Thursday, September 27, 2007

What Are Gerber Files for Printed Circuit Boards, and Who Needs Them?

When an electronics design engineer has completed their circuit design for an application, the next step towards completing the product design is to enter the schematic details into a computer based schematic capture program. The schematic capture program, which is usually part of an Electronic Design Automation, EDA or Computer Automated Design, PCB CAD, software design package, will create a net list from the completed schematic that details every lectrical connection between each electronic component.

This net list is used by the printed circuit board or PCB designer in the process of designing the printed circuit board with the EDA or PCB CAD software. The finished printed circuit board will provide the physical assembly and interconnection platform for the various electronic components required by the schematic.

The printed circuit board is made up of one or more conductive layers of copper plating that is etched to form the component pads and interconnection traces and one or more layers of insulating material such as epoxy-filled fiberglass to separate the conductive copper layers and to provide the mechanical strength for the board.

A single layer board would have components on the top side of the board and connecting traces on the bottom side of the board. A double layer board could have components on the top side only or have components on both the top and bottom sides of the board along with connecting traces on both sides of the board. A multilayer board would have both top and bottom sides with components and traces along with a number of internal layers used for interconnections and for voltage and ground plane layers.

The EDA or PCB CAD program provides the detailed information about the completed board design in a series of data files for each conductive layer, such as top, bottom, and any internal layers. The Gerber File format, named after the Gerber Scientific Instruments Company, a pioneer in photoplotter manufacturing, is the standard format for these data files.

The original Gerber format conformed to the EIA RS-274D standard and consisted of a command file for each conductive layer and a tool description file. The command file consisted of a series of short commands, each followed by a set of X and Y coordinates, which would provide a photoplotter with the information to create a graphic representation. These command files became known as the Gerber files. The tool desciption file, or aperture file, defined the trace line widths and dimensional data for all of the pads and geometric shapes on the layer.

These data files of computer generated information for the printed circuit board design are then sent to a printed circuit board fabrication company to have the physical boards manufactured. The Gerber files contain all of the information necessary for the computer controlled machines at the printed circuit board, PCB, fabrication houses to etch the copper layers to create the component pads and connection traces, drill all required holes, and cut the board to the required size.

Since a PCB may have from one to many conductive layers, the older Gerber format EIA RS-274D always assumed a set of command files, one for each PCB layer, and one tool description file, or aperture file. A standard for the aperture files was never established so every EDA or PCB CAD software product had its own version of the aperture file format. If the printed circuit board fabrication house could not read the aperture file format as sent, then the aperture information would have to be re-entered manually.

The newer Gerber format conforms to EIA RS-274X and this format includes the aperture information in the file headers as embedded information for each command or Gerber file. This newer format is often called X-Gerber. With all of the aperture information included within the header fo the file, each X-Gerber file provides all of the information required to fabricate the related portion of a PCB layer.

The file names for the Gerber files should be descriptive enough for the pcb fabricator to understand which board and board layer that each file applies to,such as membdtop.gbr as a file name. The standard process is to include with each set of files for a board design a special readme.txt type text file that defines each file name and its application for the board design. The board vendor will use this readme.txt text file as the starting point for the board manufacturing process.

Gerber file extensions are often .GBR, .GBX, or .ART. Sometimes extensions such as .TOP and .BOT or .SMT and .SMB are used instead of the .GB_ type extensions. Often the file extension for a type of file, top, bottom, silkscreen, paste, inner layer, is controlled by the EDA or PCB CAD software package or is selectable within the package. This variation in the extensions makes the inclusion of the readme.txt file as a requirement in the overall file package for the board vendor.

The list of files for a board design will include the silkscreen for the top and sometimes the bottom layers if components are mounted on both sides, component placements for the top and sometimes the bottom layers, solder screen paste files for surface mount applications, drill drawings, solder mask files, panel drawings, pad master top and pad master bottom, etc.

For instance, for a double sided, 2 layer, pcb, the Gerber files will consist of two positive Gerber layers, top and bottom, aperture file,if not in the RS-274X format, NC Excellon drill file, Drill Tool List file, Silkscreen file for each side with components, soldermask files for top and bottom, and top and bottom screen paste files for surface mount boards where applicable. A four layer board would have all of these files plus two inner layer files and a six layer board would have all of these files plus four inner layer files.

