[sdiy] FCC And Other Testing

[Neil Johnson]

Hi,

> Hi, I'm developing a Eurorack synth module which uses a microcontroller.

Congratulations!

> I recently asked a question on here about ground planes and someone
> mention it might be tricky to get FCC approval, something I'd never even
> thought about. Having looked into this, it seems like it could cost tens
> of thousands of pounds just to get FCC approval, and that there are lots
> of other sets of rules in other countries, such as CE, Industry Canada,
> VCCI, CNCA, and EASC (to name a few).

Yup, welcome to the professional world of electronic product design.

Some possibly useful links:
https://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=229511
and
https://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3363152#p3363152

Note that whether you need testing, and to what level, will depend on
many things.
True story: when the original Raspberry Pi was nearing market release
I told Eben he'd need FCC testing.  He said no, the beableboard didn't
have it, so they weren't going to do it either.  I pointed out that
the problem he had was that the beagleboard was _not_ marketed as a
complete product, whereas a lot of marketing had gone into how the
Raspberry Pi was a complete desktop computer.
When Farnell and RS came onboard to handle the distribution .... they
required FCC/CE EMC testing.... lots of running around and extra
expense and panicy phone calls...
They were lucky: with good design practice and component choice they
passed without changes.

So it's not just what you're selling, but also how you sell it.

> Realistically, do micro businesses selling Eurorack modules actually go
> through all these convoluted and expensive test procedures?

They fly under the radar.  It'll be interesting to see Europe's
response following Brexit when some UK-built modules ship across the
channel.  And there's plenty of precedence: walk into any PC shop and
you can buy all sorts of plugin PCI cards for your PC, all of which
will have been tested and ship with a certificate.

Neil