BOEING377 wrote:
I am going to recap an old Hallicrafters. I have some Kester sn96.3 ag3.7
solder. Can this be used on joints that already have old lead solder on them?
I'd like to get away from lead products, but don't want bad solder joints
either. Is this new Kester solder a good replacement for lead solder on new
projects? Any advice appreciated.

No, that stuff also takes MUCH higher temperatures. Just use 63/37 stuff.
Lead solder is fine. There's no lead in the fumes, so as long as you wash
your hads after handling it and keep the work surface clean, you won't have
any worries.

I scoured a lot of surplus places in the 60s and although I have memories of
literally tons of unused ARC 5 gear, I never once saw even one of the rare
sets he found. As late as 1975, Standard Surplus on Market St in SF CA would
give me a free NIB ARC 5 xmtr with every $20 purchase if I politely asked Abe,
the crusty old owner. He had big stacks of them in the rat infested dungeon
like basement. Getting a box with knaw marks was part of the experience. The
good old days.

There are still a lot of them out there, and they are fun project rigs. Not
so useful stock, but they were cheap (and many models still are), and are useful
as starting points for homebrew stuff.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."