Ted Kuemmel
Quest Tech., 510 S. Worthington St., Oconomowoc, WI 53066
There is an increasing awareness of the problems caused by interference from electromagnetic fields on electronic devices. The rapid expansion of the use of personal radio communication devices suggests a growing problem. The sophisticated electronic technology now commonly used in acoustical instruments is more susceptible to electromagnetic interference than previous technologies. In 1991, the ANSI Committee S1, Acoustics, formed working group 21 to develop a new standard to address the radio frequency electromagnetic susceptibility of acoustical instrumentation. Now in its eighth draft, the standard provides general specifications for the characteristics of acoustical instruments when used in the presence of radiated electromagnetic fields. The standard provides limits on allowable deviation from specified acoustical performance based on the accuracy class of the instrument. The standard also presents minimum testing requirements and sample test methods to demonstrate conformance to the specifications. Internationally, the IEC Technical Committee 29, Electroacoustics, is also working on this problem. The current status of these efforts and the issues driving them are presented and compared.