EMC Symposium; NIWeek 2003
Staff -- Test & Measurement World, 10/1/2003
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EMC Symposium, August 18–22, Boston, MA, www.emc2003.org .
Amplifier
Research introduced the 300T2G8 amplifier, which produces 300 W at
frequencies up to 7.5
GHz.
Amplifier Research
(www.amplifiers.com) displayed a line of solid-state amplifiers that cover the frequency ranges of 4.0 GHz to 10.6 GHz. These amplifiers, which work with sweep generators, come in a 1-W model and a 5-W model. The company also introduced a 300-W amplifier for high-power immunity testing. The model 300T2G8 provides its power over the frequency range of 2.5 GHz to 7.5 GHz. A 250-W model is also available. . . . Bantam Instruments
(www.bantaminstruments.com) demonstrated software for performing precompliance MIL-STD-461 tests. The $3900 package contains Windows software, the company's handheld spectrum analyzer, and a preamp. The software automates the precompliance tests and tracks offending emissions. It contains antenna-factor data for several ETS-Lindgren antennas, and you can enter your own factors. . . . Credence Technology
(www.credencetech.com) added a $931 EM Aware ESD monitor to its product line. The monitor uses a small antenna that detects ESD events. The monitor counts the events and measures each event's amplitude. It sends the data over an Ethernet link to a PC where software displays the measurements. The EM Aware can measure ESD discharges as low as 1 V, which makes it useful for disk-drive production environments. . . . CKC Labs
(www.ckc.com) added many features to its precompliance software that works with the National Instruments' PXI5660 signal analyzer. The software adds graphing and data recording and lets you enter a scan list. The software also helps your troubleshooting by letting you enter the distance from your EUT to your antenna. . . . W.L. Gore & Associates
(www.gore.com/electronics) introduced the Supersoft SMT EMI gasket, which uses a metallic shield over a tubular core; it can solder directly onto PCBs. Because of the gasket's size, it is compatible with pick-and-place machines and can be assembled directly onto a PCB like any other SMT component. . . . Gore also introduced the SnapShot EMI shield, a custom part that Gore will make to fit over any circuit. The SnapShot uses a metallized plastic mold with holes that let you snap the shield into place over your components. To use the shield, you design your PCB with a BGA pattern that aligns with the shield's mounting holes. If a component requires servicing, you simply remove the shield by peeling it off the PCB.
PRODUCT SAFETY ENGINEERING SOCIETY FORMED
Following the technical sessions, about 25 engineers gathered to discuss the IEEE's newest society: The Product Safety Engineering Society (PSES; www.ieee-pses.org). The IEEE board of directors approved the formation of the society on July 22, making it the first new society in nearly 20 years. EMC and safety consultant Mark Montrose provided a history of how the society came into being. Montrose and others first approached the IEEE about forming the society in 1996.
Daniece Carpenter led a discussion of how the society's board will be formed and solicited ideas from the group as to how the society should conduct business. The first conference is planned for 2004, possibly in conjunction with the 2004 EMC Symposium.
Montrose said that the PSES won't print transactions because product safety is a practical, not academic, discipline. The society will produce online newsletters and journals.
Virtual instrument hardware and software
NIWeek 2003, August 13–15, Austin, TX, www.ni.com/niweek .
At the worldwide instrumentation conference it hosts, National Instruments debuted several mixed-signal instruments based on the modular PXI platform: 100- and 50-MHz digital waveform generator/analyzers (NI PXI-6552 and PXI-6551); a 100-Msamples/s, 16-bit arbitrary waveform generator (NI PXI-5421); and a 100-Msamples/s, 14-bit high-resolution digitizer (NI PXI-5122). . . .The company also demonstrated version 3.0 of its TestStand automated test software, which includes an enhanced LabView adapter interface for instant connectivity to LabView test programs, user-interface controls for faster development of custom test system operator interfaces, and a deployment utility for deploying software to test systems worldwide. . . . The company also demonstrated versions 7.0 of its Measurement Studio and LabWindows/CVI software, and it introduced a virtual-instrument development toolkit for its LabView 7 Express. . . . Also, NI demonstrated three new data-analysis toolkits (for spectral-measurements, order-analysis, and sound-and-vibration applications) as well as its NI-DAQ 7 data-acquisition (DAQ) driver software. . . . Aeroflex (www.aeroflex.com) previewed its new suite of RF instruments for the PXI bus (see p. 47). . . . Keynote speaker Brian K. Muirhead, project manager for the Mars Pathfinder Mission at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (www.jpl.nasa.gov), described how virtual instruments afforded a "faster, better, cheaper" way to get to Mars.
