Digi-Key Corporation today announced the signing of a global distribution agreement with LeCroy, a leading provider of test and measurement solutions.
“LeCroy is a welcome addition to our expansive selection of quality suppliers,” said Jeff Shafer, vice president, global interconnect, passives, and electromechanical product, Digi-Key Corporation. “Adding a respected name such as LeCroy not only offers quality product to our global customers, but allows us to maintain our commitment to providing the most in-stock product available for immediate shipment.”

“Not only will our partnership with Digi-Key contribute to our global growth,” stated Roberto Petrillo, LeCroy worldwide vice president of sales, “Digi-Key’s international communication technology and logistics expertise will provide any engineer looking for our products, anywhere in the world, the value of superior service in the key areas of product availability, on-time delivery, and responsiveness.”

Since 1964, LeCroy has been designing oscilloscopes, protocol analyzers, and related test and measurement solutions to productively validate and thoroughly debug electronic engineering designs. Offering a powerful combination of large and informative displays combined with advanced wave-shape analysis capabilities, LeCroy instruments are tailored to enhance the productivity of engineers in the computer and semiconductor, consumer electronics, data storage device, automotive and industrial, telecommunication, and military and aerospace markets.

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Rapid Electronics have recently introduced a new range of test and measurement equipment and accessories from leading manufacturer Hameg Instruments.
The products include 2-channel and 4-channel digital, analogue and mixed signal oscilloscopes, bench top multimeters, spectrum analyzers, function generators, PSUs and a full range of accessories. Hameg products are designed specifically for the mid-market, budget conscious user in the educational, industrial and home environment.

Hameg digital oscilloscopes provide the full range of features and testing potential – bandwidth up to 200MHz, 2MPts memory depth, serial bus trigger and hardware accelerated decode, component testing and auto measurement. The extensive features, flexibility and high connectivity make these whisper quiet oscilloscopes ideal tools for training, laboratory, development and service. The HM8112-3 bench top digital multimeter offers high performance, feature rich measurement of volts, ohms and amps as well as frequency and period.

Also available are a complete range of accessories and parts, such as probes, plug-in antennas, thermopaper, interface cables, tweezers, carrying cases and counters.
Greg Potter, product manager of test equipment at Rapid, commented: ‘We are delighted to be launching Hameg’s extensive range of products. Hameg’s devices cater for users looking for optimum performance and affordability, and provide an excellent solution for test, laboratory and production applications.’

Rapid can support customers with competitive pricing, full technical support and product sourcing. For more details, technical specifications and datasheets please visit the Rapid website.

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Enhancing its sales force in Asia, Geotest welcomes VigVen Tech Mark Pvt. Ltd. as its distributor in India. Headquartered in Bangalore, VigVen will be representing Geotest’s products, including PXI & PC-based instrumentation, TS-900 Semiconductor test systems, ATEasy software, and the legacy instrument replacement product line.

“VigVen’s team has an extensive background in the semiconductor and ATE market space”, said Loofie Gutterman, president of Geotest. “With their experience, combined with our product offerings, our customers in India will have access to the right products for their individual applications.”

Mr Mahadevan, Managing Director of VigVen Tech Mark Pvt Ltd stated that “We at VigVen Tech Mark are extremely delighted for being appointed as exclusive distributors in India for Geotest products and solutions. Existing and new customers of Geotest can certainly look forward to excellent support in India”. Mr Radhakrishnan, Director Marketing of VigVen expressed that “With this partnership, we now offer the widest selection of solutions in PXI/VXI/LXI form factors and this is very exciting indeed”.

In order to better serve customer demand for smaller and yet inexpensive quartz crystals, oscillators and real time clocks (RTCs) in the future and also round off its broad-based portfolio of clock generators and RTCs, MSC Vertriebs GmbH has now signed a pan-European distribution agreement with Micro Crystal AG, a Swiss company.

