Military and aerospace EMC tests cover a wide range of products. While the standards, including limits and test methods may differ, all EMC test standards have a few things in common. The most basic are the limits for emissions and the types and levels of susceptibility testing. Emissions tests (and their associated limits) are put in place for military and aerospace … [Read more...]
Platform Interference – Measurement and Mitigation
As a consultant, I'm seeing an increasing number of manufacturers wanting to add or retrofit wireless into new or existing products. Products typically include mobile, household, industrial, scientific, and medical devices. Also, the trend toward the “Internet of Things” (IoT) or the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) adds to the problem. This transition towards "everything … [Read more...]
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Evaluation Methods of Static Control Gloves for ESD Integrity
Static Control gloves can be classified as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to reduce the risk of electrostatic discharge (ESD). There are several types of ESD Gloves: Nitrile, Vinyl, Latex, Rubber and humidity independent conductive carbon/nylon yarn gloves as illustrated in Figure 1 above. Due to an astounding rise in the number of non-compliant and suspect … [Read more...]
Get the Job Done – Pocket-Sized 20 MHz Wireless Oscilloscope
In photography, they say the best camera is the one you have with you. The same may be said for simple electronic test equipment. For example, I was recently working with a client and we needed to verify Vcc voltage on one of their boards. Not having a DMM quickly available in their lab, I pulled out a tiny DMM from my troubleshooting kit, no larger than a pack of cigarettes. … [Read more...]
Developing an In-House EMC Troubleshooting & Pre-Compliance Test Lab
While investing in your own full in-house EMC test laboratory may seem difficult to justify, most companies should be able to afford to implement some level of pre-compliance testing capability. Outside compliance test labs can cost upwards of $2,000 per day. The advantage of being able to perform some of the key tests in-house is that you can quickly determine whether your … [Read more...]
Review: EMC – Methods, Analysis, Circuits, and Measurement
Electromagnetic Compatibility - Methods, Analysis, Circuits, and Measurement, David Weston, CRC Press, 2017 (3rd edition) While I've reviewed many books on EMC, this one by David A. Weston, is the most complete in coverage yet. The 1157-page book covers not only basic and advanced theory of EMC, but includes product design, commercial and military measurement techniques, and … [Read more...]
2017 DoD E3 Program Review – After Action Report
By Brian Farmer on behalf of the DSO E3 Program Review Team After a five-year hiatus, the 2017 Department of Defense (DoD) Electromagnetic Environmental Effects (E3) Program Review was held April 3 - 7 at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, TX. Over 60 technical presentations were delivered throughout the week, three working groups were convened, 12 exhibitors displayed … [Read more...]
The Importance of Layout in ESD Suppressing Diodes
ESD protection of sensitive electronics via transient voltage suppression (TVS) diodes is becoming a common circuit technique across industries. Signal lines in a circuit that are accessible to humans by touch (such as USB, HDMI, etc.) require ESD protection on all sensitive signal lines that are input to some IC’s. Placement of the ESD protection diodes on the circuit board … [Read more...]
Measuring Common Mode Versus Differential Mode Conducted Emissions
When faced with excessive conducted emissions from switching power supplies, one of the first things to investigate and to determine the adequacy of is the power line filter. Line-powered switching supplies generally have both common mode and differential mode sections of the filter as shown in the generalized schematic in Figure 1. When using a line impedance … [Read more...]
ESD Effects of Digital ICs
One issue I see fairly often with unshielded consumer or commercial products is CPU resets during periods of immunity testing, such as during electrostatic discharge (ESD) testing. Untreated, this can lead to field failures and associated customer satisfaction issues. The remedy is usually quite simple and IC manufacturers even mention the solution, but it’s usually buried … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- …
- 71
- Next Page »
