[aprssig] Kenwood TH-D7A(G) Retired

Scott Miller scott at opentrac.org
Mon Oct 13 14:00:32 EDT 2008 

For a long time I thought my HF antenna setup totally sucks (and to be 
honest it's not very good), but one night we had a widespread power 
outage and I fired up the old TS-430 on battery power and heard 10 times 
more than I'd ever gotten before.  I wonder how much of that is lighting 
and noisy switching power supplies...

Scott
N1VG

David Flood wrote:
> The lead level in the landfills will drop while at the same time the mercury
> levels will skyrocket.  All those LCD's have mercury in their backlight
> bulbs.  And there is the US law banning the sale of incandescent bulbs in
> the near future.
> 
> And to bring this (sorta) back to radio related, what about all the RF hash
> that is being put out by all the power supplies needed to power all these
> non-incandescent bulbs?  They are in the process of swapping out all the
> normal bulbs here at my apartment complex and all my mobile radios now break
> squelch as soon as I turn into the parking lot.  One bulb may not generate
> much hash but a lot of them in a small area basically wipes out the
> spectrum.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: aprssig-bounces at lists.tapr.org [mailto:aprssig-bounces at lists.tapr.org]
> On Behalf Of Scott Miller
> Sent: Monday, October 13, 2008 09:56
> To: TAPR APRS Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [aprssig] Kenwood TH-D7A(G) Retired
> 
> Whiskers aside, lead free processes seem to universally require higher
> temperatures (and greater energy consumption.)  It's additional strain
> on the components, added difficulty in making sure everything is
> compatible, and a disruption to established and proven processes.
> 
> The lead-free solders I've worked with also have poorer wetting
> characteristics and make rework more difficult.
> 
> All of this for a dubious environmental impact.  I'm sure years from now
> they'll point to a decrease in lead in landfills that coincided with the
> legislation, but how much do you want to bet they'll totally ignore the
> shift from lead-filled CRTs to LCD and plasma displays?  How many iPods
> worth of lead is there in one car battery?
> 
> But hey, people will vote to ban dihydrogen monoxide if you put it on
> the ballot and tell them about all the ways it can kill you.  At least
> here in California.  =]
> 
> Scott
> N1VG
> 
> Shanon KA8SPW wrote:
>> The article from Beijing University of Technology was done July 2008.
>> The intent was to show it has been a noted problem for some time, from
>> the start, without a solution, and still a problem.  Note how fast they
>> grow in some of the examples.
>>
>>   Yes regular leaded solder does grow whiskers too but not at the speed
>> and length of lead free.  Now, with circuits getting even smaller and
>> tighter it is a problem to address and be aware of.  Once the circuit
>> shorts all sorts of havoc will be done.
>>
>>   The quote you quote does say the phenomenon did not show up until they
>> started to reduce the lead content.  In older electronics, equipment was
>> long declared obsolete and scrapped before such an event would happen so
>> it was never discovered.  Old equipment was not worth the trouble to
>> repair.  Why do you think they came out with silver solder as used in
>> Tektronics scopes?
>>
>>  Read everything written before you speak.....  I just hate it when
>> people don't read all of what you write.  Stop trying to disprove and
>> learn.  Noone know it all.  I worked over 32 years at a big three
>> automotive R&E center as an electronics technician, just retired at age
>> 53.  I do repairs on everything including surface mount.  They still are
>> struggling with the whisker problem.
>>
>> I could add quite a brag line to my email but I do not think it shows
>> any class plus it has nothing to do with this.
>>
>> Electronics is just getting started, wait another 10 years and see what
>> comes!  What a great hobby and what a great job it was!
>>
>> Shanon KA8SPW
>>
>> Amir Findling K9CHP wrote:
>>> Well, checking out Shannon's cited source, it looks as if the reports
>>> were from 1992 to 2002 with one single occurrence in 2005. Here is a
>>> quote from that last source
>>>
> http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/reference/tech_papers/2005-dadonna-nuclear-reac
> tor-shutdown.pdf
>>>
>>> "The tin whisker is a phenomenon the National Aeronautics and Space
>>> Administration
>>> (NASA) has been tracking since the 1940s."
