RF Cafe Christmas 2015 Crossword Puzzle
December 20, 2015

Christmastime is upon us once again, and amazingly another year is coming to an end. This marks my 57th Christmas; where has the time gone? "Tempus fugit," as the dial of my grandmother clock proclaims. In fine tradition, this week's engineering crossword puzzle has a special theme that contains a heart-felt message from all the staff here at RF Cafe (look for the asterisks). We hope you had a good 2015 and that you will have a safe and happy holiday season. Carpe diem.

Reproduction of this puzzle without the express permission of RF Cafe is prohibited.
acr. = acronym, abbr. = abbreviation, pl. = plural, wds. = words

Christmas 2015 Crossword Puzzle for December 20, 2015 - RF Cafe

Note: A standard for crossword puzzles is when all words in a clue are capitalized, the solution is the abbreviation or acronym for that clue; e.g., Alternating Current = AC.

ACROSS DOWN
1. Chemical symbol for niobium
3. 12 Across + _________ and a 17 Down + 23 Across + 31 Across from 42 Down*
9. Analog-to-Digital (abbr.)
11. One axis of an ellipse
12. _____ + 3 Across and a 17 Down + 23 Across + 31 Across from 42 Down*
13. Modem encoding method (abbr.)
16. High Data Rate
17. Two of these in a whole
18. Small representative graphic
20. Chemical symbol for argon
21. 1.602E-19 Joules
23. 12 Across + 3 Across and a 17 Down + ___ + 31 Across from 42 Down*
25. Chemical symbol for lanthanum
26. Read-only (abbr.)
27. Heat-resistant glass type
29. Object orientated programming term
31. 12 Across + 3 Across and a 17 Down + 23 Across + ____ from 42 Down*
34. 36 inches (pl.)
36. Adjusts a pot
38. RĂ¡dio Nacional de Angola (abbr.)
39. Digital storage oscilloscope (abbr.)
40. Stock symbol for Texas Instruments
41. Chemical symbol for mercury
42. Type of flip-flop
43. Weight (abbr.)
45. Chemical symbol for chromium
47. Test equipment (abbr.)
48. Chemical symbol for radium
50. Unit of admittance (pl.)
52. Leading and trailing edge frequency variation of a CW pulse
54. Describes when a synchronous motor loses phase lock
56. BS__ - the degree held by many RF Cafe visitors
57. Chemical symbol for radium
58. 3 MHz to 30 MHz
60. Morse Code for "from"
62. Small unit of capacitance (abbr.)
63. Chemical symbol for gold
65. Stock symbol for Raytheon
67. Recovers the modulation from the RF signal
70. Semiconductor device type (acr.)
72. Chemical symbol for erbium
73. Chemical symbol for iron
74. Write-Once (abbr.)
75. Chemical symbol for palladium
76. Switch position
78. Chemical symbol for erbium
79. Replaced smoke signals
84. Chemical symbol for polonium
85. Unix, Linux or Windows (abbr.)
86. Shorthand for oxygen
87. Chemical symbol for tin
89. Test point (abbr.)
90. Chemical symbol for lithium
92. He invented the triode vacuum tube (2 wds.)
93. High temperature substrate
97. Large radio telescope in Puerto Rico
101. Exponent that returns the original number
102. The design component of total product cost (abbr.)
103. One type of electron spin
104. Unit of time (abbr.)
1. Home state of Los Alamos lab (abbr.)
2. Number system of 1's and 0's
3. Engineer's blood plasma
4. Stock symbol for Harris Communications
5. Network department (abbr.)
6. Chemical symbol for terbium
7. Stock symbol for Advanced Micro Devices
8. One bit at a time
9. Strong cable coverings
10. Chemical symbol for dysprosium
14. Mass unit (abbr.)
15. Using the moon as a passive reflector to establish a signal path; moonbounce (abbr.)
16. Opposite of a LO
17. 12 Across + 3 Across and a _____ + 23 Across + 31 Across from 42 Down*
19. Front end of a rocket (pl.)
22. Variable crystal oscillator (abbr.)
23. Rechargeable battery type (abbr., pl.)
24. Hamming _____, a raised cosine function
25. Display type
28. RF computer network
30. Highest point
32. Unit of energy
33. Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (abbr.)
35. Type of flip-flop
36. Network configuration type (pl.)
37. RF connector type
41. Ham's term for self-assembled project
42. 12 Across + 3 Across and a 17 Down + 23 Across + 31 Across from __ ____*
44. Antenna capacitive element
46. Receiver/transmitter that listens for a transmission and re-transmits it
47. Part of a FOR loop
49. Chemical symbol for aluminum
51. Chemical symbol for helium
53. Band between RF and BB
55. Opposite of O.D.
57. RF design consultant in Rochester, NY
59. Kind of nuclear reaction that powers both the sun and a hydrogen bomb
61. Switch position
64. Chemical symbol for ytterbium
66. Shorthand for troposphere
68. Time delay (abbr.)
69. Chemical symbol for cobalt
71. Type of transistor (abbr., pl.)
75. Positively doped silicon
77. Mr. Bohr's first name
80. Local Oscillator (abbr.)
81. Chemical symbol for einsteinium
82. Chemical symbol for holmium
83. Shorthand for oxygen
84. Hewlett's partner
88. Collection of access points
89. Chemical symbol for thallium
91. Network department (abbr.)
94. Minutes of Use (abbr.)
95. Indium phosphide
96. Chemical symbol for neon
98. Chemical symbol for radon
99. Effective Radiated Power (abbr.)
100. World's largest yearly convention of gadget and device manufacturers (abbr.)

See solution below

 

2015 Crosswords Archive
Visit the Crossword Express website - RF CafeTake a break from the drudgery by trying your hand at some of these goodies. Every word in the RF Cafe crossword puzzles is specifically related to engineering, mathematics, and science. There are no generic backfill words like many other puzzles give you, so you'll never see a clue asking for the name of a movie star or a mountain on the Russia-China border.

All of these crossword puzzles were created using the fabulous Crossword Express (now called " Magnum Opus") software.

December 27
December 20
December 13
December 6
November 29
November 22
November 15
November 8
November 1
October 25
October 18
October 11
October 4
September 27
September 20
September 13
September 6
August 30
August 16
August 9
August 2
July 26
July 19
July 12
June 21
May 3
April 5
March 8
March 1
February 22
February 8
January 25
January 18
January 11
January 4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas 2015 Crossword Puzzle Solution for December 20, 2015 - RF Cafe