At Innovative Circuits Inc., we interface with PCB fabrication houses for our own board designs as well as board designs provided by our customers for whom we are providing board assembly services. Thus we are very familiar with Gerber files and their purposes and functions. But we also realize that countless other people in other organizations who are involved in ordering raw boards or board assembly services will see or hear the term Gerber files without having any knowledge of the term, and this article if for them.



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What Your Electronics Manufacturing Service Provider Needs from You

Contract electronics manufacturing service or EMS providers typically work with customers in a wide range of industries with differing requirements for inventory control, testing, product packaging, and product support. In some applications, the EMS provider simply assembles the printed circuit boards and then ships the boards to the customer. In other applications, the EMS provider will assemble the printed circuit board, load firmware/software into memory, test the board, and then assemble the board and associated cables, enclosures, and documentation into a finished product that is shipped to the customer. Some customers will provide all of the materials, raw boards and electronic components, required for a job and the EMS provider assemblies the printed circuit boards, performs any required testing, and ships the finished boards to the customer. This is generally considered as inventory provided on a consignment basis where the EMS provider basically provides labor and expertise only. Some customers provide some portion on the materials, such as specialty or high cost integrated circuits, proprietary parts such as transformers or coils, raw printed circuit boards, etc. and rely on the EMS provider to purchase the remainder of the components needed to assemble the boards. Most EMS providers prefer to use their own purchasing power, their extensive contacts, and their existing parts inventory where applicable to provide all of the required materials for a customer's particular project. This method is generally considered as inventory provided on a turn-key basis.

But before any of this can happen, the EMS provider must provide an assembled board quote or pricing estimate to the customer for the project. In addition to the quantity commitments, production release quantity and annual usage quantity, this pricing process also requires a detailed bill of material from the customer along with a set of the Gerber files for the printed circuit boards. The BOM should define all of the components along with the approved vendor and vendor's part number for each component. This information allows the Materials Management group to determine availability, packaging, and pricing for each component based on the quantities and vendor information. The BOM information is also needed to allow a technical review to determine the amount of labor and the equipment required to place the parts and to solder the components to the board.

The Gerber files for the printed circuit board design provide Materials Management with the information they need in order to get raw board pricing and lead times from the printed circuit board manufacturing vendors. The Gerber files also provide the Manufacturing Group with the information they need to develop the manufacturing plan, are components on top only or top and bottom of board; surface mount, thru hole, or mixed component types; wave solder or reflow oven processes required, etc. The Manufacturing Group also has to estimate time to program the component placement equipment and to load the components in the placement feeders, set-up costs, costs to order the solder paste stencils, and must also quantify test plans, procedures, and required test equipment. In order to correctly place components on the printed circuit board with each component properly oriented, the EMS provider will need silkscreen files to know the correct orientation of the parts on each side of the board. The screen paste file for surface mount applications will be required to order the stencils for the solder paste application to the board prior to the part placements.

All of this may seem to be a lot of information, but each piece is needed in order to provide the most cost effective pricing for the finished product. Fortunately, the Gerber files are usually readily available from the pcb design system as the Gerber format is the industry standard output format. The BOM is usually in the form of an Excel spreadsheet or formal drawing. Assist your EMS provider by providing the approved vendor's name and part number for each component.



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Basics of Manufacturing Printed Circuit Boards

In electronics, printed circuit boards, or PCBs, are used to mechanically support electronic components which have their connection leads soldered onto copper pads in surface mount applications or through rilled holes in the board and copper pads for soldering the component leads in thru-hole applications. A board design may have all thru-hole components on the top or component side, a mix of thru-hole and surface mount on the top side only, a mix of thru-hole and surface mount components on the top side and surface mount components on the bottom or circuit side, or surface mount components on the top and bottom sides of the board.

The boards are also used to electrically connect the required leads for each component using conductive copper traces. The component pads and connection traces are etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. Printed circuit boards are designed as single sided with copper pads and traces on one side of the board only, double sided with copper pads and traces on the top and bottom sides of the board, or multilayer designs with copper pads and traces on top and bottom of board with a variable number of internal copper layers with traces and connections.

