Multimedia Equipment, emission requirements standard EN 55032 held up due to errors.

Back of audio mixer at bull and gate London (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The CEN-CENELEC Management Centre (CCMC) was informed that a considerable number of errors were discovered during the publishing phase of the new EMC standard for multimedia equipment, CISPR 32:2012. The procedure has been endorsed by CENELEC as EN 55032:2012 (dor = 3/5/12). It has been noted that the document submitted for vote was the correct text however.

While the IEC is investigating possible options for correcting the matter, CCMC is informing of the errors and working with the IEC toward a speedy resolution to enable CENELEC members to implement corrections at the national level. The CCMC has also posted a note to the CENELEC website / database informing of this error.

The CCMC will not yet offer EN 55032:2012 to the European Commission for citing in the Official Journal. The intended listing was for the EMC and Radio and Telecommunication Terminal Equipment ( R&TTE)  Directives.

Furthermore the Technical Committee will request that the Date of Withdrawal (DOW) be extended from dor+36 months to dor+60 months.

EN 55032:2012 has a broad scope and applies to multimedia equipment (MME) having a rated r.m.s. AC or DC supply voltage not exceeding 600 V. Equipment within the scope of CISPR 13 (EN 55013) or CISPR 22 (EN 55022) is within the scope of EN 55032. Multimedia equipment intended primarily for professional use is also within the scope of EN 55032.

The term “dor” refers to the date of ratification, and is the date when the technical board notes the approval of a European Norm (EN), at which time the standard may be said to be adopted.

Ref:

CENELC Project : EN 55032:2012

CENELEC Guide 19

EN 55013 modified and draft going for vote

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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….

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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.

EMC list of harmonized standards update, new ITE standards

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The list of standards for use under the EMC directive, 2004/108/EC, published in the Official Journal of the European Union has been updated.

Among the updates within the list are the inclusions of the 6th edition of the emissions, and 2nd edition of the immunity standards, for Information Technology Equipment (ITE), titled EN55022:2010 and EN55024:2010. These official titles are the modified version of CISPR 22:2008, and unmodified CISPR 24:2010.

The inclusion in the official journal is a prerequisite for a standard to be considered harmonized for use in the presumption of conformity with the essential requirements of a given directive. This allows these new standards to be used for compliance testing.

These new versions will supersede their predecessors on December 1st 2013, at which time they become mandatory. Any new product shipped into the European Union on or after December 1, 2013, must comply with the new ITE specifications.

You can find a copy of this list at Compatible Electronics’ European Conformity Assessment page, or at the the EC Enterprise and Industry web site when available.

 

By: J Klinger

An update on PLT, Power Line Telecommunications, in Europe.

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Sometimes referred to as PLN (Power Line Networking), PLA (Power Line Adaptor), PLC(Power Line Carrier), or here in the US, BPL (Broadband over Power Line), the technology enables the distribution of digital communications through conventional power lines, making it easy to setup communications networks without the need to rewire, or use radio transmitters. As data rates of these devices increase, so does the potential for interference, thus much work is being done by stakeholders to develop uniform methods by which to assess products with this technology for compliance with the EMC directive, and prevent unwanted interference of incumbent services.

The CLC/ Technical Committee 210 on electromagnetic compatibility (or TC210) established a working group (WG11) to produce a two-part standard for emission requirements for PLT apparatus of all types, as follows:

EN 50XXX-1 Power line telecommunications modems - Radio disturbance characteristics – Limits and methods of measurement - Part 1: Modems for in-house networks

EN 50XXX-2 Power line telecommunications modems - Radio disturbance characteristics – Limits and methods of measurement - Part 2: Modems for access networks

A draft document for Part 1 has been prepared by TC210/WG11,

The document is being set for a 3 month enquiry under what is called the Unique Acceptance Procedure, or UAP, and then given over to WG 11 for update if necessary. After this, it will be issued for a 2 month vote.

Following is some background on the controversy over PLT.

