Software Can Be a Hard Fix Based on a story told by Patrick Richardson on the “IEEE EMC War Stories,” a video memorial tribute to Donald R. Bush. The story has been transcribed and only (slightly) dramatized by Chapter Chatter. When Motorola was in the “Macintosh Clone” business in the mid-1990’s, Patrick Richardson was working to re-qualify a “Mac Clone” system that contained an all-new floppy-disk drive. Testing was going quite well until they were in the middle of ESD. When even a low-level discharge was made to the floppy drive, like 2 kV or 4 kV, the whole system went into a stone cold lock-up. Their first thought was, “we tested this system before and it passed.” However, further investigation yielded two very interesting clues. First, the ESD test on the earlier system configuration (with the ‘old’ drive) was not done thoroughly. The test technician had not discharged properly to the floppy-drive. Second, after the new floppy vendor was called in and a number of tests were run, the system was re-tested for ESD with the ‘old’ floppy drive installed. Pow! The system locked up even with the old drive installed (how embarrassing). While Patrick was dreading the cost and effort of hardening the new floppy drive for ESD, he was also pondering the previously mentioned clues. The light came on! Software. The test routine they used allowed for “retries” when there were small upsets, like ESD events. Therefore, the systems would not fail ESD tests if the data drive had small upsets. The routine would simply go back and try a couple of more times to write or retrieve the data. The “retry” routine was also something typically used by the Macintosh OS at that time. However, a small change had been made in the OS that shut down the retry routine, even in the test software. So, when the drive received a small upset, the OS saw it as a major catastrophe and locked up. After a small software code fix that allowed the “retries” to take place, the problem was solved. EMC engineers are the master solution finders of the technology world – they even fix software problems!

 

Austria
Chapter Chatter apologizes to the Austria Chapter for the omission of this report from the last two issues. It would be nice to blame the hard drive or the E-mail server, but it is most likely the direct fault of the absent minded Associate Editor.
On April 21st, 2004 the Austria Chapter, together with the Institute for Electronics of the Graz University of Technology and the Austrian Electrotechnical Association (OVE), organized the 2nd IEEE EMC Symposium in Austria. The event took place at Austria’s largest contract research enterprise ARC Seibersdorf Research. Seibersdorf Research runs an EMC Test Laboratory, which is accredited by the Austrian Ministry of Economic Affairs and performs EMC research in close cooperation with industry and university partners. At the Symposium, 10 speakers presented their research activities and talked about many different topics like lightning as disturbances, EMC at the chip-level, new kinds of ferrites, system-checks by emission measurements with ref-rads, etc. More than 70 participants attended the one-day symposium, which was sponsored by Würth Electronics, Rohde & Schwarz, UEI, Austria Microsystems AG, and the Research Institute for Integrated Circuits. During the lunch break and after the presentations, the audience had the opportunity to exchange ideas and to visit a small exhibition. Following the presentations, there was the possibility to visit the Seibersdorf EMC Test Lab. It was a great event and very much appreciated by the attendees. In 2005, the 3rd Symposium will take place at the Graz University of Technology. For information on upcoming meetings and to make plans to attend, please visit the Austrian Chapter’s website at https://ewh.ieee.org/r8/austria/Chapters/EMC/home.html

