Congress Seeks to Designate National Amateur Radio Operators Day

The U.S. Congress is reportedly taking steps to officially recognize the important contributions made by amateur radio operators.

According to an article on the website of the ARRL, Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (AZ) has introduced a bipartisan resolution to designate April 18, 2022 as National Amateur Radio Operators Day. April 18th is the anniversary of the founding of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) which was established in 1925…

DILBERT © 2021 Scott Adams. Used By permission of ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION. All rights reserved.

Protection of High Voltage Power Substation Control Electronics from HEMP and IEMI

An Approach Using EMC Standards

By Dr. William A. Radasky

his article describes an approach for hardening high-voltage power substation control electronics from high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) that would occur if a nuclear weapon were detonated in space. While we hope that this type of electromagnetic event never occurs, it is a possibility, and the impact on unprotected electronics and the power grids that they control could be severe. In the case of HEMP, a single high-altitude nuclear burst could expose thousands of power substations to high-frequency transients within one power cycle, creating essentially a simultaneous distributed event for which the power grid was not designed.

While the emphasis for this article will be on the protection from early-time (E1) HEMP, it will also discuss the additional efforts that can be made to protect the electronics from intentional electromagnetic interference (IEMI) produced by electromagnetic weapons. By considering both the E1 HEMP and IEMI together, we cover the main high frequency transient high-power EM (HPEM) threats that have become important in recent years.

Lightning and RF Electrical Bonding

The Origin and Application of the 2.5 mΩ Requirement

By Ken Javor

SCIF and Radio Frequency Secured Facility Design

An RF Shielding Design Guide to Navigating ICS/ICD 705 and NSA 94-106 Requirements

By Joel Kellogg

n recent years, we’ve noticed a growing confusion in the industry over sensitive compartmented information facilities (SCIF) design and performance requirements. Part 1 of this article is intended to bring some clarity to various documents and performance requirements from a radiofrequency (RF) shielding perspective to aid in the design and construction of these facilities.

Introduction to SCIF Specifications

The two most referenced documents for SCIF design are ICD/ICS‑705 Technical Specification for Construction and Management of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities.^[1] and NSA 94‑106 ^[2]. It has been our experience that these documents are often referenced interchangeably or in conjunction with each other.

In some cases, project documents will indicate that a facility has been designed to meet NSA 94‑106 as identified in ICD/ICS‑705. This is problematic as ICD/ICS‑705 does not reference NSA 94‑106, nor is ICD/ICS‑705 intended to meet the requirements set forth in NSA 94‑106. This article will analyze the purpose of ICD/ICS‑705 and NSA 94‑106 as it pertains to RF shielding and highlight some of the differences between the two standards.

Avoiding Supply Chain Disruptions of Safety-Critical Recognized Components

How a Proactive Approach Can Help Manage the Unexpected

By Jim Bender

hen the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, challenges arose in nearly every industry. Staffing levels were tested. Manufacturing output changed with little to no predictability. Demand for some products soared while others plummeted. One area severely impacted by COVID-19: global supply chains. Yet this was not the first, and certainly won’t be the last, major event to shake supply chains, where disruptions can occur for any number of reasons: natural disasters, transportation complications, cybersecurity breaches, and, of course, a pandemic.

Supply chain interruptions can lead to any number of complications. They can disrupt production and impact costs, pricing, and revenue. The potential to damage a brand’s reputation and customer/consumer relationships is also great. Yet, disruptions can happen at any time and with little or no warning. Manufacturers and product developers need to be prepared to effectively manage interruptions and their potential impact.

For most manufacturers, a preventive approach to help avoid supply chain disruptions is paramount and can be done by establishing multi-sourced suppliers to meet immediate, time- and budgetary-sensitive needs. A critical, often overlooked consideration is the identification and supply of components (including subassemblies) used in listed or certified electrical end-products. Understanding how components fit into the final product helps promote proactive supplier engagements. Knowing their application limits can also support efforts to proactively offset supply chain disruptions. And if the need to alter products arises, this knowledge will help manufacturers to make timely changes and address most certification concerns.

Evaluation of EMC Emissions and Ground Techniques on 1- and 2-layer PCBs with Power Converters

Part 2: DC/DC Converter Design with EMC Considerations

By Bogdan Adamczyk, Scott Mee, and Nick Koeller

his is the second in a series of articles devoted to the design, test, and EMC emissions evaluation of 1- and 2-layer PCBs that contain AC/DC and/or DC/DC converters and employ different ground techniques [1]. In this article, we first present a top-level schematic of an overall system and then focus on a systematic approach to a DC/DC converter design. Several EMC considerations are addressed at the schematic level, and recommended design improvements are provided to reduce the risk of failures during testing.

1. Introduction

Most hardware designs begin with a baseline schematic based on the Integrated Circuit (IC) supplier’s guidelines and application notes. These application notes show examples of how to implement the devices along with guidance on how to design and eventually translate the design into a Printed Circuit Board. The level of EMC consideration provided in the vendor design resources and datasheets of each component varies significantly and may not be comprehensive enough to ensure EMC compliance in all industries where the devices could be used. The staff at E3 Compliance will typically perform an EMC design review on designs in the early stages of development. The purpose of the design review is to identify EMC concerns or risks against the requirements and recommend design improvements to prevent EMC failures during testing. This is an important step to a successful product development process that helps streamline the pre-compliance testing where final EMC issues are detected and resolved before EMC Compliance testing.

The Relationship Between EMI/EMC and ESD

he 2020 EOS/ESD Symposium in September 2020 featured a new EMC Special Session, held on the Wednesday of the Symposium, organized in cooperation between the EMC Society and EOS/ESD Association, and featuring EMC Society leaders as well as presentations/presenters from the recently held 2020 EMC Symposium.

This Special Session was planned to emphasize relationship between EMI/EMC and ESD (how EMI and ESD can be used together, what aspects of EMI can be considered in EMC solutions, and how the different EMI-related tests relate to ESD. This session featured a set of papers, short tutorials, and an interactive expert panel discussion, providing a platform to encourage participation with the intent to continue this in the future.

These papers covered topics from investigation for improvements for the IEC 61000-4-2 standard, triboelectrification effects on spacecraft, robotic scanning to study ESD induced soft failures, and soft failures generated from system transient testing. There were also five invited tutorials covering both the IEC test methods and evaluations and EMI measurements.

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