>>>
>>> Shannon, I may be the bearer of bad news, as the Drake TR4 having been
>>> around since the mid-60's, I think it may also potentially suffer from
>>> the same "fate"... :-(
>>>
>>>     * 73 de K9CHP Amir Findling, Member ARRL, ARRL/ W5YI VE, WAC
>>>     * www.K9CHP.net <http://www.k9chp.net>
>>>     * Senior K9 Handler
>>>     * K9 Certification Tester, NYS Federation of SAR Teams
>>>     * 1st Special Response Group (1SRG)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Shanon KA8SPW wrote:
>>>> My fellow hams:
>>>>
>>>> Don't be so fast to replace what works.  Another case of a law to
>>>> replace or reduce something before the technology is there to provide
>>>> a solution.
>>>>
>>>> Take a read about growing "tin whiskers" and lead free solder.  Big
>>>> problem in RoHS circuits.  And it don't take long to show up.
>>>>
>>>> "There is electrical risk posed by the other major component of
>>>> solder, tin. For reasons that remain somewhat obscure, tin used in
>>>> electronic devices can form what are called "tin whiskers
>>>> <http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/>," thin filaments of the metal up to
>>>> 10mm long that sprout from surfaces covered in the metal. Although
>>>> the causes of the whiskers are obscure, the consequences aren't:
>>>> whiskers that bridge two conducting areas can cause short circuits,
>>>> causing erratic behavior or ultimately destroying the equipment. NASA
>>>> maintains a list <http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/failures/index.htm> of
>>>> various military, orbital, and medical failures that have been
>>>> attributed to tin whiskers. Presumably, many failures in equipment
>>>> that is not significant enough to warrant a post-failure analysis are
>>>> also the product of tin whiskers."
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>   Notice how manufacturers are keeping quiet about this problem.  In
>>>> some electronics it will take a while and then one day, smoke.  Won't
>>>> be any rigs of today working say in 30 years like an old Drake TR4
>>>> does today.  I won't be buying anything lead free until the problem
>>>> has been solved for some time.
>>>>
>>>> Your millage may vary.
>>>>
>>>> Shanon KA8SPW
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Sites from the text above:
>>>>
>>>> "Tin Whiskers"  http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/
>>>>
>>>> "NASA Maintains a list"  http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/failures/index.htm
>>>>
>>>> The article bellow has pictures with time taken to grow the whiskers
>>>> in different enviroments.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *July 2008* - Tin whiskers on _/*Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu-1.0Ce/Er/Y
>>>> */*/S/**/older /*/*J*/*/oints/*_
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *"*
>>>>
> <http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/other_whisker/SAC/2008-Hao-whiskers-SAC-Ce-Er-
> Y-solder.pdf>*Tin
>>>> Whiskers with Special Morphology **"*
>>>> <http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/other_whisker/SAC/index.htm>, H. Hao,
>>>> Y. Shi, Beijing University of Technology, July 2008
>>>>
>>>>   http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/other_whisker/SAC/index.htm
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Bernard Tyers wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> On 13 Oct 2008, at 07:29, Arno Verhoeven (PE1ICQ) wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> and believe it or not... China has come up with their own set of RoHS
>>>>>> requirements.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://www.chinarohs.com/
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> "It's not Just Another RoHS. It's CHINA RoHS!"
>>>>>
>>>>> This is a joke? Yes? I wonder if they will have a RoHS rating for
>>>>> Bindeez beads..
>>>>>
>>>>> I, for one, am glad that the EU (one of the good things they have
>>>>> done recently) are removing Pb from solder. The one time I had to
>>>>> get myself near a large scale soldering/manufacturing station it
>>>>> wasn't pleasant. And I was there only for a few weeks.
>>>>>
>>>>> Now, if we can make some head way on other poisonous chemicals
>>>>> (mercury, PVCs, flame retardents) it would be even better.
>>>>>
>>>>> regards and 73,
>>>>> bernard/ei8fdb
>>>>>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>
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>>>>>
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