[AusNOG] Pokethernet cable tester

[Justin Clacherty]

C-Tick can be self-certified (though you need to back it up with sound reasoning and/or testing).  Given C-Tick and CE is generally a subset of the requirements for CE and FCC, you could basically say that, "it passes these and here are the results.  Results show that it is within/or should be within Aus standards."  You'd probably want to get a hold of the test results though.

Realistically though, per Thomas's suggestion, if it's a one-off thing for personal use it's unlikely to matter.

Cheers,
Justin.


From: AusNOG [mailto:ausnog-bounces at lists.ausnog.net] On Behalf Of Andrew Cox
Sent: Monday, 3 February 2014 10:43 AM
To: Thomas Jackson
Cc: ausnog at lists.ausnog.net
Subject: Re: [AusNOG] Pokethernet cable tester

I've been speaking to the creators via email and have the following info:

...as to our current legal understanding, you are certainly allowed to physically take the devices to Australia, but compliant re-distribution or use is your liability from that point.
We are a startup which was self-financed until now, so it only seemed viable to assess compliance in two major regions.
For the EU: CE, which includes the EMC and low-voltage directives and environmental compliance.
For the US: It's basically just FCC, and maybe we'll add IC for Canada as they can be easily tested together.
Also, UN/UL compliance of the built-in Li-Ion battery will be assessed.

I guess that all these together would easily match up to the AU/NZ local regulations, but there's still administrative work and potentially re-tests to be done in order to obtain C-Tick.
If you have any suggestions or comments regarding this, please tell.

At this stage I'll be going ahead with the group buy and have enough people to bring the shipping costs and import duties inline with my original estimations, I'll leave it open for another week before sending out the emails to everyone who's expressed interest.

Cheers,
Andrew

On 3 February 2014 08:39, Thomas Jackson <thomas at thomax.com.au<mailto:thomas at thomax.com.au>> wrote:
There are 3 components to look at here, telecommunications compliance (the old A-Tick), safety compliance and EMC compliance (the old C-Tick). These are all being rolled into the consolidated RCM at the moment, but that is a story for a different day.

When it comes to connecting non-permanent equipment to the PSTN *in general terms*, you can do whatever you want as long as it doesn't cause disruption to the network. If a device is designed for permanent connection, then it is a whole different story and compliance testing is required. My view is that this isn't relevant as the device would not be considered to be a permanently connected device.

With regards to safety approvals, my view is that these will not be relevant to this (unless it is packaged with an AC adaptor, in which case various safety and MEPS/GEMS tests are required on the adaptor, it would likely be a US style adaptor anyway, so it would be easiest to just chuck it out and grab a suitable replacement from Jaycar).

It would need to comply with the relevant EMC regulations. EMC regulations are an interesting beast - the importer/manufacturer a) needs to be registered as a "Responsible Supplier" who takes responsibility for the device and b) make a declaration that it is a compliant device using whatever means they deem appropriate (which can be anything from "well, the manufacturer says it's OK, so we'll say that it's fine" through to some very pricey testing). If the ACMA comes knocking, you had better be able to prove that it is compliant though (ie by being able to provide appropriate test reports). The chances of this ever happening are very minimal unless the devices are spewing out radiation all over the spectrum and complaints are lodged or you are selected for a random audit.

In summary, these are probably OK to import for personal use (and I'll probably grab one for myself), however I'd be cautious about importing them in bulk as it could leave the person who arranges the import liable if anything bad happens.

My opinions, seek your own advice etc.

From: AusNOG [mailto:ausnog-bounces at lists.ausnog.net<mailto:ausnog-bounces at lists.ausnog.net>] On Behalf Of Andrew Cox
Sent: Sunday, 2 February 2014 6:10 PM
Cc: ausnog at lists.ausnog.net<mailto:ausnog at lists.ausnog.net>

Subject: Re: [AusNOG] Pokethernet cable tester

I've contacted ACMA to see what they have to say but regardless of their response I'm probably going to preface the whole thing with a "I take no responsibility and assume no liability for your actions with this device" for people doing anything other than looking at the pretty box.

- Andrew


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