EMC and Regulatory Compliance

FCC Extends commenting period for some draft publications

2012-05-11T13:04:00.001-07:00

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The OET (Office of Engineering and Technologies) agreed to extend the commenting period for a number of Draft Knowledge Data Base publications, also known as KDBs, until June 30, 2012, after receiving and reviewing a number of requests for such an extension.

This extension amounts to an additional 30 day review period. The FCC commented that given the number of different KDB guidance documents, it would be useful for all parties to take more time to review and comment.

Following are the affected draft KDBs;

- General RF Exposure Guidance (447498)

- SAR Evaluation consideration for LTE Devices (941225)

- SAR Measurement, Compliance Reporting, 100 MHz to 6 GHZ (865664)

- SAR Evaluation Considerations for Handsets with Multiple Transmitters (648474)

- SAR Evaluation Considerations for Laptop, Notebook, Netbook (616217)

- TCB Exclusion List (628591)

- Permit But Ask List (388624)

- RF Exposure Evaluation Considerations for Occupational Push-to-Talk Two-Way Radios (643646)

New R&TTE and EMC Standards List Published in OJ

2012-04-11T21:12:00.001-07:00

New Harmonized standards lists have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union for the Radio and Telecommunication Terminal Equipment(R&TTE) Directive and the EMC Directive.

R&TTE Directive Standards List

EMC Directive Standards List

Wireless handset hearing aid compatibility standard adopted

2012-04-10T11:21:00.001-07:00

Hearing aid types (300dpi) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The FCC has formally adopted ANSI C63.19 2011 as an applicable technical standard for evaluating the hearing aid compatibility of wireless phones.

As specified in the Second Further Notice, the new rules permit the use of either ANSI C63.19 2007, or ANSI C63.19 2011 for the testing of new handset models. All existing grants issued under the 2007 standard, as well as any pre-2010 grants remain valid, thus, no existing handset models will require retesting or recertification for hearing aid compatibility.

A 12 month transition period has been adopted for testing of multi-band and multi-mode handsets that incorporate operations which are not covered under the 2007 ANSI Standard. The Report and Order recognizes that as the new rules become effective, some manufacturers will be in production cycles where it will be impractical to return to a testing cycle for upcoming multi-band or multi-mode handsets under the 2011 ANSI Standard. Specifically, during the transition period, and as an alternative to using the 2011 standard, manufacturers may certify handsets as hearing aid compatible if they meet all compatibility criteria under the 2007 ANSI standard for all operations covered by that standard, providing they meet the disclosure requirements set forth in the order. After the transition period, all new handsets that contain operations not covered by the 2007 version will need to comply with the 2011 ANSI standard.

The Report and Order makes it clear that evaluations performed partly under one version of the ANSI standard, and partly under another, is incompatible with existing rules, thus manufacturers must test exclusively with one of the applicable versions.

Ref;

http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db0409/DA-12-550A1.pdf

http://www.emcrules.com/2011/11/hearing-aid-compatibility-for-wireless.html

$12,000 “Dollar” Forfeiture Order

2012-04-05T11:01:00.001-07:00

SAN Control Tower (Photo credit: Peter Kaminski)

San Diego, California; FCC issues a forfeiture order in the amount of $12,000 to DTG Operations Inc., (d/b/a Dollar Rent-A-Car), after receiving complaints from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding intermittent interference to three ground control frequencies used by air traffic controllers at San Diego’s International Airport.

During investigation by FCC Enforcement Bureau’s San Diego Office, agents discovered the source of the interference signal to be emanating from a transmitter on a Dollar airport shuttle bus. Upon discovery, the manager of the Dollar facility immediately took the radio transmitter out of service.

In Response to an earlier Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL), Dollar requested that the fine be reduced because the violation was “an unintentional mistake,” which Dollar readily admitted, and because Dollar cooperated fully in the investigation. It was noted in the forfeiture order however that a reduction was not warranted.

For some information on the FCC enforcement process see “Enforcement Primer” on the FCC.gov web site. The legal firm Fish & Richardson has an article on their web site that gives a brief rundown on the process, as well as figures on Equipment manufacturer violations. Although the web page’s focus is on equipment violations associated with marketing rules and technical standards, and not necessarily on the misuse of approved radio communication devices, the steps in enforcement are essentially the same.

