everything RF recently interviewed Simon Watkins, VP of International Sales at JFW Industries. He has a BSc (Hons) Degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering and is a member of the Institute of Engineering & Technology (MIET). After graduating Simon worked on military airborne communication systems, before moving into a sales role.
Q. Could you provide a brief history of JFW Industries and share how the company has evolved over the years?
Simon Watkins: Founded in 1979 in Beech Grove, Indiana, USA, by Joetta and Fred Walker, JFW Industries Inc. is a world leader in designing and manufacturing passive RF components and application-specific test systems. These components include RF Attenuators, RF switches, and specialized RF test systems for use in the cellular, telecommunications, OEM test equipment, medical, automotive, defense, and automated test markets. Innovative new designs and a focus on customer requirements have allowed us to maintain steady growth in many key market segments. We have grown from a small start-up to a company with worldwide brand recognition for quality and service.
Q. JFW was best known for its RF Attenuators products, however, over the years the product portfolio has expanded significantly. Can you tell us about the product portfolio and which product segment within this is the largest for you?
Simon Watkins: As you mentioned our product portfolio has expanded significantly, with the largest growth being in the area of Test Systems. These systems include programmable handover systems, matrix switches, switch assemblies, mesh network test systems & special-type equipment. Markets we have supplied our systems into include cellular, telecommunication, WiFi, military communications, medical, modem testing, CATV & satellite communications. We offer a broad range of components, to complement the systems, which include switches, power dividers, programmable attenuators, fixed attenuators, manual attenuators, DC Blocks, impedance matching pads, detectors & couplers. Our initial designs were sub-1 GHz, however, we have now grown over the years to offer components & systems to 40 GHz.
Q. JFW Industries offers a wide range of Test Systems. Can you tell us more about these products and the software that controls them?
Simon Watkins: These systems include programmable handover systems, matrix switches, switch assemblies, mesh network test systems & special-type equipment. Our systems can operate from DC to 40 GHz & in addition to standard products we offer a custom design capability, with no NRE or additional engineering charge.
Our test systems are available with ethernet, serial or GPIB remote control. The remote control features easy-to-use ASCII-formatted remote commands. Many of our customers will run scripts in various formats, with Python being one of the most popular. The step attenuators can be controlled individually (set attenuator command) or as a group (block command, set block command). All test systems with Ethernet/Serial control run out latest generation 3.x.x firmware. Customers can utilize our ethernet test box to demo the 3.x.x firmware.
Some of the highlights of the firmware include:
- DHCP capable
- Multi-threaded code allows multiple users to operate and not block each other’s access.
- Ethernet properties can be set using a keypad on the front panel.
- RS-232 baud rate can be set using a keypad on the front panel.
- The Ethernet port, RS-232 port, and keypad can all be operated simultaneously.
- Up to 12 simultaneous Ethernet connections to the test system.
- UPD discovery command so that all 3.x.x test systems on your network will identify themselves.
- Remote commands now include option flags for increased functionality.
- New ESCAPE command that can be used to terminate erroneous commands (i.e. PAUSE, FADE)
- Date feature that allows for time tracking with timestamp command option flag.
Q. What is the difference between a blocking and non-blocking switch matrix? What parameters should a user evaluate when choosing a switch matrix?
Simon Watkins: JFW offers blocking and non-blocking matrix switches. They are available with 50 Ohm or 75 Ohm impedance. The Ethernet/Serial models run our latest generation firmware that features easy-to-use ASCII formatted commands. A blocking matrix is designed with RF switches on both halves of the matrix. An output port can be connected to only one input port, this blocking configuration offers low insertion loss and high port-to-port isolation. A non-blocking matrix is designed with power dividers on input ports and RF switches on output ports. An input port can be connected to multiple output ports simultaneously. The non-blocking configuration offers additional active RF paths but has higher through loss than the blocking design.
Click here to learn more about matrix switches from JFW Industries.
Blocking Matrix
Non-Blocking Matrix
Q. What are handover test systems? What sort of measurements can be performed using these systems? Can you tell us about the Handover Test Systems offered by JFW?
Simon Watkins: Handover test systems are designed for handset-to-cellular network handover software integration testing. Internal step attenuators allow the RF signal between the network access points and the handsets to be dynamically faded up/down. In addition to cellular testing, these units can also be utilized for additional applications such as Modem testing, WiFi testing & chipset testing. There are a number of different options available. These include:
- Full fan-out models provide the greatest testing flexibility with an individually controlled step attenuator on every RF path through the matrix.
- Limited fan-out models use a common highway configuration which reduces the number of internal paths and the number of attenuators.
- Manual handover models use manually controlled attenuators for simple benchtop testing.
Full fan-out
Limited fan-out
We also offer a military version of the handover system, for testing mesh networks.
Military Handover Test System
Q. JFW has a wide 75 Ohm product range. Can you tell us more about these products and where they are used?
Simon Watkins: JFW designs and manufactures 75-ohm products for customers in the CATV and satellite communications industries. As cable operators have expanded to offer high-speed data (per DOCSIS) over their hybrid fiber coaxial network (HFC) and telecommunications companies have expanded to offer internet television (IPTV), the line between cable operators and telecom companies has blurred. Different approaches to offering high-speed data and television services have created a need for 75 Ohm RF products that work higher in frequency in order to test products for all of these different communication standards.
Q. JFW specializes in designing custom RF test systems tailored to specific needs. Could you provide more details about their offerings? Additionally, what is the process and timeline for creating a custom test solution?
Simon Watkins: We are a very flexible company & our custom test solutions are extremely successful. We will either tailor an existing product or work on a customer design layout, depending on the actual requirement. Our timelines are aggressive, sometimes supplying a product in a number of weeks, with no engineering charge or minimum order quantity. A large number of our custom solutions are in use in both commercial and military environments, on a global scale. We also offer this service for components.
Q. Can you tell us more about your manufacturing facility? How do you test your products? Is all the manufacturing and testing done in-house?
Simon Watkins: Each one of our dedicated employees represents our over 40+ year commitment to providing reliable RF solutions. Beginning with an industry-renowned Customer Service Department, everyone at JFW strives for complete customer satisfaction by responding to the needs of each customer individually and providing the RF component or system that best suits that customer’s application.
JFW is an ISO-9001:2015 registered company. Our design, manufacturing and testing are all located in Indianapolis, Indiana (USA), in-house, with a European sales office located in the UK. JFW is equipped for most facets of the design, assembly, integration and testing of RF technologies.
Q. Who are your customers and where are they located? Can you tell us more about your global sales channels?
Simon Watkins: Our customers are global, with a very large network of both domestic & international representatives. We have built up this extensive network over a number of years & now have coverage in all areas. We work closely with our partners, many of which we have worked with for over 30 years.
Q. Which market segments do you cater to? Which segment is the largest for you?
Simon Watkins: We actually cater to multiple market segments, which include cellular, telecommunication, WiFi, military communications, medical, modem testing, CATV & satellite communications. The largest segment does vary year to year, depending on market conditions, but for 2024 the military market has been particularly good.
Q. What is the 3-year product roadmap for JFW industries?
Simon Watkins: We will continue to expand our components and systems portfolio, in addition to continuing to move higher in frequency. Working with our customers & partners we will also continue to maintain the high level of quality and service that JFW has become synonymous with.
