Essential Install | Smart Thinking
Seeing RED And Avoiding
The Pitfalls Of Regulation
AVATR RACK
www.avatrav.com
Chris Sayers of Labgear guides EI through
some new regulations that will affect products
that installers work with every day.
Manufacturers of signal distribution amps
have only ever been required to conform to
the safety requirements of the Low Voltage
Directive and the EMC regulations, but that is
all about to change.
Six years ago a review of the use of the
radio spectrum below 3GHz started, prompted
by the demand of new technology to use radio
frequencies and the Government’s desire to
make them available to support innovation
and drive the economy (plus generating cash).
One conclusion was that it would only be
possible to continue to expand the use of the
available frequencies if the equipment being
used conformed to some minimum standards
of performance, so in 2014 we saw the
introduction of the Radio Equipment Directive
or RED.
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Distributed by
The Radio Equipment
Directive 2014/53/EU
RED covers devices that receive or transmit
signals below 3GHz which obviously covers
satellite and terrestrial TV receivers, but it
stretches much further than this, covering
everything from tank penetrating radar to
cable detectors and along the way affects
Bluetooth speakers and Wi-Fi products. In fact,
there aren’t many devices that aren’t affected
in some way. Under the Directive, there
are over 150 Harmonised Standards – each
specifi c to a different type of product.
Perhaps it might be worth taking a
second to explain the difference between
an EU Directive and a Harmonised Standard.
Essentially a Directive lays out the principles.
In this case products need to handle the
desired frequency with minimal distortion,
operate only within their defi ned frequency
range, be able to cope with higher signal
levels in adjacent frequencies and be safe to
use and install. Manufacturers
have two routes to
compliance. They can
work with a Notifi ed
Body (an accredited
Test House) to
develop and agree
a set of specifi c
Compliant cable will of
course be marked as such;
Chris says make sure you tell
customers you are using it
48 | May 2017
performance standards to ensure that they
always manufacture to those same standards.
This can be expensive with each manufacturer
effectively reinventing similar requirements
time and again. The more common solution is
for a Harmonised Standard to be developed
usually with input from manufacturers,
enforcement agencies and interested bodies
and as a result there are over 150 currently
sitting under RED. Figure one shows just 10
of them.
Seeing RED
RED, published in 2014, came in to effect
last year with a 12 months transition period
to allow manufacturers to upgrade their
products: anything made or imported after
June 13, 2017 that uses the RF spectrum must
comply with the Directive. Products made
before this date sitting on distributors’ shelves
can continue to be sold and installed, but by
this autumn expect to see new RED Compliant
products coming through.
Products which comply will carry the CE
mark and manufacturers may also quote the
specifi c Harmonised Standard they conform
to, or sHow an RED Compliant icon. Products
that use the RF spectrum carrying the CE
mark that do not comply with RED will be
policed by both Trading Standards for misuse
of the CE mark and Ofcom who monitor use
of the RF spectrum.
EN 303 354 Amplifi ers
and active antennas
for TV broadcast
Unlike many of the new Standards, EN 303
354 affects an area that previously had no
performance requirements, so expect to see
signifi cant changes as manufacturers launch
their new RED Compliant amplifi ers
with improved gain fl atness,
delivering a better balance
across the performance
range, lower noise and
therefore improved
signal quality and
greater signal handling
capacity, which is
vital as the spectrum
gets more crowded.
Products will also
have better impedance