Ref;

http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db0404/DA-12-536A1.pdf

http://www.fcc.gov/

How Important is enhanced Amateur Radio Communications?

2012-04-03T13:57:00.001-07:00

An example of an Amateur Radio Station (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In a public notice released Monday, The FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau seek comments on the importance of the enhanced Amateur Radio Communications service, also inquiring as to any impediments of the service , with an example being "the effects of unreasonable or unnecessary private land use restrictions on residential antenna installations"

This inquiry is a product of the mandated study on utilization of Amateur Radio in emergencies and Federal regulation of private land use restrictions on amateur antennas, included in the “Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012” signed into law February 22, 2012.

The study asks two distinct questions, “Importance of emergency Amateur Radio Service communications” and “Impediments to enhanced Amateur Radio Service communications.”

The report cites several recent examples from the American Radio Relay League on the importance of amateur radio operators during disaster, such as when amateur radio operators provided storm observations and damage reports to the National Weather Service when winds and tornadoes moved through Arkansas and Alabama in January 2012, and provided communications to villages along the Bering Sea when a November 2011 severe winter storm knocked out power lines and communications.

The commenting period is only 45 days, ending on May 17th, 2012. commenting is open to interested parties via the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). The report urges commenting parties to organize their comments using specific guidelines provided within the public notice.

Ref;

http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db0402/DA-12-523A1.pdf

http://www.arrl.org/news/payroll-tax-bill-includes-provision-for-amateur-radio-study

http://www.arrl.org/news/hams-in-arkansas-and-alabama-help-provide-assistance-to-nws-during-severe-sunday-storms

http://www.arrl.org/news/when-brutal-storm-slams-alaska-hams-provide-critical-communications

FCC updates answer for exempt appliances

2012-03-30T15:43:00.001-07:00

하상림 작가의 꽃 디자인이 적용된 냉장고와 김희애 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Under Title 47, Part 15.103, digital devices used exclusively in an appliance are exempt from the specific technical standards and other requirements of part 15. Seems simple enough, if it’s an appliance, then it’s exempt from FCC testing. So a vacuum cleaner is exempt from FCC testing, correct? How about an electric blanket? A hair dryer? A clothes iron? A juice extractor? of the previously mentioned 5 devices, 3 of them are exempt, but 2 are not, can you guess which ones are not exempt?

Did you guess correctly? This is where the old adage “the devil is in the details” comes to play. As is the case with much of the FCC rules, they are simply written, but often difficult to interpret. Thankfully the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) has a Knowledge Base (KDB) system at https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/kdb/index.cfm, where one could go and research common questions or ask a question if needed.

One such KDB, answers the question “What household appliances, identified as Part 15 unintentional radiators, are considered exempt from the equipment authorization procedures?”.
On March 29th 2012 the answer was updated by adding to the list of Non-Exempt Devices; Power Tools, Cordless Multi-Tools and Battery Operated Tools . That is to say, those items are not considered appliances with respect to the 15.103 exemption and are subject to FCC testing.

Ref;
Publication Number 772105 (3/29/2012) (new)
Publication Number 772105 (11/19/2009) (old)

FCC Amends Rules for Tank Level Probing Radar

2012-03-29T15:11:00.001-07:00

The FCC announced on Tuesday that they are expanding the scope of the proceeding proposed to cover Tank Level Probing Radar (TLPR) devices, originally applicable only to devices operating in the 77-81 GHz band, and contained within steel or concrete tanks. Citing requests for waivers and other inquiries as evidence of the increasing demand for a comprehensive set of guidelines for general level probing radar (LPR), to allow the use outdoors and on other frequencies, the FCC is proposing an amendment to Part 15 rules that would apply to the operation of LPR devices installed in both open-air environments and inside storage tanks in the following frequency bands: 5.925-7.250 GHz, 24.05-29.00 GHz, and 75-85 GHz.

Level probing radar applications are diverse but among the popular uses are process control systems used to measure the amount of various substances such as liquids and granulates.

Ref;

FCC 12-34A1

ET Docket Nos. 10-23, 06-216 and 07-96, 25 FCC Rcd 601 (2010).

