One of the many services that we provide at EMC Technologies is to help our clients overcome the challenges that they face in product development. Regardless of the industry that you serve, you have likely come up against many different constraints that can impact the success of your project. Cost, performance, lead-time, and issues with components or subsystems can result in expensive delays or potentially impact quality control. Radio frequency or RF functional testing challenges can be significant, and many are merely inevitable, considering the technology that is being used. Custom radio frequency testing is often needed for new developments and projects that just cannot be served effectively with a standard functional test interface.

Challenge #1 – Interference Problems

The electronic test industry has long worked with developers to provide a greater understanding of how wireless functional testing for RF products works. Knowledge of how the wireless transmitter functions within the signal spectrum can help to avoid many issues. Transient signals, which can sometimes be pulsed and challenging to identify, can cause many problems throughout RF functional testing. The fundamental nature of communications and the various signals that are used can make it challenging to measure or pinpoint interfering signals. Our team has become extremely proficient in the area of custom radio frequency testing, particularly in identifying and overcoming interference problems for our clients.

Challenge #2 – EMI Problems

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) and RF functional testing often go hand in hand. EMI is typically a problem for wireless developers who struggle with ensuring regulatory compliance and finding ways for their new product designs to work within a dense signal environment. Early wireless functional testing during the development and prototype phase can help to overcome many of these issues and save the client time and money. If testing waits until the end of manufacturing, the product could be at risk for expensive revisions to the design, launch delays, and further testing. The sooner these issues can be identified and fixed, the better it will be for the manufacturer.

Challenge #3 – Regulatory Compliance

Depending on the industry that the client serves, the volume of complicated standards and regulations that must be adhered to throughout the development and manufacturing process can be significant. As technology changes and consumer use of products evolve, there is a continued demand for increased signal capacity with voice services, mobile data, and wireless LAN transmissions. Testing can become even more of a challenge as the designers attempt to achieve regulatory compliance while overcoming these challenges. EMC Technologies utilizes a variety of techniques and innovative solutions for our custom radio frequency testing applications to best serve the needs of our clients.

Challenge #4 – Broad Measurement Ranges

Today’s developers require a much broader range of measurements for transmitter testing and wireless standards in order to verify performance and compliance for their products. As industry demands change and evolve, custom radio frequency testing and other types of wireless functional testing must be ready to adapt. Specific wireless standards are used for certain types of functional test interface solutions, but they may need to be updated as those standards change. Being able to make adjustments according to industry demands and client requirements is what has helped EMC Technologies to be so successful in the services that we provide to our customers.

Challenge #5 – Power Consumption

Listen to any consumer complaints about issues with their electronic devices, and it will usually begin or come back to power consumption issues. Optimizing power management within a device helps to prevent frequent charging and ensure customer satisfaction. Design goals for power consumption should be set early on in development, including the physical size and weight of the devices, batteries, and power sources. Depending on the product, certain trade-offs concerning power consumption may have to be made to improve the function and viability of the electronics. We work with our clients to ensure that their demands in this area are met through RF functional testing and other wireless functional testing applications.

The Electronics Test Industry

EMC Technologies has worked hard to earn a solid reputation within the electronic testing industry for the development of custom functional test fixtures, top-quality printed circuit boards, and RF functional testing. We work with a wide range of clients who serve in many distinct industries. Our team is made up of highly trained and experienced engineers and technicians with a variety of unique specialties that work to our advantage. If you require information about custom radio frequency testing and other functional test services, contact our team by calling 508-672-0808. We can answer any questions you might have about wired or wireless functional testing and help you get started to solve all of your electronic testing needs.