Hello,
We are working in the field of Electric Bike Propulsion Systems. We want our motor to be able to communicate to I-phone/Android phone on Bluetooth. We are searching a Bluetooth LE transceiver. So we want to know which regulations are passed by nrf8001.
Thanks
The nRF8001 has a end produt listing (EPL) at Bluetooth SIG. The BT SIG takes care that the communication between two BT devices is working fine. The take care on the digital data stream. They do not care on radio emmision specifications like FCC. If you follow the design specifaications of the nRF8001 then you have a good chance to pass FCC. Please note that the final result is based on "everthing" around your antenna. See also my answer regarding antennas listed here: devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../ic-antenna-matching-circuit It answers "Nothing will interfere with your antenna?" Regarding FCC, you can make R&TTE for Europe and the Australian regulations in one "shoot". It makes the radio approvel not much more expensive. If you divide in two task then you pay more for sure.
Thanks Harald,
If we use nRF2741 module in our product and if our product has cleared "CE" regulation do we need to clear it again?
Thanks in advance
If you follow the Nordicsemi guidelines, then the impedance on end of the matching circuit will be close to 50 Ohm. This is for nRF24, nRF800x and nRF51 the same process. It is the same for nearly all RF ICs on the market. Most time a balanced feeding point will be converted to an unbalanced feeding point. The mentioned antenna is a 50 monopole with resonance in the 2400 MHz band. Be aware that components close to the antenna, the plastic enclosure, the type of the plastic, the thickness of the plastic and the distance to the plastic will interfere with the antenna. BTW, the size of the PCB and the thickness of your PCB will interfere the antenna as well. You or a RF consulter can tune the impedance and centre frequency by a matching between the 50 Ohm on end of the balun and the embedded antenna.
I do not know what the nRF2741 is. Anyhow I will answer it in general.
1. IC level If you select an IC then all radio related approvals on your side. If you follow the guidelines and get some advice from a local Field Application Engineer with focus on wireless and experience, then you have a good chance to pass. If your project is big enough, then such a FAE will visit you in your office. If your project is small, then they advice often by phone. For basic applications a call and a description is enough. If the Electric Bike Propulsion Systems is far enough from the metal of the bike, then it is maybe standard. If it is close or to close, then any out of the shelf antenna solution can be detuned easy. 2. Module level If you use a module, then the office for the certification will just test a delta. Nevertheless they will test the device again. If you support an RF module with a poor supply voltage or detune the antenna completely than your bike will generate RF emission. If you make everything right and use an antenna with to high bandwidth than worst case you transmit a harmonic wave of the transceiver on a too high level. There are always harmonic waves. This is common, but you have to take care on the value. 3. USB stick or other closed system If you use a USB stick and the stick is outside of the enclosure and you use the stick like described in the style like mentioned in the manual, then you normally can save the effort on further tests. If the USB stick is transmitting on 2 Watt power like a GPRS USB stick then worst case the 2 Watt power will interfere with something close to the GSM antenna. Just to let you know, that I have seen poor GSM antennas interfering with some other parts in the design. I replaced the poor antenna and the emission was even higher. One reason was some fault on PCB. Every semiconductor can be a mixer. Frequency A + frequency B mixed on mixer gives you frequency C and all the harmonic waves. The other reason was the Lipo battery. The security circuit inside the battery was surrounding emission. The battery was a cheap one, not planned to be used in a mobile device with GSM transmitter. With the 0 dBm or 4 dBm of a BLE device, I do not expect any trouble. Anyhow, you never can know because it is an open wireless system. Be aware, that your bike will generate some harmonic waves as well. If the harmonic waves you generate at the bike fit in the 2400 MHz band, then you will block your BLE receiver. 4. Proposal Contact your local FAE Wireless. Some of them have contacts to offices for the radio approvals as well. If you plan the design and the place for the antennas clever, then you can save a lot of time. R&TTE you can declare yourself. FCC you cannot declare yourself. For R&TTE you have not to use a test house. Nevertheless your company will be reasonable. If you wire some kind of electronic to a vehicle, worst case vehicle registration will be lost. If it is lost, than the vehicle insurance will be lost as well. Some radio tests I have listed here: www.gsm-modem.de/.../ Nevertheless as soon it related to a vehicle or medical worst case further regulations comes up. I know a lot but I never will know them all.
Thanks for your reply & information, I will check with our product specification. Thanks again.
Hi,
The nRF2741 module has been tested for passing the radio regulations but does not have the FCC/CE mark on it so your product will have to clear CE. You can use the InsightSIP module (which uses the nRF8001) for pre-qualified FCC and CE.
http://www.insightsip.com/bluetooth-low-energy-module.html
You can contact them at
sales at insightsip.com
for the FCC and CE information on their module.
Thanks
