Jacob, 1.A CD player is powered by an external ac.dc power supply 2. A mouse is powered by a computer 3. AC/DC power supplies are regulated in most countries and carry all kinds of marks for example: (Japan <PSE> Mark, TUV Rheinland Argentina S-Mark, Russia GOST-R Mark, cTUVR us Listing Mark for US and Canada, Mexico NOM-NYCE Mark, TUV Rheinland GS Mark etc.). In some countries, like Israel and South Africa, the marks are not required but certificates of complaince is issued by the relevant authorities. These power supplies are typically stand-alone and are provided with outputs complying with limited output power or as we call it here in the US, Class 2 secondary output circuits, meaning that any wiring and devices beyond the power supply in normal dry environments is safe. 4. Based on item 3 above, the CD player is safe from electric shock and fire hazards. 5. Unlik! e the external power supplies, personal computers are not regulated in most countries for safety. As such, mice to be used with computers have all possible markings. The manufacturers of these devices are concerned that the mouse may pose a hazard if used with a computer that was not evaluated to the applicable safety standards.Of special concern is that the computer outputs to which it may be connected has not been evaluated for limited (Class 2 output) power circuitry. Therefore, the manufacturers typically design their mouse polymeric enclosure to meet the more stringent fire enclosure requirements which in turn means more stringent flammability requirements. 6. Based on item 4, the mouse has a more risk for safety hazards than a CD player.In addition, a mouse is used more by the hand of the user than a CD player. The mouse is also subject to ergonomic requirements - a CD player is not. Because of these factors, the mouse manufacturetrs typically submit ! their product for certification. Best Regards, Peter
Jacob Schanker <schan...@frontiernet.net> wrote: Group: A while back I bought a Memorex MD5485 portable CD player (I'm not of the iPod generation). I was surprised to see only FCC Part 15 and FDA markings on the back of the unit. There were no safety markings of any kind. By contrast, when I look at the underside of my computer's mouse, I see nearly a dozen tiny safety-related markings. This paucity of markings struck me as strange, so I went to Circuit City and looked at the packaging of every portable CD player on the shelves. None (all the common brands included) had any regulatory markings on the packaging - not a single CE mark. I'd appreciate comments on this from the group. Are my expectations for a safety mark in the USA off-base? Does the same product type (maybe even the same model) carry a CE mark in Europe? What are the applicable standards (EN, UL...) for a battery-operated (with external DC connector for a wall-wart) portable CD-player? I look forward to your always interesting comments. Jack Jacob Z. Schanker, P.E., CPEng 65 Crandon Way Rochester, NY 14618 Tel: 585 442 3909 Fax: 585 442 2182 j.schan...@ieee.org - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to emc-p...@ieee.org Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas emcp...@ptcnh.net Mike Cantwell mcantw...@ieee.org For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: j.bac...@ieee.org David Heald: emc-p...@daveheald.com All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc _____ Yahoo! Mail Use Photomail <http://pa.yahoo.com/*htt ://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=38867/*http://photomail.mail.yahoo.com> to share photos without annoying attachments. - --------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to emc-p...@ieee.org Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas emcp...@ptcnh.net Mike Cantwell mcantw...@ieee.org For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: j.bac...@ieee.org David Heald: emc-p...@daveheald.com All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc
