This is Next-v.-Indigo-FCC-certification in view mode; [Up]
Date: Sun 22-Sep-1991 02:24:24 From: jsw@xhead.esd.sgi.com (Jeff Weinstein) Subject: Re: Next v. Indigo - FCC certification In article <1991Sep21.223645.23814@leland.Stanford.EDU>, mcarling@leland.stanford.edu (M Carling) writes: > In article <CS011012.91Sep21175536@abbott.cs.brown.edu> cs011012@cs.brown.edu > (Rodrigo Vanegas) writes: > > In article <1991Sep20.190950.24731@leland.Stanford.EDU> > mcarling@leland.stanford.edu (M Carling) writes: > > > > >They do not have FCC Class B certification. > > > > What does this imply? > > > This means that they are not expected to be used in residential areas, not > having been certified by the FCC not to emit radiation that could be expected > to cause interference with other devices normally found in residential areas. > The FCC allows NeXT to obtain only a Class A certification because prices start > at $5000. Computers costing much less than $5000 are usually required to be > certified to Class B. I know I'm mixing two threads here, but I thought it might be of interest to note that the Indigo is certified Class B, so it is legal to be sold for use in the home. I believe(not 100% sure) that it is illegal to use class A devices in the home. --Jeff
Date: Sun 22-Sep-1991 04:21:36 From: pyrros@cis.udel.edu (Christos T. Pyrros) Subject: Re: Next v. Indigo - FCC certification In article <m5haptg@zola.esd.sgi.com> jsw@xhead.esd.sgi.com (Jeff Weinstein) writes: > > I know I'm mixing two threads here, but I thought it might be of interest >to note that the Indigo is certified Class B, so it is legal to be sold for >use in the home. I believe(not 100% sure) that it is illegal to use class A >devices in the home. Sorry, that's not accurate. There was an article on the subject in a major publication within the last month, and it explains the following: FCC Class A is only granted to high-performance expensive machines, which are not expected to be found in the home. (generally speaking) The much more stringent FCC Class B is required for other products which may be used in the home. However, no matter which rating the product has, the user has the respon- sibility to ensure that the device does not pose a communications hazard. Both Class A and Class B include the following paragraphs: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference. (2) This device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause undesired operations. However, note the wording of the notice for Class A devices: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a CLASS A Digital Device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful inter- ference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense. Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to operate the equipment. The shielded RS-232 cable are required to be used in order to ensure compliance with FCC Part 15, and it is the responsibility of the use to provide and use shielded RS-232 cable. (taken from a v.32 bis modem manual, grammatical errors included) Here is an interesting warning from an older Class B computer manual: a Class B computing device, pursuant to Subpart J of Part 15 of FCC rules. Only peripherals certified to comply with Class B limits may be attached to this computer. Operation with noncertified peripherals is likely to result in interference to radio and TV reception. Using nonshielded interface cables with this product is prohibited. The manufacturer is not responsible.... What the magazine article states, basically, is that you must always be care- ful not to be causing harmful interference, be ESPECIALLY CAUTIONS with Class A devices, and don't get in trouble! He cites that he had to pay for his neighbor's cable because he caused interference with a Class A device. The article also goes on to explain that it is legal to build your own device and leave it non-certified, but commercial resale of such a non-certified product is prohibited. The author reminds us to check for certification when buying questionable equipment, because if a problem arises later, you may be liable! I would just be careful if anyone lives near an aiport, police station, fire dept, etc., because the NeXT and attached devices (Hard drives, laser printers, networks, high-speed modems, disk farms) in a home environment can produce some considerable interference. In fact, I can sometimes hear my hard drives heads moving on my cable TV. I can even hear the high-speed modem on the NeXT's speaker. THE INFORMATION EXPRESSED HEREIN IS BY NO MEANS OF EXPERT ORIGIN, AND ARE PROVIDED AS VERY GENERAL GUIDELINES ONLY. IF IN DOUBT, FIND OUT!! The only point I do want to make that it *is* legal to have Class A devices in the home as long as they don't bother anyone. Any FCC experts out there care to educate us further? Chris
Date: Sun 22-Sep-1991 21:33:02 From: mcarling@leland.stanford.edu (M Carling) Subject: Re: Next v. Indigo - FCC certification In article <m5haptg@zola.esd.sgi.com> jsw@xhead.esd.sgi.com (Jeff Weinstein) > In article <1991Sep21.223645.23814@leland.Stanford.EDU>, mcarling@leland.stanford.edu (M Carling) writes: > > This means that they are not expected to be used in residential areas, not > > having been certified by the FCC not to emit radiation that could be expected > > to cause interference with other devices normally found in residential areas. > > The FCC allows NeXT to obtain only a Class A certification because prices start > > at $5000. Computers costing much less than $5000 are usually required to be > > certified to Class B. > > I know I'm mixing two threads here, but I thought it might be of interest > to note that the Indigo is certified Class B, so it is legal to be sold for > use in the home. I believe(not 100% sure) that it is illegal to use class A > devices in the home. > My understanding (and I am not an attorney) is that it is not illegal to use a Class A certified device in a residential area, but that if it causes interference problems for one's neighbors, then the owner has the burden of eliminating the interference. If it can't be done by moving it within the building, or by shielding, one can be prohibited from operating the device. M
Date: Sun 22-Sep-1991 22:07:36 From: windemut@lisboa.ks.uiuc.edu (Andreas Windemuth) Subject: Re: Next v. Indigo - FCC certification In article <m5haptg@zola.esd.sgi.com> jsw@xhead.esd.sgi.com (Jeff Weinstein) > I know I'm mixing two threads here, but I thought it might be of interest > to note that the Indigo is certified Class B, so it is legal to be sold for > use in the home. I believe(not 100% sure) that it is illegal to use class A > devices in the home. > As others have pointed out, this is not true. Also, from all that I have heard the fact that the NeXT is not (yet) Class B certified does not imply that it doesn't comply with the emission rules. On the contrary, the NeXT is a very well shielded system, magnesium casing and all. It was designed to be operable internationally, and some rules are *very* strict (the german ones, for instance). More likely some legal or bureaucratic obstacles have prevented the Class B rating in the US, possibly even this infamous agreement with Apple ... :-) Just my own meager opinions, based entirely on hearsay.
