Pickering Electronics high performance reed relays now stocked worldwide with Farnell

Pickering Electronics, the reed relay company which has pioneered miniaturization and high performance for over 50 years, has signed a global distribution deal with Premier Farnell, an Avnet Company, which is one of the world’s largest distributors of electronic components. Under the terms of the agreement Farnell, Newark and Element14 will be stocking over 100 different series of reed relays from Pickering, ready for immediate delivery to worldwide customers.

Designed for high-end Instrumentation, Test & Measurement and Semiconductor Test applications that cannot compromise on quality, Pickering’s reed relays are manufactured to an extremely high standard to ensure long life and optimum performance. Only instrumentation-grade reed switches are used, ensuring a stable, long life or up to 5×10⁹ operations. All Pickering’s reed relays are 100% tested for all operating parameters – other manufacturers batch test resulting in non-operational devices being supplied. Testing includes repeated 100% thermal cycling from -20°C to +85°C to -20°Cto reduce field failures to a minimum.

Pickering has led reed relay market for more than 50 years, with innovations such as SoftCenter™ technology, which cushions the reed switch, minimizing internal stresses and extending the working life and contact stability, and also internal mu metal screening, preventing interference between closely stacked relays. Today, Pickering offers the world’s smallest high voltage reed relays– for example, the series 131 with a minimum of 1.5kV stand-off – and the world’s smallest footprint reed relays – Series 120 devices are rated for 1A, 20W switching yet have a footprint of just 4mm x 4mm.

Commented Keith Moore, CEO at Pickering Electronics: “The new distribution agreement with Farnell enables Pickering Electronics to broaden its reach in Europe, North America and Asia in the Test and Measurement and Semiconductor Test markets.” “Design engineers expect to have components on their desk within hours and this is something Farnell can facilitate.”

Added Simon Meadmore, Vice President of Product and Supplier Management, at Farnell says: “Pickering Electronics is a valuable addition to our electromechanical relay product portfolio. Farnell customers now have the flexibility to design and develop new products and test equipment featuring Pickering Electronics’ innovative products faster than ever before. As the number of electric vehicles on the roads rapidly increases, high voltage isolation reed relays are an essential solution for testing and continuing development of battery and drive-train technology.”