Elite Web Series Almost Here!!

The premier of Elite’s new web series, Ask An Engineer, is almost here! Featuring Elite’s veteran EMC test engineer, Stan Dolecki, Ask An Engineer gives you the rare opportunity to ask your technical questions and get an answer straight from the expert himself! Ask him anything – just make sure it’s topical and related to EMC and the tech industry.

To get your questions answered on an episode, follow us on twitter and send them to @EmcElite.

Stay tuned for more on this brand new show and feel free to call in any questions to our AAE directors, Ian and Dayne, at 630-495-9770.

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You!  

 

Redefining Radio Equipment & Spectrum Efficiency

R&TTE Directive Updates From NIST in Dublin

With a productive meeting this past May in Dublin, the EU Commission’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) Committee drafted several proposed changes to the Radio Equipment Directive proposal (dated 10/27/2012).  

Please look below for some quick background on the report and a summary of the key drafted changes.

4 things you need to know about R&TTE before considering the proposed changes:

1)     This report urges the revision of Directive 1999/5/EC on radio equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment and the mutual recognition of their conformity1 (R&TTE Directive) and is closely related to the implementation of the New Legislative Framework (NLF) adopted in 2008 as "the goods package".

2)     The R&TTE Directive establishes a framework for the putting on the market, free movement and putting into service in the EU of radio equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment.

3)    The Directive includes essential requirements for:
       a)      The protection of health and safety
       b)      The protection of electromagnetic compatibility
       c)      The avoidance of harmful interference

4)    The recent unprecedented growth in mobile devices

       and wireless applications... 
       a)      Creates risks of interference between the various 

                products
       b)      Necessitates efficient use of the radio spectrum is 

                 essential

 (Referencing the Doc: PE510.528v01-00)

The main objectives to the draft proposal are: 

• To improve the level of compliance with the requirements in the Directive, and to increase the confidence of all stakeholders in the regulatory framework;

• To clarify and simplify the Directive, including some limited adaptations of scope, so as to facilitate its application and eliminate unnecessary burden for economic operators and public authorities.

Some important changes - from our NIST representative (R. Saar):
1)   Revised definition of “Radio Equipment” (and the Scope of the Directive):

‘radio equipment’ means a product which intentionally emits or receives radio waves for communication, or a product which must be completed with an accessory, such as antenna, so as to emit or receive radio waves for communication
 
Specifically, (1) receivers have been added back in to the Scope, and (2) equipment that does not communicate has been taken out of the Scope.

2)   Deletion of text related to the proposed equipment registration system.

For further details on the review of the R&TTE Directive, please contact Dan Crowder (decrowder@elitetest.com) and consult the following link:
  http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/rtte/documents/legislation/review/index_en.htm

CISPR 12 vs. CISPR 25 - Deciphering Standard Applications

Today's Elite Expert is Craig Fanning, our EMC Lab Manager and US National Committee Technical Advisor for CISPR-D. Read below to see what he has for us this week. 

Knowing which standard to use is very important when selecting a test method for evaluating a product. When selecting a specification, the user needs to take into consideration the purpose of the standard. A good example is CISPR 12 and CISPR 25. Both CISPR 12 and CISPR 25 include radiated emissions measurements for vehicles. However, there are a few fundamental differences that the user should take into consideration when determining which standard to use for vehicle emissions measurements.

The radiated emissions measurements of CISPR 12 are performed for the protection of off-board receivers. As an example, this test is done to assure that receivers are not affected when the vehicle drives them. This is very important when the vehicle drives past houses in a city (which are typically closer to the roadway). The radiated emissions measurements of CISPR 25 Clause 5 are performed for the protection of on-board receivers. This test measures the RF interference that is generated by the vehicle and then picked up by vehicle mounted antennas (such as the AM/FM radio or GPS antenna). This is a “RF Terminal” noise voltage measurement that is made at the point where the antenna would connect to the vehicle mounted receiver (such as the AM/FM Radio or Navigation System).

Another thing to consider is regulatory vs. engineering testing. CISPR 12 is used as a regulatory standard by many countries. CISPR 25 is an engineering standard that is used mainly by vehicle manufacturers and not for regulatory purposes. As a quick recap, the next time you are trying to figure out which test to perform when radiated emissions from a vehicle is the concern, ask yourself a couple of questions:

• Question #1 - What are we trying to protect (off-board or on-board receivers)? 
• Question #2 - Are we doing this for regulatory or engineering purposes?

