EMC test outfits in the UK

[hp23]

Hi All,
I'll soon be requiring a CE sticker on a product & thereby will need to find a good (friendly and hopefully inexpensive) outfit in the UK to provide a suitable test.
To accelerate development I went for a Silicon Labs Bluetooth SoC BGM220P rather than a BG22. It’s pre-Certified for Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU and of the Radio Equipment Regulations S.I. 2017/1206, but will still require EMC tests on the whole assembly according to ETSI 301 489-x.

Other than RS232 level shifters and some 1-wire devices, the main element that is starving me of sleep is the LT8391 (Buck-boost LED driver). With some tuning I replicated quite a lot of the DC2345 reference PCB including a pretty beefy EMI filter to pass CISPR25 class 5 regulations (as per their original design). The unit will be cased in Aluminium.

Naïvely I imagined that picking up a DSA815 and a set of near-field probes might bring me some encouragement, but from reading more on the topic – they are probably only good for pinpointing noise culprits after you’ve formally failed the official test.
I’d have hoped that the quasi-peak detector demo would still available on the DSA815, but alas it has expired.

So, as a cash-poor startup with a fledgling product, I have some questions:

(1)   Is there anyone in the UK (perhaps further ahead than me) that could lend some assistance in pre-compliance testing? Even to provide some guidance.
(2)   Are there helpful formal EMI outfits in the UK? I’m worried that I’ll end up engaging a ‘computer said no’ company that’ll provide me with no insight as to my next steps. Our budget would likely only stretch to 1-2 attempts.

[tom66]

We have used a company just outside Cambridge who I can recommend - dB Technology. They are geared up for both precompliance work and actual compliance work.  Their sfotware seems to be mostly home grown and the engineers there (hi Stephen) are highly knowledgeable and have seen pretty much every problem there is.  Also might be work talking to Unit3 Compliance, I know the owner and went to one of his training courses recently and he has a wealth of knowledge.  He's usually quite busy though so it could be several months before you get to be seen, I guess that's a good sign.

In general, expect to pay around £500 per half day - some test houses require a full day's booking.  So a realistic budget for precompliance is probably £1-2k if there are no major headaches to be solved.  Then actual compliance could be a fair bit more, maybe £3-5k.

The majority of precompliance work can be done in a half day session I dare say - arrive exactly on time to maximise your booking.  It helps  to have a lab that's not afraid of running a "quick sweep" to identify problem areas.  Usually that will consist of using a higher RBW than the standard specifies which sacrifices accuracy for speed.  Then when you have identified problem areas you do a proper test at the rated RBW.

Do be aware you do not technically have to perform an EMC test to be CE marked (in most device classes.)  So you may be able to focus on just the intentional radiator parts for your test.  You can do a technical assessment and justify that based on circumstances X/Y/Z  (like using good design practices, well shielded case, etc.) the product is likely to comply with the rest of the standard.  However, if you do get called up on that, you will have to prove to a legal standard that the product was compliant.  Doing the tests gives you a presumption of compliance which is highly advantageous should Ofcom or Trading Standards, or an EU body, wants to review your technical file.

[bookaboo]

I can recommend Compliance Engineering Ireland
 https://cei.ie/contact/

Certainly knowledgeable and helpful, never been an issue modding and retesting on the same day.
Their main lab is near Dublin but they have a UK lab in Co. Antrim, geographically may or may not work for you, but there's an airport with good UK city links close by.

[bookaboo]

Oh, bad news is you might need to do RED even though the module is approved. Best check that properly by contacting test houses, CEI do RED but only at their Dublin lab.

[Slh]

I'll also recommend Unit 3 Compliance (https://www.unit3compliance.co.uk/). The chap behind it (James) is very knowledgeable and if you have problems passing then he's great at digging into the details to find the source of the problem and suggesting fixes. His training course is also worth attending if you can get on it. He is very busy so it might take a few phone calls to get to speak to him. They're based in Bradford.

[jc101]

Another vote for dB Technology outside Cambridge, knowledgeable and always willing to help.

[Neilm]

If you have an intentional transmitter, you will have to declare to RED. With an approved module, the process should be reasonable straight forward - just reference a different directive. AFAIK, there is minimal difference in the tests you would have to do.

The one thing that has caught me out in the past is registering the device with Bluetooth.org. As a large company, we have to spend $9,600 every time we gegister. I don't know what the rules are for small companies they could well be different.

[mikeselectricstuff]

https://www.kiwa.com/en/ ( formerly RN Electronics ) In Essex

[hp23]

Thank you. Got in touch with Db. They were a little spooked initially given this is aerospace, but I'm really happy with the hands-on attitudethey have. I must admit I a little confused that there are a couple of competitor products (same functionality, different design & clearly not as good  ) that don't show the CE symbol? Wondering how that could be....

Hp23.

[jc101]

If they have passed aerospace standards, to get a TSO or the like, they don’t need CE. The aviation standards differ from the standard consumer regulations.

[tom66]

Thank you. Got in touch with Db. They were a little spooked initially given this is aerospace, but I'm really happy with the hands-on attitudethey have. I must admit I a little confused that there are a couple of competitor products (same functionality, different design & clearly not as good  ) that don't show the CE symbol? Wondering how that could be....

Hp23.

So the thing to understand about aerospace is it will depend on the market.

For defence there is no statutory requirement to CE mark.  The product tender or other contract specification will state what the standards to be met are, such as DEFSTAN 59-411 for EMC.  If the contract omits this, then *technically* you don't have to meet EMC requirements.  That is at your own risk however.

In other cases, the product might be installed as part of a wider system, so CE marking wouldn't be appropriate.  You don't have to CE mark an individual component in a car, for instance.  (Exactly where the boundary lies between a product and not-a-product though, is fuzzy as hell.)

[hp23]

Oh dear, that's a pretty big fly in the ointment. I guess by using https://launchstudio.bluetooth.com/ListingDetails/203544 & their framework (pre-qualified listings) I'm not automatically covered? I suspect I already know the answer.

[tom66]

Oh dear, that's a pretty big fly in the ointment. I guess by using https://launchstudio.bluetooth.com/ListingDetails/203544 & their framework (pre-qualified listings) I'm not automatically covered? I suspect I already know the answer.

As per Bluetooth SiG (I have been here recently), "Product qualifications cannot be inherited from your supplier, you must complete the qualification of your product for yourself."

Bluetooth SiG is a private organisation.  You need to pay their licencing fee (approx $11,000) to use the Bluetooth trademark, and to licence the patents they hold, for any new product.  Nothing stops you calling your interface something else and claiming "interoperability with a common mobile wireless standard" but you will still need to deal with any potential patent claims if you do this.  A careful reading of the website suggests that you have up to 45 days from sale of your product to obtain certification if you do use the trademarks illegitimately, but this could be risky if you were to fail for any reason.  This is not legal advice!