EMC Symposium exits Hawaii

IEEE EMC Symposium, Hawai’i Convention Center, Honolulu, HI. www.emc2007.org.

-- Test & Measurement World, 7/13/2007 11:52:00 AM

Honolulu, HI, July 12, 2007—The 2007 IEEE EMC Symposium closed today, but not before attendees were treated to more technical information and exhibits.

Hardware demonstrations on the exhibit floor featured a presentation by Dave Arnett of Hewlett-Packard. Arnett explained a step-by-step process on filter design that starts with calculations. "Simulate your filter then build it on the bench,” he said. In the photo immediately below, Arnett (left) lets an engineer measure the output of a filter designed on the spot. In this case, the band-stop filter attenuates the 5^th harmonic of a square wave.

In a booth adjacent to Arnett’s, Daryl Beetner of the University of Missouri-Rolla demonstrated how a TEM cell (photo below) has capacitive and inductive coupling that creates voltage and currents in the cell that degrades its performance.

In the EMC test-equipment museum, consultant Dan Hoolihan introduced several founding members of the IEEE EMC Society. These founders told an audience about their early experience with EMC. Mostly, the “war stories” were military related. For example, they told of interference caused by electronic equipment on radios. They also talked about military radar systems interfering with items such as garage door openers.

The exhibit floor was once again full of products.

Antenna Research Associates (ARA) displayed EMI antennas and an EMI CISPR receiver for performing conducted and radiated emissions tests.

Credence Technologies introduced the GroundPro ground and resistance tester. This handheld instrument measures DC and AC current in ground planes and calculates resistance. It also measures voltage across ground planes, displaying it in volts or dBmV scales.

ETS-Lindgren used the Symposium to introduce a new quad ridge antenna for wireless and EMI testing. The antenna can receive signal patterns from cell-phone handsets, laptop computers, PDAs, and other devices with wireless capabilities. It comes in two versions, 300 MHz to 6 GHz and 700 MHz to 6 GHz.

Fischer Custom Communications displayed its line of high-frequency current probes and two input stabilization networks that can become part of a CISPR 22 compliance test for conducted emissions.

NEC Informatec Systems announced the release of EMI Stream V3.8 simulation software. This version includes automatic placement of capacitors in PCB designs. It then analyzes the new design and compares it to a previous design for radiation emissions.

Rohde & Schwarz introduced the ZVL vector-network analyzer with optional spectrum analyzer. This instrument combines two major functions into a single unit. It comes in 3 GHz and 6 GHz models and EMC engineers can use it to calibrate EMI chambers.

TDK RF Solutions exhibited RF absorber materials used to line the walls of anechoic chambers. The company also produces EMI antennas, chambers, and cameras for emissions and immunity testing.