Welcome to the seventh instalment of Meet Your Maker Q&A! Meet Your Maker is a series of behind-the-scenes videos and blogs that illustrate the wide range of in-house skillsets used to design and manufacture our market-leading broadcast technology whilst exploring the amazing people behind Calrec.
This week we spoke to Gary Burns, Calrec's Compliance Electrical Design Engineer. Gary knows why responsible manufacturers run regular EMC emission and ESD tests, and explains why he is already obsessing over the damage the open road can cause to an audio console even before the prototyping phase.
1. What is your role and what does it entail?
I am responsible for all areas relating to product compliance. This includes EMC and safety testing of products to ensure they adhere to the relevant standards. My role also includes product design, at which stage I can ensure all product compliance aspects are addressed. By designing for compliance upfront, we save on costly re-testing and re-design during product development.
2. What are the international standards that Calrec adhere to?
Calrec sells its products worldwide. As a result, we need to adhere to globally accepted international standards for professional audio equipment.
The standards we adhere to are constantly changing so we have to work hard to stay up-to-date and maintain compliance across our full product range. We are currently in the process of re-testing to the new IEC62368 safety standard, which comes into force in December 2020.
3. Why is it important to meet these standards?
This allows us to sell our products internationally, guaranteeing to both our customers and distributors that our products will be safe to use and compatible with other electrical devices in their regions. It is a legal requirement to meet these standards.
4. How does the wider broadcast environment influence development?
Across the industry, we are seeing the move to IP-based systems in broadcast. This means many of the specific standards for professional audio equipment have been combined with standards for IT-type products. This has resulted in the re-classification of our products and hence changes to requirements to meet these new standards.
A good example of this is the new IEC62368, which attempts to bring together a more common set of requirements for a wider range of products. This has resulted in changes to vent design with regard to fire safety.
5. What equipment does Calrec use in-house, and how does that make the process more efficient?
We use only very basic in-house test equipment to pre-test designs before testing externally at professionally certified test houses; however, at the early design stage, we make use of PCB and thermal simulation tools to help us design compliant solutions. We run in-house EMC emissions and ESD tests at each stage of prototyping to ensure that by the time we get a final product, we have a high level of confidence in achieving a pass. By designing for compliance and testing each design iteration, we reduce the total number of development cycles required.
6. What exactly is an anechoic chamber? What is the advantage of having one on-site at Nutclough Mill?
An anechoic chamber is a room designed to prevent the refection of electromagnetic waves. The small, custom-built chamber we have at the Mill allows me to test the level of electromagnetic radiation produced by a product in isolation. This is a great advantage as this is one of the most common reasons for products to fail EMC testing and allows me to test as early and often as required. Booking time in an external chamber is both expensive and inflexible.
7. Why is EMC/ESD compliance so important?
It is important because it cannot only prevent our products from working or being damaged but also avoids them affecting other systems around them which may have critical functions.
8. What environmental considerations are tested, and why?
Our products are designed to work in somewhat harsh environments, such as high temperatures or altitude. They are often installed in cramped spaces in outside broadcast units where they will experience shock and vibration. To perform reliably in these environments this needs to be considered and tested during the design phase. To achieve this, we test all our products over a wide range of temperatures and, where necessary, vibration test.
We also consider the environmental impact of our products and where possible utilise recyclable materials in both the product itself and the packaging. All our products meet the requirements of the EU RoHS directive.
Missed our previous Meet Your Maker Q&As?
Take a look at the following:
First Instalment of Meet Your Maker with Gareth Frimston, Product Manager
Second Instalment of Meet Your Maker with Darren Silcock, Lead Customer Support Engineer
Third Instalment of Meet Your Maker with Sally Baines, Production Manager
Fourth Instalment of Meet Your Maker with Andrew Munt, Software Manager
Fifth Instalment of Meet Your Maker with Maria Mitchell, Senior Product Test Engineer
Sixth Instalment of Meet Your Maker with Joe Gulaiczuk, Project Engineer
To view Calrecs product range click here
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
Welcome to the seventh instalment of Meet Your Maker Q&A! Meet Your Maker is a series of behind-the-scenes videos and blogs that illustrate the wide range of in-house skillsets used to design and manufacture our market-leading broadcast technology whilst exploring the amazing people behind Calrec.
