[tangent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RnB180 Ive read online the organic solder can corrode the metal over time.

Yes, if you leave it on the board.

 

[cetoole]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangent 190 proof Everclear might be the easiest thing to get.

Not for the under 21 segment on these boards, unless an older member wants to acquire it for us. I cant see walking into a Liquor store and asking for everclear, for use soley with DIY audio projects, being very successful.

 

[afxdave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cetoole Not for the under 21 segment on these boards, unless an older member wants to acquire it for us. I cant see walking into a Liquor store and asking for everclear, for use soley with DIY audio projects, being very successful.

Just find a bum and pay him $5 to buy you a bottle.

 

[Nospam]

You mean I actually have a use for the bottle of Everclear I bought when I was in school? No one seems to want to drink the stuff, so it's been sitting in my closet

I've actually haven't had any problems cleaning flux. I just use an old toothbrush and some Isopropyl Alcohol I got at Wallgreens. I guess the solder I use has easy-cleaning flux... http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/6262

 

[skyskraper]

after lots of playing around it did come down to a few rounds of isopropyl alcohol and toothbrush. my friend uses one of those ultrasonic cleaners (for jewellry etc) it totally hauls tail just dunk and leave. shame the one he has is so small but i guess he only does small boards (say between pimeta and mint size) so its good for him but not when i wanted to clean

 

[Tomo]

Hey,

Can we get back to the matter of soldering this Lead-Free stuff?

I am more worried about how to make this stuff flow with nice shine. Should I pump up the temperature to 800F? (I m using 700F right now)

Sorry for disruption.

Tomo

 

[skyskraper]

well for using your current equipment with lead free, see whether your soldering iron manuf has info on their site specifically regarding lead free.

hakko has some nice switching to lead free info here. the faq isn't just for hakko irons either. a very informative read.

i guess the key thing is the same as lead bearing solder, find the sweet spot for your equipment on an individual basis, like tip size and temperature etc. i find every project i embark on i need to swap tips and change temperature regardless of what solder i use (i have a few different ones coz i'm always misplacing the stuff)

 

[guzzler]

Reliability is NOT going to fall as a result, one need only look at, say, Farnell to see that most of their products are RoHS compliant already. The proposal has been on the table for the best part of 6 years, and semiconductor firms have put in a lot of research into making it happen. They have had no choice. It's true to say that metallic lead isn't a major hazard, but lead pipes have been proven to increase mental defect rates. Also, the main point of this legislation wasn't to remove Pb from equipment to protect the immediate user, but rather to eliminate the lead leached out when the equipment is disposed of in a corrosive environment. If anyone has been to their local landfill recently, the pile of "beige goods" is testimony to the vast waste and pollution caused by designing "throwaway" electrical items.

The downsides for DIY are 1) higher bit temperatures (I need a new iron), and 2) flow. The lead works as an excellent flux, and so you're soldering technique will have to improve to compensate.

 

[Tomo]

Hi,

I wish N2 soldering irons are cheaper ... I just spent my entire pocket on HD580.

Anyways, it would be cool to list up some N2's.

Tomo

 

[DIWired]

I've read some techincal articles that describe how lead free solder used exclusively in the military is going to cause major problems. The problem comes from what are called "tin whiskers". Lead free solder spontantiously pops out thin whisps of solder that can eventually cause short circuits over time (approx 5 years or so). This is very bad for PCB's but I don't know about audio cables etc.

 

[rickcr42]

Quote:

Reliability is NOT going to fall as a result,

Sure it will and there is another thread here from about six months ago where I post some content as to why.I receive a bazillion industry trade jurnals every week and the real story comes from the techs who do the work and they are mostly in agreement on this

Quote:

one need only look at, say, Farnell to see that most of their products are RoHS compliant already.

because they must or cease operations and they are just doing what is smart-switching now instead of the last minute.You would not beleive the crap propaganda I get from the semiconductor manufacturers and electronics suppliers telling me why this is a good thing and how they are compliant while the engineers are moaning that it is all a pack of lies.

Quote:

The proposal has been on the table for the best part of 6 years, and semiconductor firms have put in a lot of research into making it happen.

they have been trying to cure cancer for far longer.Have been trying to make fusion power a reality since the '50s.Have been trying to send humans to the stars for many years.

time alone does not make the impossible possible.

Quote:

They have had no choice. It's true to say that metallic lead isn't a major hazard, but lead pipes have been proven to increase mental defect rates.

Seems to me folks were a whole lot smarter before they realised how stupid they should be because of all the damage done to their brains by lead.I don't know if this is scam or "truethful" science based but if anything like the asbestos "scam" then I for one am suspicious.

Quote:

Also, the main point of this legislation wasn't to remove Pb from equipment to protect the immediate user, but rather to eliminate the lead leached out when the equipment is disposed of in a corrosive environment

Lead is a natural element and comes from the earth.It is not manufactured from thin air or invented so it seems to me there should be a way to just put it back into the earth where it came from !

Quote:

If anyone has been to their local landfill recently, the pile of "beige goods" is testimony to the vast waste and pollution caused by designing "throwaway" electrical items.

