep understanding of Sanmina’s strategy, customer focus, technology offerings and day-to-day execution. I am confident we’ve selected a strong leader. Bob’s wealth of experience and strong leadership are invaluable to the strategic direction of Sanmina and are precisely what Sanmina needs for a successful future.”

What changed in a year? Often, quick changes like this are tied to financial issues or disagreements with the board over direction. Sanmina was quick to reaffirm financial guidance for its current quarter, and is on pace to surpass last fiscal year’s revenue total. At the low end of guidance, the EMS firm will top $7.1 billion, about 3% more than the prior fiscal year. In its most recent earnings call, Eulau forecast increasing margins and yield improvements.

Michael Clarke, another Sanmina alum and a current board member, will take over come Oct. 1.

PCB Chat: Flexible Circuits

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We have a new podcast available, this one with Mark Finstad and Nick Koop. Alert readers will recognize them as the authors of our popular “Flexperts” column on flexible circuit design and manufacturing. They discuss real-life flex circuit struggles and how to overcome them in this week’s chat.

Also, listeners who want to learn more about flex circuit design and manufacturing are encouraged to come listen to Mark and Nick on Thursday, Sept. 13, from 9-11 at the Santa Clara Convention Center during PCB West.

 

PCB Chat: California Prop 65, RoHS, and REACH with Brenda Baney

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Brenda Baney has been addressing product environmental regulations for over 20 years.  She began with General Motors as a materials engineer, where she was at the forefront of the automotive industries material compliance reporting.  Brenda has led internal company projects on elimination of CFCs, lead solder, hexavalent chromium, and a myriad of other substances of concern. She has been a leader within both automotive and electronics industry groups covering topics like ionic cleanliness of printed circuit boards, lead-free solder, End-of-Life Vehicle, RoHS and REACH compliance, and is considered a supply chain expert for material content reporting.

Baney was the Product Stewardship Manager for Delphi, where she led the reporting of complex material compliance data on hundreds of thousands of parts successfully. She also created an internal Conflict Minerals cross-functional team leading Delphi to be named as the Number One automotive component supplier in the 2015 Assent Conflict Minerals rating.

In March 2016, Baney founded B Cubed Consulting, where she works with automotive & other durable goods suppliers to keep strategies on course and stay up-to-date on the latest negotiations between industry and global government enforcement bodies.

She speaks about the new latest amendment to California Prop 65, plus REACH, RoHS and other related regulation issues with Mike Buetow on our latest edition of PCB Chat.

Will US Tariffs Accelerate ‘One China?’

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Asian media are reporting that major Taiwanese ODMs are looking into relocating some production to the island as means to sidestep the US tariffs on imports from China.

DigiTimes reported today that Quanta Computer and Wiwynn are among those looking to avoid new duties on server-use motherboards, which represent a major product line for both ODMs.

Quanta builds server motherboards in Shanghai, then performs final assembly in Nashville, TN, and Fremont, CA, and Wurselen, Germany. Executives say the company might expand production outside China to make up for any domestic reduction.

Wiwynn, which is part of Wistron, also has production in China. It performs performs final assembly in Mexico.

Question: With China increasingly flexing its authority over Taiwan, will moves by companies in the critical technology space accelerate or exacerbate Chinese claims to Taiwan?

Tariffs are Taxing the Supply Chain

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The breaking tariff situation in the electronics industry is equal parts fascinating and chilling because of its lack of near-term precedence and unpredictability. We’ve spoken with several EMS companies (read the article here) to gauge the extent of the disarray and get a sense of how they are (attempting to) resolve the issue.

Our reporting is ongoing, so be sure to check back occasionally for updates.