[sdiy] Advice for selling gear: FCC part 15 certification?

[Barry Klein]

1. It is expensive.
2. It is not very well policed for small quantity products.
3. No, even though you are using some "low EMI" microcontroller you need to
have this cert.
4. Doesn't matter where you source your parts.
5. Theoretically have to do ESD/Susceptability CE as well...
Advice:
1. Sell it in kit form. Seems no-one has cert. on these, or it's not focused
on.
2. Send your product to a cert. lab in Taiwan.  It's much cheaper.  And it's
strange how things pass there but fail here...
3. Lab time is typically by the day or 1/2 day.  You may want to be there to
"make" your product pass by adding EMI tape etc.
4. Some labs have more sophisticated equipment (automated) than others.  A
lab in the old Atari building in San Jose has nice stuff that is automated. 

Anyone know what the fine is for selling something without the cert.?

There are products in your local CompUSA that don't seem to have the EMI
work done...

Barry



-----Original Message-----
From: Bret Truchan [mailto:clone45 at hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2003 12:17 PM
To: synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
Subject: [sdiy] Advice for selling gear: FCC part 15 certification?


Hello again!

You all rule!  Thanks for being so friendly!

Eric, of Metasonix, was kind enough to warn me that, if I ever want to sell 
my creations legally, I'll need FCC part 15 certification.  I was wondering 
if anyone has any more inforamation about going through the certification 
process.  It looks expensive!!  If I'm probably going to sell less than 50 
units, and they don't cost much,  how can I break even?


One piece of music gear that I'm thinking of making uses a microcontroller 
-- and that's about it.  If the microcontroller already has passed FCC 
approval, do I also need to have my unit approved?  If my gear is entirely 
composed of off-the-shelf components, do I still need certification?

Thanks a ton for any advice!
- Bret

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