Micro Crystal AG, a subsidiary of The Swatch Group Inc. Switzerland, was founded in 1978 as a producer of timing crystals for the watch industry. Today, Micro Crystal AG is a leading international developer and manufacturer of miniature and particularly energy-efficient quartz crystal devices for use in a variety of consumer and industrial applications.

In addition to 32.768 kHz SMD quartz crystals, which are optionally available in metal or ceramic miniature packages, Micro Crystal AG also produces a wide range of high accuracy and low power consumption RTCs including the world’s smallest RTC with a footprint of only 3.2 mm x 1.5 mm. “Whether digitally compensated SMD RTCs with an accuracy of ±6 ppm over the temperature range -40°C to +85°C or AECQ qualified 32 kHz quartz crystals for keyless entry and keyless go systems – Micro Crystal AG has once again demonstrated that particularly small and innovative quartz crystal products must not automatically be especially expensive. For this reason, these products, which are still predominantly developed in Switzerland, are an ideal complement to our existing product portfolio,” said Rolf Aschhoff, Sales and Marketing Director Frequency Division at MSC.

For Rüdiger Altschuh, Marketing Manager Central Europe at Micro Crystal, the distribution agreement with MSC is another important milestone in the company’s sales policy. “We want to continuously increase our European market share. The support from a technically experienced and pan-European distribution partner like MSC – who is in a position to actively support customers in focus segments such as metering, healthcare, security and automotive with design-in – brings us much closer to achieving this goal,” said Rüdiger Altschuh.

MSC now offers the SiT9121 and SiT9122 MEMS-based differential oscillators from SiTime. These differential oscillators feature a high stability of up to ±10 ppm and only 500 femtoseconds of integrated RMS phase jitter. They are ideally suited for use in centralized and edge routers, SATA / SAS / Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapters (HBAs), cloud storage systems, servers, wireless base stations and 10G Ethernet switches.

Both the SiT9121, designed for the frequency range 1 MHz to 220 MHz, and the SiT9122, for use in the high-frequency range 220 MHz to 650 MHz, are configurable to individual customer requirements. The frequency, which is programmable with up to 6 decimal places of accuracy, guarantees the highest level of accuracy.

Furthermore, 50,000 g shock resistance, 70 g vibration resistance as well as a mean time between failures (MTBF) of 500 million hours ensures the highest reliability even under harsh environmental conditions.

The differential oscillators are equipped with configurable LVPECL and LVDS signaling levels and are offered both in the extended commercial temperature range from -20°C to +70°C and in the industrial temperature range from -40°C to +85°C. The devices operate optionally with a supply voltage of 2.5 V or 3.3 V. In addition, the SiT9121 and SiT9122 are available in industry-standard packages with dimensions of 5.0 mm x 3.3 mm and 7.0 mm x 5.0 mm respectively and are 100% drop-in replacements for differential quartz oscillators without any design or layout changes.

Furthermore, as with all MEMS-based products from SiTime, the SiT9121 and SiT9122 differential oscillators feature very short lead times. As a rule, samples are shipped within 48 hours ex factory and production quantities are delivered within 3 to 5 weeks.

Mass production is planned to start in February 2012. Detailed information about the SiT9121 and SiT9122 MEMS-based differential oscillators can be requested by sending an email to frequency-sitime@msc-ge.com

W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. (Gore) announces that Astron Electronics, Inc. (Astron), Gore’s authorized sales representative in Southern California, will now sell Gore’s high-performance line of Test & Measurement Microwave/RF Cable Assemblies.

“Astron and Gore have built a strong relationship around Gore’s ePTFE and PTFE material technology, providing solutions for EMI grounding and shielding,” says Mark Mulle, Global Channel Leader for Gore. “We are excited to bring the same technical leadership of Gore’s high-performance Microwave/RF Test Cables to the Astron product offering.”

