Casella CEL (UK) engineers have redefined high quality, affordable noise monitoring. The popular CEL-200 range of sound level meters now has a new member.The new CEL-240 Sound Level Meter is completel...

Detcon’s state-of-the-art Model 700 gas detection sensors now include wireless technology as an integration option. All 700 sensors are equipped with standard 4-20mA analog and Modbus RS-485 out...

Liquefied forms of combustible gas may allow the fuel to be reused, rather than flared off during oil refinement.Dr Jan Lerou, chief technology officer for the Oxford Catalysts Group, tells the Novel...

Inspections of rigs operating in British waters are to intensify to ensure that no oil or gas leaks similar to that in the Gulf of Mexico are able to occur off the coast of the UK.Energy secretary Chr...

General Monitors (USA) is pleased to announce that Gassonic’s (Denmark) Observer is now FM and CSA certified. FM and CSA certification assures customers that the Gassonic Observer has been eval...

When the personal safety of workers is put at risk, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will prosecute, the inspectorate has reasserted.The note of caution is aimed particularly at companies in the...

Achieving certification for countries that don't have a strong test infrastructure

Many countries have their own specific requirements for certification of products, but don't always have the infrastructure to test to these standards. This presents a problem - how can you get certified if no one in the country can test your product?

One example is Brazil, where telecommunication equipment is subject to Anatel (Agencia Nacional de Telecomunicacoes) certification in Brazil. These regulations state that telecommunication products should be tested by a suitable Brazilian third party test laboratory, but the services offered by these laboratories are limited.

Regulation of energy efficiency presents new certification challenges

There is a huge drive to improve energy efficiency from customers wishing to save on running costs, manufacturers trying to gain competitive advantage and also from governments.

The number of international energy efficiency standards is growing requiring manufacturers to not only think about efficiency during design, but also ensure that appropriate certifications are obtained.

Although regulation and encouragement of energy efficiency by governments dates back many years, with the American Energy Star initiative being probably the best known, new regulation is flooding onto the market.

And you thought your EMC tests were difficult!

All electronics engineers are familiar with EMC testing, generally viewing it as yet another challenge to be overcome by good design.

However,it's not just small electronic products that are affected: EMC is becoming an increasingly important element of large infrastructure projects.

In industries such as transportation infrastructure and power generation, the equipment can be physically large, the regulations stringent and the cost of failure pretty terrifying.

Can the CB scheme help your wireless product to market?

CB or not CB: that is the question. When you have worked in the telecoms and electronics approvals industry for many years, I think you tend to forget that to some people the compliance and approvals process can appear to be very complex. That's usually because it can be!

Take the manufacturer of a Bluetooth or ZigBee product. These radio modules are now incorporated into thousands of different product types, with a truly global market reach. So when it comes to compliance testing, the manufacturer usually knows that it needs to go through EMC and radio testing, but the safety aspect of the testing can often be overlooked; and when it comes to marketing the product in various countries around the world the proverbial brick wall can be encountered. This can be particularly frustrating as many different countries around the world have