I work as a design engineer in the medical electronics industry and am well aware of both the domestic and international requirements as well as the implications of removing the lead from solder.
My chief concern is with tin whiskering. Eventually small strands of tin "hair" grow amongst component pins, causing short circuits, which lead to circuit malfunctions. Eventually, your radio becomes an expensive paperweight. No, conformally coating the boards does not stop the problem. I know that all the Japanese radios are intended for the world market and must be manufactured for the lowest common denominator, RoHS compliance. Since I rarely purchase new HF radios (my last was in 1982), I wanted this one to last me for a while. This became even more important when I considered the fact that I was spending about $3000 for a radio. Elecraft's assurance that the radio was built on a leaded soldering process was a major factor in deciding to purchase the K3. Unfortunately, with the push to become RoHS compliant, the component manufacturers have virtually stopped making leaded components. This means that we can still see internal failures of the components, and is well beyond even Elecraft's control. This also means that some customers (military and aerospace) who think they are immune to the effects of RoHS will have some major difficulties ahead. As a side note, solder is not the only thing effected by RoHS. RoHS covers the entire product, including the metallic chassis parts and the plastics that are so common in electronics devices. Many plastics use lead as a stabilizer and can no longer be used. RoHS also prohibits the use of other heavy metals, such as cadmium, which is used as a plating on metal parts. Bromine, a fire retardant in many plastics used in semiconductor casings and circuit boards, has also been eleminated. It is my belief that the days of picking up a usable 20 year old radio at a hamfest will soon be over. Paul Alexander wb9ipa ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
