High power, high voltage: Pickering’s reed relay newly upgraded to 200W

Engineers gain 200W switching power in new Series 68 HV relays with flying leads, ideal for demanding test, medical, and energy applications.

September 2025, Clacton-on-Sea, UK: Pickering Electronics, the global leader in high-performance reed relays, has upgraded its Series 68 high voltage reed relays to include a new variant supporting high power switching up to 200W. Previously available only in sister devices in the Series 67 family and the latest newly-released Series 600 relays, this highest power switch in the Pickering portfolio, rated up to an impressive 200W, is now available for 1 Form A configurations of Series 68, with a stand-off voltage of up to 8kV, and capable of switching up to 6kV.

“Miniature, ultra-high packing density reed relays usually have a switching rating of up to 10 Watts and 0.5 amps, but some applications require higher switching power and higher carry current specifications,” said Robert King, Reed Relays Product Manager at Pickering Electronics. “Robust, long-life tungsten-plated contacts with higher power and high current carry capabilities enable Series 68 reed relays to be used in high-performance applications where high reliability is demanded.”

The Series 68 range of high voltage dry reed relays offer 3A switching up to 200W and 5A continuous carry current. Constructed using a lead frame in an SIL (single-in-line) format and featuring former-less coils (dispensing with the more usual coil-supporting bobbin), it enables a smaller package than is typical for similar rated devices. While sister devices in the Series 67 family have PCB (printed circuit board) connections for all terminals (to switch and coil), Series 68 has PCB connections to the coil, but flying leads for the switch connections, which allows high voltages to be kept away from lower voltage circuitry on the PCB.

The unusual SIL package design presents some interesting stacking possibilities when constructing high density applications such as multiplexers and matrices in instrumentation and test systems. The relays are suitable for high voltage transformer, backplane and cable test, as well as diverse HV applications including mining/gas analysis, ‘big physics’, solar energy, and some electro-medical devices, such as defibrillators.

Pickering’s reputation for reed relay innovation is founded on decades of manufacturing excellence. All relays use instrumentation-grade reed switches for stable, long-life operation—up to billions of cycles—along with formerless coil construction and the company’s patented SoftCenter™ technology, which improves mechanical robustness. Internal or external mu-metal screening enables high packing densities with minimal magnetic interference, and every relay is 100% tested, including dynamic contact wave-shape analysis, to ensure consistent quality. Learn about 10 key advantages Pickering’s reed relays offer over competitor relays at: pickeringrelay.com/10-key-benefits/

Learn more about Pickering’s new Series 68/67 high-voltage relay range at: pickeringrelay.com/reed-relays/high-voltage/series-67-68-hv-10w-10kv/ – or to contact Pickering’s experts for more information and advice, please visit: pickeringrelay.com/talk-to-an-expert