c/askelectronics · by DonnerWolfBach@feddit.org · 286d

Late Uncles Electronics stash: Things to not use anymore because of safety and obsoleteness and things that are as good as new

So my late uncle was working at Siemens and had a "little" home workshop/lab with resistors, capacitors, ICs, switches, soldering boards, wires and what there is. He learned something regarding radio (german: Nachrichtentechniker I think). Among others there was a self built radio clock (that got quite warm, plugged it out bc of safety concerns)

Now I am getting into microelectronics and roughly know what there is. But I only know that I should not use the leaded soldering tin (bc lead) - is there anything else that is unsafe because of old standards or aging? What should be safe to use?

46 points · 17 comments · view on lemmy.world

17 Comments

fif-t@fedia.io · 18 pts · 286d (7 replies)

For the most part, leaded solder is fine and still commonly used by hobbyists (as far as I know), and is actually easier to use than lead-free solder. You can use it no problem, just handle it properly.

einkorn@feddit.org · 2 pts · 286d (6 replies)

just handle it properly

Well, how does one handle leaded solder properly, then?

FabledAepitaph@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 286d (3 replies)

Just wash your hands and don't lick it tbh. People handle much worse on the regular--most denatured alcohols are literally poisoned. People use them all the time directly on their skin and inhale the fumes the entire time, for example. I wouldn't personally work in a lead mine, but a little exposure by touching a bit of it will be fine.

a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 286d (1 reply)

Lick the solder. Got it.

BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 283d

Don't lick, that's dangerous, but nobody said "don't eat 60/40 solder". So go for it. Just remember to put a few sheets of paper in the bowl before taking a dump, otherwise you might break it.

aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com · 6 pts · 286d

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vext01@lemmy.sdf.org · 4 pts · 286d

Ventilation

aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com · 2 pts · 286d

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cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de · 13 pts · 286d

There's nothing wrong with using leaded solder, you just need to wash your hands after soldering. Many of the components made before RoHS will contain lead too.

Old capacitors may be no good. Electrolytic capacitors go bad with age. You can measure the leakage and ESR to see if they are still good. Any paper capacitors are going to be very leaky by now. If there are any oil filled capacitors from the 1970's or earlier, they may contain PCB oil, which is very toxic.

OfCourseNot@fedia.io · 8 pts · 286d (1 reply)

Tin-lead solder is what you use to solder electronics. Don't use it for pipes, tho, for that you want tin-silver.

Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe · 1 pts · 284d

Yep.

Just don't breathe the fumes (many have a rosin core which is quite not fun to breathe in).

aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com · 8 pts · 286d

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DonnerWolfBach@feddit.org · 5 pts · 286d (1 reply)

Also a selection of the MC logic(?) ICs