Series 60 Reed Relays, Near Perfect Contact Switching: Imagine being able to perform a contact switching operation using low level switching virtually perfectly and for many hundreds of millions of switch contact operations. A rather old electrical principle involves what happens when two metals unlike each other are connected at one end together and that end is heated and cooled. A voltage is generated and can be measured at the other end. This is called a thermocouple effect.

You have one in your home. This is a thermocouple device that actually develops a dc voltage when subjected to heat changes. The thermocouple junction can consist of two unlike metals, one perhaps copper and the other Iron, joined at one end.This voltage is very low, maybe a tenth of a volt at elevated temperature, but remains a fact. Your home hot water heater uses this phenomenon by placing several thermocoouples in series to generate a higher voltage, enough to turn on and turn off the natural gas via a gas valve arrangement, keeping your water at your desired temperature.

In a relay, the switch contacts are of like materials but are ever so slightly chemically different from each other. During construction of these relays we choose switches that exhibit switch contact resistance stability. By using very propietary construction techniques we are able to maintain equal temperatures at the switch contacts, a thermocouple junction capable of generating an "offset" voltage that changes with temperature. Our procedures are unlike any other manufacturers processings. In the end, we assemble a finished relay that does not contribute any more than a microvolt of electrical offset with large ambient or internal temperature changes. The trick being to keep both ends of the switch contacts at the exact same temperature so that any thermocouple effect between the switch contacts is negated. The result is an extraordinarily electrically stable reed relay capable of outstanding switching performance over an unbelievable length of time, almost to good to be true, but a fact. Input switching voltage and current must be no higher than TTL resistive loads. Important -----> Tests by an independent laboratory show that relay life is equal to or indeed longer that the equivalent solid state device. Even better is the fact that these relays can withstand several hundreds of volts standoff between contacts. Under special design, even standoff voltages of a thousand volts can be obtained, yet meeting all of the normal Series 60 characteristics.