Currently, no separate harmonized standard exists for testing PLT product specifically. Certain classes of PLT are incapable of complying with current emissions limits as is, thus; some manufacturers have been looking to EU Notified Bodies, some of which have been prescribing the use of alternative draft standards for testing purposes. Manufacturers have a couple of options for EMC compliance, one is a self certification, test and comply with harmonized standards and issue a declaration of such. A second method, when harmonized standards don’t exist or are not able to be applied, is to perform an EMC assessment and prepare a Technical Construction File, usually in consultation with a Notified Body, seeking the opinion of the Notified Body, to support claims of compliance with the essential requirements of the EMC directive. The bottom line however is that in the end, the product must comply with the essential requirements of the EMC directive, which is that, “the electromagnetic disturbance generated does not exceed the level above which radio and telecommunications equipment or other equipment cannot operate as intended”

An independent study, commissioned and published by Ofcom, the UK communications regulator responsible for enforcing aspects of the EMC regulations within the UK, was designed to examine the likelihood and extent of interference from PLT devices. This study was formed mainly due to claims that the use of PLC technology is disruptive to incumbent services, and, as a result, has attracted the attention of stakeholders, most notably, the amateur radio community and shortwave listeners.

As a result of this study, Ofcom advises that the conclusions indicate that the incorporation of mitigation techniques is important for the future of PLT technology. Ofcom expressed its concern that manufacturers should incorporate these features, to provide long term protection to the radio spectrum, and minimize potential for interference. The study can be found via Ofcom’s stakeholder web page

Controversy exists on whether mitigation techniques, such as smart notching or automatic level control go far enough to protect incumbent services. Real concern exists in the amateur radio community that many products on the market now do not implement mitigation techniques at all, and therefore are currently posing a problem for the amateur radio and shortwave listeners. The amateur radio community has been lobbying Ofcom, as the responsible authority for EMC enforcement within the UK, to remove such products from the marketplace. The Radio Society of Great Britain, or RSGB, has established a “Spectrum Defense Fund” to, as indicated in a Feb 2010 statement, “combat the threat of PLT/PLA”, as well as for the general protection of the spectrum for the amateur radio community.

For more information on harmonized standards for the EU, please visit http://www.celectronics.com/europe.htm

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By: J Klinger

VCCI 1 year grace period for 1 GHz+ testing

The VCCI Council posted a notice on its web site at http://www.vcci.jp/vcci_e/topics/new091211.html detailing the planed implementation of the 1 GHz+ radiated emissions requirements. These requirements are based on CISPR22 Edition 5.

While the VCCI Council will begin enforcement of the new requirements on October 1, 2010, manufacturers will have the option of applying the old requirements until September 2011. The VCCI Council requests however that manufactures proceed with conformity to the new requirements on the original 2010 deadline date.

The VCCI Council gives justification for its decision based on the publication, August 21, 2009, in the Official Journal of the European Union, that extended the date of withdrawal of EN55022:1998 until September 30, 2011. EN55022:1998 is based on CISPR22 Edition 3, and does not contain requirements for testing above 1 GHz.

It is interesting to note that for product sold in the United States, testing above 1 GHz has been required for many years. In fact, Part 15.33 calls out that unintentional radiators can be required to be tested up to as high as 40 GHz.

What has been a major point of contention for some, is that no agreed method for site validation has been published for above 1 GHz for FCC testing. That being said, no significant reports of interference above 1 GHz from properly tested unintentional radiators have made the headlines either.

ISN for ITE telecom line testing

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On November 11^th, 2009, the VCCI Council of Japan issued notice describing the restrictions on the use of Impedance Stabilization Network (ISN) to be used for the measurement of telecommunication ports conducted EMI. Although this information is published in the current CISPR standard, the VCCI Council will only begin to deal with the filing of reports on telecommunication port conducted emission from April 2010. Currently, a great deal of confusion abounds on the proper selection of the ISN for telecom measurements. This notice helps to clear up some of that confusion.

As implied, the document describes the acceptable types of ISN, suitable for the measurement of telecom line conducted EMI. Most notably, the document comes with warning notes about using certain types of ISNs with certain quantity of balanced pairs. Get a copy of the notice.

> 1GHz testing for Japan

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It’s known for several months now, that the European Union has deferred implementation of EN55022:2006 +A1:2007 until October 2011.  But what about others that implement CISPR standards for EMC

EN55022 is the emissions specification for Information Technology Equipment, or ITE. It is a derivative if CISPR22. The A1:2007 amendment adds the requirement for testing from 1GHz to 18GHz, depending on the operating frequency of the product under test.

However, in Japan, the current Voluntary Control Council for Interference by Information Technology Equipment (VCCI Council) rules call for mandatory compliance with the CISPR 1GHz to 18GHz test band by October 2010. The news here is that, so that Japan can be harmonized with Europe and other countries, It has been presented at a meeting in London, that the intent of the VCCI is to defer the 1-18 GHz requirements until October 2011.