Pre-compliance tests run in your own lab can avoid bad news when products go into formal conformity checks. DYLAN STINSON, TEKTRONIX INC. EMI regulations are in place to ensure reliability and safety for users of electrical and electronic equipment. With few exceptions, any product emitting or susceptible to electromagnetic interference must be certified for EMI […]
FAQ
Why 5G is going to over-the-air testing
Cables and connectors may become artifacts of the past for communication electronics as the world moves to 5G standards. SHERI DETOMASI, KEYSIGHT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 5G is rapidly approaching and there is a lot of talk about over-the-air (OTA) testing – that is, testing without the DUT physically connected to the test equipment. I’ve seen test […]
Infrared cameras for PCB development and diagnosis
IR cameras can help size up the surface temperatures of electronic components, PCBs, and other objects to reveal unseen problems. ALAN J. LOWNE, SAELIG CO. INC. Thermal imagers, also called infrared cameras, capture a 2-D representation of objects in front of their germanium optics (ordinary optical glass impedes IR wavelengths). They present a visible version […]
Functions and features of advanced hipot testers
Modern instruments help to check whether manufactured equipment meets the proliferating variety of international safety standards that govern factors such as grounding and the ability to withstand overvoltages. KEVIN CLARK, VITREK, INC. Electrical safety testers – often referred to as hipot testers – are an integral part of electrical and electronic equipment manufacturing. Hipot testers get […]
Gyroscopes, Part 1: Context and mechanical designs
We now take as a “given” the ability to know where we are and where we are going, and do both with accuracy and precision (and with simplicity and low cost, but these are relatively recent developments. Prior to the availability of inertial measurement systems based on gyroscopes and accelerometers, navigation was a time-consuming, difficult, […]
Network topologies, Part 2: Advanced interconnections
Part 1 of this FAQ started out with conceptually simple, widely used, and indispensable point-to-point and bus topologies often implemented using RS-232, RS-485, and Ethernet standards. These basic topologies are suitable in many situations but are inadequate as the number of nodes increases, or as other performance issues become priorities. Part 2 looks at other […]
Voice-coil actuators, Part 1: Principle basics
When designers need a modest amount of motion and power, they naturally think of a motor. That makes sense since there’s often a brushed, brushless, or stepper motor that can meet the objectives, sometimes with some necessary add-on gearing. Or they may think of a solenoid for impact-type linear motion. This FAQ looks at another […]
Understanding fiber optic measurements
Optical fiber is a highly efficient transmission medium for light. Slightly thicker than a human hair, optical fiber is manufactured by drawing out transparent plastic or glass into long strands. It is flexible, capable of bending around obstacles and being fished through small wall cavities. Light travels along straight paths unless influenced by an outside […]
Network topologies, Part 1: Basic interconnections
A network can be a simple and direct as a connection between just two points (nodes), or it can incorporate tens, hundreds, thousands and even more nodes. How these nodes are connected, how the network functions under ideal and stressed situations and traffic levels, and the key attributes of each network configuration is largely defined […]
How to measure entropy
It was once widely taught that entropy is a measure of disorder. Educators increasingly feel that the concept of entropy as disorder can be confusing. So increasingly the “disorder” explanation is giving way to the idea that entropy describes energy spreading out or dispersing. The usual ways energy spreads out is when the system increases […]