Opportunity for innovative cordless broadband use - FCC modifies Part 15

2012-03-23T18:22:00.001-07:00

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In a report and order released today, the FCC is amending part 15 subpart D covering Unlicensed Personal Communications Service devices (UPCS band). The introduction of the R&O is as follows;

“

By this action, we modify Part 15 of the rules governing the operation of Unlicensed Personal Communications Service (UPCS) devices in the 1920-1930 MHz frequency band (UPCS band) to promote more efficient use of the UPCS band and to facilitate the introduction of a new generation of unlicensed devices capable of supporting broadband connectivity using Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) technology. Specifically, we eliminate the least-interfered channel monitoring threshold for UPCS devices and reduce the number of duplex system access channels that a UPCS device must define and monitor from 40 to 20 channels in order to use the least-interfered channel access method. These changes will provide UPCS devices, particularly those designed to transmit with wider bandwidths, access to more usable channels (i.e., combined time and spectrum windows) than are permitted under the existing rules and unleash innovative cordless broadband technologies in the UPCS band, while limiting the potential for causing interference to other devices. We also modify the rules to remove outdated provisions and to make other minor updates.

“

ref;

ET Docket No. 10-97

2011 market surveillance report EU –are tablet PCs a target for 2012?

2012-02-29T17:30:00.001-08:00

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Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency) of Germany, for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway has the responsibility to carry out the market surveillance under the EMC and R&TTE Directives.

The agency published a summary of the 2011 market surveillance campaign on its web site. The campaign’s primary focus in 2011 was with the EMC directive and in particular, LED lighting equipment. The report also combines results from the 2010 and 2011 campaigns to give a summary overall and to achieve a low error probability due to the larger sample size.

For some background on emissions concerning LED product, see July 2011 post “Radio interference from LED lighting”.

The surveillance looked at administrative conformity, such as marking, documentation and declarations, as well as the technical aspects of the directive namely compliance with the emissions and immunity requirements. A total of 168 products were sampled in 2011.

On the administrative side, the surveillance found that 76.8% of the samples were compliant with the CE marking requirements, while only 39.9% were compliant with the Declaration of Conformity (DoC) requirements.

For the technical assessment, 61.5% of product complied with the radio emissions requirement, and 91.3% were found immune to specific interference phenomenon, out of 46 products tested overall.

In total, only 17.3% of LED lighting equipment was found to be fully compliant.

For the “reactive market surveillance”, the overall rate of non-compliance for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) was 38.9%. For radio and telephone terminal equipment (R&TTE) a majority, 65.5%, was found non-compliant according to the report, but most concerning was that 75.6% of the R&TTE products checked were non-compliant with the safety and health measurement requirements.

The 2011 surveillance resulted in 90 EMC sales bans, 177 R&TTE sales bans, 353 “memoranda of understanding” between the two directives, and total revenues of €1,046,000

The report details some objectives for 2012 indicating supporting the revision of the EMC and R&TTE directives and transposition into national law, including harmonizing product assessment for market surveillance, and increasing cooperation with European market surveillance and customs authorities as well as adapting the national database for market surveillance results, to the European ICSMS database.

Two product group targets were mentioned for 2012, one a coordinated German/Dutch campaign targeting tablet PCs focused on the R&TTE directive, and another targeting “Ready-made connecting devices”, or laptop power supplies.

ref;

Market surveillance statistics 2011

New EMC Directive

2012-02-22T15:40:00.001-08:00

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I thought I would include this in my Q&A series. I have been receiving these questions often,

“Do you expect that a new EMC directive will be coming ?”

and

“What impact may it have on my current test plan or program ?”

The answer to part one is yes, and it could be very soon. As part of the “Goods package”, the current EMC directive, 204/108/EC, is being amended in what is called an alignment with the New Legislative Framework of the European Union (or NLF). The EMC directive is part of what is called an “Alignment Package”. Eight other directives will also be processed in this alignment.

