The Wireless Telegraphy (Control of Interference from Ignition Apparatus) Regulations 1973

Made: 11th July 1973

Laid before Parliament: 23rd July 1973

Coming into Operation: 1st October 1973

The Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, in exercise of powers conferred by section 10 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949, by the said section as extended to the Channel Islands by the Wireless Telegraphy (Channel Islands) Order 1952[^f00001] and by the said section as extended to the Isle of Man by the Wireless Telegraphy (Isle of Man) Order 1952[^f00002] and now vested in him[^f00003], and of every other power enabling him in that behalf and after consultation with the advisory committee referred to in section 9 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 hereby makes the following Regulations:—

Citation and Commencement

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Wireless Telegraphy (Control of Interference from Ignition Apparatus) Regulations 1973, and shall come into operation on 1st October 1973.

Interpretation

2

• (1) In these Regulations, except so far as the contrary is provided or the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them:

• “ignition apparatus” means equipment assembled for the purpose of providing and conveying electrical energy for igniting gas or vapour in an internal combustion engine;

• “suppressor” means a piece of equipment designed to reduce the field-strength of the electro-magnetic energy radiated from the apparatus to which it is fitted when that apparatus is being used, and references to “suppressors” include references to a single suppressor;

• “the British Islands” means the area comprised by the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man;

• “megahertz (MHz)” has the same meaning as megacycles per second, i.e. one million cycles per second;

and other expressions have the same meaning as they have in the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949.

• (2) The Interpretation Act 1889 applies to the interpretation of these Regulations as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.

Assemblers and Importers

3

• (1) This Regulation applies to ignition apparatus forming part of an internal combustion engine other than an engine which forms part of an aircraft.

• (2) The requirement referred to in Regulation 5 shall be complied with in the case of any ignition apparatus to which this Regulation applies if, on or after the date on which these Regulations come into operation, that apparatus is, as being part of a vehicle, vessel or engine, to be sold otherwise than for export, or offered or advertised for sale otherwise than for export, or let on hire or offered or advertised for letting on hire, by any person who in the British Islands in the course of business assembles such apparatus as part of a vehicle, vessel or engine, or who in the course of business imports into the British Islands such apparatus already assembled as part of a vehicle, vessel or engine.

Users

4

• (1) This Regulation applies to:—

• (a) ignition apparatus forming part of an internal combustion engine other than an engine which forms part of an aircraft or of a foreign vessel, except ignition apparatus which is proved by the person using it to have been assembled as part of a vehicle, vessel or engine before the date on which these Regulations come into operation; and

• (b) apparatus which includes one or more components designed to form part of the ignition apparatus of an internal combustion engine, and which is assembled for the purpose of testing or demonstrating the operation of one or more of those components, and which when used involves sudden changes of current in a high-voltage circuit.

• (2) The requirement referred to in Regulation 5 shall be complied with in the case of any apparatus to which this Regulation applies, if the apparatus is to be used within the British Islands or the territorial waters adjacent thereto:—

• (a) on land, or

• (b) on the sea or in any estuary within one hundred metres of any moored vessel or on the landward side of a line one hundred metres to seaward of low water mark, or

• (c) on any water, other than the sea or an estuary:

provided that the use of any apparatus referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (1) of this Regulation shall be deemed to comply with the said requirement if the person using the apparatus establishes:—

• (i) that suppressors were fitted to the apparatus by the manufacturer or builder of the vehicle, vessel or engine of which the apparatus forms part or by the importer of that vehicle, vessel or engine into the British Islands, and

• (ii) that the suppressors so fitted remained fitted to the apparatus at the time of the use, or that suppressors having equivalent electrical characteristics had been correctly fitted to the apparatus at that time in substitution for those fitted as aforesaid, and in either case that the suppressors were then in good electrical and mechanical repair and condition, and

• (iii) that the apparatus at the time of the use consisted of the same components as those which were fitted at the time when the vehicle, vessel or engine was manufactured or built, or that any components which had been substituted for those components had equivalent electrical characteristics and had been correctly fitted.

Requirement

5

• (1) The requirement hereinbefore referred to is that the apparatus shall be so designed, constructed, assembled and installed, and that such precautions shall be taken in relation to it (by means of the fitting of suppressors or otherwise) as to ensure that the field-strength, at any distance of not less than ten metres from the apparatus when it is used, as measured and computed in accordance with paragraph 5(3) and the Schedule hereto, of the electro-magnetic energy radiated at forty megahertz and at any frequency up to seventy-five megahertz does not exceed fifty microvolts per metre and at any frequency between seventy-five and two hundred and fifty megahertz does not exceed fifty microvolts per metre at seventy-five megahertz rising linearly with frequency to one hundred and twenty microvolts per metre at two hundred and fifty megahertz.

