military

The reliable operation of complex electronic communications, control and armament systems in extreme environments demands stringent design criteria and careful validation. Severe shock, vibration, heat, humidity and airborne contaminants are common in land, sea and air platforms.

This year marks not only the title anniversary, but arguably also that of the beginning of the modern era in vehicle electromagnetic interference (EMI) testing. Radiated emission (RE) testing of equipment to be used on self-contained vehicles is performed at one meter or less versus testing at a distance of three meters or more for equipment designed for use in homes, offices and factories.

Injection of audio frequency ripple on equipment input power conductors has a long history, going back to 1953 (MIL‑I‑6181B) in the United States military, and at least as far back as 1961 in commercial aviation (RTCA/DO‑108). Audio frequency injection has been accomplished by inserting the secondary windings of a coupling (isolation) transformer in series with the power conductor to the test sample. While various transformers had been used prior to the 1960s, one has become standard since 1963. That Model is the Solar Electronics Model 6220, designed in 1962 and accepted by the United States Air Force in 1963 as being superior to previously used injection transformers. [1]

Military EMC design can be particularly vexing. Multiple environments combined with multiple threats lead to multiple requirements. The threat levels, and the resulting requirements, are usually more stringent than found in the commercial world.