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Re: [TenTec] On Switching Power Supplies

To: tentec@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TenTec] On Switching Power Supplies
From: geoffrey mendelson <geoffreymendelson@gmail.com>
Reply-to: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 17:20:42 +0200
List-post: <tentec@contesting.com">mailto:tentec@contesting.com>
On 1/16/2014 5:10 PM, Bob McGraw - K4TAX wrote:
A few weeks ago during a discussion of switching power supply and related 
noise, I made a comment that the charger for my laptop computer did cause noise.

Subsequently I did find need to replace that charger with a new one.  In 
comparing the two, one makes noise and one does not make noise.  Now the 
interesting observations, both were made in China, both have the exact same 
rating, both have the exact same symbols for certification.


I know someone is going to be upset if I say this, but you have to understand the process of certification in terms of noise. The CE practices what is called self certification, where the vendor takes the item to an approved laboratory, gets a report of compliance, and submits that report with other documentation (photographs of the circuit board, etc) and if the levels in the report are below the limits, the application is approved and therefore certified to be compliant.

The FCC used to test items themselves, they no longer do, and their certification is achieved the same way.

Once an item is certified, there is no policing of the products. No one checks to make sure that production units comply, or that they contain the same circuitry as the test units.

It's also interesting to note in a related way the same thing with part 90 certification. I know a radio that passed part 90 certification, which includes a requirement to prevent the end user from changing frequencies except by changing pre-programmed channels. The radio has had it's internals reused in several different products, which since they are electrically the same the FCC accepted them for part 90 based upon the original certificate. The problem is that the other models do allow frequency changes. Basically no one cares. :-(


Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson 4X1GM/N3OWJ
Jerusalem Israel.

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