Right on the heels of EN 300 328 Version 1.8.1 becoming effective on December 31, 2014, Version 1.9.1 is expected to be published this year. Since there were significant changes between ETSI’s V1.7.1 and V1.8.1, it’s natural that electronics manufacturers are wondering what changes are in store for V1.9.1.
What is anticipated to become final harmonized standard EN 300 328 Version 1.9.1 is currently draft Version 1.8.2, which was released in April 2014. The overall scope and the essential requirements of the standard remain the same, but there are changes that include new and revised definitions, modifications to the limits, and simplification and clarification of test methods. Following are four important changes in V1.8.2.
Frequency Occupation Options
For frequency hopping equipment, the requirement for Minimum Frequency Occupation was renamed to Frequency Occupation, and it now includes two options for compliance, one being an occupation probability.
Dwell Time Definition Change
Also for frequency hoppers, the definition of Dwell Time was clarified in V1.8.2 and the conformance requirement for Dwell Time was renamed to Accumulated Transmit Time.
Adaptivity for Non-FHSS Devices Modification
The Adaptivity conformance requirement for non-frequency hopping devices using Listen Before Talk (LBT) was modified to remove the confusing random variable ‘R’ and value ‘q.’ Instead, to simplify the test methods, the Clear Channel Assessment time and Channel Occupancy time in V1.8.2 are fixed values, or a range of fixed values.
Emissions Requirement Change
The transmitter unwanted emissions in the spurious domain and the receiver spurious emission requirements have also changed. V1.8.2 includes a clarification on the requirement for both conductive and radiated measurements. The test procedures for spurious emissions were also modified and slightly better defined in the draft of V1.8.2.
There are other changes in V1.8.2, contact MET for more information.
While we wait on EN 300 328 Version 1.9.1, Version 1.10.1 is already on the horizon; a task group has been commissioned to work on it. We’ll let you know when its content is known.
If you sell products in Europe with 2.4GHz transmitters, contact MET for a free quote for EN 300 328 testing for R&TTE Directive CE marking. MET is deeply experienced in all types of wireless testing, including for the Wi-Fi Alliance.