On the second question, the first thing to note is that the new approach directives are not technical in nature, but rather legal documents. Think of them as the “Law” of the land on the topics they cover. How you comply with the laws are another matter. The technical aspects are primarily addressed by Harmonised Standards or “EN” specifications. So, the EMC technical requirements, i.e. your testing, should not be impacted by this amendment to the EMC directive. While it is expected that the scope of the EMC directive will remain essentially the same, anytime that a directive comes up for amendment, interested parties look at it as an opportunity to address issues they may want included, see for example my post on cables being proposed: http://www.emcrules.com/2011/12/ready-made-connecting-devices-cables.html

The areas that would see significant change are;

your documents (Declaration of Conformity) will change.
A new directive number may require documents be modified, such as test reports, however there should be a reasonable transition period.
Traceability requirements and product labeling, with specific identifying information on each product.
Economic operators must keep records of supplier and distributor (already required for consumer goods)
New supply chain duties, harmonized across the EU.
Enforcement authority will be able to target more directly those infringing due to supply chain reporting requirements.
Expectation is that Post market surveillance activities could increase substantially (this is one of the main points of the “Goods Package”)

If not already, please subscribe to updates of the EMCrules blog. The blog is helpful in providing timely information on rule changes, and other topical news, that may affect our broad clientele. Comments are welcome.

ref;

EMC directive at EUR-Lex - 32004L0108

/* COM/2011/0763 final */ (Alignment of ten technical harmonisation directives to Decision No 768/2008/EC)

Marketing of products - CE conformity marking

New Legislative Framework (NLF) Alignment Package

Proposals to Align Nine Directives with the New Legislative Framework – Published by BIS Department for Business Innovation & Skills

Single market for goods New Legislative Framework

Industry Canada publishes new / updated Radio standards

2012-02-21T12:06:00.001-08:00

On January 28th Industry Canada published the following radio standards; (Link to IC web site)

Radio Standards Specification RSS-111, Issue 4: Broadband Public Safety Equipment Operating in the Band 4940-4990 MHz, which sets out the requirements for certification of radio transmitters and receivers in the band 4940-4990 MHz for public safety applications;

Radio Standards Specification RSS-182, Issue 5: Maritime Radio Transmitters and Receivers in the Band 156-162.5 MHz, which sets out the requirements for certification of radio transmitters and receivers in the maritime service in the band 156-162.5 MHz; and

Radio Standards Specification RSS-288, Issue 1: Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), which sets out the requirements for certification of the shipborne radiocommunication equipment that meets the requirements of the GMDSS.

In addition Industry Canada announced changes to RSS-Gen and RSS-310 , effective immediately , via notice NOTICE 2012-DRS0126. These changes modify section 2.2 of RSS-Gen covering Receivers, and noted that section 3.1 from RSS-310 is no longer required.

RSS-Gen section ‘ 2.2 Receivers ’ clarifies that ;

“Only radiocommunication receivers operating in stand-alone mode within the band 30 MHz to 960 MHz and scanner receivers are subject to Industry Canada requirements”

and

“All other receivers are excluded from any Industry Canada certification, testing, labeling and reporting requirements.”

FCC Calling for Volunteers with Expansion of Nationwide Broadband Tests

2012-02-20T18:22:00.001-08:00

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The FCC is back for a second round of volunteers, this time for the “2012 Measuring Broadband America” process. The FCC plans to issue two “Measuring Broadband Reports” for 2012. This time the FCC will be expanding the study group into new regions of the country, and include more technologies within the study. The first round begins in March 2012.

The first study examined offerings from 13 wire line broadband providers with the help of thousands of volunteers during March of 2011. The report, and other information, can be found at http://www.fcc.gov/measuring-broadband-america

The FCC is requesting volunteers. Volunteers that sign up, will receive a free wireless router from SamKnows, an FCC contractor. The router will be pre-programed to measure broadband speeds to the home. For more information on how to volunteer, visit http://fcc.us/testisp.

see the FCC Public Notice at http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db0217/DOC-312539A1.pdf

Solve for X: Anthony Sutera on low power wireless everywhere

2012-02-16T14:18:00.000-08:00

What do you think? Completely Impossible?

To quote the 1st of Arthur C. Clarke’s three laws of prediction

“If an elderly but distinguished scientist says that something is possible, he is almost certainly right; but if he says that it is impossible, he is very probably wrong”

Is this the 1^st stage of Clarke’s Law of Revolutionary Ideas, or just Science Fiction? If it is for real, this would indeed be a revolution in antenna design. If not, it's still an intriguing thought, and on that alone the video is worth a look.

