EMC STANDARDS Rev.: July 28, 1993 File: emcstds.txt Author: Michael Tracy, KC1SX (email: tis@arrl.org) This information package was prepared as a membership service by the American Radio Relay League, Inc., Technical Information Service, 225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111 (860) 594-0200. Email: tis@arrl.org (Internet). From the files of the ARRL Automated Electronic Mail Server, (info@arrl.org): Thank you for requesting the following information from the ARRL Technical Information Service or the ARRL Automated Mail Server (info@arrl.org). ARRL HQ is glad to provide this information free of charge as a service to League members and affiliated clubs. For your convenience, you may reproduce this information, electronically or on paper, and distribute it to anyone who needs it, provided that you reproduce it in its entirety and do so free of charge. If you have any questions concerning the reproduction or distribution of this material, please contact Michael Tracy, KC1SX, Technical Information Service Coordinator, American Radio Relay League, 225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111 (email: mtracy@arrl.org). The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a non- profit organization which is the overall standards body in the United States. At one time, it actually developed standards. Today, however, it is an umbrella for the standards-setting organizations. One of the ANSI standards committees is ANSI C63, which deals with EMC and which is really a committee of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The ARRL is an active voting participant in its meetings dealing with immunity of receivers (particularly TV and VCR) and limits on unintentional emitters. Electronics Industry Association (EIA) used to cover all aspects of electronics from the component to system levels. Several years ago, however, Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) was formed out of it to deal with system level standards. As examples: EIA is responsible for the RS-232 interface (now known as EIA-232-D, the RS being dropped) and TIA is responsible for cellular radio standards. EIA's primary contribution to EMC standards is to represent the electronics manufacturers to the ANSI C63 committee. Historically, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) claimed they had no authority to regulate receiver specifications. The ARRL proposed legislation, known informally as the Goldwater Bill and became Public Law 97-259, which gave the Commission authority to regulate receivers. They chose not to do it directly but preferred to let ANSI C63 do it voluntarily. Some progress has been made in raising receiver RF-immunity levels, but we would have preferred higher levels. There has been some improvement in immunity levels for TV and VCR receivers, although the greater contribution to reducing EMI has been the result of the use of cable rather than on-air TV reception. FCC and ARRL booklets and handouts on EMI have contributed to solution of specific EMI cases. Regulation of radio in the U.S. is split between the FCC for non-federal-government and NTIA for federal government. NTIA has no quarrel with receiver regulation and maintains standards for federal government receivers. The FCC's more laissez-faire approach to receiver regulation seems to prevail in U.S. positions at CISPR, however. ANSI has a Technical advisory groups (TAGs) for each IEC (including CISPR) committee in which the U.S. participates. U.S. positions in CISPR are formulated through the private sector under ANSI which includes representatives of the FCC and NTIA. According to the latest IEEE standards catalog I have (1993), IEEE has the following EMC standards of possible interest: 139-1988 IEEE Recommended Practice for the Measurement of Radio Frequency Emission from Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) Equipment Installed on User's Premises 187-1990 IEEE Standard on Radio Receivers: Open Field Method of Measurement of Spurious Radiation from FM and Television Broadcast Receivers 213-1987 IEEE Standard procedure for Measuring Conducted Emissions in the Range of 300 kHz to 25 MHz from Television and FM Broadcast Receivers to Power Lines 377-1980 IEEE Recommended Practice for Measurement of Spurious Emission from Land-Mobile Communications Transmitters 475-1983 IEEE Measurement Procedure for Field Disturbance Sensor (rf Intrusion Alarm) C63.2-1987 Electromagnetic Noise and Field Strength, 10 kHz to 40 GHz Specifications ANSI/C63.4-1991 Methods of Measurement of Radio-Noise Emissions from Low-Voltage Electrical and Electronic Equipment in the Range of 9 kHz to 40 GHz ANSI/C63.4-1992 Standard Methods of Measurement of Radio-Noise Emissions from Low-Voltage Electrical and Electronics Equipment in the Range of 9 kHz to 40 GHz ANSI/C63.5-1988 Calibration of Antennas Used for Radiated Emission Measurements in Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Control ANSI/C63.7-1988 Guide for Construction of Open Area Test Sites for performing Radiated Emission Measurements ANSI/C63.12-1987 Recommended Practice for Electromagnetic Compatibility Limits According to the EIA/TIA standards catalog, the following EMC standard is in effect: ANSI/EIA-544 Immunity of TV and VCR Tuners to Internally Generated Harmonic Interference from Signals I don't have any information on EMC characteristics of HDTV receivers that may result from the FCC's advanced television standards committee. The committee has given some attention to interference between the several proposed HDTV systems and existing NTSC systems. The fact that each system had a different interference profile vis-a-vis NTSC set the committee's work back about six months. Where they stand now is that the FCC didn't like any particular one of the proposed HDTV systems but liked parts of each. They told industry to get together and agree on a merged standard with the characteristics the FCC liked. This new standard hasn't been built or tested yet. While there are technical problems, they are minuscule compared to the potential legal problems of who owns what intellectual properties making up the new standard. It is premature to request information about the EMC profile of the new standard until a little later in the process-- maybe late 1993. *eof