Single or double sided boards consist of a core dielectric material, such as FR-4 epoxy fiberglass, with copper plating on one or both sides. This copper plating is etched away to form the actual copper pads and connection traces on the board surfaces as part of the board manufacturing process. A multilayer board consists of a number of layers of dielectric material that has been impregnated with adhesives, and these layers are used to separate the layers of copper plating. All of these layers are aligned and then bonded into a single board structure under heat and pressure. Multilayer boards with 48 or more layers can be produced with today's technologies.

In a typical four layer board design, the internal layers are often used to provide power and ground connections, such as a +5V plane layer and a Ground plane layer as the two internal layers, with all other circuit and component connections made on the top and bottom layers of the board. Very complex board designs may have a large number of layers to make the various connections for different voltage levels, ground connections, or for connecting the many leads on ball grid array devices and other large integrated circuit package formats.

There are usually two types of material used to construct a multilayer board. Pre-preg material is thin layers of fiberglass pre-impregnated with an adhesive, and is in sheet form, usually about .002 inches thick. Core material is similar to a very thin double sided board in that it has a dielectric material, such as epoxy fiberglass, with a copper layer deposited on each side, usually .030 thickness dielectric material with 1 ounce copper layer on each side. In a multilayer board design, there are two methods used to build up the desired number of layers. The core stack-up method, which is an older technology, uses a center layer of pre-preg material with a layer of core material above and another layer of core material below. This combination of one pre-preg layer and two core layers would make a 4 layer board.

The film stack-up method, a newer technology, would have core material as the center layer followed by layers of pre-preg and copper material built up above and below to form the final number of layers required by the board design, sort of like Dagwood building a sandwich. This method allows the manufacturer flexibility in how the board layer thicknesses are combined to meet the finished product thickness requirements by varying the number of sheets of pre-preg in each layer. Once the material layers are completed, the entire stack is subjected to heat and pressure that causes the adhesive in the pre-preg to bond the core and pre-preg layers together into a single entity.

The process of manufacturing printed circuit boards follows the steps below for most applications:

Basic Steps for Manufacturing Printed Circuit Boards:

1. Setup - the process of determining materials, processes, and requirements to meet the customer's specifications for the board design based on the Gerber file information provided with the purchase order.

2. Imaging - the process of transferring the Gerber file data for a layer onto an etch resist film that is placed on the conductive copper layer.

3. Etching - the traditional process of exposing the copper and other areas unprotected by the etch resist film to a chemical that removes the unprotected copper, leaving the protected copper pads and traces in place; newer processes use plasma/laser etching instead of chemicals to remove the copper material, allowing finer line definitions.

4. Multilayer Pressing - the process of aligning the conductive copper and insulating dielectric layers and pressing them under heat to activate the adhesive in the dielectric layers to form a solid board material.

5. Drilling - the process of drilling all of the holes for plated through applications; a second drilling process is used for holes that are not to be plated through. Information on hole location and size is contained in the drill drawing file.

6. Plating - the process of applying copper plating to the pads, traces, and drilled through holes that are to be plated through; boards are placed in an electrically charged bath of copper.

7. Second Drilling - this is required when holes are to be drilled through a copper area but the hole is not to be plated through. Avoid this process if possible because it adds cost to the finished board.

8. Masking - the process of applying a protective masking material, a solder mask, over the bare copper traces or over the copper that has had a thin layer of solder applied; the solder mask protects against environmental damage, provides insulation, protects against solder shorts, and protects traces that run between pads.

9. Finishing - the process of coating the pad areas with a thin layer of solder to prepare the board for the eventual wave soldering or reflow soldering process that will occur at a later date after the components have been placed.

10. Silk Screening - the process of applying the markings for component designations and component outlines to the board. May be applied to just the top side or to both sides if components are mounted on both top and bottom sides.

11. Routing - the process of separating multiple boards from a panel of identical boards; this process also allows cutting notches or slots into the board if required.

12. Quality Control - a visual inspection of the boards; also can be the process of inspecting wall quality for plated through holes in multilayer boards by cross-sectioning or other methods.

