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Does anyone know of anyone still charging a reasonable price? I'd also consider Multicore brand. It must be 63/37 .031. Kester 0.031" 44 63/37 is available at Anchor Electronics right here in the Bay Area. A 1 lb. spool is $13.95. Get it while you can.

I'm still using a vintage roll of Kester 44 I found at a Thrift years ago for $5.00.

It's getting down to the last pound or so (must've been a 5 lb roll?) Probably a good time to stock up though.

So, you do not like lead free solder? You may find this editorial interesting. It seems that there are seveal good reasons not to get the lead out. http://www.edn.com/article/CA6477864.html?text=lead+solder

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http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/

Some of the stuff here is a little scary. Check the videos.

I occasionally use lead free solder, and don't like it. I see it all the time in new equipment, and you cant tell if connections are good or bad by looking at them. I understand using lead solder to repair equipment made with lead-free can lead to unpredictable failures.

The tin-whiskers problem needs to be front page news. When consumer electronics start failing left and right, maybe someone will put two and two together. Of course, consumer electronics products are failing at a higher rate then ever before, I think a lot of failures blamed on "cheapness" probably can be traced to lead-free solder. The average person doesn't seem to care though, the stuff is usually obsolete before it fails and a new one goes on the credit card. It's amazing that people accept the low levels of quality in consumer electronics today.

I think if lead free solder is that bad, they'll either come up with a better formulation, or bring lead solder back.

Also, since I'm almost certain that leaded solder is cheaper to make, I bet places like China will find a way to sell it over here with some warning label that the product contains lead which is known to cause nervous system damage and yadda yadda yadda...

Why, at a dollar store I go to, they sell mini FM radios that have lead in the headphone cord. There's a little warning label stating this and it advises you to wash your hands after handling the cord...

Why, at a dollar store I go to, they sell mini FM radios that have lead in the headphone cord. There's a little warning label stating this and it advises you to wash your hands after handling the cord...

I've seen labels on patch cords claiming that they contain a substance known to the state of CA to cause cancer and birth defects and that your hands should be washed after touching.

I think the issue with the wire is because lead salts are sometimes used to stabilize PVC used to insulate the wire. Because of this, the State of California has determined that PVC insulation is not a good dietary supplement.

It is ironic that the insulation may have lead in it but the circuit board will not.

Fry's had plenty of the good stuff last time I looked, which was within the past couple months. Since all I do now is hobby work with TVs (no longer for business,) I probably already have enough with about 3 rolls.

Charles

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I hadn't realized that lead solder might be phased out, but you're right that it does seem to have gotten more expensive lately. Hmm...

I don't want to turn this into an ad, but I just thought I'd point some still-current circular specials at MCM (mcmelectronics.com). I don't work for MCM; I just thought this might be useful for some folks.

For example, I see that you can get a 1 lb. spool of Kester 44 .031" 63/37 solder (MCM cat # 21-1845) for $19.95 (regular $34.95) through February 3, 2008 if you use source code WC712 in your shopping cart. ...Or, if you prefer, 1 lb of Kester 44 .040" 60/40 (MCM # 21-1830) for $17.95 (also regularly $34.95) using the same source code number. Other sizes/types of Kester solder have discounts as well in that circular, but those represent the best discounts from a percentage basis.

Also, you can get a 1 lb spool of Tenma (MCM's "house brand") regular lead solder (60/40) for $7.99 (MCM # 21-1040) using source code WC711 through Feb 2. Actually, I just noticed that the same Kester solder discounts are in that sale circular too, so this source code would work for that too.

Didn't get the price but I was in Rat Shack sunday and they still had Kester44 in various diameters.

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I think, folks, that this says it all.

I read the link in tcdriver's earlier listing and found a few thing I did not know about the problem, especially lead "pest"...a sort of fungus-looking contamination that is eating away at the outdoor tv's in my stadium here in Phila. I sent an email to the author, Dr. Howard Johnson mentioning this thread and he was kind enough to reply to me a few days ago.



Dear Dave,

Thanks for your kind note. I'm not likely to sign onto the forum, but I
will tell you (and you can quote me on this) that the lead-free requirement
in RoHS is driving people out of business all over the planet. It hits
especially hard in small businesses that assemble their own products (like
makers of specialized audio gear). These businesses cannot afford to
upgrade all their soldering equipment, which is what it takes to comply.

I'm not an expert in soldering technology, but regarding one of the posts on
the audiokarma site, I do hear that you should not mix lead-free and
lead-based soldering technologies, either way around. If you have lead-free
parts you need to use lead-free solder and lead-free temperature profiles.
If you have lead-based parts you need to use lead-based solder and
lead-based temperature profiles (the lead-based profiles have, by the way,
more process window margin built in).

I think we are headed for a train wreck of major proportions.

For your amusement, I attach a few of the responses I have received from
other readers.

Best regards,
Dr. Howard Johnson, Signal Consulting Inc.,
www.sigcon.com -- High-Speed Digital Design seminars, publications and films

If you want to see the other replies, let me know and I will forward the file. It would be a page by itself on this thread.

Dave A

Metal whiskers are not a new problem, they were a big plague with some types of 60s germanium transistors, the worst was the AF117, this transistor has a near 100% failure rate, whiskers grew from the inside walls of the metal can and when they grew long enough, they shorted the leads to the can.

They're easy to fix though, you just solder the B-C-E leads together and then discharge a 50v 100mfd cap between the leads and the can, this burns the whiskers, this is usually a temporary fix, sooner or later another whisker will grow long enough to reach a lead and short the transistor again

Does anyone know if lead solder will actually be prohibited from being made (like R-12 refrigerant) or is it just not allowed to be used in newly constructed devices?
I know I will have plenty of old equipment to repair for the rest of my life and I'm concerned that in 10 years or so there will be no leaded solder to properly repair older equipment originally soldered with leaded products. Is it really a case of needing to stock up now forever??

A quick search of the usual places (MCM, Mouser, Jameco,...) shows that good old Kester 44 63/37 is going for $35+ a lb. A year or two ago it wasn't too hard to find the same thing for under $10. . In this months issue of Design News, Doug Smock wrote an article on materials and fastening cutting cost. From the article: “In 2003, lead was $500 a ton and went to $3, 400 a ton in August.” This may explain one reason why leaded solder is becoming more expensive. It may be a good idea to stock up now.

I think, folks, that this says it all.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=75045&d=1200528550

Well, I am a Lead Zeppelin fan... :D

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