“These high-end products allow Astron to enhance our position with our clients that need premium-performance test cables. When RF engineers need to design for extremely precise and repeatable testing tolerances, we will provide innovative testing solutions such as the GORE® PHASEFLEX® Microwave/RF Test Assemblies and VNA cables,” says Steve Tennessen, President of Astron. “These products provide test engineers with ultra-high performance test cable assemblies that ensure consistent and reliable results in any precision test application through 110 GHz.”

Prism Sound has appointed two new representatives in the USA to help promote sales for its range of class-leading audio test and measurement instruments, which includes the revolutionary dScope Series III audio analyzer.

The new arrangement will see TFM Inc handling all Prism Sound Test & Measurement sales in New York, New Jersey, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
In the south, Spectra Sales will be responsible for sales in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

With Prism Sound’s years of sustained growth in export sales and its recent receipt of the coveted UK Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the category of International Trade, the company recognised a need for dedicated sales partners to ensure better coverage and support for audio test and measurement clients throughout the USA.
Graham Boswell, Prism Sound’s Sales Director, says: “Both TFM and Spectra Sales have extensive experience of the Test & Measurement market, having previously handled competitors’ products. Prism Sound’s US National Sales Representative for Test and Measurement, Doug Ordon, and a US-based team of experienced and qualified electronics engineering professionals will work alongside both companies to ensure that customers receive full technical support and training.”

New York-based TFM offers test and measurement products and services to the engineering community in the North Eastern states of the USA. The company works with manufacturing, defence and technology companies as well as universities, test labs and research facilities.

TFM director Michael Wahlrab says: “We have been serving the audio test community for nearly 25 years and are very pleased to be representing a company of such high technical expertise and competence as Prism Sound.”

With offices in Houston and Dallas, Spectra Sales was founded in 1968 as a Manufacturer’s Representative for companies involved in the assembly and test of electronic devices and related technologies. The synergy of the company’s product lines enables Spectra Sales to assist manufacturers that want to upgrade, automate and improve their assembly and test processes. Spectra Sales attracts customers from a variety of industry sectors such as electronics, media, medical, petroleum, defence and the military.

Spectra Sales Vice President Jim Baker says: “We are excited to be representing Prism Sound’s range of Test and Measurement instruments because we feel the company has the right product at the right price point for the industry we call on. Almost every electronic device built today has a sound component associated with it and Prism Sound can test that component to standards needed by the customers. I’m confident the Prism Sound line will help us strengthen our customer relationships and, in turn, we look forward to helping them in their market leadership position.”

Simon Woollard, Sales Engineer at Prism Sound, adds: “I am very excited about these new partnerships. Both companies have long histories of supplying and supporting a wide range of test instrumentation and have established significant client bases in the audio test and measurement market.
“Prism Sound has a strong reputation for delivering state-of-the-art audio measurement solutions that address the requirements of the market, and we feel confident that TFM and Spectra Sales customers will be interested to learn more about the advantages offered by Prism Sound’s dScope Series III product range in all-round capability, engineering support and cost effectiveness.”

element14 (formerly Farnell), the industry’s first fusion of commerce and community supporting engineers and purchasing professionals worldwide, today announced the expansion of their 130,000 strong inventory with the addition of Tektronix precise and intuitive oscilloscopes. These high performance and easy-to-use solutions provide the maintenance and repair, and electronic design engineering sectors as well as aspiring engineers in schools with effective tools to measure and evaluate their designs.

As manufacturing industries around the globe continue to shift their operations to the Asia Pacific, this trend has created a rich ecosystem of technological sophistication that supports the production of a wide spectrum of electronics. As a result, design support and maintenance engineers are constantly challenged to find versatile analysis solutions that are capable of evaluating complex systems. There is also an increased demand for simpler tools so that engineers are able to apply these solutions more easily and proficiently across several product categories, thus improving time to market while supporting the development process from concept to end of life.

