On Jul 7, 11:44*pm, notbob wrote:
On 2010-07-08, wrote:



There's nothing illegal about tin/lead solder in the US, at least yet
(Ssshhhh! Obama hasn't thought of this one). *You do *NOT* want anything else
for electronics. *Sure, lead-free (RoHS) solder is available unless you really
know what you're doing it's impossible to use. *

It's used quite a bit in SMT (surface mount technology) soldering,
which I'll soon be exploring. *Not exactly sure why, since I've heard
there are problems with non-lead solder forming "whiskers", over time,
which are bad mojo. *I'm still learning about this.

We've been using a RoHS SMT process for a couple of years. Trust me,
you're in for a *lot* of pain.

As for lead solder, I keep hearing it's being phased out, but you can
still get it at many places. *Radio Shack continues to list it in 1/2
lb and 1 lb rolls, but it's no longer available in the little 1/2 oz
tubes. *I don't know if they're just running out their stock or what.

RS may be phasing it out (haven't they been phasing out all
electronics for years?), but deaded solder isn't going anywhere.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2062714

There are still many electronics kits, specially for amateur (ham)
radio hobbyists, including $1K+ radios which still need lead solder. *Some of
these companies (Elecraft, Ten-Ten) provide links to vendors who still
provide lead solder and lead solder irons, stations, and supplies.

All the tools are the same, though if it's touched leaded solder it is
no longer acceptable to use that tool in a RoHS process.