EMC Twenty-Five Years Ago

The author was asked to speak on the subject of "EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) twenty years ago." He has organized his talk on three general areas: 1) organizations, 2) specifications and standards, and 3) measuring instruments. Initial efforts toward organizing a group on radio frequency interference (RFI) are recounted. Then the development of specifications and standards, including the first attempt within the US military to achieve a joint standard on the measurement of interference is discussed. FInally, various early interference measuring instruments are described. [Adapted from the keynote address for the 1978 IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility.]