[Elecraft] Solder in Elecraft kits

[Jeremiah McCarthy]

I don't think Elecraft should supply solder...It might be a nice gesture, but with the escalating price of solder due to RoHS, I think it would place an unnecessary economic and RoHS compliance burden on Elecraft which could impact the price of kits...If the builder is "green", he has the choice of buying lead-free solder, or not...Elecraft would have to chose between lead-tin or lead-free solder, and that in itself would be a problem for some folks...Personally I hate working with lead-free, it is a real pain if you have to do rework...

Heathkit did provide solder...I have one of their TV dot generators that once belonged to my Dad and solder is listed in the bill of materials...I still have an unused roll of Heathkit solder and that is the only reason I am sure, otherwise I don't think I would have remembered either...It is a on small, red, metal spool with Heathkit's logo...The solder was made by Ersin, was multi core, and looks like it is about .030"...As I remember, they supplied a small amount on a spool for small projects like test instruments, and for big kits like their color TV's there were several full rolls...

Jerry, wa2dkg