[Elecraft] [OT] Hilberling PT-8000 cancelled.

[Stewart Baker]

Sorry Ian, not so.
If you had read the EMC column in RadCom you will see that 
complaints have been lodged with Ofcom by the RSGB EMCC with 
regard to computer SM PSU's. These are manufactured in China, 
fully CE marked, and sold through at least 3 well known 
electronic/computer outlets. 

In all cases the PSU's have been CE tested with the required input 
suppression components fitted, however when they are supplied to 
the UK these components are omitted, and wire links fitted in 
their place. The conducted noise level from these PSU's exceeds 
the permitted levels by many times. 

This is a clear breach of EU EMC legislation, but so far no action 
has been taken. They have also turned up in quantity in France.

I am sure that these outlets selling the PSU's demanded, and got 
the paperwork. Unfortunately it is worthless unless there is 
enforcement. To date, despite much communication there has been 
nothing from Ofcom to move the matter forward. 

Taking the PSU back to the shop is fine if you brought the unit.
Not so easy if it is a neighbour who's computer SM PSU is wiping 
out the HF bands. 

Although, not an EMC matter fairly recently a young boy was 
electrocuted because a CE marked computer PSU was of such poor 
quality that a low voltage wire touched the mains input wiring. In  
this case Trading Standards are investigating (after the event)...

I am sorry if is rather OT, however it should be of interest to 
those who believe that all is well on the EMC front...

73
Stewart G3RXQ
Member RSGB EMC Committee 


On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 09:43:27 +0100, Ian White GM3SEK wrote:
> Stewart Baker wrote:
>> All fine in principle, but here in the UK, nobody is enforcing 
the EMC
>> legislation.
>>
> It's true that nobody is enforcing it effectively against grey 
imports.
> On the other hand, those are only a small minority of sales. The 
vast
> majority of sales come from responsible manufacturers, through
> responsible  distributors.
>
> In Europe, the distributors provide the most effective 
enforcement of
> manufacturing standards for consumer goods. This is because 
consumers in
> Europe have strong legal rights which are directly against the
> distributor. If there is a manufacturing defect, then in most 
cases the
> consumer has a legal right to reject the goods and demand a 
refund from
> the distributor. (Some distributors still try to fool customers 
into
> going back to the manufacturer, but most consumers are becoming 
much
> more savvy about the law. Refusal to give a refund *will* bring 
down
> heavy enforcement from the consumer protection agencies.)
>
> The faulty goods then become the distributor's liability. Even 
if the
> issue is eventually resolved with the manufacturer, the time and 
trouble
> eats up everybody's profit margin. To avoid such situations as 
far as
> possible, distributors routinely demand formal declarations of 
quality,
> including compliance with all applicable standards.
>
> That still isn't to say that every declaration of compliance is
> truthful, or that the technical standards themselves are totally
> effective - far from it! - but even the present situation is a 
whole lot
> better than nothing.