KEY ISSUE
ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE: DETECTING THE UNDETECTABLE QinetiQ looks at how electromagnetic interference can affect an electrical installation.
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n 2020, pilots flying in and out of Glasgow airport reported loss of communication with air traffic control between 6,000 and 10,000 feet. Communications regulator Ofcom launched an investigation to locate the source of the interference, which it described as “like looking for a needle in a haystack”. Eventually, the interference was traced to a single household directly under the flight path. The homeowner had recently installed four vintage-style lightbulbs, found to emit electromagnetic noise affecting the frequencies used by air traffic control. The bulbs were removed without incident, but
it’s easy to imagine how events could have played out very differently. This isn’t an isolated example. In September 2020, an old television was found to be knocking out wireless internet across the Welsh village of Aberhosan; and in 2017, residents in a Northern Irish street were prevented from locking or unlocking their car doors due to a faulty wireless doorbell blocking their electronic key fobs. As more technologies operate wirelessly, the electromagnetic spectrum becomes increasingly congested, demanding greater care when performing installations to avoid introducing electromagnetic interference (EMI).
As more technologies operate wirelessly, the electromagnetic spectrum becomes increasingly congested, demanding greater care
When it comes to EV charging, it pays to work with the experts.
Key Issue – QinetiQ.indd 20
18/06/2021 09:46
