§ 2.948 - Measurement facilities.

§ 2.948 Measurement facilities.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 88 FR 67115, Sept. 29, 2023.

(a) Equipment authorized under the certification procedure shall be tested at a laboratory that is accredited in accordance with paragraph (e) of this section.

(b) A laboratory that makes measurements of equipment subject to an equipment authorization under the certification procedure or Supplier's Declaration of Conformity shall compile a description of the measurement facilities employed.

(1) The description of the measurement facilities shall contain the following information:

(i) Location of the test site.

(ii) Physical description of the test site accompanied by photographs that clearly show the details of the test site.

(iii) A drawing showing the dimensions of the site, physical layout of all supporting structures, and all structures within 5 times the distance between the measuring antenna and the device being measured.

(iv) Description of structures used to support the device being measured and the test instrumentation.

(v) List of measuring equipment used.

(vi) Information concerning the calibration of the measuring equipment, i.e., the date the equipment was last calibrated and how often the equipment is calibrated.

(vii) For a measurement facility that will be used for testing radiated emissions, a plot of site attenuation data taken pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section.

(2) The description of the measurement facilities shall be provided to a laboratory accreditation body upon request.

(3) The description of the measurement facilities shall be retained by the party responsible for authorization of the equipment and provided to the Commission upon request.

(i) The party responsible for authorization of the equipment may rely upon the description of the measurement facilities retained by an independent laboratory that performed the tests. In this situation, the party responsible for authorization of the equipment is not required to retain a duplicate copy of the description of the measurement facilities.

(ii) No specific site calibration data is required for equipment that is authorized for compliance based on measurements performed at the installation site of the equipment. The description of the measurement facilities may be retained at the site at which the measurements were performed.

(c) The Commission will maintain a list of accredited laboratories that it has recognized. The Commission will make publicly available a list of those laboratories that have indicated a willingness to perform testing for the general public. Inclusion of a facility on the Commission's list does not constitute Commission endorsement of that facility. In order to be included on this list, the accrediting organization (or Designating Authority in the case of foreign laboratories) must submit the information listed below to the Commission's laboratory:

(1) Laboratory name, location of test site(s), mailing address and contact information;

(2) Name of accrediting organization;

(3) Scope of laboratory accreditation;

(4) Date of expiration of accreditation;

(5) Designation number;

(6) FCC Registration Number (FRN);

(7) A statement as to whether or not the laboratory performs testing on a contract basis;

(8) For laboratories outside the United States, the name of the mutual recognition agreement or arrangement under which the accreditation of the laboratory is recognized;

(9) Other information as requested by the Commission.

(d) When the measurement method used requires the testing of radiated emissions on a validated test site, the site attenuation must comply with either: the requirements of Sections ANSI C63.4a–2017 (incorporated by reference, see § 2.910) or the requirements of sections 5.4.4 through 5.5 of the following procedure: ANSI C63.4–2014 (incorporated by reference, see § 2.910).

(1) Measurement facilities used to make radiated emission measurements from 30 MHz to 1 GHz

shall

must comply with the site validation requirements in either ANSI C63.4a–2017 or ANSI C63.4–2014 (clause 5.4.4)

and for

;

(2) Measurement facilities used to make radiated emission measurements from 1 GHz to

40 GHz shall

18 GHz must comply with the site validation requirement of ANSI C63.25.1–2018 (incorporated by reference, see § 2.910);

(3) Measurement facilities used to make radiated emission measurements from 18 GHz to 40 GHz must comply with the site validation requirement of ANSI C63.4–2014 (clause 5.5.1 a) 1)), such that the site validation criteria called out in CISPR 16–1–4:2010–04 (incorporated by reference, see § 2.910) is met.

(4) Test site revalidation

shall

must occur on an interval not to exceed three years.

(e) A laboratory that has been accredited with a scope covering the measurements required for the types of equipment that it will test shall be deemed competent to test and submit test data for equipment subject to certification. Such a laboratory shall be accredited by a Commission recognized accreditation organization based on the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission International Standard ISO/IEC 17025, (incorporated by reference, see § 2.910). The organization accrediting the laboratory must be recognized by the Commission's Office of Engineering and Technology, as indicated in § 0.241 of this chapter, to perform such accreditation based on International Standard ISO/IEC 17011 (incorporated by reference, see § 2.910). The frequency for reassessment of the test facility and the information that is required to be filed or retained by the testing party shall comply with the requirements established by the accrediting organization, but shall occur on an interval not to exceed two years.

(f) The accreditation of a laboratory located outside of the United States, or its possessions, will be acceptable only under one of the following conditions:

(1) If the accredited laboratory has been designated by a foreign Designating Authority and recognized by the Commission under the terms of a government-to-government Mutual Recognition Agreement/Arrangement (MRA); or

(2) If the laboratory is located in a country that does not have an MRA with the United States, then it must be accredited by an organization recognized by the Commission under the provisions of § 2.949 for performing accreditations in the country where the laboratory is located.

[80 FR 33442, June 12, 2015, as amended at 82 FR 50828, Nov. 2, 2017; 88 FR 67115, Sept. 29, 2023]