Volunteer Now For The Physical Layer Team – Jitter Allocation

Among the many exciting benefits of Fieldbus Foundation membership is volunteer participation in the various steering committees, technical teams, and working groups that help support aspects of FOUNDATION technology important to all members and that help meet the needs of the global process automation industry. Other benefits include early access to the latest FOUNDATION technical specifications and development tools for faster time to market, and discounts on fieldbus training.

Consider joining the Physical Layer Team – Jitter Allocation, which has openings for foundation member volunteers.

To avoid communication errors when devices are connected to high impedance spurs (such as those of Isolated Couplers), jitter is the most important parameter used to assess and regulate the distortion level of the signal. The team will deliver concrete recommendations on the jitter allocation for field devices, cable, power supply and couplers based on the high impedance requirements. Project steps to be followed include:

Survey of the current specifications and the ability of current components
Allocate jitter value to each component
Draft white paper with recommendations of necessary changes to FOUNDATION Specifications and any other international standards.

The Physical Layer Team – Jitter Allocation team averages one teleconference (each two hours in duration) per month during development. One face-to-face meeting will be necessary when drafting the final recommendations paper. Additional work will be coordinated through email. Time commitment for team members is expected to be a maximum of 10 hours per month. A member company may have multiple representatives on a technical maintenance team, however only one member may be designated as a primary member contact. The primary member contact is responsible for casting votes for their represented company.

Additional information about the Physical Layer Team – Jitter Allocation, and application form, can be found in the Team Applications area of Fieldbus Forums. Please note that you will need an account with member access privileges to access the Team Applications area. You can sign up for an account by clicking "Register" at http://forums.fieldbus.org. If you are unable to access the applications, you will need to contact Member Services to activate the member privileges.