It's only legal anywhere to plug a card with full compliance approval into a PCIe or ISA connector.The GPIO is the equivalent of the PCIe or ISA connector, just and USB and fan header pins for that matter (or a pre fitted M.2. connector). People add cards all the time and can sell them in PCs with no testing, that is no different to adding a HAT(+)Hence FCC 15.23 part bThere are lots of things one can connect to the GPIO header that would fail emission tests.
(b) It is recognized that the individual builder of home-built equipment may not possess the means to perform the measurements for determining compliance with the regulations. In this case, the builder is expected to employ good engineering practices to meet the specified technical standards to the greatest extent practicable. The provisions of § 15.5 apply to this equipment.
This is quite different to soldering directly to the board, as would be case with fitting the M.2. or PoE components.
One is add-on, one is a direct modification.
And what's the UK stance on this?
UK stance is similar in that everything has to be compliant, but competent companies can self-certify the stuff they sell, but woe betide them if it is found to later be non-compliant (usually by their competitor !). When we were in the EU the fines could be unlimited, not sure on any limits now. I assume all these cards Piminori and others sell that plug into GPIO have had some compliance testing at least. It's quite easy with a sniffer to see if you are well below the allowed limits, but obviously if close you need to go to a test house.
Statistics: Posted by MikeDB — Sun Dec 15, 2024 2:38 pm
