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Vintage threads from the first ten years

UL/CE

:

4/23/2003 11:58 PM

I am familar with UL, having seen the stickers for most of my life, but what is the "CE" designation that has been appearing on almost everything since the 80's or so?

e.g. On the back of my Boss TU12 H tuner, the bottom of my CD player, pieces of my computer, and most notably (and appropriate to the forum) on the back of my Ibanez FGM headstock.

Is this a competitor of UL, or is CE chartered with different areas of responsibility? I can't recall ever seeing a UL and CE on the same piece of gear.

Anybody got any info?

Geno

4/25/2003 7:05 AM
Regan	I'm not sure, but I think ce is european certification. Regan

4/25/2003 2:48 PM
Mike Burgundy	that's exactly what it is - "Certification Europeenne" Pardon my French.

5/2/2003 2:04 PM

>I am familar with UL, having seen the stickers
>for most of my life, but what is the "CE"
>designation that has been appearing on almost
>everything since the 80's or so?

I deal with stuff for a living, so I will answer.

The CE Mark can be viewed as a products "Passport into the European Community". Wide use of the mark began in 1993 when the European Directive 93/68/EEC was passed, it is commonly called the CE Marking Directive.

The mark is required for many products to be sold in Europe. Its purpose was to free up trade between the various EU countries, so once a product is tested to one set of standards, it can be freely sold in all of the participating countries.

For amplifiers and electronics, typically the only EU directives that must be met are the Low Voltage Directive (safety) and the EMC directive (emissions, immunity). Each manufacturer must show that their products comply with these directives.

The safety testing that is done is very similar to UL testing. Actually they are working on harmonizing the standards between many of the different countries, US, CAN, Europe, China, etc....

>Is this a competitor of UL, or is CE chartered
>with different areas of responsibility? I can't
>recall ever seeing a UL and CE on the same piece
>of gear.

CE covers all areas in Europe. UL covers safety in the US and also in Canada. Competitors to UL are ETL, CSA, and Entala. They all test to the same UL standards, but each offer a Mark to show the products comply to the safety standards.

Just let me know if you have any other safety questions.

CSB

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