Tag: approvals

Required Approvals

RoHS and REACH Compliance

You may have noticed an uptick in the terms “RoHS” and “REACH” compliant.  They seem like technical, foreign terms. In reality, though, they’re there for your protection. Quail Electronics is RoHS and REACH compliant, but that probably doesn’t mean a lot to you unless you know what those terms mean. We’ve included a description of those terms, and why they’re important.

RoHSRoHS stands for the Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive.  RoHS regulations were developed in the UK to promote environmental and human safety.  The goal of the RoHS directive is to protect consumers from substances that have been found to be hazardous. RoHS regulations became official on July 1, 2006.  While RoHS regulations were initially only used in the UK, other countries have begun to adopt them. Continue reading RoHS and REACH Compliance

Tri-Approval Trifecta!

ApprovalsThere’s a lot that goes into electronics. It’s not as simple as that potato powered clock you made in third grade. One of the most common questions I get about understanding electronics is about standards. Often times, you see stamps on various electrical components, such as VDE, UL, and C-UL. What do these standards mean? And what can they tell us about these electronics? And what is tri-approval?

approval and plugsWe’ll start with an explanation for each. UL stands for Underwriters Laboratories, which issues safety standards for different products. It is commonly viewed as the North American standard. Founded in 1884, the UL strives to promote safe work and home environments and to support the implementation of products that have guaranteed safety.  C-UL denotes the Canadian listing program implemented by UL. C-UL is most commonly understood as the certification mark for Canada. VDE is also known as the Association for Electrical, Electronic, and Information Technologies, and is based in Germany.  However, VDE is seen as the international standard. The DKE is the standards division of the VDE, whose aim is to foster standards to ensure global safety and the promotion of technological usage. Continue reading Tri-Approval Trifecta!

Japanese and Taiwanese Plugs: Together At Last

Not clearTwo is better than one.  Think about it.  Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are so much better than jelly sandwiches.  And where would Mario be without Luigi?  Chips and salsa truly belong together.  As much as he may hate to admit it, the Coyote would have no idea what to do if it wasn’t for the roadrunner.  And after all, how could Kirk captain the Enterprise without Spock?

That’s why Quail Electronics has brought you Dual Approved Power Cords for Taiwan and Japan.  For several years, Japan and Taiwan have been using very similar electrical standards and identical plugs and connectors.  However, different approval bodies caused these cords to be offered as separate power cords.  Therefore, if you had products in the Japan and Taiwan market, you needed to have two power cords. Continue reading Japanese and Taiwanese Plugs: Together At Last

The Auto-Lock®: Guaranteeing a Steadfast Connection

C14_C19_5287Some people have two left feet.  I believe that I have two left feet and a third invisible foot that exists only to trip me in very important moments. It’s an issue. During my senior prom, while showing off my signature Hammer moves, I tripped and unplugged the DJ booth and all of the lights, resulting in complete darkness and silence for about ten minutes. In college, while rushing to finish a project, I tripped over a power cord in the computer lab which turned off every single computer, resulting in a sprint for my life as a mob of caffeinated procrastinators chased me through the quad at 3 am. I have ruined countless presentations, proposals, and parties.

For some industries, the importance of maintaining constant power is far more important than my two left feet. Hospitals need to ensure that power can be supplied to operating room machinery seamlessly. Storage facilities need to supply power to all of their mainframes. The OEM marketplace is well aware of the necessity of power supply. But how do you guarantee this? Continue reading The Auto-Lock®: Guaranteeing a Steadfast Connection