Landfills ? Those are a thing of the past around here and all garbage is now trucked out to some nameless area for dumping where no one is looking.Why ? Because we have become a disposable society that foxes nothing and treasures nothing.If it breaks gun it and buy new.Ever think about all the packaging you toss into the trash in an average week ?

Lead is not the problem.Building crap that breaks is and this another weak link in the reliability chain but a solid link in the "if it breaks i can sell more stuff" chain.I only wonder where it will all go in a couple of years !

Quote:

The downsides for DIY are 1) higher bit temperatures (I need a new iron), and 2) flow. The lead works as an excellent flux, and so you're soldering technique will have to improve to compensate.

the downside for DIY is no one cares and the rest are trying to close the door on us just like the auto industry slammed the door on the backyard mechanic by tuning an engine by chip.The move to microscopic parts and suspect bonding agaents means we are all in deep doo doo in a few years

 

[00940]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickcr42 Seems to me folks were a whole lot smarter before they realised how stupid they should be because of all the damage done to their brains by lead.I don't know if this is scam or "truethful" science based but if anything like the asbestos "scam" then I for one am suspicious.

Make a google search on "saturnism and lead".

 

[rickcr42]

Quote:

Make a google search on "saturnism and lead".

do a google on the riskss from asbestos and why it has been removed from every public building in the states then ask me about the reality and how they used science to prove a possible not an actual.I was in the business of removing it in the early days and it was all about who made and who paid.

Asbestos also is a natural mineral and is about as dangerous as regular dirt until it is 100% dry,out in the open and then disturbed at which time it goes airborne and is breathable.Breathable yes but not the cause of all the horror stories causing its removal at high expense.And if so dangerious why did all the mechanics that have been doing brake jobs over the years not drop dead from cancer ?
The brakes were asbestos,were is an absolute dry and crumbly state and the mechanic would be directly under the brakes breathung it in while working yet ? No mass of dead mechanics from asbestos induced cancer so where is THAT truth ? In the googled pages or in actual real world events that never took place on the scale reported ?

Lead is a mineral that is mined and from my early years studying mineralogy and geology is mined as galena which is damn near a pure form of lead ore.Yes there is some separation and purification that takes place but still basically lead and tones of it.So why can it not be recombined back to another mineral,kinda like a reverse smelting process,and put back into the land or better yet the original mine area that should be uninhabitable anyway if the lead is so dangerous ?

 

[dhp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickcr42 do a google on the riskss from asbestos and why it has been removed from every public building in the states then ask me about the reality and how they used science to prove a possible not an actual.I was in the business of removing it in the early days and it was all about who made and who paid. Asbestos also is a natural mineral and is about as dangerous as regular dirt until it is 100% dry,out in the open and then disturbed at which time it goes airborne and is breathable.Breathable yes but not the cause of all the horror stories causing its removal at high expense.And if so dangerious why did all the mechanics that have been doing brake jobs over the years not drop dead from cancer ? The brakes were asbestos,were is an absolute dry and crumbly state and the mechanic would be directly under the brakes breathung it in while working yet ? No mass of dead mechanics from asbestos induced cancer so where is THAT truth ? In the googled pages or in actual real world events that never took place on the scale reported ? Lead is a mineral that is mined and from my early years studying mineralogy and geology is mined as galena which is damn near a pure form of lead ore.Yes there is some separation and purification that takes place but still basically lead and tones of it.So why can it not be recombined back to another mineral,kinda like a reverse smelting process,and put back into the land or better yet the original mine area that should be uninhabitable anyway if the lead is so dangerous ?

uranium is also natural in the earth, but you don't see people just tossing that into normal landfills all the time either. Just because it's natural doesn't mean that it's not harmful. Lead wasn't meant to be piled in landfills and seep into the groundwater...

Of course, I could be wrong

 

[Tomo]

Hey,

I am sorry to say ... but can we stick with actual soldering business? This thing is essential to continuing one of my most enjoyable hobbie ... and now my new job!! (cool eh!?)

Anyways, I found this "whisker" problem on some website look at this.

Quote:

Lead contamination in a lead-free solder joint can significantly reduce the reliability of the joint. A naturally occurring phenomenon in metals with high tin contents is “whiskering”. Microscopic whiskers can grow to several hundred microns in length. Tin whiskers are electrically conductive, single crystal, hair-like structures that can grow from lead-free solders with high tin content and will grow from pure tin surfaces. It is possible for tin whiskers to cause electrical short circuits in high-density PCB assemblies and with fine pitch components.

Also,

Quote:

In rework situations it is important to always use the same lead-free alloy used in the original manufacturing process because when two different types of solder are mixed, unpredictable alloys can be formed, resulting in questionable reliability of the solder joint.

(They are from, http://www.paceworldwide.com/leadFree.asp)

And I realized this lead-free stuff is like uber-corrosive stuff. I just read it eats away from Fe (iron) tips so badly. I guess I would need to find me a new tip ASAP. ...

Tomo