Minimizing radiated noise in magnetically sensitive applications

Electronics design for magnetically sensitive applications is rarely addressed in academia, although it is a vital issue in many industries. One industry that designs and manufactures magnetically sensitive electronic products is the underground pipe and cable locating industry. In pipe and cable location applications, an ac current in the frequency range of 500 Hz to 80 kHz is sent down a pipe or cable, which then generates a magnetic field around the structure. A locator instrument above ground is used to sense the shape of the magnetic field and determine the pipe or cable's location underground.