C63 FALL MEETING SERIES

The next C63 meeting series will be held at the Underwriters Laboratories in Northbrook, IL on October 28, 29, and 30. The tentative schedule is:

Tuesday October 28, 2003 0800-1200 SC-1 Working Groups 1300-1700 SC-1 Meeting 1700-1900 C63 Steering Committee Wednesday October 29, 2003 0800-1100 SC-8 1100-1400 SC-6 1400-1500 SC-5 1500-1700 SC-3 1700-1900 C63 Steering Committee

Thursday October 30, 2003 0800-1700 C63 Main Committee

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C63 COMMITTEE SUMMARY

Relation between C63 and IEEE: Dr. Showers reported that there were ongoing discussions with the IEEE-SA Staff, and some cost items were still not clarified. He also observed that at this point it appears that the fees being assessed C63 members probably will not cover the IEEE-SA charges, but in the short term, C63 will remain solvent because of the funds available from the USEMCSC. Dr. Showers also noted that the C63 web site is being moved from the IEEE server to a UL server – courtesy of UL – thereby reducing the IEEE-SA charges somewhat.

C63 Member Emeritus: The Main Committee approved a proposal to grant Member Emeritus status to a person who has contributed significantly to the C63 Committee over many years and wants to step back from attending meetings but still remain knowledgeable about C63 activities. The Membership Committee then nominated Edward Bronaugh, Warren Kesselman, Herbert Mertel, and Norman Violette who were unanimously designated as “Member Emeritus” of C63.

C63 Standards Status Reports

*C63.4R-2002 - Don Heirman reported that the C63 Editor, Stephen Berger had met with the IEEE Editor earlier this week. It appears that by the end of April, a Draft should be available for sale and for submission to ANSI for Public Review.

*Antenna Calibration - The Secretary reported that C63.5 had undergone public review with the review period closing on 31 March. Comments were received and are under review by the C63.5 Working Group.

*C63.7 – OATS, construction of – Don Heirman reported that C63.7 had automatically been withdrawn by ANSI as a result of the ten-year rule. A PINS for a revision, which was approved by C63 at its last meeting, has been submitted, and the Draft Revision has been successfully balloted by C63. There were a number of comments associated with the ballots, many of which dealt with issues such as poor figures, etc.

Don will work on the resolution of the ballots and expects to complete it in a few months.

*C63.15 – Immunity Measurement. & Instrumentation. -The Secretary reported that the C63 ballot on this Draft, which closed on 12 March, was successful but that there were comments which needed resolution.

*C63.16 – ESD Test Methodologies – The Chair reported that he had just received from John Maas, Vice Chair of the C63 ESD WG, an editorially revised copy of the C63.16 draft rejected for ballot by the C63 members. The Secretary will circulate this revised draft to C63 for comment on its suitability for a C63 letter ballot.

*C63.19 – EMC Hearing Aids, etc. Don Heirman reporting for Stephen Berger, noted that this standard had been receiving much publicity recently, with more than 320 formal ex-parte sets of comments received by the FCC. It appears that the standard has not always been used correctly. A workshop is planned for early June on hearing-aid and cell-phone compatibility .

*C63.22 – Guide for Automated EMI Meas. – Werner Schaefer reported that he had resolved the comments from the recirculation ballot last year and re-edited the document to produce Draft 14. The draft will be processed through the approval cycle.

(SEE STANDARDS STATUS TABLE ON PAGE 4)

FCC Related Matters –Art Wall addressed the committee informally by speaker-phone. He cited a number of topics that were of immediate interest to the FCC, including a new biannual review of FCC rules to begin, probably in June 2003, training sessions at the FCC in May 2003, and measurements above 1 GHz. In connection with the latter topic, it was pointed out that there already was work underway by ITU-T.

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SUBCOMMITTEE ACTIVITY SUMMARIES

SC-1 Techniques and Development

Don Heirman Chair

SC-6 Accreditation/Conformity Assessment

Dan Hoolihan, Chair

Working Group #1 – Checklists for Lab Assessors: The Checklist Compendium Document is progressing. The Draft version is due 1 May 2003.

Working Group #2 – Inter-laboratory Comparison Testing: A PINS was approved by the Subcommittee to produce a Guide on Inter-laboratory Comparison testing. This document will be based on actual test results generated in an inter-lab comparison testing with emission artifacts (approved at C63 meeting).

Working Group #3 – NVLAP Antenna Calibration Policy: A suggestion to disband the WG was made to the Parent Committee (approved at C63 meeting)

Don Heirman gave an update on NACLA activities including a report on the annual Forum held in March of this year.

SC-8 Medical Device EMC Test Methods

Dan Hoolihan, Chair

Working Group #1 reported that the rewrite of C63.18 – “Recommended Practice for an On-Site, Ad-Hoc Test Method for Estimating Radiated Electromagnetic Immunity of Medical Devices for Specific Radio Frequency Transmitters” is underway. Jeff Silberberg from the FDA reported that a First Draft will be ready for Subcommittee review by the next meeting.

A PINS-C relative to immunity of patient-connected medical devices was distributed, discussed, and approved by the Subcommittee. It will be forwarded to the Parent Committee for approval (approved at C63 meeting). Working Group #2 is planning on publishing a technical report on their results.

Steve Berger reported on C63.19 – “Methods of Measurement of Compatibility between Wireless Communications Devices and Hearing Aids”. This standard is being used by hearing aid manufacturers and cell phone manufacturers because the FCC has hinted they may adopt the standard. Positive comments on the standard have been filed by the Hearing Industry Association while the cell phone manufacturers have been having meetings with the FCC and complaining about the standard. A meeting was held with the FCC and C63 on Monday, April 7^th and a proposal was made to have a workshop on the standard.

Jeff Silberberg reported on IEC SC62A Maintenance Team 23 on the International Medical Device EMC standard, IEC 60601-1-2. A meeting was held last November to discuss comments received from users of the standard. Another meeting of the Maintenance Team is scheduled for May.

Jon Casamento of the FDA gave a brief report on the FDA. It was reported that a meeting of the AAMI/EMC Committee would be held in Long Beach, California on June 18^th from 9 am to 5 pm to discuss the AAMI TIR 18 document.

Bob Podhrasky of the ASTM was an invited guest at the meeting. He discussed the activities of a group he chairs in ASTM on “Standard Practice for Security Checkpoint Screening Persons with Medical Devices.” A copy of the document will be distributed to the Subcommittee for comment.

C63 STATUS REPORT - STANDARDS AND PROJECTS, as of 1 May 2003
STD/PROJECT	ABBREVIATED TITLE	STATUS
C63.2 - 1996	Instrumentation
C63.4 - 2001	Measurement Methods	2004 Rev . Ready for Public Review
C63.5 - 1998	Antenna Calibration	2003 Rev. just completed Public Review. Comments to be resolved.
C63.6 - 1996	Error Budget for OATS Measurements
C63.7 - 1992	OATS, Construction of	1992 Std Withdrawn; New Std. in Prep
C63.12 - 2000	EMC Limit Setting
C63.13 - 1991	EMI Power Line Filters	Withdrawn. No new edition planned
C63.14 - 1998	EMC Definitions
C63.15	Immunity Measurements & Instrumentation	Draft ballot in process in C63
C63.16 - 1993	ESD Test Methodologies	Draft Rev. to be balloted by C63
C63.17 - 1998	Unlicensed Personal Communication Services Devices
C63.18 - 1997	Medical Devices; Radiated Immunity Test
C63.19 - 2001	EMC of Hearing Aids and Wireless Communications Devices
C63.22	Guide for Automated EMI Measurements	Draft ballot in process in C63