Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Meet Your Maker: Gary Burns

10/12/2020

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
LINK: https://calrec.com/blog/meet-your-maker-gary-burns/...
See more stories from calrec

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

17/09/2026

Prime Video Embarks on Fifth Exclusive Season of Thursday Night Football With Innovation, Experience in Tow

Lions vs. Bills will also be the first regular-season game at new Highmark Stadi...

17/09/2026

Teradek Launches Bolt 7 with Integrated 900MHz Data Pipeline

Teradek has announced Bolt 7, a wireless video and data system that adds an integrated 900MHz radio to the Bolt's zero-delay video pipeline. The 900MHz chan...

17/09/2026

DAZN Announces Three Executive Appointments

DAZN has announced three appointments to its executive leadership team, all reporting to CEO Shay Segev effective immediately. Patrick Delany has been appointe...

17/09/2026

Monumental Sports and Entertainment Announces Leadership Changes

Monumental Sports and Entertainment (MSE) has announced a leadership restructuring. Zach Leonsis has been named President and Vice Chairman, a newly created pos...

17/09/2026

CP Communications and Red House Streaming Named 2026 Best of Florida Winners

CP Communications has been named Best of Florida for Audio-Visual Services, and its subsidiary Red House Streaming has been named Best Movie and Recording Studi...

17/09/2026

Scripps Sports and ION to Broadcast Shriners Childrens East-West Bowl

Scripps Sports and ION have announced a broadcast partnership for the Shriners Children's East-West Bowl, the nation's oldest college all-star football ...

17/09/2026

espnW Announces Full Agenda for 2026 Women + Sports Summit

The 17th annual espnW: Women + Sports Summit, presented by Toyota, will take place October 14-16 at the Ojai Valley Inn in Ojai, California, with virtual attend...

17/09/2026

PAMA and Shure Announce 2026 Mark Brunner Professional Audio Scholarship Recipients

The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated have...

17/09/2026

LNK Group Migrates Five Networks to Grass Valley AMPP

Lithuanian broadcaster LNK Group has completed a migration of playout and media management for its five national television networks - LNK, BTV, TV1, InfoTV, an...

17/09/2026

Net Insight Establishes Pan-Asian Live Media Network for Nimbra 520 Trials

Net Insight has announced a pan-Asian live media network created with its regional partners, giving broadcasters, production companies, and media service provid...

17/09/2026

SVG Students to Watch: Adam Black, University of South Florida

After a high school football injury, the Orlando native found a new path in video production, gaining experience on ESPN college football broadcasts, Tampa Bay ...

17/09/2026

Image-Line & Antares reveal AutoTune Go

Popular DAW gains free pitch-correction tool Image-Line have teamed up with Antares to kit their popular DAW software out with a built-in pitch-correction p...

17/09/2026

Gibson & Baggs unveil HiFi DNA pickup

Promises unprecedented realism, dynamic nuance and clarity Gibson have teamed up with acoustic pickup experts Baggs, creating a next-generation' pickup...

17/09/2026

VSL introduce Synchron Cimbalom & World Percussion II

Two new libraries join percussion line-up VSL (Vienna Symphonic Library) have just launched two new libraries that bring some intriguing new instruments int...

17/09/2026

Arturia update the MiniFreak

Hardware & plug-in versions gain new features Arturia have just released a free update that brings some significant new features to their MiniFreak synthesi...

17/09/2026

Respected journalist Catalina Flrez to succeed Anton Enus as SBS World News presenter

Respected journalist Catalina Fl rez to succeed Anton Enus as SBS World News pre...

17/09/2026

Call for Applications: South African Producers to Attend the Berlinale Co-Production Market Visitors Programme 2027

The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), in partnership with the Nation...

17/09/2026

5 Reasons to Join Calrec at IBC

Calrec brings leading audio solutions and long-term business value to IBC 2026 We're looking forward to meeting up with you all on 11-14th September in Amst...

17/09/2026

Nielsen Accelerates Streaming Data Delivery with Enhancements to Streaming Content Ratings

Streaming Content Ratings (SCR) Data Shifts to Daily Delivery Cadence, Mirroring...

17/09/2026

The Gauge: Poland | August 2026

August brought further stabilization in total TV viewing time. Poles spent an average of 3 hours and 31 minutes a day watching video content on TV glass-just 2 ...

17/09/2026

Warner Bros. Discovery reclaims top spot in Nielsen's August All Screens Video Landscape Report

Post-sports seasonal shift redistributes viewership across Poland, while streami...

17/09/2026

TVC and Globecast Join Hands to Unveil The Matrix - A Ne...

Television Content Analytics Pte Ltd (TVC), a Singapore-based deep-tech company specialising in sports technology, artificial intelligence and live broadcast in...

