Revising MP-4, the FCC computing device test procedure

The Federal Communication Commission uses the procedure MP-4 (1983) entitled `FCC Methods of Measurement of Radio Noise Emissions from Computing Devices´ to determine the radio frequency (RF) interference potential of personal computers and other types of computing devices (now called digital devices). Since MP-4 was written in 1983, it is quite evident that it should be updated to include industry and Commission experience gained over the last six years. In addition, Part 15 has been revised and the related test procedures, such as MP-4, need to be updated to reflect the recent changes to the FCC Rules. The authors discuss the Commission rule-making process, the issues raised by the parties interested in digital device testing, and the Commission reasoning behind the decisions in the revision of test procedure MP-4