Frank Erskine wrote
Dave Plowman (News) wrote
Man at B&Q wrote

Similarly thise who insist lead-free is crap have tried it (or are
just clueless armchair critics) and failed because they don't really
know how to solder.

It's not about making the joint - more about how long it lasts.
Which is why the military don't use lead free solder.

I wouldn't have thought that longevity of their kit would be of primary
importance to the military since they seem to replace it every few years

Like hell they do with planes, ships, etc etc etc.

- I shouldn't think there are many 19 sets still in active (military) service.

Pity about whats in the planes and ships etc.

I still wouldn't touch lead-free solder with a bargepole. It's a pity
that Maplins don't sell proper solder (although I still have a largeish
stash from my working days. Probably enough to see me out.)

In article ,
Frank Erskine wrote:
I still wouldn't touch lead-free solder with a bargepole. It's a pity
that Maplins don't sell proper solder (although I still have a
largeish stash from my working days. Probably enough to see me out.)

Maplin are no longer a serious electronics supplier. Places like CPC, RS,
Rapid etc all sell leaded solder.

--
*Re-elect nobody

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Frank Erskine wrote:
It's not about making the joint - more about how long it lasts. Which is
why the military don't use lead free solder.

I wouldn't have thought that longevity of their kit would be of
primary importance to the military since they seem to replace it every
few years - I shouldn't think there are many 19 sets still in active
(military) service.

But we're not talking that sort of timescale. I've seen lead free failures
on equipment only a couple of years old.

--
*This message has been ROT-13 encrypted twice for extra security *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 03/04/2012 00:47, Frank Erskine wrote:
On Mon, 02 Apr 2012 23:49:46 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article
,
Man at wrote:
Similarly thise who insist lead-free is crap have tried it (or are
just clueless armchair critics) and failed because they don't really
know how to solder.

It's not about making the joint - more about how long it lasts. Which is
why the military don't use lead free solder.

I wouldn't have thought that longevity of their kit would be of
primary importance to the military since they seem to replace it every
few years - I shouldn't think there are many 19 sets still in active
(military) service.

There is loads of mil kit about in service that has been there for
decades. Basic stuff like radios etc can be expected to last for ages.


I still wouldn't touch lead-free solder with a bargepole. It's a pity
that Maplins don't sell proper solder (although I still have a
largeish stash from my working days. Probably enough to see me out.)

Easy enough to get the proper stuff from CPC etc.


--
Cheers,

John.

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On 03/04/2012 10:25, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In ,
Frank wrote:
It's not about making the joint - more about how long it lasts. Which is
why the military don't use lead free solder.

I wouldn't have thought that longevity of their kit would be of
primary importance to the military since they seem to replace it every
few years - I shouldn't think there are many 19 sets still in active
(military) service.

But we're not talking that sort of timescale. I've seen lead free failures
on equipment only a couple of years old.

BGA chips that get hot seem a prime candidate... laptops with nVidea
GPUs on board seem to be prime candidates for a reflow or reball after
18 months.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/