5.7 Application Design with Compliance Test Support

It is very common to have a separate test software for the compliance process. It can be structured in a simple way to allow the compliance service provider to do the testing without in-depth knowledge of the application. The drawback of this approach is that some test labs do not accept the use of compliance test software. In this case, the alternative is to implement the compliance test procedure into the application code. For this, the ATA UHF products from Microchip offer many features to support this requirement. On one hand, special services can be offered, and on the other hand, automatic and transparent test sequences, which are described in 5.1 Static Behavior, can be applied. The service-based compliance testing support can be implemented in parallel to the application implementation. The idea is to have the application code running under normal conditions. If a special sequence is triggered, the compliance test code will be executed. In this case, the final code is in the memory during certification. The mentioned transparent test sequences can be important for the TXMode, as a special test pattern can be triggered via the transparent input pin PC4 to get specific RF characteristics. For additional information and frequently asked questions on Radio Equipment Directive (RED) certification, go to Radio Equipment Directive (RED) Frequently Asked Questions.