Some comments [ ] based on Tom's note:
Article 3 of the EMC Directive states, "...apparatus referred to in
Article 2 may be placed on the market or taken into service only if it
complies with the requirements laid down by this Directive when it is
installed and maintained and when it used for the purposes for which
it is intended."
[This much is "fact", i.e. literal text of Directive. However, "opinion"
begins at the point of "interpretation" below. Ben Franklin once said
"Opinions are like watches, none run just alike, but each believes his
own".]
That "placed into service" statement has been interpreted to
include any apparatus that is being used as intended. This would seem
to include demos and may even be stretched into use at shows. As for
"placed on the market", might this include demonstration at a show and/
or taking orders.
[The Directive says when it is installed AND maintained AND used for
the purposes for which it is intended. In my "opinion" a demo unit is not
"installed","maintained", or used for the "purposes for which it is
intended". A demo is for the purpose of showing what a product could
do if it were purchased, installed, maintained, and used for the purpose
for which it was intended. From a practical standpoint, a demo unit should
be safe and free from obtrusive EMC emissions, although it might not meet
the "letter" of applicable standards. The FCC used to require demo units
to be marked as NOT complying with the FCC regulations for Class A/B if
FCC certification had not been granted, e.g. pending. A trade show did
not represent a serious threat to the FCC's objective of non-intereference
with residential or business equipment.]
[Well, these are just my opinions, and like my own watch, I believe them
to be the most accurate. ??]
I do not find any exclusions for demos or shows listed in the EMC
directive. This analysis is my own of course.
Tom Whissel
Senior Compliance Engineer
Cabletron Systems, Inc.
