Broadband over Power line systems rule amendment

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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

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

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

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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

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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:

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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

Q&A; applicability of EMC directive to SIM (subscriber identity module)

Question:

Application of the EMC Directive to SIM.

“Does the EMC Directive apply to smart cards, SIM cards and other contact cards? If so, what do you think are the applicable standards?”

Answer:

My understanding is that the common SIM requires an external power source and data interface to function, so assuming the SIM card performs no independent intrinsic function, and thus is not considered an "apparatus", but rather a "component" or "Sub-assembly" and must be paired with a device designed to operate with it, the EMC directive is not independently directly applicable to the SIM.

However, the SIM will be subjected to the same environment the intended host is subjected to, so it should be capable of compliance under such conditions, and with whatever directive(s) the host, or hosts, are governed by, and should not compromise the compliance of any given host. However, testing in one configuration considered "Typical" does not automatically guarantee compliance in all use cases.

Testing to a given set of harmonized standards is one of the tools used to assess compliance with the essential requirements of a given directive, but is not a requirement in and of itself, nor does it guarantee compliance with the essential requirements.

The broader the use case, the broader the assessment needs to be. Consider mobile phones, medical devices, information technology equipment, etc...

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Note the “Answer” to the question presented is only opinion, but based on extensive knowledge of the applicable EMC requirements. The responsibility for compliance with any requirement rests with the given product manufacturer.

FCC’s first wave crackdown against signal jammers

The Federal Communication Commission is making good on its warning to signal jammer vendors on Friday Sept. 30, issuing a sweeping citation to 20 of them.

Earlier this year, the FCC issued a warning to consumers and vendors of the illegal nature of jamming devices, and warned would-be violators of the consequences that may come if selling or using such devices.

The vendors listed in the citation order are all online vendors that offer a range of illegal jammers such as GPS blockers for vehicles, high-tech signal blockers with remote control capabilities, jammers disguised as paintings and cigarette packs, other small, easily-concealable cell phone jammers, as well as high powered industrial jammers that have the potential to disrupt radio signals in areas as large as a football field.

The citation requires that the online vendors report within 30 days on their specific actions taken to correct the violation. The citation also warns that continued violation may bring fines, equipment seizure or imprisonment.

By: J Klinger

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