Sec. 15.103  Exempted devices.

    The following devices are subject only to the general conditions of 
operation in Secs. 15.5 and 15.29 and are exempt from the specific 
technical standards and other requirements contained in this part. The 
operator of the exempted device shall be required to stop operating the 
device upon a finding by the Commission or its representative that the 
device is causing harmful interference. Operation shall not resume until 
the condition causing the harmful interference has been corrected. 
Although not mandatory, it is strongly recommended that the manufacturer 
of an exempted device endeavor to have the device meet the specific 
technical standards in this part.
    (a) A digital device utilized exclusively in any transportation 
vehicle including motor vehicles and aircraft.
    (b) A digital device used exclusively as an electronic control or 
power system utilized by a public utility or in an industrial plant. The 
term public utility includes equipment only to the extent that it is in 
a dedicated building or large room owned or leased by the utility and 
does not extend to equipment installed in a subscriber's facility.
    (c) A digital device used exclusively as industrial, commercial, or 
medical test equipment.
    (d) A digital device utilized exclusively in an appliance, e.g., 
microwave

[[Page 630]]

oven, dishwasher, clothes dryer, air conditioner (central or window), 
etc.
    (e) Specialized medical digital devices (generally used at the 
direction of or under the supervision of a licensed health care 
practitioner) whether used in a patient's home or a health care 
facility. Non-specialized medical devices, i.e., devices marketed 
through retail channels for use by the general public, are not exempted. 
This exemption also does not apply to digital devices used for record 
keeping or any purpose not directly connected with medical treatment.
    (f) Digital devices that have a power consumption not exceeding 6 
nW.
    (g) Joystick controllers or similar devices, such as a mouse, used 
with digital devices but which contain only non-digital circuitry or a 
simple circuit to convert the signal to the format required (e.g., an 
integrated circuit for analog to digital conversion) are viewed as 
passive add-on devices, not themselves directly subject to the technical 
standards or the equipment authorization requirements.
    (h) Digital devices in which both the highest frequency generated 
and the highest frequency used are less than 1.705 MHz and which do not 
operate from the AC power lines or contain provisions for operation 
while connected to the AC power lines. Digital devices that include, or 
make provision for the use of, battery eliminators, AC adaptors or 
battery chargers which permit operation while charging or that connect 
to the AC power lines indirectly, obtaining their power through another 
device which is connected to the AC power lines, do not fall under this 
exemption.
    (i) Responsible parties should note that equipment containing more 
than one device is not exempt from the technical standards in this part 
unless all of the devices in the equipment meet the criteria for 
exemption. If only one of the included devices qualifies for exemption, 
the remainder of the equipment must comply with any applicable 
regulations. If a device performs more than one function and all of 
those functions do not meet the criteria for exemption, the device does 
not qualify for inclusion under the exemptions.