Solder Kit arrived today

[jonwade]

Yeah, I don't go for all the gold plated, expensive cable stuff either. I just ordered a package of cables and plugs from an ebay store and the solder came with it.

Just dug it out the bag, and this it what the label says:

Audio Grade Solder
4% silver
0.7mm / 22 SWG
lead free
2.2% flux
30cm

 

[telectrix]

don't know what all this fuss is about lead free solder. it's not as if you're going to let your kids eat it, is it?

 

[jonwade]

Um ..... they do sometimes chew the cables if I forget to feed them.

 

[telectrix]

i always said that kids were rats.

just remember, kids are for life, not just for benefits.

 

[gnuuser]

don't know what all this fuss is about lead free solder. it's not as if you're going to let your kids eat it, is it?

actually its not about kids eating it.
lead free solder is to protect you from inhaling lead fumes
its highly recommended to wear a respirator if you are still using 60/40
with the addition of silver it increases the conductivity just a bit but it has a slightly higher melting point

 

[davethsparky]

How do you get lead fumes from 60/40? it only gets hot enough to melt the lead, not vapourise it. Its the fumes from the flux that are a bit nasty. the lead free ROHS thing came about due to the environmental impact of the lead in the cheap throw away electronics that's filling up our landfills.

Lead free solder is a buggerance to work with as it has a higher melting point, doesn't flow as nicely and can eat through regular soldering iron tips rather quickly.

Lead free solder is also banned for aerospace and military applications because it has this tendancy to 'grow whiskers' after a period of time which cause shorts on circuit boards. There were a few studies done when it first entered the market which found this phenomenon, of course they may have changed the lead free stuff by now to fix this.

 

[sparkdog]

I still use 60/40 and wouldn't use anything else.Hope the stocks don't run out.I was a telly repair man for many years but mostly repair guitar amps and proper HiFi these days.