In an article from Technology review back in 2009, a process for creating nano-capacitors developed by Sang Bok Lee, and Gary Rubloff was described. The process was similar to the ones used to make memory chips, orders of magnitude more difficult than the "spray on" method described in the Solve for X video.

Are on-board electric vehicle battery chargers exempt from FCC equipment authorization?

2012-02-02T11:47:00.000-08:00

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Under Title 47, Part 15 Subpart B § 15.103, the first item on the list of exempted devices is

“(a) A digital device utilized exclusively in any transportation vehicle including motor vehicles and aircraft.”

The clear answer is “Yes” to the question, “are electric vehicle battery chargers exempt”,… right? … What would you say?

As is the case with much of part 15 subpart B, in order to comply with the intent, you need a little common sense, good familiarity with electromagnetic energy propagation, the ability to think like an FCC engineer, and finally, a Knowledge Database publication (KDB) from the FCC with a clear “yes” or “no” answer to any question you may have, and you may have many.

See Publication Number: 892282

Question:
Is a battery charger and associated digital electronics on-board a vehicle that is used for charging the vehicles battery while parked and connected to AC power lines exempt from an equipment authorization under 15.103.
Answer:
No. Section 15.103, Exclusions, paragraph (a) does not apply to battery chargers for electric vehicles that can be used for charging while stationary and connected to an AC power line. The exemption is only intended for digital devices which operate primarily when the vehicle is operating in a mobile environment such as on a road or highway where the potential for interference is low. When stationary and connected to the AC power line, typically in a residential environment such as a home garage or driveway, the potential for interference by both AC lines conducted and radiated emissions is greater. The battery chargers and associated electronics on board an electric vehicle are therefore subject to an equipment authorization under the verification procedure as a Part 15 Class B or Class A (industrial vehicles) unintentional radiator (switching power supply and digital device).

OET requesting comment on TV bands database system test

2012-02-01T18:05:00.000-08:00

The FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) is requesting comment on the 45-day public trial of Telcordia Technologies Inc.’s (Telcordia’s) TV bands database system that was completed on January 20, 2012.

Link to OET request;
OET Request - ET Docket No. 04-186

Digital Transmission Systems and Broadband over Power line among newly published FCC knowledge database (KDB) articles

2012-01-20T12:10:00.001-08:00

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The Office of Engineering and technology maintains a knowledge database at https://apps.fcc.gov/kdb . The primary function of this service is to provide the public a means to research answers to equipment authorization questions. For questions that are particularly complex, frequently asked, or often misinterpreted, the FCC provides guidance documents on the subject.

Among the latest of these guidance documents , are guidance for performing measurements on Digital Transmission Systems (DTS), and an answer to the question “What are the measurement guidelines for equipment authorization for BPL systems?”

For Digital Transmission Systems (DTS), the primary changes are;

A revision and expansion of spectrum analyzer-based measurement methodologies.
A revision to the procedure for measuring power spectral density.
An expansion of guidance for measuring unwanted (out-of-band) emissions.
A new provision to permit antenna port conducted measurement of unwanted emissions in
restricted bands.

For BPL, or, Broadband over Power line Systems, the FCC points to Second Report and Order FCC 11-160, namely Appendix D of the order, for measurement guidelines on these devices, this includes both in-house BPL and Access BPL. The rules that govern FCC compliance of BPL systems were revised In October of 2011. See my October 2011 article for background and history on this topic.

Ready-Made Connecting devices (cables) under EMC directive?

2011-12-26T05:03:00.000-08:00

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During the revision of the EMC directive 89/336/EEC, back in 2003, one of the most controversial proposals was the inclusion of “Ready-made connecting devices” within the scope of the EMC directive.

Ready-made connecting devices would encompass passive product, typically 3rd party in nature, designed to interconnect and be connected to apparatus covered within the scope of the directive, in effect classifying such connecting devices as apparatus themselves within the scope of the directive.