Central New England
John Clarke, Co-Chair of the Central New England Chapter, reports that they have held three meetings since the Summer 2004 issue of Chapter Chatter. The Chapter held a meeting on Wednesday, July 21. The speaker was Distinguished Lecturer Dr. Michel Ianoz of the Swiss Institute of Technology at Lausanne, Switzerland. Although their Chapter meetings are not usually held in July, it was convenient to hold this meeting when the speaker had planned to be in the Boston area. In the last 20 years, the widespread use of sensitive electronic devices has increased the interest in transients, in particular those caused by lightning (direct and /or indirect). Dr. Ianoz’ presentation covered the latest developments in modeling the electromagnetic (indirect) effects of lightning. The progress in field-to-transmission lines coupling calculations for networks permits the analysis of more complicated structures submitted to a lightning electromagnetic field. On Wednesday, September 29 a presentation was made to the Chapter by Donald N. Heirman FIEEE, NCE of Don Heirman Consultants, Lincroft, New Jersey. The speaker is Vice President for Standards of the IEEE EMC Society and President-Elect of the IEEE Standards Association. The presentation provided an EMC International Standards Update covering CISPR SC A and I activity with emphasis above 1 GHz. Manufacturers and their associated testing organizations whether internal or third party are being faced with burgeoning EMC requirements or soon to be EMC requirements, especially above 1 GHz. This has increased the level of EMC standardization activity with direct and indirect impact in this frequency and, in some cases, even below 1 GHz. The presentation discussed the proposed EMC standardization activity in two international EMC standardization organizations which are key in the deployment of new EMC standards: first, Subcommittee A (Radio-Interference Measurements and Statistical Methods) and second, Subcommittee I (EMC of Information Technology Equipment, Multimedia and Receivers) of the Special International Committee on Radio Interference (CISPR) of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). This was a joint meeting with the Northeast Product Safety Society (NPSS). On Wednesday, October 27 Distinguished Lecturer Bruce Archambeault, Ph.D of IBM, North Carolina, presented the topic: “The Ground Myth.” The term “ground” is probably the most misused and misunderstood term in EMC engineering, and in fact in all of circuit design. Ground is considered to be a zero potential region with zero resistance and zero impedance at all frequencies. This is not the case in practical high-speed designs. The speaker discussed the origin of the word
“ground”, what is meant when the term “ground” is used and how to optimize designs to achieve the overall goals.

Central Texas
The September 2004 meeting of the IEEE EMC Society, Central Texas Chapter, was held at the Cedar Park, Texas facility of ETS-Lindgren. The meeting consisted of a great dinner followed by a tour of the ETS-Lindgren facilities. Points of great interest along the tour route included the outdoor antenna test and calibration facility, and the new, CTIA approved antenna and cellular test facility. In October, the ANSI ASC C63 committees met at ETS-Lindgren over three days. The Chapter took advantage of the engineering talent in town and invited Martin Perrine of the FCC in Columbia, Maryland to give a presentation at its October meeting. After a casual pizza dinner, Mr. Perrine gave an informative presentation on “Updated SAR and HAC Requirements.” Mr. Perrine explained that over the last few years, RF exposure and hearing aid compatibility have become key items for the development of new technologies, including FCC rules. Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) has been in place for a few years as a requirement for various devices, including cell phones, but a new requirement has come out for Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC). The HAC rules involve requirements for phones to be compatible with hearing aids and this has resulted in a new standard: ANSI C63.19. Mr. Perrine was involved in both of these fields and presented on topics related to SAR and the new requirement of HAC. All in attendance appreciated having an FCC representative at the local Chapter meeting.

 

Meeting attendees at the ETS-Lindgren outdoor antenna test facility during the Central Texas EMC Chapter meeting.

Dave Staggs addressed the general meeting of the Central Texas Chapter at its October meeting.

John O’Brien of National Instruments, Central Texas Chapter Chair, in the demo room at ETS-Lindgren.

Dr. Michael Foegelle demonstrated ETS-Lindgren’s new CTIA approved test facility to members of the Central Texas Chapter.

Central Texas Chapter Chair John O’Brien of National Instruments (far left) visited with speaker Martin Perrine of the FCC (center) and Michael Foegelle at the October meeting.

The FDA sent representatives to the October ANSI ASC C63 meetings from Washington, DC who then stayed on for the Central Texas Chapter meeting, including (from left) Jon Casamento, Howard Bassen, and Jeff Silberberg.

Chicago
Frank Krozel reports that the Chicago Chapter enjoyed good weather (for this time of year) and each other’s company at a sold-out holiday social event in December at their favorite Dave & Busters restaurant. Highlights of the event included Dwayne Davis' balloons and the annual pool party. Several new people visited and enjoyed the festivities. See the local chapter website for additional information, including upcoming meeting notices at www.ewh.ieee.org/ soc/emcs/chicago/ The Chapter is going strong with well attended monthly meetings. Fall meetings included speakers Elya Joffe of KTM Project Engineering in Israel and Doug McKinnon from EmSCAN. The November meeting was a special event since the EMC Society Board of Directors was in town for their annual Fall meeting. Board member Don Sweeney and Jack Black of DLS Electronics organized the meeting at their facility and Board member Elya Joffe was the invited speaker. Over 70 people attended the meeting and appreciated the hospitality provided by Don and his staff, including his wife Marilyn who was the gracious hostess. Along with the “DLS Girls” Maxine Martin, Carol Gorowski, and Barbara Inguagiato, the lab was transformed into a gourmet restaurant complete with fall themed decorations and an excellent meal. At the conclusion of this special event, Maxine noted “A good time was had by all!” Come meet the team at the 2005 IEEE International Symposium on EMC at Navy Pier in downtown Chicago! See our website for additional information, which is updated on an ongoing basis: www.emc2005.org

