ESP32 Board Development Ideas?

[mexpcb]

I'm going to start a development of an Open Source ESP32 Board...

i can basically take any of their dev board and turning in to an Altium Format, but I'm new in to the ESP32 Controller...
right now i converted the ESP32-PICO-KIT but one of my concerns is that if i develop that the board will not be FCC certified and i'm looking to see what the options are.
my second option is to take one of their modules and put it on the development board so i can skip the certification
i want to run micropython or circuitpython but im not sure if i just load the files and it works or if it needs some other configuration..
so anyone has some suggestions of what board should i take as reference? The main purpose is to make the board available for all to modify or add new features..
so any suggestion is welcome...

regards
Ulisses

[pickit2]

My understanding of the FCC certification is in two parts.
EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility) testing and RF (Radio Frequency) testing.
so any devices you use ie: bluetooth : wifi : ans so on are covered by the device cert.
so your board don't need cert for add on boards. I think the same is for any processer used.

so that leaves Safety Certs for use in schools ect.
 
Note: if users are able add parts then you can't control what they add to change the conditions to the  cert that was issued.

[Wilksey]

That may be true of FCC, however, if certifying for CE / RED compliance, anything that can inject noise (SMPS) or change the RF properties (antenna) that is not part of the original testing will have* to undergo full certification compliance.

* = You can self certify, however, IF your device is pinpointed as a source of noise the governing body (OFCOM for ex) can request to see all of your compliance documentation and if not satisfied, can ask you to do complete certification or take the device from sale and remove all devices in circulation.  Also if the product subsequently fails certification they can impose a recall.

You will find that a number of companies can supply the CE technical file, as this is quite easy to put together albeit time consuming, but most cannot supply test results for self certified systems as they do not exist.

I have found that a spectrum analyser and something like a HackRF One can help you before taking the product for testing.

Having spoke to many compliance experts and put a decent number of devices through full CE compliance this can cost a few thousand ££'s (convert to your own currency).