Products such as network cables, Audio / Video cables, and other interconnecting cables and adaptors would come under such classification and be subject to the protection requirements of the EMC directive (to paraphrase; must not interfere with others and must operate in the presence of interference without significant loss of performance) , thus requiring testing and marking as any other apparatus would.

It was argued that the term, “Ready-made connecting devices”, itself was ambiguous and unclear. Eventually it was decided that the devices represented no major interference potential, and because of the costs manufactures would incur for testing and marking, it was removed from the scope of the directive.

With the current revision and alignment of the EMC Directive with New Legislative Framework (NLF), the EMC directive 204/108/EC once again is subject to modification, and potential scope expansion. One such change being circulated for inclusion is that ready-made connecting devices be considered again and brought under the regime of the EMC directive.

In a proposal from the German Administration (BNetza), it is argued that in light of experience gained since 2003, the non interference claims argument cannot be maintained. The proposal claims there is no longer any serious doubt that insufficiently shielded connecting devices greatly increase the interference potential of TV and Cable networks in particular. The proposal cites several reports with data supporting this conclusion. One such report shows a peak 30dB difference in screening effectiveness between two types tested, from most to least shielding, and notes that cable connectors can contribute around 10 dB of difference. See ”The Concise Report of the CENELEC/ETSI Joint Working Group on the digital dividend" of 12 August 2010 (section 7.3)

The proposal suggests that the following requirement be added to the new EMC directive;

Ready-made connecting devices, although incapable of generating electromagnetic disturbance in isolation, may generate or transmit electromagnetic disturbance when connected to an apparatus and should therefore be considered to be apparatus for the purposes of this Directive.

With ready-made connecting devices being defined as;

ready-made connecting devices' intended for connection to an apparatus by an end user for the transmission of signals, which are placed on the market separately from such apparatus, and which are liable to generate or transmit electromagnetic disturbance when connected to it.

This addition would then subject cables and connectors to the same technical requirements as any other product under the EMC directive, regardless of the component’s active or passive nature.

EN 55013 modified and draft going for vote

2011-12-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

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EN 55013 is the EMC emissions standard for broadcast receivers and associated equipment. The standard is aligned with the European Union’s EMC directive as published in the official journal. The EMC directive is a CE marking directive, and compliance with this directive is compulsory for most electrical / electronic products prior to placing on the European market.

Previously reported in a post back in the summer of 2009, EN 55013, QP vs RMS, it was noted that the EU commission was holding off publishing reference to the newest edition of EN 55013, 2009, in the Official Journal.

The CENELEC technical committee, CLC/TC 210, had decided that the standard should not be published, without the link to the EMC Directive, and accordingly has set up a task force to seek a resolution.

It was agreed that the new draft common modifications should be circulated under UAP. The current project name is EN 55013:201X

The CLC/TC 210 Secretary proposed that the following explanation appear in the forward to the draft common modifications, furthermore this is not to be included in the final publish standard, should the draft be accepted:

“The text of CISPR/I/296/FDIS, the future CISPR 13 ed 5.0, received a positive vote in CENELEC, but was not ratified due to technical objections raised by the EMC Consultant. These would have prevented the listing of the standard in the Official Journal of the European Union as a harmonised standard providing a presumption of conformity with the protection requirements of the EMC Directive 2004/108/EC. The following draft includes common modifications to address these objections, and they have been agreed by the EMC Consultant and the responsible committee, TC210. It is submitted to UAP.”

It is expected that in light of the upcoming CISPR 32, perhaps appearing within a couple years, that EN 55013 will then be deleted. At that time, the use of the QP detector will have become obsolete and replaced by the RMS/Average detector.

It should be noted that the UK is not in favor of issuing the document under UAP, nor is Italy. The UK proposes to wait and see what happens with CISPR 32. The draft will be submitted under UAP none the less.

The last word on Power Line telecom (PLT) in the EU, EN 55022:2006 applies in full, maybe….

2011-12-14T11:10:00.001-08:00

Image by Sigfrid Lundberg via Flickr

Power Line communication devices continue to be a controversial subject, with respect to the Electromagnetic Compatibility of such devices. We have been following this subject for both the United States, and for Europe. The latest round comes from across the pond with the rejection (negative vote) of the European Norm targeted to cover the testing of these devices, prEN 50561-1:201X. For background on this topic, see my past article “An update on PLT, Power Line Telecommunications, in Europe”.