Dwayne Davis enjoys a “wild” balloon art masterpiece at the Chicago Chapter holiday party.

Carla Robinson and “Mike Mackowski” make a special appearance at the Chicago Chapter holiday party.

Frank and Ida Krozel at the Chicago Chapter holiday party.

Don Sweeney models the latest in holiday fashion at the Chicago Chapter holiday party as his wife Marilyn looks on.

Brenda and Wally Pilot enjoyed the Chicago Chapter holiday party.

Jack and Michelle Black attended the Chicago Holiday party.

Yaqing Liu, Nick Karnezos, Ray Klouda, and Jerry Meyerhoff (from left) enjoy the informal networking at the Chicago Chapter holiday party.

Behind the scenes at DLS Electronics, site of the November Chicago Chapter meeting, Barbara Inguagiato, Maxine Martin, and Carol Gorowski (from left) make things happen!

There was a good turn out at the November Chicago Chapter meeting, including (from left) Chapter Chair Jack Black, Todd Hubing, Don and Marilyn Sweeney, Jack Prawica, Zorica Pantic-Tanner, Bill Stumpf, and Frank Sabath.

Jim Klouda, Don Heirman, Fred Nearing, and Norm Wehling (from left) at the November Chicago meeting. Fred is the founder of Electronic Instrument Associates while Jim is the founder of Elite Electronic Engineering, two popular companies in the greater Chicago area.

The start of the November Chicago Chapter meeting. Note the beautiful pumpkin centerpieces on the tables!

Dallas
Mark Szewczul, Chapter Chair, reports that the September 2004 meeting of the Dallas IEEE/EMC Society was held at NTS in Plano TX, on Sept 21st. The meeting was opened with the Chairman’s message at 7:00 PM. Mark mentioned the June Regional Symposium (tabletop show) and thanked the sponsors and attendees for making it a success. The details of the future meetings were mentioned and the review of the minutes from the May 2004 meeting was read. Mr. Mike Wozniak of NTS described some of the new equipment now available at NTS-Plano. This included equipment for DO-160 and MIL STD 461E. The speaker for the evening was introduced. Mr. Souifiane Bendaound of Analog Devices Inc., discussed some of the EMC and performance tradeoffs that should be considered with analog designs. In particular, susceptibility issues were presented. It was an informative program, with direct applications to those working with analog circuitry. An extensive question and answer period followed the presentation. The Dallas Chapter looks forward to a return visit from Mr. Bendaound.

Mark Szewczul, Dallas Chapter Chair, greets the attendees during their September 2004 meeting.

Mr. Souifiane Bendaound of Analog Devices Inc. delivers a presentation on “EMC in Analog Designs” to the Dallas Chapter.

An attentive audience listened to the presentation by Souifiane Bendaound at the September Dallas Chapter meeting.

