Re: Solder selection for general repair work

On 2024-11-16 09:50, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

Ralph Mowery <rmowery42@charter.net> wrote:

>
>
The reason solder has changed is the enviromental nuts.  Lead is very
bad for you so it has been baned in most countries for electronics and
water pipes.  Just stick with the Kester 60/40  or better the 63/37
rosen core for copper material.  For some nonelectronic works the acid
core is ok.  Just about all the other solder is a poor subistute.
>
Just to check it out I have tried several of the  lead free solder for
electronic work but did not feel that any of it is as good as the old
stuff for electronic work.

 Ok, that simplifies matters. I do recall that premium equipment (Tektronix
oscilloscopes) used solder with a small proportion of silver. Were there
any benefits to silver other than compatibility with the ceramic terminal
strips Tektronix used? I'm thinking of strength, adhesion or wetting....
 Thanks for writing!
 bob prohaska
 

You can still get good ol' Kester 44.  It has RA flux, the more active version of the usual tree sap stuff, which is helpful when using old components.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
http://electrooptical.net
http://hobbs-eo.com