Re: Solder selection for general repair work

Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:

On 2024-11-17 11:57, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:

>
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.

 
Is there any electrical or mechanical advantage to be had among the more
modern formulations?
 
Thanks for writing!
 
bob prohaska
 

 
They all conduct electricity pretty well. ;)
 
Lead-free is a bit stronger mechanically, but is considerably harder to
use by hand--its melting point is higher, and (crucially) Sn63Pb gives
lovely shiny joints.  Besides being pretty, that lets you know when
you've got a good joint--cold joints are dull-looking.
 
On the other hand, even a good Pbfree joint is dull, so you lose that
nice visual feedback.
 
Ersin Multicore is also good.

I was wondering if the newfangled alloys wet better or are stronger.
Seemingly not.

Thanks for writing!

bob prohaska