Power line communication standard ratified

Power to you (Photo credit: Domiriel)

On October 9th, 2013, the CENELEC Technical Board (BT) ratified FprEN 50561-1:2012

‘Power line communication apparatus used in low-voltage installations - Radio disturbance characteristics - Limits and methods of measurement – Part 1: Apparatus for in-home use’

(PR=23145)

Implementation dates:

• Date of adoption (doa) = April 9th, 2014
• Date of publication (dop) = October 9th, 2014
• Date of Withdrawal (dow) = October 9th, 2016

It has been asked of the CEN-CENELEC Management Center (CCMC) to offer the standard to the European Commission (EC) for citation in the Official Journal (OJEU) under the EMC Directive and R&TTE Directive.

Previous posts on Power line communications;

Dec. 3, 2010 - An update on PLT, Power Line Telecommunications, in Europe

July 20, 2011 - Power Line Communication Limits and methods of measurement draft Part 1

Dec 14, 2011 - The last word on Power Line telecom (PLT) in the EU, EN 55022:2006 applies in full, maybe….

Government reopens

The partial shutdown of the Federal Government that lasted 16 days ended today and the FCC systems come back online. Access to the OET system, which includes electronic filing and the OET knowledge base has been restored. TCBs are now able to issue grants of certification and perform research on pending applications.

U.S. Federal Government begins partial shutdown

September 30th 2013, shortly before midnight the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum that directs federal agencies to begin an orderly shutdown.

For the first time in 17 years the U.S. Federal Government is in partial shutdown. Among the Federal agencies affected by the shutdown is the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology (OET).

While the shutdown is in effect, applications for product approvals through the FCC's certification system cannot be processed. Applications can still be initiated via the TCB program, but certifications can not be issued while the OET system is offline.

It is uncertain how long the shutdown will last or when the OET certification system will be back online.

Government Shutdown impact on FCC certifications

Closed Sign in Yellowstone (Photo credit: bmills)

Preparations are being made at the FCC for the potential of yet another imminent Federal government shutdown if a funding bill agreement can’t be reached by Sept. 30th.

The FCC has indicated that in the unlikely event of a government shutdown, that access to all FCC systems will be suspended.

The Equipment Authorization system, used by the FCC and Telecommunication Certification Bodies (TCB) to process certifications and issue grants of equipment authorizations will be among such systems to go off line, thus having the potential to delay or halt pending product certifications and preventing manufacturers from marketing and selling affected product.

Google granted FCC approval for TV bands database system

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

5 GHz band rules comment period extended

80211a-5-ghz-spectrum (Photo credit: sam_churchill)

FCC has extended the commenting period to July 24^th, 2013 on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) - Revision of Part 15 of the Commission’s Rules to Permit Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) Devices in the 5 GHz Band.

The above rulemaking will have a significant impact on unlicensed device spectrum use and affect devices that operate in the 5 GHz band, devices that use wide band data transmission techniques such as the emerging  802.11ac wireless standard for example. The complexity of the technologies embedded in such systems to deal with the spectrum utilization requirements can have a direct impact on the cost of such devices.

For a briefing on some of the proposed changes in the NPRM, see http://www.emcrules.com/2013/02/fcc-opens-more-5ghz-spectrum.html

The request for extension was made by IEEE 802 Committee and the WiFi Alliance to enable more time for review and commenting on technical and policy issues.  The FCC noted that comment extensions are not a routine practice, but given the importance of this proceeding, they found it appropriate for the development of a full and complete record.

REF:

ORDER Extended Reply Comment Date: July 24, 2013

EU EMC update Spring 2013

European Union as a single entity and the stars from the Flag of Europe. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

EMC directive

New directive acceptance is taking longer than expected. Legal adoption is expected around October. With allowances for editorial and administrative action, the new EMC directive can be expected to be operational by year’s end. The “Blue Guide” is undergoing an update due to the changes and to take the New Legislative Framework (NLF) into account.

Power Line Communications

EU EMC consultant indicated that prEN 50412-4 is not recommended for listing in the Official Journal of the European Union at this time, and Notified Bodies are cautioned against using this draft standard for their assessment.  For history on this subject and background see An update on PLT, Power Line Telecommunications, in Europe and The last word on Power Line telecom (PLT) in the EU, EN 55022:2006 applies in full, maybe….

EMC Market surveillance campaign

On first analyses the EMC ADCO’s 2012 5^th market surveillance shows worse results than previous campaigns. Reports indicated; of the items sampled 1 out of 2 Information Technology Equipment switching power supplies fail the EMC technical requirements. The full report should be released soon, typically reports are produced in January of the following year and then posted to the Europa web site. The report on the bilateral Table PC campaign conducted by the Netherlands and Germany is also expected soon.

Next candidates on the list for EMC market surveillance are;

Power Assist Bicycles, Inverter or optimizer for solar panels, High Definition (HD) video recorder, and potentially a new LED lighting campaign to assess improvements over the 4^th market surveillance campaign.

(EMC ADCO) – is the European Administrative Co-operation Working Group http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/electrical/documents/emc/guidance/

What power should be considered “Rated Power”

When assessing product under 61000-3-2, “Harmonic Current Emissions”, what power is considered as the rated power, the one actually measured at the lab or the one mentioned on the product data plate? When EMC ADCO was asked this question, the following statement was provided;

Up to a power consumption of 75 W no limits for harmonic current emissions apply to most devices (lighting equipment excepted).

If the rated power is nearly (but below) 75 W procedure is stated in the standard EN 61000-3-2:2006 + A1:2009 + A2:2009 Clause 6.2.2:

“The value of the power found by measurement during emission tests other than the original manufacturer’s conformity assessment test, measured according to the terms of this clause, shall not be less than 90 % nor greater than 110 % of the value for power specified by the manufacturer in the test report (see 6.2.3.4). In the event that the measured value is outside of this tolerance band around the specified value, the measured power shall be used to establish the limits.”

ADCO CONCLUSION

Rated power below 75 W, measured value of rated power is within 90 to 110% of the displayed rated power of the manufacturer

Take rated power from data plate

Rated power below 75 W, rated power not stated at data plate or measured value of rated power is outside 90 to 110%

Take measured rated power from test laboratory

EMC Standards

CISPR 32 has now been published. EN55032 could become mandatory mid 2017

EN55022 and EN 55024 2010 mandatory December 2013