Feature: T&M
When all these requirements are met and
the device is certified, the FCC grant will state that the device has modular approval. Te grant will also stipulate certain conditions of use. For example, most modules are for use in “mobile” applications where the host product must not be used less than 20cm from the human head or body, and the module may not be co-located in the product with another wireless transmitter. Provided the conditions of the grant are
adhered to, there should be no further testing or certification required for the intentional radiator part of the host equipment, but a label should be displayed stating that an approved wireless module is contained within the host. A favoured compliance route is to use a radio module certified as a “modular approval” transmitter and integrate it into a host device. Te radio module is completely self-contained and usually only needs an input signal and power source to be functional. Although the host device integrating the “modular approval” transmitter does not require certification, the manufacturer must still account for all compliance requirements, including EMC requirements for the digital circuitry and transmitter radio requirements. In all cases, the module manufacturer must
provide the integrator with comprehensive integration instructions, so that they can fully understand the conditions and limitations for authorised use of the modular transmitter. Te host device manufacturer is responsible for following the integration guidance issued by the radio module manufacturer, as per FCC and ISED rules. In addition, the host device manufacturer should perform a limited set of transmitter module verification tests to ensure the final product is in compliance.
Technical documentation For all these major schemes, the radio module manufacturer should provide technical documentation on how the radio module complies with RF exposure and transmission power requirements, as well as information about the intended use environment and associated limitations. Te host device manufacturer then needs to make sure that compliance to RF exposure and transmission power requirements have been maintained aſter integration of the radio module into the host device.
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As a minimum, EMC requirements need
to be tested on the host device along with a representative re-test of radiated spurious emissions (RSE). For both, intended use and worst-case operating conditions are within scope of the regulatory requirements. Both test disciplines require that the radio module is configured to use a radio channel with well-defined physical layer characteristics. Te most important of these are transmit power, frequency band, test channel number, channel bandwidth, waveform, modulation and channel utilisation. For radios that are less complex, like
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, these parameters can usually be set by regulatory test modes. However, for complex cellular radio technologies, such as WCDMA, eMTC, NB-IoT, LTE , 5G NR & REDCAP, regulatory test modes are not available.
Test equipment Manufacturers that have integrated pre- certified radio modules need access to specialist testing equipment and expertise. Tis includes base station simulators covering all above-mentioned cellular radio technologies. Tese need to be flexibly configured to control all of the above physical layer parameters via over-the-air (OTA) signalling sent to the radio module. Tests include stimulating the radio module receiver and transmitter to establish the intended worst-case operation mode for EMC and RSE testing. As already mentioned, the wireless host device manufacturer’s main interest
is to enable a wireless connection to the Internet by integrating a radio module. Tat brings another practical challenge as many host devices require a live connection to the Internet to allow the embedded radio module to remain in transmit (TX) mode for extended periods, as needed during EMC or RSE testing in an anechoic chamber. Tis means getting the Internet
connection to the equipment under test (EUT) within the anechoic chamber. As this is a room designed to eliminate echoes and reflections of sound or electromagnetic waves, this causes issues during testing. One solution is to connect the Internet via LAN cable to a base station simulator, thereby enabling the Internet traffic to be sent two- way on the IP layer using the active radio connection which is already established for EMC or RSE testing.
Global complexity A key reason for non-compliance of final host products containing wireless modules is that while these modules are complaint as an independent unit, once they are integrated into another product that changes the regulatory requirements. For European compliance, ensure that the wireless module is fully compliant with the latest Harmonised Standards. For USA and Canada, host product manufacturers should check the conditions of the module grant and ensure that the product is not breaking those conditions. Always ensure that the module is integrated in accordance with the manufacturer’s supplied instructions.
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