Networking Equipment – EMC Radiated Emissions Problem Solving
I had an email from a customer that I’m working on some design consultancy work with, saying that one of their prototype products was having some radiated emissions problems at an accredited lab. Could I take a look? Absolutely, EMC radiated emissions problem solving is my favourite part of the job! Ironically, it is usually […]
1% For The Planet Donations FY2018
As a member of 1% For The Planet, Unit 3 Compliance donates 1% of its yearly turnover (total sales, not profit) to environmental charities. All businesses ultimately profit from the planet so it is only fair that we give something back. For the last financial year we’ve donated to the Rainforest Trust, the Orangutan Land […]
When ESD Protection Gets Bypassed
ESD protection is essential to control the Electro-Static Discharge event from damaging sensitive circuitry within a product. But its location within the system needs to be considered carefully and is sometimes not obvious at the schematic level. I’d like to share with you a great example of this that I found whilst working on a […]
Rohde & Schwarz Demysifying EMC 2019
A fantastic day at the Rohde and Schwarz Demystifying EMC 2019 show down at Silverstone. It provided a chance to reconnect with some familiar faces and meet a whole load of new ones. R&S always put on a good event with varied content and lots of interest. I was presenting a talk entitled “From Design […]
Pocket EMC Debug Probe
Hello 🙂 If you are reading this then hopefully you are a lucky owner of a Unit 3 Compliance Pocket EMC Debug Probe and love it so much it goes everywhere with you, in your toolkit, on your keyring, or in your shirt pocket. Dazzle your colleagues*, impress your manager and baffle your children by […]
TWITL – Vibration Testing Automotive ECU
This Week In The Lab: This fuel injector controller has to withstand significant levels of vibration being mounted inside the engine bay of a high performance racing car. The manufacturer and end user can’t afford a field failure so we are giving it a literal shakedown. We are also monitoring the live performance during testing […]
TWITL – Shield Prototyping for Sensitive Detectors
This Week In The Lab: prototyping a shielding can for some sensitive detectors. The customer’s equipment contained some hazardous gas detectors. Despite a good circuit design, one of these sensors wasn’t too happy when tested at industrial 10V/m levels for radiated RF immunity. EN 50270:2015 imposes some fairly tight limits on the allowed measurement deviation […]
TWITL – Underwater Camera System Industrial EMC Testing
This Week In The Lab: a nicely engineered underwater camera and lighting system. All beautifully turned, milled and TIG welded stainless steel, this thing can go deep and withstand some rough treatment. It was seriously heavy! The exact installation environment wasn’t known. Since it was expected to be operated in harsh conditions we opted to test to […]
Apple Multi-Purpose EMC/EMI Shielding
I’ve always been impressed with Apple’s approach to reducing problems caused by EMC/EMI. Making top of the line technology in a compact case means minimising risk and maximising performance. Let’s look at an example of well considered EMC design and why it is so useful. Even the EMI shielding solutions are stylish Because their […]
Off The Shelf and Non-Compliant Power Supplies (from Amazon)
A customer had purchased some power supplies from Amazon UK to get started with the development on their product. And why not? There are lots of cheap products available and everyone has a budget to meet. The chances are that they’ll get damaged, lost or broken anyway. They were happy with the (perceived) quality of […]
