I just ordered Arduinos on ebay, a package with one Arduino and some Relais-Boards and Motor-Controller and alike (alltogether 8 pcs) go blocked at the Germin customs. Not just because they want to collect the import VAT, no better:
According to the Bundesnetzagentur (BNA) due to the missing CE mark and missing german documentation the material is not fit to be imported to European markets. So I can no choose between destruction or sending it back to the vendor.
While I still discuss with the BNA and nice and friendly people at the BNA explained to me that the rules exist for good reason and how dangerous non-conform electronics can be, I wonder ...
do Arduinos and related peripherals exist that have a CE mark or are all Arduinos in Europe illegal products?
"Arduino Uno
This board will replace the Duemilanove. We decided to be nice to the non-italians and use a name that was simpler to pronounce and write. {...}
Finally these boards are fully CE certified with pending FCC certification."
My Arduino UNO R2 clearly shows the CE and FCC certification marks on the board.
So while a current genuine Arduino Uno board may carry CE and FCC approval cerifications that doesn't mean that you are in compliance once you either mount a non-compliant shield board (or homemade board) or any external components unless you were to pay to have the completed project certified. I'm not sure how the laws apply in EU, if they apply to individual hobbyist building for themselves or just commercial companies selling products on the market. If it's like most such laws it probably a if you have to ask you are probably in violation case?
Don't you just love the Germans, they are a real stickler for rules and they take them to the absoloute maximum and love it. I have had my fair shair of small minded German beuracracy when I was working, they drive you mad.
A CE certificat is just a self certifications deceleration that the product meets all relevant regulations. There is no external testing that has to take place. A real UNO will have a CE mark on the back, mine has. A fake one or clone might not, it is probbly exactly the same thing and the far East people usually put on all sorts of marks that are not genuin. Most customs officers would not bother for a one off thing not for resale but you are in the one country in the world that would bother. I would ask them to send it back, at least in that way your sender knows you have not kept it and are demanding a refund.
Lesson learned, buy a genuin Arduino, and try and live in a proper country. ]
