Hacker News Reader

Comment by Waterluvian | Hacker News Reader

Would you mind elaborating? I’m not sure what to look for that would raise that concern. I’m guessing something about the wifi antenna?

View on HN

All computer hardware like this emits some amount of electromagnetic interference. Although it looks cool to have a computer that is just a bare open board, the reality is you should really be shielding your hardware. It may not look as cool, but it’s kinder to the surrounding environment and respectful of others. Otherwise this is like the computer equivalent of running loud aftermarket exhausts on some shitty car. Not cool or smart.

In principle I completely agree. But I’m equal measures ignorant and skeptical of this topic. How much EM radiation can those parts emit? Is this a problem in theory, or is it all but guaranteed to screw with other devices?

The flimsy plastic case your laptop came in is no better or worse. People need something to complain about.

Most of the shielding is done with metal lids/cans on the board already.

Not to mention I'm unsure what the original complaint even was - the Framework laptop has a lengthy list of certifications, including ones from the FCC[1].

[1] https://downloads.frame.work/manuals/Framework-Online-User-M...

The flimsy plastic case has a conductive spray on the inside. That's how it becomes legal for sale.

This is a professionally manufactured case, made by Cooler Master and designed by Framework, for first-party sale within the US.

That still doesn’t mean it has any shielding. It’s being sold as a case, not a computer, so it doesn’t need FCC certification. If you want to, you can 3D print it yourself. And the cover is a clear piece of plastic.

This isn’t a well shielded case.

Are we railing against all unshielded boards, or just this one in particular?

There's vastly more Raspberry Pi's in the world, almost all of which live in clear plastic cases if they have any case at all. All of the home built computers, pretty much the same...

There's more bare-board crypto mining rigs than laptops Framework has ever sold.

This "shieldless" case harms no one.

The alternative for the owner is discarding the hardware. If Framework sells enough laptops maybe they'll make a more "properly engineered" secondary-use case down the road. For right now, it effectively recycles old hardware, and that's a pretty good win.

Yea, wide open computer cases exist, but that doesn’t mean the FCC would approve.

Since there are no computer components sold with the case, it doesn’t need FCC certification. It is the responsibility of the end user to comply with all local regulation. Pretty simple to understand.

Lots of "it depends". Another computing device? Not going to care. Someone doing research in the National Radio Quiet Zone? Probably more sensitive.

Something like this computer unlikely to throw off enough radiated emissions for anybody other than the owner to care.

The grey hairs want all computers to exist inside beige metal boxes.

And the gray beards want something that won't throw off so much RF you can pick it up in your fillings. You don't need a beige box for that, just something that's had five minutes of actual engineering applied to it.

aluminum foil is for hats

only slightly related

https://www.ukqrm.org.uk/your-story.php

https://qrm.guru/tracking-down-interference-in-the-2m-amateu...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com