Germany
The annual meeting of the IEEE German EMC Chapter took place November 17 in Frankfurt/Main. Chairman (Professor) Heyno Garbe from the University of Hanover welcomed 16 Chapter members and safely guided them through the agenda. After his opening and welcome address he briefed the members on the status of the Chapter and activities of the year 2004. Professor Garbe reported that the Chapter was quite busy in 2004. 28 events took place including 21 technical meetings, 2 conferences and 2 meetings of working groups. Everybody agreed that the EUROEM 2004, held in July 2004 at the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, was the highlight of 2004. The German EMC Chapter played an active role in the organization of this international conference by organizing a special session on susceptibility and a regional workshop on numerical field computation. The Chapter completed its engagement in Magdeburg by a well-attended Chapter Lunch with members of the Board of Directors of the EMC Society, including president Kimball Williams and past president Todd Hubing. The working group on numerical modeling contributed to the 2004 IEEE International Symposium on EMC in Santa Clara by organizing a workshop on computational benchmarking. After Professor Garbe had summarized his brief he announced that he would not run for an additional term. After six years as chair, he had the feeling that a change was desirable and on the personal side he is looking forward to being active on the Board of Directors of the EMC Society. The Chapter also elected new officers for the term January 2005 to December 2007. The executive board consists of the following: Dr. Frank Sabath (Chair), Dr. Jan-Luiken ter Haseborg (Vice Chair), Dr. Robert Kebel (Treasurer), Dr. Frank Gronwald (Secretary) and Dr. Michael Koch (Technical Activities Coordinator). Members of the newly established advisory board are Dr. Heyno Garbe (Past Chair), Dr. Stefan Dieckmann, Dr. Michael Ermel and Dipl.-Ing. Friedrich-Wilhelm Trautnitz. Finally, the annual meeting approved Dr. Hermann Singer (WG numerical modeling), Dr. Robert Kebel (WG EMC in transportation systems) and Dr. Achim Enders (WG biological effects) as working group chairs. To support EMC education and to inspire interest in EMC amongst students, the Chapter agreed to establish a student awards program. Starting with the year 2005, the German EMC Chapter awards two master theses and two PhD theses concerning EMC aspects. The call for nominations as well as details on this new program will be published in the EMC Newsletter and on the home page of the Chapter found at (www.ewh.ieee.org/r8/germany/emc). Heyno Garbe closed the annual meeting with an outlook on upcoming events, including a presentation to be given by Todd Hubing (February 2005) and a workshop on EMC in aviation systems with keynote speaker Elya Joffe (April 2005). The German IEEE EMC Chapter held a workshop on “Military Applications of High-Power Electromagnetics” at the EMC test facility of the German Armed Forces WTD 81 on December 14. Thirty people, including participants from military and industry, attended this one-day event. Professor Michael Koch of the University of Hanover, the newly elected technical activities coordinator of the German EMC Chapter, organized the technical program. The program consisted of four presentations stressing various aspects of high-power electromagnetics. Professor Koch opened the meeting with a survey of non-lethal electromagnetic weapons entitled “Non-lethal Electromagnetic Weapons”. The three following presentations covered the topics of pulse generation, special pulse radiating antennas and effects of short pulses on semiconductors. First, Helge Herlemann of the University of Hanover discussed “A Parachute Antenna for the Radiation of UWB Pulses”. Next, Sven Korte of the same institution gave a paper entitled “Effects of Transient Electromagnetic Pulses on Integrated Circuits”. Juergen Schmitz of Rheinmetall Ltd., with his presentation on the “Spectral Variability of Ultra-Wideband High-Power Microwave Sources by Generating Pulse Sequences,” completed the meeting. Many of the attendees from military branches advised that they received a lot of information they could use to estimate the threat electromagnetic weapons will represent for their equipment now and in the future. The EMC Chapter wishes to express its gratitude to Thomas Leibl, head of the EMC department of WTD 81, for organizing the meeting and providing rooms and technical equipment for the workshop.

Participants of the workshop on “Military Applications of High-Power Electromagnetics” organized by the German EMC Chapter.

Israel
Moshe Netzer, Chapter Chair, reports that the Israel Chapter held 2-day workshop on November 3-4, 2004. Numerous technical presentations were given on current, hot EMC topics. These papers included:

There was no charge for the workshop and it was well attended by 11 IEEE members and 28 guests.