13. Electrical Testing - the process of checking for continuity or shorted connections on the boards by means applying a voltage between various points on the board and determining if a current flow occurs. Depending upon the board complexity, this process may require a specially designed test fixture and test program to integrate with the electrical test system used by the board manufacturer.



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Protect Your Home or Business with CCTV Security Systems

With so many reports of burglary, theft, and home invasions recently, you're probably very concerned about the safety of your home or business. There is a definite need for concern. Many homes or businesses are burglarized because they do not have a dependable security system in place.

CCTV security systems are growing in popularity for all sorts of purposes. As the need for security cameras grows, CCTV technology is also growing by leaps and bounds with new innovative features to make video surveillance more dependable than ever.

What is CCTV?

CCTV stands for "closed circuit television" and is a television system that is meant for private use only, not for public broadcast. CCTV is used for many purposes. It might be used to monitor a nanny or a caregiver for an elderly person. As an employer, you might use it to keep an eye on your employees and to monitor daily operations. CCTV can be used to observe public places by government or law officials such as parks, housing or apartment developments, and car parking garages.

Protection and Prevention with CCTV Security Systems

Using a CCTV system can dramatically reduce your risks of becoming a victim of crime. It can protect your child, your elderly loved one, your home, or your business by allowing you to observe what's going on either secretly or openly. A CCTV camera can be placed almost anywhere in any room where sufficient lighting is available. Many of the new model CCTV cameras are wireless and can be operated on batteries. There are external day/night cameras as well for surveillance outdoors.

Types of CCTV Surveillance Cameras

There are many different types of CCTV security systems available. If you want a "hidden" camera, there are miniature cameras and even CCTV cameras that resemble everyday objects, such as the pen camera, smoke alarm camera, and the clock camera. These objects appear to be normal, but actually have a CCTV camera hidden inside. There are covert wireless cameras, multiple cameras with receivers for observing a broad area, dome-covered wireless cameras, and wireless video senders.

Benefits of a DVR Security System

A DVR security system is a digital video recorder that can be used in concordance with the CCTV system. Unlike VCRs, DVRs enable you to record for many hours at the full digital quality. Also, you are able to set it for timed recordings or continuous recordings. Some unique features that you might find with a DVR system include quick replay search using date, time, or day, multiple camera recordings and display, a CD writer for backup, motion detection, remote control, and more.

With these helpful surveillance items, you can feel safe and secure at your home or business. They can be used as a deterrent to thieves or to catch them in the act. There are also other great security products for creating access control to certain areas of your home or business, vehicle security, computer and Internet security, and other uses.



http://www.website-articles.net/Article/Protect-Your-Home-or-Business-with-CCTV-Security-Systems/9277

Category 5 Cable & Category 5e Cable

In the technological world we live in today we are all interconnected through millions of cables whether they can be seen or not. What we will be looking into today is the intercal design and purpose of two special cables called Category 5 cable and category 6 cable. Category 5 cable, commonly known as Cat 5, is a twisted pair cable type designed for high signal integrity. Many such cables are unshielded but some are shielded. Category 5 has been superseded by the Category 5e specification. This type of cable is often used in structured cabling for computer networks such as Ethernet, and is also used to carry many other signals such as basic voice services, token ring, and ATM (at up to 155 Mbit/s, over short distances).
Organizations such as the Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA) and Electronic Industries Association (EIA) set specific product standards, and these guidelines have resulted in cables being classified into various categories based on their performance levels. Just in case you’re not too familiar with cabling terminology here are a few straightforward definitions and statistics on these three common grades of network cable:

Cat 5: Out of the three types of cable we’ll be discussing, Category 5 is the most basic. Cat 5 cable is available in two varieties: Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP), the type widely used in the United States, and Screened Twisted Pair (SCTP), which has shielding to provide a measure of extra protection against interference, but is rarely used outside of Europe. Cables belonging to Category 5 are either solid or stranded: Solid Cat 5 is more rigid, and the better choice if data needs to be transmitted over a long distance, while Stranded Cat 5 is very flexible and most likely to be used as patch cable. Cat 5 cable can support 10 or 100 Mbps Ethernet, and has a capability of up to 100MHz., to help you better choose the right one to fit your needs.

