Tnx 4 ur response. I was/am unaware of this international standard. And it
was a long time ago that I got stung on the solder, so I hope that the problem
(or con) won't recur. I recall that the label said simply "60/40", without
matching the composition with these numbers in the larger print.
I'm of Scottish extraction, and at least as tight as the jokes say, so I prowl
hamfests, etc., and other bargain opportunities as often as I can. I'm also
somewhat cynical and skeptical, maybe overly so. One of the things I have
noticed over the last 10 - 15 years or so is that the amount of items and
materials at such events that is pretty obviously counterfeit (or simply fake)
seems to have increased significantly and steadily. This has happened with a
large variety of devices, items, and materials. The printing, spelling, word
usage, rhetoric and grammar on the boxes often seem to indicate that the
products come from overseas, not from a native English speaker or someone who
knows how to get "trade dress" looking right (but not always; some of the fakes
are beginning to look pretty good). Am I paranoid, or have others of you seen
this trend?
I no longer have the box of the solder I got conned by, having tossed the box
long ago, so I don't recall whether the "manufacturer" was faking somebody like
Kesler or not. Fortunately I have another hobby (casting bullets) in which I
could use 60Pb/40Sn, where it worked pretty much as expected, in that
application.
I hope this thread saves at least one reader from getting stuck with 60Pb/40Sn,
since it was REALLY a pain to deal with. A number of hams and homebrewers I
have talked with were under the impression that lead melts at a lower
temperature than tin, which is incorrect. Maybe the faker was relying on that
to move his product, hoping that that it would seem reasonable or intuitive for
the majority of the metal to be lead.
OBTW, I am unaware of any movement AT PRESENT to ban all solders with lead in
them; it is still OK, even in Europe where they are tighter than the US is AT
PRESENT, for individuals to use lead-based solder. I don't trust this
situation to continue, and keep my eyes open for 63Sn/37Pb solder at good
prices. My friends who work with SMD unanimously hate the the non-lead solders.
Gene May
WB8WKU
> Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2012 19:19:48 +0000
> From: manfred@ludens.cl
> To: amps@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [Amps] current threads about silver solder and resoldering
>
> Gene,
>
> > Unfortunately, I have occasionally seen "60/40" solder for
> > sale that, upon reading the SMALLER print, is 60Pb/40Sn.
>
> I have never seen that. But of course, it might happen... We should be
> aware though that anyone selling "60/40" solder that contains 60% lead
> is a crook, because by long standing international standards the tin
> content is ALWAYS given first! So a solder with 60% lead and 40% tin
> MUST be labelled "40/60" and not "60/40".
>
> That some hams don't know the difference between 40/60 and 60/40 solder
> is another matter. It happened to me, when I was starting in
> electronics, at age 12, and bought some 40/60 solder thinking it was the
> same as 60/40.
>
> Manfred
>
> ========================
> Visit my hobby homepage!
> http://ludens.cl
> ========================
> _______________________________________________
> Amps mailing list
> Amps@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
_______________________________________________
Amps mailing list
Amps@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
|