EMC
UL 1741 Safety Testing of Inverters Includes Anti-Islanding Requirement
UL 16741 the standard for anti-islanding protection In the event of a power failure on the electric grid, it is required that any independent power-producing inverters attached to the grid turn off in a short period of time. This prevents the DC-to-AC inverters from continuing to feed power into small sections of the grid, known... Read More
FCC Outlines Testing of Consumer Wireless Charging Devices at TCB Council Workshop
At the recent Telecommunication Certification Body Council Workshop in Baltimore, Kwok Chan and Mark Neumann of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Office of Engineering and Technology outlined testing and certification requirements for Consumer Wireless Charging Devices. Wireless charging devices are generally used to charge batteries in portable electronic devices via magnetic induction. Chargers can deliver... Read More
FAA and EASA Accept RTCA/DO-160 Test Reports from Accredited and Non-Accredited Labs
Despite some reports to the contrary, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will accept RTCA/DO-160 commercial aircraft equipment test reports from accredited and non-accredited labs. Accreditation is a 3rd party assessment of a laboratory’s quality systems, processes, and documentation. Accreditation assures a minimum level of competence, but it does... Read More
Alternative Site Validation Method in CISPR 16-1-4 Saves Test Labs Time and Money
Calibration and test labs both stand to save time and money when calibrating/verifying chambers, due to an update to CISPR 16-1-4. CISPR 16-1-4 Amd.1 Ed. 3.1 (2012) has replaced Ed. 2.0 (2007) for radio disturbance and immunity measuring apparatus – antennas and test sites for radiated disturbance measurements. The publish date was July 11, 2012.... Read More
For IT Equipment in Canada, ICES-003 Issue 5 Required by August 2013
For manufacturers of IT Equipment (ITE) selling in Canada, ICES-003 Issue 5 Information Technology Equipment (ITE) – Limits and Methods of Measurement was published last month by Industry Canada. Until August 31, 2013, both Issue 4 and Issue 5 will be accepted. After that date, only Issue 5 will be accepted. Existing models in compliance... Read More
Military EMC Testing Standard MIL-STD-461G is Coming
A draft of Revision G of MIL-STD-461 has not been released yet, but MET Labs has obtained information about proposed changes to the Military EMC test. As covered in this previous post, one of the primary changes is the incorporation of indirect lightning testing heavily leveraged off of Section 22 of RTCA/DO-160G. There is no... Read More
EU Updates ATEX, Medical, R&TTE & Machinery Directives for CE Marking
The European Commission has been busy updating lists of European harmonized standards for various product directives. Here are the updates to the Official Journal (OJ) of the European Union, looking back from the most recent: May 4, 2012 – Updates to the ATEX Directive (94/9/EC), the European CE directive that applies to equipment used in... Read More
CE Compliance Testing Delays Launch of Raspberry Pi Mini PC
The recent delay in the high-profile new product launch of the Raspberry Pi has reminded electronics manufacturers of a simple truth: Compliance sometimes means exceeding regulatory requirements due to buyer demands. The iPhone-size Pi is a $25 mini PC that is intended to teach students about programming. Its maker, the UK-based Raspberry Pi Foundation, had... Read More
Electromagnetic Compatibility Compliance Engineers Use These EMC Resources
In follow up to our post on product safety web links, here are the Internet resources we use to keep current with electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) regulations and industry happenings. What are we missing? Leave a comment with a link to it. STANDARDS & REGULATORY North America FCC OET Federal Communications Commission Office of Engineering and Technology... Read More
Guidance Issued on GR-1089-CORE Issue 6 Variance from Issue 5
Now that Verizon has accepted GR-1089-CORE Issue 6 with exceptions, MET Labs’ Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Department has issued a guidance document that details the variances from Issue 5. See highlights, following. (Want a handy cheat sheet that details what can and cannot be grandfathered from Issue 5? Contact MET and ask for the “Issue 6... Read More
