FieldFox Now Supports EMI Pre-Compliance Measurements

Base stations and mobile devices generate most unwanted signals that cause noise and interference, however other RF devices can also disturb the spectrum. Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is interference caused by electromagnetic fields generated from an electronic device or electrical current. EMI can be man-made, like from electrical circuits, or can occur naturally, like lightning.

Lightning striking above a road

Many countries enforce strict EMI compliance standards, and their regulatory bodies demand formal EMI compliance tests. To save on the cost of formal testing and accelerate time-to-market, companies that develop electrical devices and systems must measure the EMI emissions of their designed devices before sending them to formal compliance testing. EMI performance verification and diagnostics are common tests for the lab, the manufacturing floor, field equipment, and regulatory inspections.

Before compliance measurements can be performed on a product, some preliminary questions must be answered:

  1. Where will the product be sold? For example, the United States, Europe, or Japan?
  2. What is the classification of the product? For example, information technology equipment (ITE), industrial, scientific, or medical (ISM), or automotive and communications.
  3. Where will the product be used? For example, home, commercial, light industry, or heavy industry.

With the answers to the questions above, you can determine which testing requirements apply to your product by referring to Tables 1 and 2 below. For example, if you have determined that your product is an ITE device that will be sold in the U.S., then you need to test the product to FCC Part 15 regulations.

11
Part 18
EN 55011
Industrial, scientific, and medical
13
Part 15
EN 55013
Broadcast receivers
14
EN 55014
Household appliances/tools
15
EN 55015
Fluorescent lights/luminaries
16-1-1
Measurement apparatus/methods
22
Part 15
EN 55022
Information technology equipment
25
EN 55025
Automotive
EN 55081-1,2
Generic emissions standards
Generic equipment
EN 50081-1
Generic equipment
Light industrial
Industrial
EN 50081-2
Industrial, scientific, medical products (ISM)
EN 50011
Sound and broadcast receivers
EN 50013
Household appliances
EN 50014
Information technology equipment (ITE)
EN 50022
Automotive
EN 50025

EMI Testing Now Available on FieldFox

A new software option is available for EMI pre-compliance testing using Keysight FieldFox handheld analyzers. Option 361 supports EMI scanning on FieldFox B-models, shown in Figure 1. Spectrum analyzer option 233 is required to enable option 361. Option 361 includes:

Figure 1. EMI measurements on FieldFox Figure 1. EMI measurements on FieldFox

Find out more about FieldFox’s EMI test capabilities in this solutions brief.\

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