IEEE Consultants Network of Connecticut Newsletters

AC Drives an EMI/RFI Mitigation by Frank Martino

The hard-switching of IGBT devices and high frequencies of AC PWM drives have given rise to EMI and RFI problems being spread throughout facilities. An understanding of the problem and the various choices of solutions will allow the proper selection of mitigation techniques.

The Significance of Electronic Packaging on Product Design by Tom Freehill

Over the past 10 to 15 years, the commercial electronics industry has learned what the RF and microwave people have known all along – the package is often part of the circuit. Additionally, no matter how simple the application, the final package can make or break the product. This article covers modern electronic packaging from a historical viewpoint.

Programming Your Organization For Survival by Loering M. Johnson

Successfully steering an organization through current business conditions involves examining and perhaps modifying internal practices. Following a quality program can be of considerable assistance in this evaluation and in developing new approaches that provide visibility to the organization, improve morale and training, increase confidence among customers/clients and suppliers, and facilitate communication in the business community.

Internet-Based Remote Control Using a Pager Interface by Bob Brown

The big media hype in Embedded Systems lately has been connectivity, especially Internet connectivity. Embedded Systems are what I like to call "devices with invisible computers inside". These embedded computers give the device its intelligence, but are invisible to the user. Embedded computers are in hundreds of devices that we use each day including VCR's, microwave ovens, printers, cars and even in your computer's mouse. The media hype has been to connect these embedded computers together using either wired or wireless (i.e. Bluetooth) networks. Of course, in reality each device has it's own purpose. In some cases connectivity offers little or no advantage. In other cases, full time Internet connectivity may be required to allow the device to perform its function. Other devices may require only limited internet connection for best price performance. This article describes such a device.

XML - What is all the fuzz about? by Thomas Freund

The HyperText Markup Language, or HTML, standard has, in a relatively short time, transformed the Internet from a research pursuit to a key component of the world economy. As consultants, we are very much aware how it has opened new avenues of business. However, the very success of HTML has, in a way, been its undoing. Electronic commerce applications have clearly demonstrated the potential of the Internet to streamline the way that organizations do business with their customers and suppliers. In the case of the latter, a business can clearly derive significant advantage in both delivery to the customer and internal operations if its software systems can communicate specifications and orders directly to the software systems of its suppliers for processing. Exchanging specifications and orders, however, require a standard that can represent a large combination of possible information structures; something HTML cannot do well because it is geared more toward presentation of information on a display and not information exchange between systems. What this requires is a standard that is both flexible and extensible for system-to-system information exchange over the Internet. Enter XML. This article provides a very brief introduction to what XML is and provides web sources if you want to find out more about XML and related efforts.

SUCCEEDING WITH INNOVATIVE PRODUCT IDEAS by Clem Skalski

Developing successful products requires sound ideas and proper execution. Some of the critical steps in turning a product idea into a profitable product are outlined here. This is done in the context of the author’s long career as an engineer and inventor. Besides having good business plans, it is essential to do all of the critical engineering, assuring that a product having high commercial viability results. The engineering can be carried out more quickly and effectively due to the availability of powerful software such as Matlab®, CAD (computer-aided design) and FEA (finite-element analysis) programs.