The iNARTE Informer – July 2013

ASSOCIATE EMC, ESD, AND PRODUCT SAFETY CERTIFICATIONS

Many of you may not be aware that iNARTE offers an Associate level of certification for individuals who are new to the fields of EMC, ESD and Product Safety and do not yet have the work experience required for these iNARTE certification programs. Those eligible for the associate certifications include recent engineering graduates who have interest in these fields.  The associate certifications provide these committed individuals a valuable credential as they develop their careers.

These levels were originally incorporated to allow for recent graduates of iNARTE Accredited Universities, Schools, or Institutes to enter into the certification program. The program has now been updated to accept educational degrees and evidence for any applicable education or training acquired, according to the current requirements of the EMC, ESD, and Product Safety programs.

Individuals who achieve the Associate level of iNARTE certification gain immediate recognition for their knowledge in the applicable industry, even though they do not meet the required number of years of work experience for the “Engineer” or “Technician” levels.

To be eligible for an Associate certification for EMC, ESD, or Product Safety, an individual must:

• Pass the applicable examination;
• Provide evidence of the applicable education and training;
• Submit the required references for the applicable program, including one letter from a school official; and
• Submit the three (3) test questions that can be used on future iNARTE examinations

To learn more about the EMC, ESD or Product Safety programs, visit www.narte.org.

To register for an EMC, ESD or Product Safety examination, visit:

Within the US
www.narte.org/h/examregform.asp

Outside the US
www.narte.org

RABQSA ONLINE PORTAL

Over the past months, RABQSA has requested iNARTE certified individuals to provide their current email address in preparation for the launch of the RABQSA Online Portal. We continue to collect that information, and the availability of the Online Portal for iNARTE certified individuals is still under development.

In an effort to ensure a seamless migration when the development process is completed, if you have not already done so, please send your name, certificate number, and current email address to Laura Funk, RABQSA Office Assistant, Certification Services, at lfunk@rabqsa.com.

RABQSA IS SEEKING TEST CENTERS TO ADMINISTER EXAMINATIONS

In an effort to accommodate our iNARTE customers to ensure they travel fewer miles from their home, RABQSA is recruiting test centers and individual proctors to administer the iNARTE and FCC examinations.

If you are interested in becoming an iNARTE Authorized Test Center or iNARTE Individual Test Proctor, please fill out the application form located at www.narte.com/h/tchome.asp#TC.

iNARTE (International Association of Radio and Telecommunications Engineers) is a product of RABQSA (Registrar Accreditation Board and Quality Society of Australasia) International, Inc.

RABQSA’s mission is to provide world-class products and services that add value to professionals in industry through competency-based certification. RABQSA creates value for you and your customers. We design, develop, and deliver personnel and training certification services relevant to your industry. Our certification services are designed to be efficient, consistent and relevant to Industry’s needs. We create and maintain value to industry, our certified professionals, and training providers by ensuring that our certification remains relevant and also compliant to international standards. RABQSA International certification delivers the right people, with the right abilities, to achieve the right outcomes.

RABQSA’s principal offices are located in Sydney, Australia, Milwaukee, USA and Seoul, Korea and international offices located throughout the world.

To learn more about the iNARTE certification programs, visit www.narte.org. To learn more about RABQSA, visit www.rabqsa.com. 

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

Last month’s question was from the Product Safety Engineer pool:

An Information Technology Equipment rack mount power distribution unit connects to the AC mains via a NEMA L5-30P attachment plug. It has a series of NEMA 5-15R panel mount AC output receptacles and incorporates UL Listed panel mounted circuit breakers in the front panel protecting the outlets. What is the required current rating for each of these circuit breakers?

1. 30 A
2. 20 A
3. 15 A
4. The current rating of each circuit breaker shall be greater than the maximum rated current to be delivered by each series of outlets.

The correct answer is C) 15 A

This month’s question is from the EMC Design Engineer pool:

When designing high-speed Printed Wiring Boards, what is the benefit of routing the power and return planes on adjacent layers?

1. To reduce noise on the power plane at high frequencies.
2. The material that separates the power and return planes will typically fail and short the power plane.
3. So the connectors are designed so that they are forced to feed the power and grounds on adjacent layers.
4. To route the planes next to each other so the boards will warp during fabrication.

See the next iNARTE Informer for the correct answer to this month’s question.