On 04/01/2017 07:01 AM, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote: > > Before building my most recent project (which involves an > unpleasantly small-pitched TSOP package housing multiple RS232 level > converters) I asked experts at work (technicians who do a lot of fine > detail soldering) about RoHS. > > The answer was very clear. If you must use that stuff because of > regulations, that's one thing. If it's for your own use and the > rules aren't applicable, don't be silly, use real solder.
That goes for repairing things also. I owned a Volvo in the late 90s that would develop strange electrical problems, such as the headlights suddenly not working. The culprit was the Bosch relay modules, many of which had small PCBs in them. Resoldering the PCBs with real solder did the job until I sold the thing. The audio system is similarly affected--if the audio suddenly drops out, grab the soldering iron. I bought a coffee maker in about 2004 that quit working after a few months. Resoldering the PCB again did the trick--I still use the thing today. RoHS solder is a plague, particularly in hostile environments. I've heard that most good plumbers who work with copper pipe, hide a spool of 50-50 in the bottom of their toolboxes, just in case. (50-50 has a wide "plastic" range and can be "tooled" to fill gaps.) Brass musical instruments are now assembled with RoHS solder. It's not unusual to find that the only thing holding some parts together is the lacquer finish--the solder has long since let go. --Chuck