Due to the negative vote on prEN 50561-1:201X, and a lack of a specific standard covering the emissions testing for PLT devices, EN 55022:2006 applies in full for these devices as of October 1st. It should be noted that many newer high speed advanced PLT devices cannot pass the requirements of EN 55022:2006 at this time.

This conclusion will be confirmed by a note published in the Official Journal reference to harmonized standards under the EMC directive.

CENELEC may offer a second vote, indicating that the choice is between EN 50561-1 and EN 55022. If this vote fails, no further option exists.

What does this mean for product on the market? Are recalls required for non compliant devices? What about new product placed on the market? The Commission is expected to accept a reasonable Date of Withdrawal (DoW) as proposed by working group 11, and until that date, manufacturers should still be able to continue placing product on the market using the Declaration of Conformity and Notified Body TCF path. The EU market authorities are “encouraged” to accept this.

The group of European Notified Bodies are meeting to discuss, and will consider the Technical Guidance Note (TGN) on the matter, after the meeting. Is this the end of the debate? Time will only tell, and we’ll continue to post when we learn more.

FCC holds workshop on Switched Telephone Network in transition

2011-11-20T18:39:00.000-08:00

Image by Alexandre Dulaunoy via Flickr

For those of us in the technology field and most tech savvy consumers, as well as 40% age 18-30, an analogue phone connected to a pair of wires, heading off to a central switch, may seem antique and obsolete. The facts are that many still depend on this for communication. However those numbers are dwindling fast, and the time to consider the way forward, according to the FCC, is now.

According to a Mercury news report in 2009, the recession gave a “push” and for the first time during the last half of 2008, American homes with cell phones but no landlines outnumbered those with landlines but no wireless devices, due to consumers being forced to make an economic choice of one over the other. According to an April 2011 CBS news report a new federal study says that more than a quarter of homes in the United States now have only a wireless phone.

FCC regulations govern many aspects of the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) such as equipment interoperability and protection of the network, access for persons with disabilities, hearing aid compatibility and others. The FCC will need to evaluate these issues more intently as the move to alternative forms of main communication hastens.

The FCC will be holding two workshops to examine the transition from the traditional PSTN to new technologies.

The first workshop will focus on obstacles and opportunities the transition may create regarding public safety, availability and accessibility. This workshop will also evaluate “Non-carrier” stranded assets, such as alarm monitoring systems that would be left behind. This workshop will be held the morning of December 6, 2011.

The second workshop will examine economic, technological and policy issues that need to be addressed as consumers choose new technologies and services. This workshop will be held December 14.

Both workshops will be held in Washington DC as well as streamed live at http://www.fcc.gov/live

The Public notice is available here; http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db1110/DA-11-1882A1.pdf

FCC requests comments on TV bands database test

2011-11-18T16:20:00.001-08:00

The OET (Office of Engineering and Technology ) is requesting comments on the Spectrum Bridge Inc. database system trial that was recently completed.

Comments are due by Nov. 28th 2011, and reply comments by Dec. 5th 2011. All comments must be filed using the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System.

ECFS: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/.

The full press release can be found at http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db1117/DA-11-1872A1.pdf

Hearing aid compatibility for wireless handsets

2011-11-02T15:49:00.001-07:00

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FCC publishes Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking covering wireless hearing aid compatibility rules for handsets. Interested parties may file comments and reply comments on or before December 1st and December 16th respectively.

FCC seeks comments on conclusion to adopt the new 2011 ANSI standard into the Commission’s rules as applicable technical standard for evaluating hearing aid compatibility of wireless phones. The proposal is to adopt the new standard as “permissible” rather than mandatory, with the intent to ease burdens on manufacturers.

Within the discussion of the proposed rulemaking document, the FCC “tentatively concludes that the adoption of the new technical standard would not raise any major compliance issues or impose materially greater obligations with respect to newly covered frequency bands and air interfaces than those already imposed under Commission rules”.

Under the proposed rules, a manufacturer will be permitted to submit for certification using either the 2007 version, or the 2011 version of the ANSI standard.

