In article ,
Ralph Mowery wrote:


I have not bought any yet and have been practicing witht he SMD on old
computer boards. That stuff seems a pain to work with compaired to the
'regular' tin/lead that I have been using for the last 50 years.

Ralph-

I sympathize!

The problem with using tin-lead solder with SMD, is that lead
"amalgamates" with the silver contacts of surface mount devices,
resulting in a non-conductive layer between the device and the circuit.

While tin-lead-copper solder may help, it would be better to use
lead-free. It may work better if you use a temperature-controlled iron,
capable of higher temperatures than your old iron.

Fred