peg@psuecl.bitnet (PAUL E. GANTER) (11/29/89)
Do any hardware developers out there have the scoop on FCC approval for small-scale production of electronic gizmos? If I build a peripheral for my Amiga (or for someone else's) do I need approval? What if I built a few of these devices and sold them? I realize that I could probably crank out digital circuits for the next ten years and not get caught, but I really would like to know what the law says about limited production, prototyping, custom building, etc. Thanks! Paul
doug@xdos.UUCP (Doug Merritt) (12/01/89)
In article <68558@psuecl.bitnet> peg@psuecl.bitnet (PAUL E. GANTER) writes: > >I realize that I could probably crank out digital circuits for the next >ten years and not get caught, but I really would like to know what the >law says about limited production, prototyping, custom building, etc. That's a nice way to approach it. Standard practice for small companies in Silicon Valley is to start cranking them out, and once revenues start coming in, *then* worry about the laws. It's time consuming and somewhat expensive, at least for a small budget. Full blown approval includes FCC, UL and the LA Fire Marshall (at least the latter was in vogue some years ago, because their tests were the toughest, so if you passed theirs, everybody else was happy about its fire safety). UL and (maybe FCC as well?) make a practice of testing units to destruction, which is another part of the cost. But non-garage-shop companies with larger budgets almost always take care of it up front to save hassles. I've seen several computer shows where EMI sniffers detected offending non-certified (and very noisy) equipment, and the vendors got all their stuff confiscated and were fined, to boot. So even for tiny companies it's questionable whether it's wise to follow this frequent practice of waiting for the wheel to squeak before greasing it. Doug -- Doug Merritt {pyramid,apple}!xdos!doug Member, Crusaders for a Better Tomorrow Professional Wildeyed Visionary
peter@sugar.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva) (12/01/89)
In article <552@xdos.UUCP> doug@xdos.UUCP (Doug Merritt) writes: > But non-garage-shop companies with larger budgets almost always take care of > it up front to save hassles. I've seen several computer shows where EMI > sniffers detected offending non-certified (and very noisy) equipment, and > the vendors got all their stuff confiscated and were fined, to boot. So even > for tiny companies it's questionable whether it's wise to follow this > frequent practice of waiting for the wheel to squeak before greasing it. Well, a better moral to this story is make damn sure you're satisfied it'll pass, even if you don't go through the bureaucratic paperwork. If you stuff doesn't pass it's gonna cost you a bundle to redesign, tool up, and maybe still build new parts whether they confiscate your stock or just say "try again". -- Peter "Have you hugged your wolf today" da Silva <peter@sugar.hackercorp.com> `-_-' 'U` "Really, a video game is nothing more than a Skinner box." -- Peter Merel <pete@basser.oz>
doug@xdos.UUCP (Doug Merritt) (12/02/89)
In article <4645@sugar.hackercorp.com> peter@sugar.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva) writes: [ In RE: FCC certification, EMI noisy equipment confiscation ] >Well, a better moral to this story is make damn sure you're satisfied it'll >pass, even if you don't go through the bureaucratic paperwork. If you stuff >doesn't pass it's gonna cost you a bundle to redesign, tool up, and maybe >still build new parts whether they confiscate your stock or just say "try >again". Absolutely. But what often happens is that they *don't* consider noise as a major factor when designing it. Then they start manufacturing/shipping and someone says "what about EMI & FCC?", and everybody says "Oh sh*t, now what?" In other words, poor planning. But I've seen it happen even at one otherwise professional, well funded (venture capital), well intentioned company. It just sort of fell through the cracks. And manufacturing engineering put in a lot of overtime redesigning it. It worked out ok in the end, but it was still an expensive and unnecessary mistake. Many other garage shops screw this up simply out of inexperience and insufficient familiarity with the complex dimensions of manufacturing a clean, mature product. This is also often the reason for poor reliability. Garage shops rarely know the phrase "burn-in", for instance. Or think they can't afford it. In truth it's more like you can't afford *not* to do a product right. But try to convince a Jack Tramiel-type of that. Doug -- Doug Merritt {pyramid,apple}!xdos!doug Member, Crusaders for a Better Tomorrow Professional Wildeyed Visionary
peter@sugar.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva) (12/03/89)
I said "make sure it'll pass FCC even if you don't do the paperwork". In article <557@xdos.UUCP> doug@xdos.UUCP (Doug Merritt) writes: > Absolutely. But what often happens is that they *don't* consider noise > as a major factor when designing it. Then they start manufacturing/shipping > and someone says "what about EMI & FCC?", and everybody says "Oh sh*t, > now what?" Well, that's a different case. The original message here was from someone who *had* considered it and wanted to know if they should get FCC approval before shipping in small quantities. -- Peter "Have you hugged your wolf today" da Silva <peter@sugar.hackercorp.com> `-_-' 'U` "Really, a video game is nothing more than a Skinner box." -- Peter Merel <pete@basser.oz>
doug@xdos.UUCP (Doug Merritt) (12/04/89)
In article <4658@sugar.hackercorp.com> peter@sugar.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva) writes: >In article <557@xdos.UUCP> doug@xdos.UUCP (Doug Merritt) writes: >> Absolutely. But what often happens is that they *don't* consider noise > >Well, that's a different case. The original message here was from someone who >*had* considered it and wanted to know if they should get FCC approval before >shipping in small quantities. Sure. I was just chitchatting on the general subject; didn't mean to imply disagreement or anything. Doug -- Doug Merritt {pyramid,apple}!xdos!doug Member, Crusaders for a Better Tomorrow Professional Wildeyed Visionary