Once those questions are answered, you will know if CISPR 12 or CISPR 25 (or both) are applicable.

Do you have any questions about CISPR Test Applications, EMC Standards, or other related topics? Please share your comments or questions below and our expert, Craig Fanning, will get back to you ASAP. 

Craig recently guest-presented a webinar, "EMC for Vehicles: Truly Mobile Electronics", with Washington Labs on Thursday, August 15, 2013.  Please follow the link if you would be interested in learning more about other learning opportunities. 

EMC in the Mile High City - Symposium Survival Tips

Our contributor this week is Stacey Klouda--your friendly, neighborhood Content Curator and Marketing Specialist at Elite.  Stacey is one of the newest additions to the Elite team, although she's no stranger to the company or to the field of EMC.  After a year of traversing the trade show circuit, navigating the streams of  B2B/B2C social media, and learning the ropes of a business that's in her blood, she has a couple things to share. Look below for a few tips she's gotten from the seasoned Symposium crew around Elite and elsewhere.

As Elite gears up for one of the biggest events in EMC all year, I can't help but wonder at what's really in store for symposium attendees and exhibitors in Denver next week.  The IEEE EMC International Symposium draws engineering professionals from a wide spectrum (pardon the pun) of industries, and it focuses on better understanding electromagnetic compatibility and its varied applications.

For example during the Symposium our EMC Lab Manager, Craig Fanning, and our President & Sr EMC Engineer Ray Klouda will be taking in workshops, technical sessions, and meeting with exhibitors.  During the week they will participate in formal and informal discussions/meetings to better understand regulations, standards and test technology.  But they will also be providing meaningful input and technical suggestions to committees, technical liaisons, and chairpersons and give guidance on the development of test methods and regulatory compliance with the lab perspective and in mind.  

One of the important meetings they will attend is GEIA G-46 EMC Subcommittee Meeting.  At this conference meeting, our guys will hear DoD experts present information on MIL-STD-461G, MIL-HDBKs, NASA E3 activities, and other relevant topics.  This Tuesday afternoon event is an important meeting which provides a conduit of technical information to Elite.  In fact, we have chosen to co-sponsors this event for the past four years because of the quality and importance of information to Symposium goers. 

Bottom line…. There’s plenty to do at the 2013 Symposium.   But how do you find out about things going on?    Of course, the official program, magazine guides, and event website provide a lot of great information on talk schedules, venues, things to do, and tons more. How much do we know actually about the city that we will be taking by force on Sunday?  And is there anything that I'm missing?  This got me thinking...and asking around. So for your reading pleasure, here are a few tidbits to keep in mind to get the most out of your EMC adventures in the Mile High City:

"Drink plenty of water!" -- Danny Odom, 2013 Symposium Chair, on how to prepare for the change in altitude.

"Be sure to take some time to walk around the Exhibit Hall and don't miss the demonstrations--they're a great opportunity to see EMC in action" -- Ray Klouda, Elite's President and long-time Symposium attendee.

"It's a great opportunity to see suppliers working with the Military Group responsible for the development of G-46" -- Craig Fanning, discussing the GEIA G-46 EMC Subcommittee Meeting.

Surprising Denver/Colorado Laws to Watch Out For*:

-It is unlawful to lend your vacuum cleaner to your next door neighbor.
-It is illegal to mistreat rats in Denver, Colorado.
-You may not drive a black car on Sundays.
-It is illegal to ride a horse while under the influence.
 
Some Helpful Links and Apps:

The IEEE EMC International Symposium 2013 Site: http://www.emc2013.org/ -- The go-to place for symposium info and updates complete with a personal scheduler, final program, and everything you'd need for a successful show.

The City of Denver's Offical Site: http://www.denvergov.org/ -- There's a lot of good info, news, and help here and interesting "How-To" videos on all things Denver-related.

The Official Visitor to Denver, Colorado App: http://www.denver.org/ (Accessed through smart phone or tablet) -- Features things like "Denver Dares" and provides a handy way to look up things on the go, but be careful when it comes to the coupons or deals because you might have to print them out.

Now this is not by any means an exhaustive list.  Personally, I'd like do a couple loops around the expo, find a few talks and demos that look interesting so that I can plan my day out, enjoy a few brewery tours, and just soak up the mountain air.  I encourage everyone to check out the Symposium themselves and please tell me what you might have liked to know before the show in the comments below.  Thank you and hope to see you at Booth 718 starting on Monday!

