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From: rpw3@amdcad.AMD.COM (rpw3)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,sci.electronics
Subject: Re: FCC req for electronic kits
Message-ID: <19164@amdcad.AMD.COM>
Date: Wed, 18-Nov-87 01:26:43 EST
Article-I.D.: amdcad.19164
Posted: Wed Nov 18 01:26:43 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Nov-87 20:49:42 EST
References: <1080@raybed2.UUCP> <2035@umd5.umd.edu>
Reply-To: rpw3@amdcad.UUCP ()
Organization: [Consultant] San Mateo, CA
Lines: 53
Summary: Testing requirements are REAL, and UGLY!
Xref: mnetor comp.sys.amiga:11181 sci.electronics:1757

(*Sigh*) "Life's not what it used to be in the good ol' days"...

If the equipment your kits run in is *NOT* ever used in the home
(factory, office, "industrial" use only), then the system (combination
of your kit plus the computer it plugs into) only has to meet "Class A"
standards, and you only have to have the test results on file if the FCC
ever comes a'calling.

(Oh yes, you also have to post the applicable Class A sticker on the back:
"This equipment generates...R/F energy...Has been tested and found to comply...
Class A computing device pursuant to Subpart J of Part 15 of FCC Rules...
Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause
interference in which case the user at his own expense will be required
to take measures to correct the interference." ...like, turn it off.)

There are various testing companies out there these days who know how to
conduct such tests. They ain't cheap! (...partly because you have to test
the total system in its "maximum" configuration for compliance.)

On the other hand, the FCC considers that computers under $3000 are likely
to be used in the home, no matter what their "target" market is, and such
equipments (and add-on devices for them) must be certified to the Class B
standards. If your device appears to be (in THEIR view) oriented to the
"consumer" EITHER in application OR in price OR in marketing (like, if you
advertise in a "consumer" magazine like Byte or PC World), then you have
to meet the Class B standards.

Now to begin with, the radiation limits for Class B computing devices are
a factor of 10 more stringent than for Class A, since Class B devices must
not interfere with a next-door neighbor's radio or TV in an old, high-density
apartment complex. (No, you CANNOT tell the neighbor to get cable TV!)

Secondly, it is not sufficient for you to merely have a copy of the test
results on file, as it would be for Class A. For Class B, you must get FCC
"type approval" *before* you can sell your equipment. This means you gotta
go through "the system", which is bucks and time, especially since you
have to provide THEM with samples not only of your product, but also of
the computers it plugs into (in a "maximal configuration"), since the
radiation limit applies to the total system.

My suggestion to you is to try to sell your invention to some outfit
that already sells into the add-on market, and let THEM take the heat
of testing, etc. (Of course, your product's value to them is lessened
considerably if you haven't done the testing for them, but that's show
biz. Sorry.)


Rob Warnock
Systems Architecture Consultant

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