Weller WTCPT tip not hot enough

No problem Jim, and it's nice to know that there are still people out there honest enough to admit to such a situation ! I would be interested to know what your friend's findings have been. If you once start working with lead-free, you won't mistake it for leaded again ! The first thing you will notice is why you suddenly don't seem able to make a shiny 'good' looking joint any more. The stuff is also a lot 'stiffer' as it comes off the reel. You might be surprised just how unpleasant the the stuff is to work with, compared to 'proper' solder - and that goes for the aggressive flux fumes as well. I wonder if your friend's place have put in additional bench extraction / ventilation to ensure that he doesn't breath the stuff ...

Arfa

I see that in that article

Tin pest in Sn-0.5 wt.% Cu lead-free solder

Sliver solder does not supress tinpest, very much reduces its growth, but not supressed like leaded solder.

-- Diverse Devices, Southampton, England electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on

That sounds a lot like the Viking/Telex decks that used a Fidelipac/NAB Broadcast cartridge. They sold the bare decks, with or without the heads and sensors, and the customer built their own electronics. I think I still have the Sam's on the bare deck, somewhere.

The 3M background music system used a bigger cartridge, with a pair of stacked, 7" Reels. It was four track as weel. it played to one end, revesed direction to play track two. When that ran out, it reveresd again, and selectd the third track... When it finished the fourh track, it started over. It ran at a very low speed and had something like eight hours of music.

I see. I misunderstood that the first time you posted that pic.

Quite possible, that seems to be the process.

Graham

I don't myself but there must be one since there's a market for it.

I followed.

Graham

An, the days of 50uA meter movements. I do still have a small one and even found a leather BT case designed for it on the local market.

Graham

I wonder just what we have waiting in store for us.

I had considered applying to the Comission for exemption for all goods regularly subjected to vibration (such as used on location video and sound recording) and which also might be subjected to freezing temps in use or transit which could at least exempt pro A/V gear.

It seems one (at least one) loudspeaker manufacturer successfully got an exemption on these grounds.

Graham

My good old AVO 8 Mk IV, which was originally issued to me as an apprentice in about 1970, is still used every day. For 'resistance path' fault finding, and semiconductor junction basic proving, it is still my instrument of choice. There's something very comforting about seeing a needle swing over to 'about the right place'.

I do of course have a raft of digital multimeters, both portable and bench, and a full array of digital capacitance and ESR and so on meters for more precise measurements where needed, but I find that a good quality analogue meter still fits the bill for much general service work.

Arfa

I guess that just about covers almost all electronic gear then ! Lets just go for a complete ban on lead-free solder ! Power to the electronic engineering industry !!!!!

Hmmmm. Video gear on location in freezing temperatures .... "So viewers, after a 2 hour descent, we see the first signs of the Titanic coming into view in remarkably sharp detail ... " Phhhttt !!! "Oh shit ..."

deg F

temperature.

but

It seems that if you produce kit and some of it, as little as 5 percent, is used in medical/military/aeronautical/space, even if only in R&D/analysis laboratories attached to any of those industries, then you can get a derogation for all production. On the grounds that it is unreasonable to force a company to run 2 parallel production lines.

-- Diverse Devices, Southampton, England electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on

And it's horrid seeing the movement protection fail !

I only really use it where the mechanical averaging is useful, such as noise measurements.

Otherwise it's my trusty Fluke 77. I think I've only ever seen one 'go wrong' and it was repaired or replaced under warranty even though we didn't have the invoice because they track the serial numbers themselves.

Graham

LOL !

The freezing often occurs overnight in the truck. Never mind road quality for vibration getting it there.

Graham

Is this a specific ruling you've come across ? Certainly interesting.

Graham

Hmmm...I used to be an apprentice at a company that manufactured background music machines utilising those big cartridges. They sounded bloody awful with violin music on - used to warble something chronic. For test purposes us young lads recorded stuff like Jimi Hendrix on them!

Roy

Sounds like we might be from the same background. Training school at Poulton-le-Fylde near Blackpool, by any chance ?

Arfa

Close - Ditchburns at Lytham, then Granada TV at Layton.

Roy

Ah, right. I was one of the 'Redi Boys' that's Rediffusion. Eventually, Granada took us over, but I was long gone by then.

Arfa

Well, it seems that info was also bad. I called him just to find out what their experience had been so far and found that so far they are still exempt They have not made the switch.

Thanks for your understanding. I was very reluctant to admit my mistake, but I felt that it was only fair to keep the discussion honest.

----------------------------------------------- Jim Adney snipped-for-privacy@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711 USA

-----------------------------------------------

The whole situation has become very complex, with two technologies now competing on geographical grounds. I guess if all your work, and that of your friend's place, is US based, and not for export over here, then you have no need to switch to RoHS approved components and solder, except maybe on the grounds of the caveat regarding not mixing solder types. By this I mean that I guess gear manufactured in lead-free technology is pouring into the US from the far east, but the fact that you have no *requirement* to preserve its lead-free status, probably means that it is getting repaired, for the most part, with leaded solder, which may not be the best thing for long term reliability. Not that this technology is reliable in the first place, of course ... !! d;~}

Arfa