[Elecraft] OT: News Article on "Tin Whiskers" Ruining Electronics

[N2EY at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/19/07 12:28:43 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
w3fpr at embarqmail.com writes:


> But, consider just how many ham rigs end up in landfills - not many in 
> my opinion. 

Agreed - for two reasons.

One is that there simply aren't that many ham rigs around, compared to other 
electronic devices such as TVs or computers.

But the big reason is that we hams try to get as much use out of a piece of 
equipment as possible, rather than just tossing it in the trash when something 
newer comes along, or it develops a problem. Even a rig that is judged "not 
worth fixing" becomes a parts source to keep others going.

The computer this was written on is a Dell Dimension XPS R400. It was 
intercepted on its way to the dumpster a year or so ago. It cost more than a K3-100 
when it was new (about 1999?) yet it was considered to be worthless trash in 
less than a decade. A little work and it does the job. 

Maybe there's a message there we hams need to spread.

73 de Jim, N2EY


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