- Radial Engineering has added a new pre-compliance testing facility to its engineering (R&D) department headquartered in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia.
Radial Engineering's Donald Carmichael explained:
"The world is changing. We are moving towards a greater use of digital switching devices, digital networks and wireless communication. This is forcing government agencies around the world such as the FCC in the United States and CE in Europe to implement controls over EMI pollutants that cause radio emissions which could cause disruptions. As a result, these agencies require products to be tested and be in compliance with strict emission standards set by each regulating body. Companies that do not properly test their equipment are subject to restricted trade and severe penalties.
"After several rounds of working with local test facilities, the tremendous costs for the approval process became so prohibitive that the decision was made to invest in a pre-test chamber. As an example of cost, testing a single product off-site can be upwards of $20,000 to achieve FCC approval. With the test chamber, sniffing probes, reception antenna and monitoring equipment at hand, we can quickly walk over to the chamber with various types of shielding materials to try design variations without having to pre-book a laboratory weeks in advance in order to get things done. The side benefit is speed to market."