Melbourne
Bruce Crain, Melbourne EMC Chapter Secretary, reports that their Chapter was very busy last Fall. On October 11, Melbourne hosted a tutorial and exhibition entitled, “The Fundamentals of EMC,” featuring Dr. Clayton R. Paul of Mercer University, Macon, Georgia. This event was held at the Hilton Rialto Place Hotel in Melbourne, Florida. Last minute scrambling was required to move it to the Hilton Rialto after our initial beachside hotel site was significantly damaged during Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne. Mike Hardiman and Denise Penziner of Brennan Associates handled the publicity and registration. Mike served as the inspiration for the Melbourne EMC Chapter to hold the event. Janet O’Neil of ETS-Lindgren handled all the hotel arrangements, recruited and managed the exhibitors, printed the program, printed signs, and coordinated with Dr. Paul.
We had an outstanding attendance at the tutorial, with 72 attendees. Half of the attendees traveled to the tutorial from outside the local area. Sixteen vendors set up tabletop exhibits and sponsored the lunch and evening reception. The Melbourne Chapter expresses our sincere appreciation to the following vendors who supported our event:

Dr. Clayton Paul did a wonderful job providing an introduction to EMC for new engineers and a refresher for the more “seasoned” engineers. It is obvious that Clayton loves teaching, and his enthusiasm for the field of EMC kept the audience completely engaged during the lecture and brought crowds of questioners during breaks and afterwards. Attendees were able to purchase discounted copies of his textbook, Introduction to Electromagnetic Compatibility, and Clayton autographed them during the evening reception. The Melbourne Section thanks everyone who made this event possible, including the attendees, exhibitors, and in particular Dr. Clayton Paul and Janet O’Neil. On a sad note, Denise Penziner passed away unexpectedly shortly after the event, leaving behind her 12-year-old son, Chris. In appreciation for Denise’s hard work to make our event such a success, the Melbourne EMC Chapter contributed a portion of our profits to a trust fund established for Chris. On October 21, riding on the coattails of our successful October 11 EMC tutorial, the Melbourne EMC Chapter held its “regular” meeting. The Chapter meeting featured Dr. Bruce Archambeault, EMC Society Distinguished Lecturer. Dr. Archambeault presented “EMI/EMC Computational Modeling for Real-World Engineering Problems.” This presentation was a real treat for engineers interested in computer modeling of EMC problems. There are a number of vendors offering EMC software simulation tools, and understanding which technique will really work best for a given set of problems is not always clear. Bruce discussed the basics of different computational electromagnetic methods used today such as FDTD, MoM, GTD, PEEC, and FEM. More importantly, he discussed the strengths and weaknesses of each method when applied to analysis of common EMC problems. He also discussed techniques for validating codes and models. Thanks to Dr. Archambeault for braving the post-hurricane clean-up conditions to travel to Melbourne and thanks to the EMC Society Board of Directors for their continued sponsorship of the Distinguished Lecturer program.

Mike Hardiman of Brennan Associates holds the bowl while James Young reads the name of the Rohde & Schwarz raffle prize winner at the Melbourne EMC Tutorial and Exhibition.

Speaker Clayton Paul drew a full house in Melbourne, Florida, despite the multiple hurricanes!

Janet O’Neil of ETS-Lindgren and Clayton Paul of Mercer University appreciated the enthusiasm of the members of the Melbourne EMC Chapter shown during the October Tutorial and Exhibition.

The Melbourne EMC Chapter and Section provided volunteers to staff the registration desk at the Melbourne EMC Tutorial and Exhibition, including (seated from left) Bruce Crain, Chris Maginsky, Jed Withers, and Ed Kirchner.

Jack Black did double duty at the Melbourne event in staffing his booth for DLS Electronics as well as the booth for the 2005 IEEE International Symposium on EMC in Chicago.

The exhibition area was a fun place to be and tweak equipment. James Young of Rohde & Schwarz is shown with Robert Shappell Jr. of Honeywell and Fred Heather of the Navy Pax River (from left).

Exhibitors Terry O’Laughlin and Don Hester of MAJR Products Corp. visited with David Stanis of WEMS Electronics (from left) during the Melbourne “tabletop show”.

Bruce Crain, one of the organizers of the Melbourne Chapter’s first ever Colloquium and Exhibition, enjoyed connecting with attendees Woodrow Corley and Terry Forsythe (from left).

EMC Society Distinguished Lecturer Dr. Bruce Archambeault of IBM presents “EMI/EMC Computational Modeling for Real-World Engineering Problems” to the Melbourne EMC Chapter.

