Unfortunately, no amount of regulation can protect something as fragile as AM; so, technology progressed to more interference-robust standards like FM or, more recently, spread-spectrum techniques such as OFDM. Yet the emissions standards – hard-coded into law – were never revised to reflect these ground shifts in technology. So here in 2018, we’re expending a disproportionate amount of time and effort designing counter-measures to protect these now-defunct radio applications.
By certifying the Raspberry Pi 3B+ as a ‘radio module’, Raspberry Pi has already passed the most onerous tests on our behalf. So long as we don’t modify the Pi’s radio function or design, products incorporating the Raspberry Pi 3B+ as a radio module are now subject to a greatly abbreviated series of tests. The metal shield over the radio circuitry, along with other more subtle counter-measures, also means there’s more headroom for the noise that will be generated by our application-specific circuits and peripherals. Overall, this will save numerous hackers, engineers, and startups thousands of dollars, countless sleepless nights, and weeks on already too-tight delivery schedules.