“As the world’s leading manufacturer of oscilloscopes, Tektronix is in the business of helping design engineers solve their day-to-day challenges,” said David Carew-Jones, Vice-President of Marketing, Service Solutions Organisation, Tektronix. “We do this by designing products that are easy to use and provide the highest level of precision, and it is important that our customers have the easiest access to the tools they need to do their job. Therefore, we are delighted with this partnership we have with element14 in Asia as their extensive network and logistical expertise help to ensure that engineers throughout the region can get easy access to our latest technology.”

“As the electronics manufacturing sector continues to expand in the Asia Pacific, there is also a corresponding growth in the number of electronic engineers the region. element14 understands that evaluating the validity of designs is an essential phase of design cycles,” says Marc Grange, Head of Product Management, element14, Asia Pacific. “New engineers can learn and build up their proficiency through Tektronix analytical tools which are specifically designed for learning purposes. In addition, element14 also offers 24/5 online technical support, relevant technical information and a complete suite of design software to help professionals, hobbyists and students to overcome any challenges.”

Easy-to-master measurement solutions with unparalleled precision and performance

One of the Tektronix oscilloscopes that element14 offers is the TSD1000C-EDU series that is designed for first time users. It features an intuitive interface that has dedicated per-channel vertical controls, auto set-up and auto ranging, making the oscilloscopes simple to operate to reduce the learning time.

Top-in-class precision and reliable performance

Captures signals accurately with at least 10X over-sampling on all channels, all the time with Tektronix’s proprietary sampling technology

Advance triggers – rising/ falling edge, pulse width, and video – to help identify and isolate the signals of interest

Advanced math capabilities and sixteen different automated measurements

Integrates USB port to enable users to save their instrument settings, screenshots and waveform data easily

Comes with an Education Resource CD that contains a library of information and guidance tools

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Expanded product portfolio to include MSO/DPO3000 and MSO/DPO4000B series, available to RS customers in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)

RS Components (RS) the world’s largest high service distributor of electronics and maintenance products and the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc (LSE:ECM), today announced an expanded agreement with Tektronix, a leading manufacturer of oscilloscopes.

Under the new agreement, RS will sell a wider range of Tektronix oscilloscopes, including the MSO/DPO3000 and MSO/DPO4000B Series, adding to the portfolio of Tektronix products already on offer to its customers, which includes bench oscilloscopes, arbitrary / function generators, digital multimeters, DC power supplies, counter/timers, probes, accessories and software. The expanded range will be available for customers at rswww.com/tektronix.

This announcement forms part of RS’ strategy to be the design engineer’s choice from concept through to production. “At RS we serve a wide range of design engineers, who each face their own particular challenges,” commented Jonathan Boxall, Electronics Category Business Manager at RS Components. “We are therefore very pleased that, through this expanded agreement with Tektronix, we can now offer our customers an even greater range of test solutions, designed to address today’s evolving technological challenges.”

“This is great news for Tektronix customers,” added Nigel Bentley, Channel Partner Manager, Tektronix. “RS Components have demonstrated time and again their ability to deliver outstanding sales support as well as a rapid and efficient delivery service. Now our customers can take advantage of these services for an even larger selection of Tektronix leading products.”

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Rutronik has won yet another award to add to its many past successes: HKC, a global leader in the manufacture of frequency products and test and measurement equipment, has presented the distributor with the “HKC Award for Outstanding Performance”. Rutronik won the award by achieving the highest sales of HKC products in Europe.

Rutronik now distributes HKC resonators, oscillators and quartz crystals worldwide, primarily serving the industrial, consumer and automotive markets. Rutronik Product Sales Manager Jörg Laszák comments: “HKC quartz crystals are the top choice for those target markets. They provide our customers with top-class quality, allied to high levels of reliability and flexibility”.

The successful cooperation between the two companies began as far back as 1995, and since that time Rutronik has steadily increased its sales of HKC components. HKC Operations Manager Rex Wong comments: “Our products are 100 percent design-in products. Selling them successfully demands technical know-how and profound knowledge of markets and applications. Rutronik’s ability to deliver all of that is proved by the figures. We are very pleased to have the opportunity to recognize success on this occasion”.

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