Nanjing
Wen Xun Zhang reports that the Nanjing Chapter held two meetings in October. Professor Chang-Hong Liang, of Xidian University, gave a very helpful presentation to the Chapter on October 14. His paper was entitled, “A Novel Variational Principle for Calculation of Capacity in a Coaxial Line with Arbitrary Cross Section” and was well received by 54 attendees. On October 19, Dr. Zhi-Ning Chen of Instruments for Infocomm Research gave a great presentation to packed house of 68 attendees. His presentation on “Ultra Wideband Antennas in Wireless Technology” was a very timely and popular topic with the audience.

Oregon and SW Washington
Sidney Chan, Chapter Vice Chair, reports that the Oregon and SW Washington Chapter has been very busy with excellent Chapter meetings and a holiday social. EMC Distinguished Lecturer Thomas Jerse spoke at the October Chapter meeting. Thomas Jerse is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina and also an Associate Technical Fellow of the Boeing Company working as an EMC analyst. His presentation on “The Role of Symmetry in Producing Common-Mode Emissions” spoke to common problems that many of us encounter in our profession. In November, the Chapter had the honor of Elya Joffe coming to the Chapter meeting all the way from Israel. Elya Joffe is the Vice President for Engineering at K.T.M. Project Engineering in Kfar Sava, Israel, and works as a Senior EMC engineering specialist and consultant. Elya is a very popular speaker with many IEEE EMC Chapters and similar organizations around the globe. His presentation was on “Electrophobia, or Why are people really scared of EM Fields.” His presentation attracted our largest turnout including a number of electrical engineering students from the University of Portland. Elya spoke on a serious issue with informative slides and sense of humor. All who heard his presentation went away with a better understanding of Electrophobia and its issues. In December, the Chapter had its annual holiday social. This year, the event took place at “Who Song and Larry’s Restaurant” located on the shore of the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington. After an excellent dinner, all enjoyed a fabulous view of the annual Christmas Ship parade. The boats decorated with lights cruised by just outside the window. There was also a fun “White Elephant” gift exchange/swipe. All the couples that attended received a photo of themselves before leaving. In addition to our monthly Chapter meetings, the Oregon and SW Washington EMC Chapter and the PSTC is planning a Portland Product Compliance Colloquium and Exhibition for Monday, April 25, 2005. The Colloquium will feature EMC, Product Safety and Environmental Regulatory aspects. Todd Hubing is the featured EMC speaker. The afternoon session will be on EMC design. Todd will also present a session in the morning on either integrated circuit EMC or system level EMC. There will also be a speaker to present a session on current environmental regulatory hot topics such as the European RoHS and WEEE Directives. Information about future Chapter meetings can be found at the following web site: https://www.worldaccessnet.com/~emc/

Tom Jerse making a point during the October Oregon and SW Washington Chapter meeting.

Attendees relaxed prior to the October Oregon and SW Washington Chapter meeting.

Oregon and SW Washington Chapter members Henry Benitez (left) and Dave Britton (right) conversed with speaker Elya Joffe after the November presentation.

Speaker Elya Joffe from Israel drew a full house for the November Oregon and SW Washington Chapter meeting.

Watching the Christmas Ships cruise by during the Oregon and SW Washington Chapter Holiday Social.

There were many couples at the Oregon and SW Washington Holiday Social!