Cat 5e: Cat 5e (which stands for Category 5, enhanced) cable goes along the same lines as basic Cat 5, except that it fulfills higher standards of data transmission. While Cat 5 is common in existing cabling systems, Category 5e has almost entirely replaced it in new installations. Cat 5e can handle data transfer at 1000 Mbps, is suitable for Gigabit Ethernet, and experiences much lower levels of near-end crosstalk (NEXT) than Cat 5.
Both CAT-5 and CAT-5e have 100 ohm impedance and electrical characteristics supporting transmissions up to 100 MHz. The differences between CAT-5 and CAT-5e show in all aspects of performance: capacitance, frequency, resistance, attenuation, and NEXT. CAT-5e components were designed with high-speed gigabit Ethernet in mind. While CAT-5 components may function to some degree in a gigabit Ethernet, they perform below standard during high-data transfer scenarios. CAT-5e cables work with ATM and gigabit speed products. Simply, if you are using a 100Mbps switch, get CAT-5e cable instead of CAT-5.

Common Questions:

Is CAT-5e backwards compatible?
Yes it works with any 10BaseT or 100BaseT network cards and hubs.
CAT-5 is also upwardly compatible with CAT-5e, however your network throughput will only be as fast as the slowest part.

Can I run CAT-5e Ethernet cable outside?
CAT-5e cable is not rated for outdoor use; however it can generally be used without a problem. If possible, run the cable through some kind of conduit to prevent moisture or an attractive site for lightning to strike. You should be able to find gray PVC conduit suitable for cable at any hardware store. Remember, 100 Meters is your max distance, without some kind of hub, bridge or amplification.

What is the operating temp for CAT-5e cable?
Operating Temp for CAT-5e cable: -10C to 60C



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Easy Guide to Buy Digital Camcorders and DVD Camcorders

A camcorder is a portmanteau word made by combining 'Camera' and 'recorder'. A camcorder is a portable television camera and videocassette recorder. It is an electronic device for recording video images and audio onto a storage device. It contains both camera and recorder in one unit. The camcorders generally contain digital cameras. A camcorder having digital camera or digital technology is known as digital camcorder. A camcorder having dvd facility is dvd camcorder. A camcorder is powered with a camcorder battery.

Sony introduced the first camcorder in 1983, followed by Kodak in 1984. The first camcorders combined the video-camera with an existing full-size VHS/Betamax recorder. These camcorders were large devices that required a sturdy tripod or strong shoulders to stably support the camera's bulk. The majority of these were designed for right-handed operation, except a few that possessed ambidextrous ergonomics.

Sony introduced the first HandyCam camcorder in 1984. The HandyCam could be held and operated entirely within the palm of the operator's hand, made possible by the 8mm video format.

The lens, imager, and recorder are the three major components of a camcorder. The lens gathers and focuses light on the imager. The imager (usually a CCD (charge-coupled device) or CMOS sensor IC on modern camcorders; earlier examples often used vidicon tubes) converts incident light into an electrical (video) signal. Finally, the recorder encodes the video signal into a storable form. The optics and imager are commonly referred to as the camera section.

The recent times are witnessing a great revolution in the camcorders. The camcorders with ultra modern technology are in the market. The mainstream consumer market favors ease of use, portable cheap camcorders and discount camcorders.

There is a great number of websites offering bulks of info on camcorders, cheap camcorders and discount camcorders. There are numerous online sources offers camcorder articles & blogs, camcorder review, digital camcorder review, sony camcorder review, canon camcorder review, sharp camcorder review, kodak camcorder review etc. The guys planning to buy camcorder must go through these reviews and articles, before buying a camcorder.


http://www.website-articles.net/Article/Easy-Guide-to-Buy-Digital-Camcorders-and-DVD-Camcorders/6831

Are You Becoming E-Wasted?

The recent accelerating changes in electronics technology, combined with lower initial costs of ownership and planned obsolescence, have caused a high rate of turnover for all types of electronic products. The replaced electronic products and systems that were made obsolete by new technologies are creating a fast-growing problem of ever increasing amounts of obsolete electronic gear that is accumulating around the globe.

