The UK government announced August 24, 2021 that you may
continue to use the CE marking for goods place on the market in Great Britain
until January 2023. The UKCA marking may be used now, however, from January 1,
2023 the UKCA marking will be mandatory.
REF:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/placing-manufactured-goods-on-the-market-in-great-britain
The FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) has granted operational approval for Google’s TV bands database system, to provide service to the public.
The TV bands database system is designed to protect broadcast TV stations, fixed broadcast auxiliary service (BAS) links, Multichannel video programing distributors (MVPDs), private land mobile and commercial mobile radio service, offshore radio telephone service, radio astronomy at specific sites and low power auxiliary service.
Some operators must specifically register to receive protection from TV band devices, such as, MVPD receive sites, wireless microphone users and temporary BAS links.
Google’s spectrum database can be found at http://www.google.org/spectrum/whitespace/index.html
REF:
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/db0628/DA-13-1472A1.pdf
radio module (Photo credit: ckhamken)
Building on a previous post focusing on radio module integration and the Radio and telecommunications terminal equipment (R&TTE) directive compliance, this article will focus on compliance of the combined apparatus with section 3.1(b) of the R&TTE directive, namely the essential requirements of Electromagnetic Compatibility or EMC.
As a basic primer, the R&TTE directive’s essential requirements are detailed within the directive under article 3, to paraphrase;
3.1 Essential requirements applicable to all apparatus;
a. Safety requirements of the Low Voltage Directive, with lower limits removed
b. Electromagnetic compatibility as per EMC directive
3.2 Effective use of radio spectrum
3.3 Construction, protection and accessibility requirements (with a number of specified items)
As posited in a previous post “Radio module integration and R&TTE compliance”, compliant radio modules installed in accordance with a manufacturer’s installation instruction require no further evaluation to article 3.2 of the R&TTE directive. However, an assessment, in most cases, will be necessary for article 3.1(a) and 3.1(b). The combined product will essentially form a new apparatus.
Given that the combined product should be assessed as a new apparatus, a couple questions may arise. What EU directive and standards apply? How do you make an assessment for EMC on the combined product?
When adding a radio to an apparatus, the new combined apparatus now falls within the scope of the R&TTE directive. ETSI EN 301 489-1 annex C gives guidance regarding this combined equipment EMC assessment, and it is based on the ETSI TR 102 070-1 technical report. In accordance with the guidance, for a combined apparatus where all products can operate independently of each other, an evaluation may be made by review of existing assessment of the individual apparatus, and if it is concluded that the combined configuration has been assessed and is representative of the combined apparatus, and, is used in according to its manufacturer’s instructions, it is not necessary to re-assess the apparatus. If there is insufficient information to make an evaluation, or the results of the evaluation are unclear, then an additional assessment shall be performed. Most of the time an assessment for EMC of the combined apparatus will not have been performed, or there is insufficient data to support a declaration of conformity.
Although under the scope of the R&TTE directive, the selection of applicable standards for EMC will be based on the primary function of the newly combined apparatus. The manufacturer shall declare the primary function and identify applicable standards from the EMC directive and/or R&TTE directive. The assessment should be supplemented with test levels and extended frequency ranges to cover both radio and non-radio aspects of the newly combined apparatus (i.e. a worst case representation of applicable levels and limits). See this flow chart from Compatible Electronics for a simplification of the assessment process based on the ETSI guidance.
The declaration of conformity will need to declare compliance with the R&TTE directive, and the party responsible for the completed combined apparatus is the party responsible for ensuring that the final configuration, when used properly, and in accordance with the provided instructions, fulfills ALL essential requirements of the R&TTE directive.
REF:
ETSI TR 102 070-1
ETSI EN 301 489-1 annex C
R&TTE CA TGN 01 Rev 5
GUIDELINES ON THE APPLICATION OF DIRECTIVE 2006/95/EC (par. 34)
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.
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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;
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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;
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
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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
