Improving the EMC and reducing the undesired signal radiations

Most electronic products contain high frequency circuits. These may radiate some electromagnetic waves. When assembling products from individual components it is good to keep in mind that the final product and its installation should be designed in a way to reduce the radiation of electromagnetic fields.  This is called the EMC – electromagnetic compatibility. Some general tips and ideas are listed bellow:

• Short cables – try to make all cables as short as possible. Long cables naturally serve as antennas sending out the undesired spurious signals.
• Keep cables together or even twist them. This helps to reduce the electromagnetic noise a lot.
• Filters and shielding - Use ferrite filter coils and metallic shielding (braiding) on the cables and wires.
• Metallic housing and proper grounding - Mount your equipment into a metallic housing with proper grounding of all non conductive metallic parts.
  Position the equipment to a location far from your radio receivers or other sensitive equipments.

Note: Most products (especially components) that comply with EMC standards by themselves may radiate undesirable signals if installed improperly. The installers must follow the generic and manufacturer’s guidelines to keep EMC standards.