Another slant on this issue is the price of the product. The FCC looks at the function, price and marketing of an ITE product. The maker can "claim" it is intended for commercial enterprises, and should be Class A. However, if it is affordable for the typical consumer PC workstation, OR is marketing in retail channels, the FCC will require conformity to Class B requirements.
In other words, there are two ways for electrical devices to be within 10m of people in their homes watching TV. Either nearby (but outside) the property, or inside the dwelling itself. In the late 70's some consumers were experimenting with electronic ping pong games, Ataris, and Commodores, all of which might use the sole family TV set for the display. Who could have predicted that 20 years later, consumers would have one or more PC workstations in their homes consisting of PCs, monitors, keyboards, mice, laser printers, scanners, and/or fax machines? MORAL: Be careful what you "claim" is Class A. George Alspaugh Lexmark International Inc. ---------------------- Forwarded by George Alspaugh/Lex/Lexmark on 11/17/99 08:27 AM --------------------------- roger.viles%[email protected] on 11/17/99 07:48:55 AM Please respond to roger.viles%[email protected] To: jack.cook%[email protected] cc: emc-pstc%[email protected], woods%[email protected] (bcc: George Alspaugh/Lex/Lexmark) Subject: RE: Definition of Residential location There is a further issue because the generic emissions standard EN 50081-1 covers the "Residential, Commercial and Light Industrial" environment, i.e. the only one it does not cover is the real industrial (EN 50081-2). This means that all normal commercial applications require EN 50081-1 which specifically calls up Class B of EN 55022. The referred standard EN 55022 has classes A and B with a different split: The tougher Class B is mandated only for the residential environment. Normal professional ITE products for commercial office use (not residential) are allowed to meet Class A. As well as the 10m distance from broadcast receivers there is also an expectation that Class A products do not use the same low voltage mains power supply system as residential premises. This is an issue in Europe where apartments and offices are often in the same building or block. This is spelt out in some EN documents, including EN 61326-1 section 3.4 which defines Class A equipment as follows: "Equipment suitable for use in establishments other than domestic, and those directly connected to a low voltage power supply network which supplies buildings used for domestic purposes [CISPR 11]." This means that Class A legal compliance is often not adequate for some markets. Not that domestic here means residential and not "US only". Roger --------- This message is coming from the emc-pstc discussion list. To cancel your subscription, send mail to [email protected] with the single line: "unsubscribe emc-pstc" (without the quotes). For help, send mail to [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected] (the list administrators).
