EMC Society Newsletter Articles
50–25–10 Years Ago

Fifty Years Ago – May 1961 – Newsletter
Number 16 Institute of Radio Engineers
(IRE) – Professional Group on Radio
Frequency Interference
The cover story of this issue highlighted the officers of the Professional Group on Radio Frequency Interference (PGRFI). They included Harold Dinger as Chairman, Rexford Daniels as Vice-Chairman, Zigmund Grobowski as Secretary, and Herman Garlan as Treasurer. Other members of the Administrative Committee included Robert Fairweather, Leonard Milton, Otmar Schreiber, Leonard Thomas, John Egli, Hal Gauper, Richard Schulz, Sam Burruano, Henry Randall, Ralph Showers, and William Pakala.
    Page 2 of the Newsletter had a short announcement titled “Don White Associates Formed in Bethesda, Maryland.” The article went on to say “Donald R. J. White, formerly vice-president of Frederick Research Corporation, has formed his own technical consulting firm under the name of Don White Associates at 7306 Honeywell Lane, Bethesda, Maryland. The new firm specializes in the solution of system problems associated with increasingly complex military and industrial plans and operations and will emphasize radio frequency interference prediction and control. Jack McShulskis, also formerly of Frederick Research Corp., is associated with the above firm.
    A second article on Page 2 was titled “FCC Amends Part 18.” It stated “Effective April 30, 1961; Form 724 – Certificate of Compliance – Industrial, Scientific, and Medical Equipment; is approved for use in certifying ISM equipment and Part 18 – Industrial, Scientific, and Medical Service is thereby amended. Form 724 is available from the Commission’s office in Washington, DC or from any of its Engineering Field Offices.
    Outstanding changes included the following: “The certification required in Part III of FCC Form 724 shall be executed by an engineer skilled in making and interpreting field strength measurements. The Commission may require such engineers to furnish proof of their qualifications.”
    Another article in the Newsletter was titled “New Empire Devices, Inc. Products.” The article went on to say “Empire Devices, Inc., Amsterdam, New York, very kindly listed, at the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) show, their new products for Radio Frequency Interference control. The products included (1) Tuning Unit, 14 KC to 150 KC, Cat. No. T-X/NF-105, (2) Corner Reflector Antenna, Model RD-105, (3) Rejection filters from150 KC to 400 MC, (4) Clamp-On Probe, Model CP-105, (5) Antenna, a single log periodic antenna to be used to cover the entire frequency range from 1.0 to 10.0 KMC, (6) Standard Antenna Set, Model SA-301 10 KC to 30 MC, Correlation with National Bureau of Standards (NBS) standard field to within 1% of any frequency in the above frequency range, and (7) Attenuator Selection Chart showing average power dissipation from Direct Current to 10 KMC of 1 to 50 watts.
    The Editor of the Newsletter was Rexford Daniels.

25 Years Ago – IEEE Electromagnetic
Compatibility Society Newsletter –
Issue No. 129 – Spring 1986
“A Message from San Diego – EMC/1986” was the lead story in the Newsletter. It went on to say “The 1986 EMC Symposium promises to be the most significant EMC technology event of the year. The technical program is being coordinated by Ed Skomal and Joe Fischer. The Exhibits chairman is Jerry Rothhammer. The Arrangements chairman is Bill Johnson. The Chairman was Herb Mertel and the Vice-Chairman was George Ufen. The symposium will be held at the San Diego Town & Country Convention Center.”
    The Newsletter contained a report on the Board of Directors meeting held in Anaheim, California on February 5, 1986. Newly-elected officers included Len Carlson as President, Donald Clark as Vice-President, L. Gilda Haskins as Secretary, and Dick Ford as Treasurer. Technical Directors were Bob Haislmaier for Communication Services, Fred Nichols for Member Services, Ed Bronaugh for Technical Services and Bob Brook for Professional Services.
    There was a one-page obituary notice for William Elmer Pakala, 1901–1985. He was a Founder of the IRE Professional Group on Radio Frequency Interference (the precursor to the IEEE EMC Society), a Life Fellow of the IEEE, and a member of the Board of Directors of the EMC Society from 1959–1964.
    The EMC personality profiled was Leonard Carlson and the Personality Profile Associate Editor was William G. Duff.
    The practical paper in the Newsletter was written by Anatoly Tsaliovich and was titled “LISN Design Affects Low-Frequency Conducted Emission Measurement Results.” Anatoly worked for AT&T Information Systems in Holmdel, New Jersey. The summary and recommendations of the article were:

