EMC Banana Skins

A practical collection of real-world electrical and electromagnetic interference incidents, originally published as a regular series in The EMC Journal .

The complete collection is made available by Nutwood UK Ltd as an educational resource for engineers, designers, manufacturers and anyone responsible for electronic systems.

Why “Banana Skins”?

Each account highlights an EMC hazard that could catch a product, project or organisation off guard. The reports turn real incidents into practical lessons that engineers can apply during design, testing and installation.

What the reports contain

Banana Skin entries are short accounts of electrical and electromagnetic interference. They include personal experiences, research findings, official investigations, technical reports and documented field failures.

The consequences

Some incidents were harmless or amusing. Others caused costly delays, product failures, lost contracts, warranty claims, business collapse or situations in which people were injured or could have been killed.

The engineering lesson

EMC problems are best addressed during normal design and development, not after products have shipped or systems have been installed. Designing for EMC early reduces cost, delays, returns and safety risks.

These incidents are likely to represent only the visible tip of a much larger problem, with substantial hidden costs for manufacturers, operators, customers and society.

As electronics become more capable, interconnected and software-dependent, the opportunities for unexpected interference also increase. Learning from past incidents helps engineers identify risks before they become expensive failures.

Contribute an incident

Know of an EMC banana skin?

Relevant anecdotes, research findings, technical reports and documented interference incidents are welcome for possible inclusion in future editions. Contributions may be submitted anonymously.

Contact Keith Armstrong Contact Alan Hutley

Jam GPS over radius of 100 miles, for just US$40

Electronic signal jamming devices that can be purchased through the Internet for less than $40 could play a decisive role in the effectiveness of possible U.S. air strikes against Iraq. According to recent report in the Wall Street Journal, U.S. congressional and military leaders are becoming increasingly concerned that widely available and relatively inexpensive devices that jam signals from GPS satellites could hamper efforts to effectively target high precision bombs in densely populated areas (such as Baghdad). Such munitions are now largely dependant on signals from GPS to deliver their warheads within 10 to 30 feet of their intended target.

Even the smallest of jamming devices can be remarkably effective at scrambling signals from GPS satellites. A 19 pound device demonstrated at the Paris Air Show in 1999 by a Russian company claimed effective jamming of GPS signals for more than 100 miles. The device boasted a puny 4 watts of power.

Credit: (From “GPS Jammers Could Hinder Attack on Iraq”, in the “Newsbreaks” section of Conformity, November 2002, page 8, www.conformity.com. The Wall Street Journal Article referred to in the above was “US Bombs May Not Find Targets In Iraq Due to Satellite ‘Jammers’”, Tuesday, September 24, 2002, www.wsj.com.)