Build Compliant Electronics

It is just never about EMC Hi Reader, EMC is a big topic, but it not the only one that can stop you from selling your device. Yes, you read it right. EMC is just ONE of the areas. There is also safety. Unfortunately, there are some interdependencies Modifications to pass safety tests can impact EMC and viceversa An example of it: leakage current and conducted emissions The leakage current is the current that can flow from your system to earth. There is a maximum amount of leakage current...

EMC filters that look right but don’t work Hi Reader, Have you ever built something that looked great in theory but failed in real testing? EMC filters look easy. They are not. Seeing them all around the Internet does not make them easy. Today, you will learn how to avoid the common traps when building EMC filters 1️⃣ Designing them only for one kind of noise There are two types of noise: common-mode noise and differential-mode noise. During the EMC tests, you measure the mix of both. The...

Ey builder! As you might know it, I am building an Open Source Near Field Probe kit Since I started, the project has gained some attention. I am excited to see the applications! The PCBs have arrived! It is exciting to see the designs coming to life. Once I soldered the connectors I said to myself: let's test them! (Silence...) How am I going to test these? I have been victim of the same trap that my customers fell into. It looks like I made the same mistake I continuously prevent them to...

Ey builder! I am waiting for my probes to arrive in Germany. Hopefully customs do not decide to take them forever... While we wait, let's talk about learning EMC There is not any official degree and, if that exists at some point, it would not cover all the learnings in the field So how can you learn it? How can you become the-person-who-knows-it? Show up every single day One step at a time Read one blog article Read one application note Draw one diagram with E/H fields You do not need to read...

Ey builder! Learning by doing is the best way to do it. It forces you to understand the concepts behind what you are trying to achieve. You need to go further than if you were just reading it. It is the difference between active learning vs passive learning. I have just finished the book Ultralearning and learning how to learn better and faster got me fascinated. Focusing on Near-Field Probes I have launched a new Open Source project of PCB Near-Field Probes and I am learning a ton of new...

Ey reader! Most of the times, we take for granted the complexity of things we use every day. One example is Near-Field Probes There are many out there, from 10 € to 2000 €. They all seem to work in the same way: Connect them to an oscilloscope or a Spectrum Analyzer Place them close to an alternate source of Electromagnetic Energy Measure and extract conclusions Easy, right? What if I ask you to build one or two from scratch? ... Not that easy, right? That exactly happened to me when I...

Hardware Startups have it 10x harder to sell a hardware product Why? First, they have the typical challenges of a Startup Limited amount of resources: you cannot build a 1M laboratory the first week. The stereotype photo of the first days of a Startup has their founders working long hours in the garage of one of them. You need to build something great with the tools you have around and if you are lucky, with some tools you receive from generous donors. Pressure from investors to get high...

One of the most common questions I get when talking about certifications and selling devices in the European Union is: — “Ignacio, how do I know which requirements apply to my device?” To be fair, the information out there is often blurry—if not outright contradictory and confusing. As a manufacturer, you should focus on the Radio Equipment Directive (RED). Navigating the RED directive Why is it needed? The Radio Equipment Directive (2014/53/EU) regulates the placement of radio equipment on...

Hi! You are one of latest subscribers. Normally, you should receive this content in a series of 3 emails. One per day. Checking under the hood of my systems, I realized that it was not active. Then, I am sending it directly to you. Thank you for being here. You are one of the reasons I keep pushing every week. What is in? EMC should not be difficult and boring Why bother with EMC (Electromagnetic) Energy comes and go EMC should not be difficult and boring Since my first job in electronics, I...

The shopping list for DC Conducted Emissions pre-compliance testing by Ignacio de Mendizabal, 14/8/2024 Hello Reader, Happy to have you here Today, we will prepare everything we need to measure DC conducted emissions using Line Impedance Stabilization Networks (LISN). We will use two of the most affordable models and you will eave this chapter with a shopping list with all the components. Standards There are many different standards defining the test set-ups, limits and frequency bands. For...