Broadband over Power line systems rule amendment

2011-10-25T17:55:00.001-07:00

Image by sveinnbirkir via Flickr

FCC Part 15 has been amended with new rules covering BPL systems. In July of 2009, a request for further comment was issued (See previous post), this is the conclusion of the commission’s response to the directives of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals remand, after a challenge by the National Association for Amateur Radio, AKA American Radio Relay League (ARRL).

In this rule change, the commission finds that the information submitted in response to the RFC/FNPRM does not warrant any changes to the emissions standards or the extrapolation factor. The rules do include some notable changes, among them, modification of the rules to increase the required notch filtering capability for systems operating below 30 MHz from 20 dB to 25 dB, and, establishing a new alternative procedure for determining site-specific extrapolation factors generally as described in the RFC/FNPRM, furthermore, adopting a definition for the “slant-range distance” used in the BPL measurement guidelines to further clarify its application.

Read the full ET Docket No. 03-104, Second Report and Order.

FCC issues a number of updates

2011-10-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

A total of 6 guidance documents and 3 drafts for review were posted today on the FCC site, among these updates are procedures for Multi antenna systems (i.e. MIMO) as well as U-NII devices . This list includes the following updates;

Publication Number	Question	Answer
628591	What equipment cannot be certified by a Telecommunications Certification Body?	The attached document 628591 D01 TCB Exclusion List v12r01 identifies equipment that are excluded from being certified by a TCB.
610077	What are the post market surveillance requirements for a Telecommunications Certification Body (TCB)?	Section 2.962(g) of the FCC Rules requires a TCB conduct appropriate post-market surveillance activities in accordance with ISO/IEC Guide 65. The requirements for TCBs were specified in the Commission's Report and Order (R&O) in GEN Docket 98-68 (FCC 98-3...
648474	What are the test procedures for SAR evaluation for handsets that contain multiple transmitters and antennas or wireless charging battery covers?	The attached documents: 648474 D01 SAR Handsets Multi Xmiter and Ant v01r05 provides SAR evaluation considerations for handsets with multiple transmitters and antennas. 648474 D02 SAR Policy Handsets Multi Xmiter Ant v01r01 provides policies for SAR Evaluation….
662911	How are measurements made on a device that employs a single transmitter with multiple outputs in the same band?	The attached document, 662911 D01 Multiple Transmitter Output v01r01 provides guidance for measurements of conducted output emissions of devices that employ a single transmitter with multiple outputs in the same band. The guidance applies to devices that ...
789033	What are the general test procedures for measuring compliance of U-NII devices to Section 15.407 requirements?	The Attachment below - 789033 D01 UNII General Test Procedures v01- provides test procedure guidance for measuring compliance to the general technical requirements of Section 15.407. Note: This test procedure replaces and supersedes guidance contain...
690783	What are guidelines for TCBs for listing SAR numbers on FCC equipment authorization grants?	The attached document -690783 D01 SAR Listings on Grants v01 -provides guidance for Telecommunication Certification Bodies (TCBs) for uniform listings of specific absorption rate (SAR) numbers in the comments field of grants of certification.

In addition, a number of drafts are available for review and comment;

Date Posted:
Oct 25 2011 4:13PM
Last Date to Post Comments:
11/25/2011
View Document:
Comments, Notes, and Conditions Listed on OET Equipment Authorization Certification Grants

Date Posted:
Oct 25 2011 9:25AM
Last Date to Post Comments:
11/25/2011
View Document:
Confidentiality

Date Posted:
Oct 25 2011 9:10AM
Last Date to Post Comments:
11/25/2011
View Document:
Permit But Ask procedure & Permit But Ask List

Date Posted:
Oct 3 2011 9:52AM
Last Date to Post Comments:
11/04/2011
View Document:
Guidance for Performing Compliance Measurements on Digital Transmission Systems (DTS) Operating Under 15.247
There have been 3 comments made on this document:

2011-10-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

Updated list of standards published in the Official Journal of the European Union, under the R&TTE directive, on 9/21/11.

Find a copy on Compatible Electronics', European Conformity Assessment page, or at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2011:277:0001:0035:EN:PDF

By: J Klinger