SpiceWare wrote:Wonder how much the problems with the "newer" systems are due to RoHS. I used to work in electronics manufacturing in the mid 90s to late 00s and becoming RoHS compliant was a major undertaking. Major issue with RoHS was the banning of lead in solder, the lead was added to prevent the growth of whiskers which could eventually short circuit the equipment.
Danger to lead-free electronics: tin whiskersThey've ruined missiles, silenced communications satellites and forced nuclear power plants to shut down. Pacemakers, consumer gadgets and even a critical part of a space shuttle have fallen victim.
The culprits? Tiny splinters — whiskers, they're called — that sprout without warning from tin solder and finish deep inside electronics. By some estimates, the resulting short-circuits have leveled as much as $10 billion in damage since they were first noticed in the 1940s.
Now some electronics makers worry the destruction will be more widespread, and the dollar amounts more draining, as the European Union and governments around the world enact laws to eliminate the best-known defense — lead — from electronic devices.
"The EU's decision was irresponsible and not based on sound science," said Joe Smetana, a principal engineer and tin whisker expert with French telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent SA. "We're solving a problem that isn't and creating a bunch of new ones."
I'd never heard of that! It worries me; could it ban sales of old/used electronics too? California has their own version of the law. It looks like CRT screens larger than 4" are illegal if they don't meet certain standards. I don't see an exception for older devices. Wouldn't that ban sales of most old arcade games or classic TV's like the Philco Predicta?