11-07-2011, 09:33 AM
(09-07-2011, 09:56 AM)60 oldjohn Wrote: I should have added, ISTR at one time the aviation industries baned PB free solder due to reliability problems. John.
As far as I know PB free solder is still banned from Aviation and Military equipment. I have tested mixing PB free with PB solder and it did seem to perform OK under ideal conditions on a PC board but I wouldn't trust it in the depths of a 1947 radio chassis. The legislation of course does state that all new equipment must be manufactured using PB free solder, there is nothing to stop anyone using PB solder to repair circuits originally made using it. As an aside CPC have PB solder currently on offer but even on offer the price is eye watering. Suffice to say I bought enough PB solder to last the rest of my life when people were still kicking it around radio rallies a couple of years ago...............
Another solder story which is true. A young lady working in a solder factory was fired and to get her revenge she emptied the contents of her perfume bottle into the flux making machine when this was discovered by the bosses the flux was tested and was found to still work OK so the batch was put into production. I know this story to be true because twice while working on older equipment I've caught a whiff of perfume when heating soldered joints !!