1. When performing conducted emission testing per VDE regulations, it may be necessary to apply a correction factor to account for the insertion loss of the LISN coupling circuit in the frequency range below 150 kHz.
   
2. The correction factor value depends on the values of coupling capacitors used in the LISN coupling network design. The frequency characteristics of the correction factor may be calculated using the formulas (1), (3), and (4).
   
3. In some LISN designs, a special coupling network is used, which makes the use of a correction factor unnecessary. The EMC measurement engineer should verify if any corrections are needed when making CE tests below 150 kHz. A review of the LISN manufacturer’s schematic should provide the necessary information with which to base such a judgment. A check with the appropriate regulatory agency is also suggested.
   The Editor of the Newsletter was Bob Goldblum.
   

Ten Years Ago – IEEE EMC Society Newsletter –
Issue No. 189 – Spring 2001
“Special IEEE EMC Society Workshop Addresses Measurements Above 1 GHz and Associated Uncertainty” by Michael J. Windler was the cover story article for this issue of the Newsletter. The article explained the various topics that were covered by the special Workshop, sponsored by the IEEE EMC Society, at the 14th International Zurich Symposium and Technical Exposition on EMC held on February 20–22, 2001. A picture on the front page displayed the distinguished speakers including Dr. Pierre Beeckman, Dennis Camell, Ed Bronaugh, Ghery Pettit, Bob Johnk, Don Heirman, and Michael Windler.
    The Chapter Chatter Associate Editor, Todd Hubing, resigned in this issue after 35 articles over a period of nine years. After starting every sentence in the first paragraph of his “good-by” column with an “I” – he concludes “In rare cases, writers on the edge of sanity have been known to begin every sentence with the same letter. I need to quit before I reach that stage.” His farewell column includes a one-act, two-scene play that wraps up his clever column for this issue and concludes his service to the Society as Associate Editor for the Chapter Chatter column as he moves on to the next “stage” of his life.
    The Newsletter also highlighted the passing of Al Parker, a well-known EMC Society member, at the age of 87. In the 1940s and 1950s, he designed Radio Interference and Field Intensity Receivers for Stoddart Aircraft Radio Company under a series of Navy contracts. In 1957, he was one of the original Founders of the Professional Group on Radio Frequency Interference in the Institute of Radio Engineers. In 1960, he formed his own company, Solar Electronics, which designed and manufactured ancillary equipment for EMC laboratories such as spike generators, audio sources, LISNs and similar equipment. He also designed a “dB Clock” that clearly showed the relationship between dBs and linear numbers. He guaranteed that the clock (which had no electronic parts) was “EMI-free!”
    The Personality Profile was done on Salvatore Celozzi from Italy. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Rome “La Sapienza.” His doctor’s thesis was on the direct time-domain analysis of multiconductor line networks. He has been an IEEE member since 1991 and he was an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility from 1995–2000. The Personality Profile Associate Editor was Bill Duff.
    Peter Staecker, Division IV Director, had an article in the Newsletter titled “Comments on the IEEE Fiscal State of Affairs.” This article was needed in order to understand the fact that the IEEE incurred a deficit of 10.9 Million Dollars in Calendar Year 2000, primarily because of the stock market downturn. The deficit was covered by transferring money from the reserves of the Societies and Councils of the IEEE.
    The Editor of the Newsletter was Janet O’Neil.                           EMC