• (2) For the purpose of this Regulation the apparatus shall be deemed to meet these requirements over the whole frequency range of forty to two hundred and fifty megahertz if it meets them at the following discrete frequencies; forty-five, sixty-five, ninety, one hundred and fifty, one hundred and eighty, and two hundred and twenty megahertz. To avoid interference from transmissions operating on these discrete frequencies each frequency shall be subject to a tolerance of plus or minus five megahertz.

• (3) For the purpose of Regulation 3 the apparatus shall be deemed to meet these requirements if measurements for the purpose of type-approval and production conformity in type-approved equipment are carried out in accordance with the procedures set out in paragraphs 3.6 and 3.7 respectively of British Standard 833:1970.

• (4) For the purpose of measuring and computing the field-strength of such electro-magnetic energy, the apparatus shall be tested by means of measuring apparatus of the description and having the physical and electrical characteristics and performance set out in Section 1 of British Standard 727:1967 “Specification for Radio-Interference Measuring Apparatus for the Frequency Range 0.015 MHz to 1000 MHz”, except that where the apparatus forms part of the engine of a road vehicle measuring apparatus having the physical and electrical characteristics and performance set out in Section 2 of British Standard 727:1967 may be used. The tests shall be made by the method and under the conditions set out in the Schedule hereto.

THE SCHEDULE — Details of Measuring Site and Test Procedure

Measuring Site

1

The site to be used for testing for the purpose of Regulation 5 shall conform to the specification set out in paragraph 3.2 of British Standard 833: 1970 “Specification for Radio Interference Limits and Measurements for the Electrical Ignition Systems of Internal Combustion Engines”.

Test Procedure

2

• (1) The test shall be carried out in accordance with the procedures set out in paragraphs 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 of British Standard 833: 1970.

• (2) Where ignition apparatus is being tested for the purpose of Regulation 3, it shall be tested as installed in the engine. If the engine is to form part of a vehicle, vessel or equipment which is to be sold or let on hire by the assembler or importer, the test shall be made with the engine installed in the vehicle, vessel or equipment.

• (3) Where ignition apparatus is being tested for the purpose of Regulation 4, it shall be tested under normal conditions of installation. Where apparatus mentioned in Regulation 4(1)(b) is being tested for the purpose of that Regulation it shall be tested under normal conditions of installation and use.

Signed

John Eden — Minister of Posts and Telecommunications — Dated 11th July 1973

Explanatory note

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations prescribe the requirements to be complied with in relation to certain ignition apparatus, for the purpose of ensuring that the apparatus will not cause undue interference with wireless telegraphy.

Regulation 3 applies to ignition apparatus forming part of an internal combustion engine (except an engine forming part of an aircraft) which, on or after the 1st October 1973, is to be sold or offered or advertised for sale (except for export) or let on hire or offered or advertised for letting on hire by an assembler or importer in the course of his business. In respect of such ignition apparatus, the assembler or importer is required, from the date stated, to comply with Regulation 5.

Regulation 4 applies to ignition apparatus (except ignition apparatus of engines in aircraft or foreign vessels) which is first assembled as part of a vehicle, vessel or engine, on or after the 1st October 1973. Users of such apparatus in the area referred to in paragraph (2) are required to comply with Regulation 5; but the user is deemed to comply with Regulation 5 if the manufacturer or builder of the vehicle, vessel or engine fitted suppressors and these remain fitted and in good condition and the ignition apparatus has not been altered, and in certain other circumstances also. Regulation 4 also applies to apparatus which is used for testing or demonstrating the operation of components of ignition systems.

Regulation 5 prescribes the requirement, in terms of the maximum permitted field-strength of the electro-magnetic energy radiated from the apparatus when in use and the description and specification of the measuring apparatus. The Schedule sets out the method by which the field-strength is to be measured and the conditions under which tests are to be made.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: (1952 III, p. 3414).

[^f00002]: (1952 III, p. 3418).

[^f00003]: See Post Office Act 1969 (c. 48) s.3; as to the Channel Islands, S.I. 1969/1369 (1969 III, p. 4085) and as to the Isle of Man, S.I. 1969/1371 (1969 III, p. 4087).