[aprssig] FW: Digi-Key RoHS Compliance Part(s) Bulletin

[scott at opentrac.org]

So what do we get from ROHS?  Increased electrical use in soldering 
operations, increased use of tin, decreased reliabilty in electronic 
components, and increased cost in delivered consumer goods.
This kind of knee-jerk "but think of the children!" feel-good environmental legislation drives me nuts.  There are SO many places we could better focus our attention, but people have this emotional response to throwing away what was once an expensive computer or cell phone.  I think it's that guilt that drives the whole 'e-waste' bandwagon, when people are perfectly happy to ignore the impact of other, less obvious activities.  As I sit here looking at a screen full of municipal water quality telemetry, I can think of a lot of things that worry me more than lead in landfills.

As for lead, I sent my kids around the block to pick up all of the lead tire weights they could find in the gutter.  We're up to something like 130 grams now.  That's a LOT of cell phones or iPods.  And it's sitting in the gutter, where the storm drain will take it straight to a groundwater reclamation basin - which seems like a bigger threat than electronics in a properly-designed sanitary landfill.

I took a blacksmithing class with a guy who made lead castings as a hobby.  Big ones, many pounds each.  He claimed that all of the lead came from tire weights he picked up walking around town.  And then there's the firing range - my friends used to melt down used bullets and cast whole armies of lead soldiers when we were kids.

http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/media/nearingzero/Pb.gif

Maybe I ought to invest in tungsten futures.  When they get around to banning lead in everything else, there aren't a lot of other metals to take its place...

Anyway, to keep this at least marginally APRS-related, my OpenTracker boards are now being made with a lead-free immersion gold finish.  And you can tell the difference, even with hand soldering - it takes just a bit more heat to get the solder to flow right, and it doesn't wet quite as readily.  They're also 50% more expensive now.  On the plus side, the electrical properties are good, and the shelf life is better than many other finishes.  And it looks pretty cool, too.

Scott
N1VG
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