Good question. Re-phrased: Is a PC always a PC?
According to 15.101(a) provides a table listing the authorization procedures. The specific term, and I quote, is "Class B personal computer" and is subject to DoC. According to the FCC, 15.3(s) defines a PC as an "electronic computer that is marketed for use in the home... considered a Class B digital device". This definition is worth reading. It pretty clearly defines a PC. The definition of a peripheral device is given in 15.3(r) and definitely includes the typical PC plug-in type card (ISA, PCI, etc) 15.3(s) also states that if the price or performance is not suitable for home use (e.g. includes a $12k measurement card) then it can be considered for other authorization procedures. Returning to the table in 15.101, there is a note that says if the table indicates more than one authorization procedure for a device... there is an option to select the type of authorization procedure used. Is a PC always a PC? Is a PC peripheral always a PC peripheral? The answer is no. I personally reserve the DoC procedure ONLY for personal computers (and typical PC peripherals) as defined by 15.3(s) (Class B) and I use the verification procedure for those PC type products that are truly intended for the workplace (Class A). Of course, the exception is when an industrial PC application meets Clas B, then I use the DoC (why limit the market). You cannot, of course, use a Class A industrial PC in a "home" environment. This is a complicated answer to a simple question. Read 15.3(s), and compare your application to that definition to decide. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2001 6:09 AM To: 'IEEE Forum' Subject: Question on FCC part 15 Hello group, A data acquisition board for building into a PC has been tested to the European standard EN 55022, class B by an accredited testlab in Europe. This configuration is not meant for a residential market and I suppose FCC part 15 is applicable. Which procedure should be followed for part 15, DoC or verification? Compliance required to Class A or Class B? If the board can be built in different kind of PC's, how is testing performed? To determine the max. frequency to test for, do I need the max. internal PC frequency or the max. internal freq. of the board? Will the EN 55022 results be accepted by an FCC lab?, can a European CAB do the testing? Any help is appreciated. Regards, Kris Carpentier ------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. Visit our web site at: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc/ To cancel your subscription, send mail to: [email protected] with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Michael Garretson: [email protected] Dave Heald [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: [email protected] Jim Bacher: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: No longer online until our new server is brought online and the old messages are imported into the new server. ------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. Visit our web site at: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc/ To cancel your subscription, send mail to: [email protected] with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Michael Garretson: [email protected] Dave Heald [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: [email protected] Jim Bacher: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: No longer online until our new server is brought online and the old messages are imported into the new server.