Date: Sun 23-Sep-1991 02:33:05 From: mcarling@leland.stanford.edu (M Carling) Subject: Re: Next v. Indigo - FCC certification In article <1991Sep22.220736.3544@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> windemut@lisboa.ks.uiuc.edu (Andreas Windemuth) writes: > Also, from all that I have > heard the fact that the NeXT is not (yet) Class B certified does not > imply that it doesn't comply with the emission rules. On the contrary, > the NeXT is a very well shielded system, magnesium casing and all. > It was designed to be operable internationally, and some rules are > *very* strict (the german ones, for instance). > > More likely some legal or bureaucratic obstacles have prevented the > Class B rating in the US, possibly even this infamous agreement with > Apple ... :-) > > Just my own meager opinions, based entirely on hearsay. > At last week's BANG meeting, Rich Page (hardware VP at NeXT) stated that some of their products come close to meeting Class B regulations. M Carling The Hoover Institution, Stanford University Director, Bay Area NeXT-user Group mcarling@leland.stanford.edu (NeXTmail preferred)
Date: Sun 23-Sep-1991 05:17:32 From: jfr@locus.com (Jon Rosen) Subject: Re: Next v. Indigo - FCC certification In article <1991Sep22.213302.29808@leland.Stanford.EDU> mcarling@leland.stanford.edu (M Carling) writes: >In article <m5haptg@zola.esd.sgi.com> jsw@xhead.esd.sgi.com (Jeff Weinstein) >writes: >> In article <1991Sep21.223645.23814@leland.Stanford.EDU>, >> I know I'm mixing two threads here, but I thought it might be of interest >> to note that the Indigo is certified Class B, so it is legal to be sold for >> use in the home. I believe(not 100% sure) that it is illegal to use class A >> devices in the home. >My understanding (and I'm not an attorney) is that it is not illegal to use a >Class A certified device in a residential area, but that if it causes >interference problems for one's neighbors, then the owner has the burden of >eliminating the interference. If it can't be done by moving it within the >building, or by shielding, one can be prohibited from operating the device. Your analysis is 100% right on, M. As a practical matter, the likelihood of a typical Class A computing device causing interference in a neighbor's home is pretty minimal. More likely, the interference would be caused in your own home, i.e., you might find the spouse or the kids p*ssed off at you while you are playing with Mathematica on your NeXT and they are trying to watch Star Trek or Young and The Restless or some such drivel on the boob tube. In fact, the more I think about it, the more this is a case for having a NeXT in the home :-) Anything I can do to get my kid away from the TV and into a book would be a good thing :-) Jon
Date: Sun 23-Sep-1991 20:04:02 From: hardy@golem.ps.uci.edu (Meinhard E. Mayer (Hardy)) Subject: Re: Next v. Indigo - FCC certification <1991Sep23.051732.01079394@locus.com> I can certify that the NeXT is producing less RFI than a color VGA monitor. I am listening to short waves two rooms away from my permanently-running Mono-NeXTstation and except in the very low-frequency bands (49 m) the interference is imperceptible. I can even listen (on a portable) in the same room. Very weak FM stations (my antenna is at 3 m from the NeXT) are getting some noise. A PC with color VGA, or a Macintosh IIx which occupied the same location before being replaced by the NeXT produced much more interference, and they had the right FCC class B certification. So this is a red herring which need not be dicussed to death! Greetings, Hardy -------****------- Meinhard E. Mayer (Hardy); Department of Physics, University of California Irvine CA 92717; (714) 856 5543; hardy@golem.ps.uci.edu or MMAYER@UCI.BITNET
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