The RF emissions testing required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under 47 CFR Part 15 became mandatory in 1981. Following the United States, other individual country requirements were instigated around the world. With the formation of the European Union and the EMC Directive, which became effective as of 1995, the scope of testing was expanded from conducted and radiated emissions to include a full set of immunity requirements.
The immunity requirements and test procedures are covered by the following IEC standards.
- IEC/EN 61000-4-2 – Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)
- IEC/EN 61000-4-3 – Radiated RF Immunity
- IEC/EN 61000-4-4 – Electrical Fast Transient (EFT)
- IEC/EN 61000-4-5 – Surge
- IEC/EN 61000-4-6 – Conducted RF Immunity
- IEC/EN 61000-4-8 – Magnetic Immunity
- IEC/EN 61000-4-11 – Voltage Dips and Dropouts
Commercial-radiated emission testing was originally performed on Open Area Test Sites (OATS). Professional Testing originally used three OATS located in the Texas Hill Country outside of Marble Falls, Texas. The testing performed on these sites has been replaced by Professional Testing, acquiring a 10-meter Anechoic Chamber located in north Austin. This state-of-the-art 10-meter chamber originally designed for IBM incorporates a 12 ft diameter turntable capable of supporting over 1,000 lbs and power sources capable single or 3-phase Ac voltages of up to 200 amps or DC voltages up to1000 amps.