Parallax RFID and FCC

Invent-O-Doc

I'm working on a number of hand held devices that incorporate an FCC certified 802.15.4 radio modem, an SX microcontroller, a display with the parallax RFID reader. They are intended for use in a multi-person training scenario. Although this has been a blast to prototype, I wonder what would happen if I ever tried to sell a couple of these. I understand that electronic device FCC testing is a couple thousand dollars if FCC certified modules for the radio stuff are used, but if you have to certify a transmitter, like the RFID module, this can end up costing tens to a hundred K or so.

Does anybody know if these suppositions are true? I assume the parallax module is not certified, since none is listed. Will I need to seek an alternative to the easy to use parallax rfid serial module that is FCC certified? If so, anybody know of such a product?

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Thomas Talbot
Gunpowder, MD, USA

Leon

I'd guess at about $5,000, for full certification, if you shop around. It'll cost more if you want to sell it in Europe, because the CE requirements are more stringent and take longer. If you know what you are doing you can save a lot of money by hiring the facility for, say, half a day, and doing preliminary testing yourself, so that you know that the equipment will pass when the formal testing takes place.

Leon

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