We have been advised to fit nanocrystalline ferrite EMC cores to the cables on a PV system to reduce interference with ear tag readers in a dairy. Can any one help with what these are, where to purchase from, what we need???
Thanks
Hello hannah,
Welcome to the DigiKey TechForum.
The Nanocrystalline would be the material for the Ferrite core.
Click here for the Nanocrystalline ferrites we have available.
These have different dimension, and Inductance factors. Some are coated with Epoxy or Polyester, and some are uncoated. Please look through the list, and the datasheets to verify compatibility to your application.
Sounds like a fairly typical EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) problem.
Please appreciate that this is an arena viewed by many as something on the distant side of witchcraft, due to the difficulties involved in clearly identifying the underlying causes and mechanisms. Genuine experts in the field are skilled at that and can offer articulate guidance regarding solutions, whereas practitioners of a lesser degree operate on principles closer to superstition and throwing various forms of pasta against an issue in a hope that one may stick.
I’ve no clue as to where on that scale the guidance you’ve received may have come from, but simply calling for “nanocrystalline ferrite EMC cores” without further specificity or application guidance would not impress me as a customer of such services.
For what it’s worth, there’s a stash of clip-on ferrites of the sort used for interference suppression listed here that may (or may not) be of use. There’s no way to know without developing an understanding of the issue, but if one’s to take the trial and error route it seems sensible to try the convenient and relatively inexpensive options first.