Phoenix
Glen Gassaway reports that Bill Parker spoke at the September 30 Chapter meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Bill began work as an EMC engineer at Genisco Technology Corporation in 1973. After various assignments at Genisco, he started his current EMC consulting business in 1989 and is still going strong. Bill teaches EMC seminars and provides consulting, testing, and teaching services, as well as being very active in the IEEE EMC Society. It was also interesting to hear that Bill is an avid runner, and has even participated in the LA marathon! Bill’s presentation, entitled “Down Memory Lane; 30 Years of EMI Field Testing” revolved around his vast EMI field-testing experiences. He related several “war-stories” including stories of testing in terrible conditions for long hours, on-site tests of engine-generators, motor-generators, uninterruptible power systems, as well as testing portions of larger equipment, such as a Navy submarine, and even the Space Shuttle Challenger! He took us ‘down memory lane’ by showing us photos of older EMI test equipment, bringing back the good old days for us old-timers. He told us of his exploits in his test equipment van and how to be fully equipped for an upcoming field test. Bill had too many stories to list in this article, which could never do them justice - you just have to hear them for yourself! Bill concluded his presentation with a discussion of significant lessons learned throughout the years, for example: using a flashlight, headphones, and a cheap AM/FM radio on a stick as a diagnostic tool for evaluating chamber shielding effectiveness. Harry Gaul reports that the November 20 meeting included a talk given by David Lee, the Compliance Test Manager for M. Flom Associates in Chandler, Arizona. In this talk entitled “Demystifying the Process for Certifying Low Power Transmitters,” David Lee focused on the rules and processes for certifying low power transmitters for the FCC, Industry Canada, and the CE Mark (ETSI) requirements. Dave pointed out that the 47CFR Part 2 contains all of the “gotchas”, i.e., the rules and core tests which are then modified by the other parts such as Part 15. He also pointed out that Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) testing often requires performing the tests across all the accessories such as antennas and batteries, and can therefore become quite expensive. Dave stated that the 47CFR rules are quite intertwined; especially 15.247 for frequency hopping and direct sequence spread spectrum radios. The RS210 document for Industry Canada is roughly equivalent to the FCC Part 15 and Part 18. He also said humorously that the EU is a collection of feudal warring states especially when it comes to the harmonization of frequency bands. Finally, Mr. Lee projected that the FCC rules may incorporate immunity tests in the not-too-distant future. Information on future meetings is available on the Phoenix EMC Chapter Web site at https://www.ewh.ieee.org/r6/phoenix/phoenixemc/.

The Phoenix Chapter hosted David Lee of M. Flom Associates at their November meeting. David (seated fourth from left on opposite side of table) spoke on “Demystifying the Process for Certifying Low Power Transmitters.”

Bill Parker provided some valuable pointers and lessons learned to the Phoenix Chapter for on-site EMC testing and investigation.

Santa Clara Valley
Darryl Ray reports the Santa Clara Valley Chapter resumed its monthly meetings after taking a recess from May through September. This time, however, the recess included hosting the 2004 EMC symposium in Santa Clara. In September, the Chapter held its traditional social and planning meeting. Complementary food and drinks were provided. This informal gathering was held at Applied Materials in Santa Clara. As expected, the mood was upbeat as the locals were still jazzed about the outcome of the EMC symposium. Lots of smiles and handshakes were observed that night. The October Meeting featured Mark Briggs of Elliott Laboratories. The topic was entitled “Managing a Professional Quality Compliance Laboratory”. Mark reviewed the various aspects of setting up and running a modern EMC lab. Significant challenges were discussed such as the extensive (and very expensive) equipment calibration, lab accreditation, staff training and keeping up with the changes for the many EMC standards that a commercial lab needs to follow. In November, Tom Cokenias (Independent Consultant and former Santa Clara Valley Chapter Chair) presented “Networking over Power Lines: EMC Considerations” also known as Broadband Over Power lines or BPL. Tom gave an interesting presentation outlining the basic technology planned for BPL. Also discussed were the FCC requirements regulating the use of this new technology. November was also election month. The following officers were elected for next season: Bert Chan (Chapter Chair), Hans Mellberg (Vice Chair), Dale Gutierrez (Treasurer) and Oscar Fallah (Secretary). The December meeting featured David Seabury from ETS-Lindgren on a talk entitled “A Review of FCC RF Exposure Requirements for MPE, SAR & HAC.” The presentation covered the background of RF exposure standards leading up to the FCC enactment of current requirements contained under OET65. The OSHA relationship for Maximum Permissible Exposure limits was explained along with its implication to non-license holders. FCC OET65 Supplement C 01-01 for SAR was reviewed and the current scope of FCC reviews including new technologies and products was presented. Also covered were a review of the new IEEE STD 1528:2003, the harmonized IEC 62209, and the future work of 62209 Part II. The presentation concluded with a short discussion on the new FCC HAC guidance (ANSI C63.19) and the impact on handset requirements.