17/09/2026

Rise Broadcast Reveals 2026 Awards Shortlist

Rise WIB, the global advocacy group championing gender diversity and career progression across the media technology industry, today announced the shortlist for ...

17/09/2026

CAPITOL BROADCASTING COMPANY AND THE CAROLINA HURRICANES EXTEND CONTENT PARTNERSHIP

RALEIGH, N.C. - Capitol Broadcasting Company (CBC) and Hurricanes Holdings annou...

17/09/2026

LNK Group Moves Five National Networks to Grass Valley AM...

Lithuanian broadcaster deploys Playout X and Framelight X across five networks, combining on-premises software-defined playout with cloud-based disaster recover...

17/09/2026

Introducing Adobe Photoshop Elements & Premiere Elements 2027

Introducing Adobe Photoshop Elements & Premiere Elements 2027 Brie Clayton September 17, 2026 0 Comments New tools make it easier than ever to enhance y...

17/09/2026

Scripps Research professor Li Ye named finalist for Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists

LA JOLLA, CA-While the brain orchestrates metabolic processes in the body, it al...

17/09/2026

The Neighbours Effect: Gen Z Brings Back Big Hair, Double Denim and 80s soap style

The Neighbours Effect: Gen Z Brings Back Big Hair, Double Denim and 80s soap sty...

17/09/2026

Official trailer released for Sky Original WAR

The bold, new legal drama starring Dominic West and Sienna Miller launches on Sky and NOW on 2nd OctThursday 17 September 2026 Official trailer released for Sk...

17/09/2026

AI safety needs more than rules. It needs evidence

Every week we read headlines about new threats from AI. From taking over jobs to disrupting critical infrastructure, spreading misinformation or even destroying...

17/09/2026

Arqiva selected by SANZAAR to deliver global distribution of 2026 international rugby programme

Arqiva selected by SANZAAR to deliver global distribution of 2026 international ...

17/09/2026

Widow\u2019s Bay triumphs as most decorated freshman comedy in Emmy history - PRESS RELEASE - Posted on 15 September 2026

CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA This evening at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, Apple TV...

17/09/2026

Cute Critters Come to the Cloud: Aniimo' Launches on GeForce NOW

A new creature-catching adventure is ready to stream from the cloud this week. Pawprint Studio's Aniimo arrives on GeForce NOW at launch, inviting gamers to...

17/09/2026

RT Statement: 2027 Eurovision Song Contest

RT Statement: RT is today confirming that its position regarding participation in the Eurovision Song Contest remains unchanged. RT will not participate in...

16/09/2026

Grass Valley to be Awarded 2026 Technology & Engineering Emmy for Web-Based Frame-Accurate Remote Monitoring

Grass Valley has been recognized with a 2026 Technology & Engineering Emmy Award...

16/09/2026

SVG Cloud & Content Workflows Summit 2026: All Sessions Now Available To Watch on SVG PLAY

Sports-media leaders explore how cloud, AI, and virtualization are transforming ...

16/09/2026

A Summer Catch: How the Women's Pro Baseball League Built a Broadcast Plan From ScratchIn Just Six Months

With a full crew on site in Springfield, deep access to players, and a growing d...

16/09/2026

The History of Concrete Contains More Surprises Than You Can Possibly Imagine

John Wilson attends The History of Concrete premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Yarrow Theatre on January 22, 2026, in Park City, Utah. (Ph...

16/09/2026

Wavea release Flite V2

Powerful soft synth receives free update Wavea have just launched a new and improved version of their feature-packed soft synth, kitting it out with over 20...

16/09/2026

Modartt launch Airteq

Physical-modelling experts launch pipe-based instrument Modartt are well known for their impressive Pianoteq and Organteq offerings, and now, they've pu...

16/09/2026

FL Studio & Antares launch AutoTune Go

Popular DAW gains free pitch-correction tool Image-Line have teamed up with Antares to kit their popular DAW software out with a built-in pitch-correction p...

16/09/2026

Microwave Factory and Rohde & Schwarz enable automated SAR measurements with CMX500 support in MATEOS

Microwave Factory and Rohde & Schwarz enable automated SAR measurements with CMX...

16/09/2026

Rohde & Schwarz launches new security scanner for large events at Security Expo 2026

Rohde & Schwarz launches new security scanner for large events at Security Expo ...

16/09/2026

Grass Valley Recognized with 2026 Technology and Enginee...

Grass Valley honored alongside industry leaders for the development of web-based, frame-accurate remote monitoring systems for distributed broadcast production ...

16/09/2026

Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Harvard Law School Alumni Event

Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Harvard Law School Alumni Event Brie Clayton September 16, 2026 0 Comments URSA Broadcast G2 and Pocket Cinema Camer...

16/09/2026

Nielsen Marketing Cloud Launches Data-Enrichment Capabilities

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...