"C-Tick" Compliance & You…

[Aaron]

Hi Everyone,
I’ve been pretty quiet of late, one of the reasons behind that…

C-Tick Compliance for all Radio Gear sold by ausmicro.com

If you read any of the R/C car magazines produced in Australia you’ll have read the term “C-Tick” a few too many times.

While it may not seem like a big deal, “it’s just a sticker”, it does mean a lot more. For anyone who imports a radio transmitter into Australia and then uses it or sells it it means everything. It’s NOT legal to do the above without proper compliance documentation.

I’ve spent many many hours over the past few weeks going through the motions of working out what ausmicro.com (and as a result anyone here who has imported radio gear from outside that may not be compliant) needs to do.

The good news is that we’ve gotten to the bottom of it and we will soon hold proper “C-Tick” compliance for most of the products we sell and have sold. I believe this makes us unique in the Australian market as the only holders of C-Tick compliance for iWaver product.

We will be marking all our products with the “C-Tick” labelling once we have our compliance program completed.

“C-Tick” compliance and labelling means that the device meets all the laws for radio transmitters in Australia, it means the device is highly unlikely to interfere with other radio devices (operating on different frequencies) and has a consistency of performance across the production batches ensuring the standards are always met.

This is a big step for us and I hope that you as potential customers will support it.

A.

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Site Owner Guy.

[betty.k]

i gotta read more rc mags, never heard of this before!

so what does this mean for us average bruces, do we need documentation for our radio gear?

if i bought 72mhz radio gear would it get seized at customs?

are there roving “frequency police”?

is this the result of a recent crack-down on radio frequencies?:8ball:

[PandaBear]

betty.k wrote:

so what does this mean for us average bruces, do we need documentation for our radio gear?

if i bought 72mhz radio gear would it get seized at customs?
Not illegal to buy or possess… if you turn it on, that’s a different issue.

But to import for resale/distribute stuff is a different matter.

[Aaron]

Yeah it’s about ensuring devices imported here all meet the same regulations and are safe. As an individual the fines etc are pretty harsh, even though you’re only going to be nailed if your radio gear fries a nearby pacemaker etc.

For importers like ausmicro.com it’s a sign that we’ve taken on resposibility to ensure that the equipment is compliant safe and operates as intended.

If you are into competition you may find your local club will only allow C-Tick’d equipment to be used – this is because of the reduced risk of radio interference etc.

C-Tick certification applies to anything that may emit radio waves/interference as a function of their operation. However there’s grades and categories for each type of device.

I’m happy to say that our “Suppliers Code Number” arrived today and we are now able to legally display the “C-Tick” symbol on any compliant product we sell.

So far all our our iWaver, Kyosho and Nanodragon products have compliance in progress.

We will also be complying the last of our Bit Char-G stock.

I know for a lot of customers this doesn’t matter, but for others it’sa very important (and much needed) step to take to improve the future for ausmicro.com

A.

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Site Owner Guy.

[Aaron]

Radiocommunications Equipment

The use of non-standard radiocommunications equipment including, but not limited to, cordless phones, land mobile transceivers, CB radios and a range of low power appliances may cause costly interference. Some of the services which may be affected by interference are cellular (mobile) phone services, broadcast radio and television, and two-way radio services, including emergency services.

The use and (sometimes) possession of radiocommunications equipment not specifically designed to comply with Australian standards may be illegal. There are severe penalties for operation, possession for the purpose of operation and supply of radiocommunications equipment that does not comply with applicable Australian standards.

It is illegal to operate any radio transmitter in Australia unless the operation of that transmitter is authorised by a licence issued by ACMA.

Low power transmitters are generally covered by an ACMA radiocommunications class licence. Spectrum usage and equipment standards vary around the world, and it can be difficult to ensure that equipment purchased overseas complies with an ACMA class licence. The operation of most base stations, mobile and handheld transmitters can only be authorised by an apparatus licence, which incurs additional costs.

Two-way base, mobile and handheld equipment other than that used in the amateur service usually requires the assignment of individual operating frequencies. It is most unlikely that this type of equipment, which may be authorised for use in other countries, could be authorised for use in Australia without at least requiring a frequency change, and in many instances cannot be operated at all. As a result, it is generally impractical to bring such equipment into Australia.

As the Australian market for radiocommunications equipment is relatively small compared to the European, US and Asian markets, all of which have different equipment standards and frequency usage regimes, it is not surprising that the vast majority of equipment for sale overseas is unsuitable for use in Australia. The process for having a single piece of radiocommunications equipment tested for compliance to Australian standards is time consuming and expensive. It is generally uneconomic for one-off imports to be tested for compliance.

Radiocommunications equipment approved for use in Australia has the C-Tick label, showing that it meets mandatory technical standards set by ACMA. The C-Tick mark looks like:

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Site Owner Guy.

[Author]

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