In the United States, homeowner purchases of the new space saving LCD flat screen computer monitors and the new high definition LCD, plasma, and DLP television sets have made the older cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors and television sets obsolete but very difficult to dispose of. These old style CRT type monitors and television sets usually cannot legally be tossed into the trash to be disposed of in landfills, so they end up being stored in attics, closets, in storage buildings, or in the garage at home. Most of us get a new cell phone every year or so and the old cell phones, with their batteries still installed, get tossed into a drawer at home. All of this obsolete electronic equipment is being identified by a new term, e-waste.

Business organizations can face an even more daunting e-waste situation since they may replace hundreds of desktop or laptop computers, cell phones, or printers at a time and the old units have little or no trade-in value. Many businesses have rented storage space just to have a place to stack their obsolete computer gear, printers, fax machines, and other office equipment. The National Safety Council estimates that more than 150 million obsolete PCs are gathering dust in warehouses, storerooms, and closets as they await decisions on disposal. In addition, these old units must be purged of any company related data or information that might be stored on or retrievable from the hard drives. Depending on the methodology, hard drive destruction can cost from $30 to $80 per unit in order to guarantee that no data can be retrieved from the unit.

New industries are being created to recycle old computer systems and other e-waste. If your electronic equipment is too old to be refurbished and used, or is broken beyond repair, you may send it to one of the many companies that specialize in disassembling electronics, salvaging parts, and selling reclaimed materials. Many types of electronic equipment, such as computers, monitors, printers, and scanners, contain materials that can be reclaimed and used in producing new products. These materials include plastic, glass, steel, lead, tin, aluminum, copper, gold, silver, and other metals. Both refurbishing and recycling can be very labor intensive so you may have to actually pay a company to have your obsolete electronic gear processed in addition to the shipping costs to send the obsolete equipment to them.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations governing the safe disposal of electronic equipment were finally passed into law in the European Union. The new legislation came into full effect in July of 2006 along with new requirements on the Restrictions on Hazardous Substances (RoHS). The new WEEE regulations will place a greater administrative burden on suppliers of electronic equipment to EU countries. Vendors will have to register with waste schemes and more closely track their products in order to pay for those products' eventual disposal.

Under the new law, manufacturers selling into the European Union had until March 15, 2005 to register with approved disposal schemes, and by August 13, 2005, all new equipment sold in the European Union was required to be marked with WEEE labels displaying a date code and the standard logo of a crossed-out trash bin. The RoHS directive came into full effect for the European Union on July 1, 2006 with producers taking responsibility for treating and recycling household and business waste electrical and electronic equipment. In the United Kingdom, the dates for WEEE implementation were delayed but are listed below:

January 31, 2007: Deadline for compliance schemes to apply for approval
February 28, 2007: Deadline for schemes to be approved
March 31, 2007: Deadline for producers/schemes to register
July of 2007: Full producer responsibility for WEEE begins

The WEEE directives for the European Union are setting the stage for future e-waste related debates around the globe, including this year in China, Japan, and South Korea. Similar laws and regulations to the WEEE are being considered now in the United States as Congress debates a number of e-waste management bills. All of these are currently still stalled in committee, but several states have proactively passed their own laws governing e-waste management. California was the first state to enact such legislation (Electronic Waste Recycling Act SB20), followed by Maryland, Maine and Washington.

The Toshiba Corporation has recently announced an enhancement to their recycling plan for laptop computers. Toshiba offers free recycling of all Toshiba notebooks as well as low-cost recycling options for other manufacturer laptops and consumer electronics products. Through its trade-in program, Toshiba also provides customers the opportunity to extend the life of their laptop or other consumer electronic product by trading it in for its cash value."

The Toshiba trade-in and recycling program allows you to trade-in the old technology products you have for the new cutting-edge Toshiba computer technology you want! Regardless of the brand, trade-in used consumer electronic products that still have a monetary value for a refund by mail. If the product is no longer functioning or has no trade-in value, it can be responsibly recycled for the cost of shipping. Recycling of all Toshiba notebooks is free! Whether your pocket book gets a little thicker or landfills get a little leaner, with the Toshiba Trade-in and Recycling Program, everyone wins.


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Stay Up-to-Date with Quality Cell Phones where New Product Lines are Continuously Added

Cell phones and their accessories are constantly changing and becoming more advanced. If your cell phone no longer meets your needs it might be time to look for a new one. Whatever your cell phone needs, you will be able to find the latest products online. New product lines are continuously added to offer you the best in quality products.

Cell Phone Uses

Cell phones are no longer used just to make a quick call. Many businesses use them for their main lines because they are portable and have superior reception. Text messaging has become popular with cell phone users because of the ease of use and convenience. Many new cell phones will feature cameras and video abilities to use for work or fun.

New Product Lines Are Continuously Added

Shopping online for a cell phone will impart to you the most unique selection of products and quality services. New product lines are continuously added to help you stay up to date on current products. If you are looking for a certain product you can go to your search engine and type in the key words. You will find numerous sites to look at and compare products.

There are many online malls that offer a wide variety of products and different brands. They also offer countless other products so you can do all your shopping on one site. Many offer wholesale or discount prices and make it worthwhile to check out their sites. To stay up to date and offer competitive merchandise such as cell phones, new product lines are continuously added.

Popular Cell Phones

With the heightened use of the Internet, the Skype phones have become more prevalent. With the new Netgear Skype WiFi Phone, you can make calls to anyone with a Skype phone anywhere in the world. You don't have to be connected to your PC when you have access to the WiFi network. You can even call ordinary phones for a small fee.

The Bluetooth products are popular because of their wireless features. Hands free use makes this phone ideal for active people and those who have to constantly be multi-tasked. There are assorted accessories for these phones to make it more convenient in your situation.

Find the Cell Phone You Want

Cell phones vary in price according to the features that are included. You can buy a quality phone for under a hundred dollars but can go higher for the advanced functions that you desire. Look for the online sites with a unique selection of products and quality services.

As you shop for your new cell phone, you will find many other products that are compatible with the phones. You can purchase these along with your phone and have all the components that are made to use together. Where new product lines are continuously added, you'll be able to find the cell phone that's right for you any time of the year.



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Capture all Your Daring Feats with a Helmet Camera

If you're the adventure type, helmet cameras can help you capture all those daring feats easily for motocross, flying, ATV, road racing, kayaking, skydiving, cycling, snowboarding, karting, and other adrenalin-pumping sports.

Helmet cams give you the capability to record every moment of the action without depending on an outside cameraperson. These action video cameras are popular with television and movie recordings as well as daredevil athletes, and now you can record your feats just like the pros! You can show the recording to your friends, and they can imagine being there with you on every twist and turn.

What is a Helmet Camera?

A helmet camera is a very small type of camcorder that can be attached to a protective helmet to record all the action while doing extreme sports activities. It can also be used for more relaxed sports such as fishing, golf, hiking, and biking. Helmet cameras are also called helmet cam, bullet cam or bullet camera, lipstick cam or lipstick camera (resembles a tube of lipstick), or wireless helmet camera.

A helmet camera works in conjunction with a DVR (DVD video recorder) and can be played back again and again for your enjoyment.

Benefits of Helmet Cams

Helmet cams provide hands-free recording during your extreme sports activity. This promotes safety and easy use. You won't have to worry about holding the camera or adjusting it as you go. You can concentrate on the activity and still capture all the details without distraction. Also, you can record sound with a helmet camera and narrate the activity as you go. If you're participating in an extreme sporting competition, you can record every moment as a keepsake for years to come.

Buying Helmet Cameras

When you get ready to buy a helmet camera, check online for a dependable retailer. You can always find great deals on quality lipstick cameras with all the accessories to go along. Search for helmet or bullet camera reviews to find good quality products. Also, check for sound quality, durability, and features before buying. Sometimes paying a little more is well worth it if you get a better quality helmet camera. There are affordable, high-quality cameras available online such as the Oregon Scientific ATC-2000 action adventure cam.

Tips for Using Helmet Cameras

Once you buy a helmet camera, take time to study on how to use it properly. Be sure the helmet cam has been properly secured before starting your activity. High speeds, bumps, and falls can cause the helmet camera to become lost or broken if you don't secure it properly. The camera's cable should also be secured so that it doesn't flap in the wind. Take quick breaks to check the lens to make sure it's clean if you're out on the road or in the dirt, water, or mud. Also, be sure the camera is actually recording before getting started!

During extreme sports, you can be the star every time with an amazing helmet camera!


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