And in the current issue of Applied Physics Letters, a group led by Haroun Ahmed at the Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory in Britain reports another vital step, a single-electron transistor that, for the first time, amplifies its input signal (though only by a factor of 3.7, several hundred times more weakly than a conventional transistor does).

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That means that not only the signal input into the amplifier is symmetrical but also the signal output and therefore the connection to the headphones.

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More signal input subsequently equals a more secure position read-out, with the elderly base system offering initial location accuracy to around 100 meters.

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Forte features a colour OLED (Organic LED) display to indicate input and output signal levels, mic preamp gain and other useful information, with stylish motion graphics giving you detailed visual information.

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The advantage of digital input is that the signal sent by the PC doesn't have to be converted to analog, so signal loss is virtually eliminated, Fender said.

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It feeds into a small computer with a video-input card that in turn sends the digitized signal via phone line to Deits' server.

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Input is just as unconventional: a Control Core turns NES-compatible gamepads into signal generators that can be used just as easily for music making as for playing.

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