I would be interested in knowing if manufacturers of point-of-sale
terminals, or other ITE used in a commercial environment, are
certifying to EN55022 Class A or Class B.
Many of the articles I read state that Class B is required for
residential, commercial and light industrial environments, and the
Class A is only for heavy industrial areas. The EN50081-1 Generic
Emissions Standard encompasses those three environments.
There is no such grouping, however, in EN55022 which is the specific
EMI standard for Information Technology Equipment. The EN55022
standard states that Class A equipment should not be restricted in its
sale. Following are some paragraphs out of EN55022:1995 relating to
Class A and Class B:
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"Class B ITE is intended primarily for use in the domestic environment
and may include:
- equipment with no fixed place of use; for example, portable
equipment powered by built-in batteries;
- telecommunication terminal equipment powered by the
telecommunication network;
- personal computers and auxiliary connected equipment.
NOTE - The domestic environment is an environment where the use of
broadcast radio and television receivers may be expected within a
distance of 10 m of the apparatus concerned."
- - - - - -
"Class A ITE is a category of all other ITE which satisfies the Class
A ITE limits but not the Class B ITE limits. Such equipment should not
be restricted in its sale but the following warning shall be included
in the instructions for use:
Warning
This is a Class A product. In a domestic environment this product may
cause radio interference in which case the user may be required to
take adequate measures."
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Based on many years and thousands of Class A terminals operating in
Europe, I have seen no evidence of interference caused by using these
terminals in a commercial establishment. Also, two UK EMC Competent
Bodies have stated, in writing, that the terminals should be tested to
EN55022 Class A to meet the requirements of the EMC Directive. I have
also had an Irish National Test Lab say that Class B is a
"recommendation".
Bottom line is that, be it Class A or Class B, if the equipment
interferes it will have to be remedied.
Your comments and/or discussion would be appreciated.
Jim Lyons
Manager - Product Compliance
GTECH Corp.