Seattle
The Seattle EMC Chapter’s October meeting featured a presentation by EMCS Distinguished Lecturer Tom Jerse of The Citadel. His presentation on “The Role of Symmetry in Producing Common-Mode Emissions” was very enlightening. He led an excellent discussion on the problems of common mode noise generation from imbalanced circuit layouts and designs. The meeting was held at CKC Labs in Redmond. Chapter Chair Pat André noted that several chapter members approached him after the meeting to tell him how much they learned from and appreciated Tom’s presentation. In November, Elya Joffe of KTL Project Engineering in Israel gave a presentation on Electrophobia at the Redmond Marriott Town Center Hotel. Why are people really scared of Electromagnetic Fields (EMF)? Some 40 Chapter members and guests learned that some common claims against EMF include: “Standards for limiting dangerous exposure were prepared by biased parties”, “Standards consider thermal effects only, whereas, many a-thermal effects, including cancer, are not considered”, “Well known, respectable scientists do not exclude connection between EMR and cancer”, “Prudent Avoidance - better be safe than sorry.” The presentation shed light on the issue of “Electrophobia”. It discussed the history of EMF usage, the evolution of EMR standards, from the turn of the 20th century to date, and the evolution of the public response to the EMF and its usage. While it covered only technically acceptable figures, statistics etc., it addressed this controversial issue from a users’ point of view, addressing the sources of fear, the facts and fallacies, and the risk in… risk research. The audience at this Chapter meeting was very diverse. Many new companies, associations, utilities, and universities in the area were represented. For more information on the activities of the Seattle EMC Chapter, please visit the IEEE Seattle Section website at www.ieee-seattle.org.

Speaker Tom Jerse explains a point in the background while Seattle Chapter members visit after the October meeting.

Tom Jerse relaxes after a well-done presentation. Many Seattle Chapter members asked about having him return for a future meeting!

Speaker Elya Joffe provides food for thought after a nice dinner at the Marriott Hotel, site of the October Seattle Chapter meeting.

SE Michigan
Scott Lytle of the SE Michigan EMC Chapter reported on the IEEE Section Fall 2004 Conference. He served again as the registrar. 169 people registered for the conference. Student activities are an important part of the SE Michigan Chapter. On November 15, members of the IEEE Student Chapter from the University of Michigan at Dearborn were taken on a tour of the Yazaki EMC Laboratory. Scott Lytle of Yazaki North America cheerfully led the tour! Note he included his sons on the tour; future EMC engineers perhaps?

Attendees at the SE Michigan IEEE Fall Conference on November 10 included (from left) IEEE students David Ostberg and Theresa Iuliani-Thimm from Lawrence Technology University, Iasha Yousuf from the University of Michigan and Scott Lytle of Yazaki North America.

The University of Michigan at Dearborn IEEE Student Chapter conducted a tour of the Yazaki EMC Laboratory in November. Aaron Theriault, Emily Limchoa, Paul McGuire, Craig Lytle, Scott Lytle Jr., Teresa Sevonty, Shefali Bhavsar, Scott Lytle Sr., and Dennis Breton (from left), all participated on the informative tour.

The Yazaki EMC Laboratory tour included a visit to their reverberation and anechoic test chambers. Shefali Bhavsar, Iasha Yousuf, Teresa Sevonty, Paul McGuire, Craig Lytle, Emily Limchoa, Dennis Breton, Scott Lytle Jr., and Aaron Theriault (from left) appreciated the quiet environment!

Spain
The new Spanish Chapter organized its autumn meeting on September 17 at the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), in Terrassa (Barcelona). During the meeting, there was the election of Spanish Chapter Officers, which is now chaired by Dr. Ferran Silva. The Chapter organized a one-day workshop about “EMC and Disturbances in the Electrical Network”. Professor Michel Ianoz, from the Ècole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, was invited as a Distinguished Lecturer of IEEE EMC Society. The subject of Dr. Ianoz’ presentation was “EMC Problems Related to Transient Phenomena in Power Network Substations.” Professor Ianoz outlined a detailed report of problems associated with EMC in electronic systems working in electrical substations with significant data recorded since 1990 and also on recent measurement campaigns. 50 people, including IEEE EMC Society members and EMC engineers from numerous Spanish companies, attended the meeting. EMC

Professor Ianoz presented a well-received lecture to the new Spanish Chapter in September.

Professor Michel Ianoz is shown with the new Spanish EMC Chapter Officers at the September Chapter meeting, including (from left) Miquel Ribó, Josep Balcells, Michel Ianoz, Ferran Silva and Juan V. Balbastre.

 

 

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