Compliance
What an FCC certification plan covers
A commercial product that transmits generally has to be authorized before it can be marketed, and that is a hardware decision, not a late one.
Why it comes up
Why anyone is asking
A radio link is the part of a drone most likely to be redesigned late. Authorization attaches to what actually ships, a certified module carries conditions the host has to meet, and a test lab can only measure what you bring it. Knowing which path a product is on, and which configuration is being authorized, changes decisions about antennas, shielding and firmware while they are still cheap to change.
What we do about it
- Decide early which authorization path a product is on, and design to it
- Plan the test campaign with the lab rather than arriving with a finished box
- Keep the firmware controls that the authorization depends on under change control
- Carry the paperwork through to production, so a built unit matches what was tested
This describes how we work. It is not legal advice, and what a rule requires of you depends on your customer and your contract.
What this covers in the package
- FCC certification plan
- Manufacturing test plan
The other subjects
What NDAA compliance means for a build
A drone is not compliant because a supplier says so. It is compliant because what is inside it, and who built it, can be shown.
Country of origin and the bill of materials
The claim that matters is not where a drone was assembled. It is where each part in it came from.
SBOM, secure boot and signed updates
A software bill of materials is a list of what is inside the software, and it is becoming as ordinary a request as the hardware one.