On Jun 7, 12:41*pm, Erich wrote:
One of the biggest problems I have with the lead free solder is that
over time it tends to grow tin whiskers. *Then it shorts out to adjacent
pads. *Current reliability requirements are to encapsulate all the
solder joints with epoxy. *This is painful and really causes problems
with rework.

No-lead; a feel-good solution to a non-problem.

Erich N6FD

http://nepp.nasa.gov/WHISKER/ (check out the photo gallery)

Wonder if the EU is going to pick up the eventual world-wide tab?