CD-ROM goes where print can't

EMCT: Electromagnetic Compatibility Tutorial, version 2.0 CD-ROM, Elliott Labs, Sunnyvale, CA ( www.elliottlabs.com ). $899.

You can find many papers, seminars, and presentations on EMC, but none go where this CD-ROM goes. Produced in cooperation with the IEEE, the EMC Tutorial (EMCT) gives you tons of practical technical information.

The EMC Tutorial uses text, graphics, and animations to show you how to design for compliance.

Each section builds on knowledge from previous screens. The author, W. Michael King, provides "sidebars" where he delves into the details of why circuits produce emissions. The diagrams show where capacitance and inductance—major emissions contributors—lurk in PCBs, cables, and enclosures. King also shows you how rerouting wires and PCB traces can reduce a product's emissions and susceptibility to outside interference.

The EMCT uses animation to show you where common-mode currents can travel in a product. You'll learn how magnetic and electric fields produce currents in enclosures and how openings in enclosures alter those fields and produce emissions.

While the EMCT is loaded with useful information, the presentation needs work. The "Introduction to EMC" section starts abruptly, for King assumes that the reader has some EMC background. The tutorial would benefit from a smoother introduction—it jumps into circuits too quickly, without setting the stage for why you need to learn about designing for EMC. King also leaves some circuit details for you to figure out. Although most engineers will figure out what King assumes, he should provide a sentence or two to move you along.

Because the animations use much of the CD's capacity, the EMCT provides very little sound. You'll find audio only in the EMCT demonstration section.

You need an Internet connection to install EMCT and use it for the first time. The connection verifies your registration and activates the program. After the first use, you can take the tutorial with you and read it anywhere.