Sources: *http://www.ahajokes.com/colorado_jokes.html
See the links above and thank you to anyone who contributed their insights! 

Understanding Product Certification Relating to ISO/IEC 17065

This week's Elite Expert is Dan Crowder. With us since 1989, Dan is Elite's Certification Department Supervisor, FCC/CE Mark Team Leader, iNarte® Certified EMC Engineer, and one of our Sr. EMC Engineers. His areas of expertise include transmitter certification and testing for US and foreign markets, FCC testing and regulations, CE Marking, and international compliance regulations. As an internal auditor for Elite’s quality assurance team, he assists with the administration of Elite’s ISO 17025 quality system and ISO Guide 65 certification systems.  Finally, Dan is actively involved in transmitter standards development--including ANSI C63.10 and ANSI C63.26, the Telecommunication Certification Body Council, and the IEEE EMC Society. Read below to see what he has for us today.

 

The purpose of ISO/IEC 17065 is for conformity assessment or the certification of products, processes and/or services. More than any other type of conformity assessment activity, product/process/service certification is primarily focused on the establishment of confidence in the certified products, processes or services. The users of goods and services that carry formal certification marks are much less interested in the process of certification than in its results. 

Overview of certification:

ISO/IEC 17065 articulates the process of certification to contain the 5 steps pictured below. These five steps underpin all certification processes and therefore, the management system that supports them (in ISO/IEC 17065) is geared towards allowing the certification body to issue certificates that enhance trust in the safety and performance of the products examined.

Understanding Impartiality:

The concept of impartiality is the following: decisions made for certification are based solely on the defined merits or criteria related to the object of certification (product, service or process), or its operation, or some other aspect related to it. Only those things can be used in the certification decision – nothing else, and certainly nothing related to the decision maker. 

Conflict of interest is the notion that something other than those defined merits or criteria are influencing the decisions related to that thing. People or organizations are deemed to be in conflict of interest when they are associated with any condition or organization that might have an interest in influencing the outcome of the decisions. Rock solid demonstrations of impartiality require the CB to ensure that its own staff are not involved in any aspect of ownership, design, manufacture, or other relationship as regards the object of certification or its manufacturer / supplier. It requires that all sub-contracted organizations that participate in the evaluation processes also are visibly free of such conflicts. ISO/IEC 17065, cl 7.6.2 requires that all persons involved in the review and decision must be independent of the evaluation.

Do you have any questions about certification or other related topics? Share your comments or questions below and our expert, Dan Crowder, will get back to you.

Evaluating & Designing Around Specification Requirements

This week's Elite Expert is Craig Fanning. Elite's EMC Lab Manager since 1995 and one of our Sr. EMC Engineers, Craig has overseen scores of test projects over the past 27 years with the company. He is also an iNARTE Certified EMC Laboratory Engineer and author of several papers for the IEEE EMC Symposium.  Finally, as a member of SAE EMI and EMR Committees, as well as a US National Committee technical advisor for CISPR-D, our EMC Lab Manager undoubtedly likes to stay active in the EMC community. Read below to see what he has for us today.

Nothing is worse than going to the EMC lab and failing an emission test. This is especially true when you figure out that an operating frequency of the Device Under Test (DUT), that you designed, is causing excessive emissions within a frequency band which has a low limit. We see this time and time again in the test laboratory.

The best way to prevent this from happening is to evaluate the specification requirements before you start picking out clock frequencies and communication rates. If you look at the specification limits before you design, or during the design phase, you can determine frequencies that you should stay away from. Don’t select operating frequencies that fall into frequency bands with low emissions limits. Also look at the harmonic frequencies (especially the odd harmonics of the operating frequency) to see if a harmonic will fall into a frequency band with low limits. If possible, pick operating frequencies that fall into frequency bands with higher emissions limits.

Many times communications rates can be adjusted through firmware. This is something that can be in your “bag of tricks” when designing the product and/or troubleshooting a failure. When it comes to designing for good EMC performance…review and design to the specification. If you do, this will save a lot of future headaches and re-design costs.

Do you have any questions about CISPR Emissions Testing, Design, or other related topics? Share your comments or questions below and our expert, Craig Fanning, will get back to you. 

Craig is also guest-presenting a webinar, "EMC for Vehicles: Truly Mobile Electronics", with Washington Labs on Thursday, August 15, 2013.  Please follow the link if you would be interested in learning more.