If there’s one thing Opto 22 is known for above all others, it’s the reliability of our products. Customer tales abound of the continued performance of Opto 22 brains, modules, and other components through extreme heat, floods, freezing temperatures, and other harsh conditions. It's all in a day's work for us, but sometimes we even surprise ourselves . . .
Last week, Ron Schmidt, one of the design engineers here at Opto, was working on one of our substrate testing machines, which tests the switching capability of I/O modules and similar components. This particular tester was more than 30 years old and was being replaced, so Schmidt was dismantling it looking to salvage parts. Then, lo and behold, right there amongst the machine components, were three Opto 22 solid state relays. But not ordinary relays—these were from Opto 22’s very first product line, introduced way back in the mid-70’s. Opto CEO Mark Engman and his father Bob, who founded the company, confirmed that the relays were, in fact, first-generation and estimated that they had been in service for more than thirty years!
Take a good look at that guy on the left, folks. That's one of the world’s very first liquid epoxy-filled “hockey puck”-style relays—which are now an industry standard. The fact that they were still in-service and plugging away demonstrates once again how durable and reliable the Opto hardware really is.
The irrefutable proof of age for these relays (and the way we know they never needed replacing) is that they bear the logo of “Optrol”, the original name of the company before it changed to “Opto 22” for legal reasons.
It was very early in the company’s history that Optrol became Opto 22,” says Mark Engman. “So we know with certainty that the absolute youngest these relays could be is about thirty years old.”
Talk about longevity. Schmidt immediately removed the relays and tested them on our current solid state relay tester—applying the full battery of load tests that all our newest relays and modules undergo. Amazingly, or maybe not so, the old relays passed with flying colors!
So there you have it. After 30-plus years of reliable service, we think these old relays have earned their gold watch. They’re officially retired and we’ve reserved a case for them in our OptoMuseum here at corporate headquarters.
Do you have a story to tell about your old Opto relays? Or perhaps older I/O modules, controllers, or brains? If so, I'd love to hear from you. Please email me at dcrump@opto22.com, and I've got a special gift I'll send you for your story.
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