Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”. He probably wasn’t considering Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC). However, Steve Ferguson discusses how planning for EMC is vital to product design and approval as part of this event. MIL-STD-464 and MIL-STD-461 cite requirements for EMC control and test procedures as contractual requirements for funded development programs, but we often fail to recognize that these items have the same role in any electronic product design.

The control planning process guides the team from the very beginning and as trade-offs enter the process, updating the plan results in a thorough documentation of important features necessary to maintain the product throughout its operational life.

Test procedures support the verification with details about evaluating the various circuits or system components and handling issues that arise during the test phase.

Steve looks at these elements as an introduction to our day of Mil-Aero themed discussions on EMC from our speakers.

As more and more customers are looking to shed the hassle of test system development and sourcing, there has been an increased demand for turnkey solutions from the test and measurement industry. In response to this, AR has created a line of ‘Predefined’ systems designed to meet the base requirements of many of today’s most common EMC test standards. In this product demonstration, AR’s Flynn Lawrence will describe the rationale behind these systems and how they can be customized to fit your specific needs.

MIL-STD-461G release brought several changes in the calibration verification requirements. The verification or pre-test calibration process checks measurement systems and establishes limitations on applying susceptibility interference test levels. Steve will review these changes and discuss how to incorporate these requirements into your laboratory procedures and test program. His discussion identifies some pitfalls that exist when using the verification checks in place of periodic calibration for passive equipment as permitted in the current standard. Along with the technical discussion, he will examine how to use these checks in your laboratory record keeping. Laboratory personnel and managers will benefit from this event that provides an understanding of why we are doing the checks in addition to how they merge into the testing.