At long last I've completely run out of solder for electrical/electronic
work. Last time I looked, Kester 63/37 or 50/50 were the norm, with a
choice of rosin or acid flux. Things have changed a lot since then 8-)

Now there are dozens of brands with at least as many compositions.
Usage isn't very high, so a "do it all" alloy is preferable. Cost
is probably of secondary importance.

Anybody got a suggestion for a composition and brand? Amazon shows
quite a few, none of them familiar to me.

Thanks for reading,

bob prohaska

In article <vh8i1o$3k4bq$1@dont-email.me>, bp@www.zefox.net says...
>
> At long last I've completely run out of solder for electrical/electronic
> work. Last time I looked, Kester 63/37 or 50/50 were the norm, with a
> choice of rosin or acid flux. Things have changed a lot since then 8-)
>
> Now there are dozens of brands with at least as many compositions.
> Usage isn't very high, so a "do it all" alloy is preferable. Cost
> is probably of secondary importance.
>
> Anybody got a suggestion for a composition and brand? Amazon shows
> quite a few, none of them familiar to me.
>
> Thanks for reading,
>
> bob prohaska
>
>
>

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.

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

Just about anything off the electronics production lines these days is
PBFREE or low lead,
high tin.

I have used Kester a long time, I tried Indium brand solder a while back and
its fine,
cant hardly tell any difference.

>
> Anybody got a suggestion for a composition and brand? Amazon shows
> quite a few, none of them familiar to me.

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

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

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.

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

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