Hi Gary
interesting post!
i'm especially interested to note that even folks (like your buddy
at Apogee) with the resources to do SOIC fabrication concede the
durability of through-hole. Repairability is a given.... SOIC based
military hardware has to be modularized for field repairs to such an
extent that it often costs MORE in connectors to make it with SOIC
than to build it in Mil-Spec DIP.
Also I agree that a legal solution is desperately needed. The genesis
of Rohs in the EU started-out more benignly, with cooler heads
prevailing. i learned that there was an early initiative to create a
scrupulously-defined and enforced GROUP of exemption classes, military
was one, (and the only one to survive) , but there were others for
prototypes and 'limited-edition' producers that seemed (to me) aimed
at esoteric garage-business artisans. But the big corporations
IMMEDIATELY set teams of lawyers loose to get 90% of their products
reclassified and shoehorned into perverse construals of these special
classifications. They all piled into the loopholes so thickly that the
Greens became exasperated and brought the hammer down on the whole
mess....rather rashly..IMHO. This move effectively left only the
military exempt, and in all fairness the military had their act
together in terms of having VERY well-documented and defined
specifications and well-constrained shipping destinations all nicely
laid out; something boutique electronics makers could never hope to
organize or achieve consensus on. There is no one with enough clout to
represent their interests AND keep Sony, Roland, Nokia and Honeywell
etc. outside the fence-line.
It's a damn shame because the solder manufacturers could have used
these niches to gain a little breathing room while they develop a
lead-free solution that ACTUALLY works over the long term.
Grant joked with me privately that stained glass is held together by
almost pure lead so it will be illegal to ship Notre Dame to
Luembourg, when global warming raises the Seine by 9 feet! Tant Pis!
=)
i predict that the always industrious, pragmatic, and tolerant Dutch
will cash-in by creating a district in Amsterdam with solder-cafe's
wherein folks can use good old lead solder to assemble kits. They'll
be well ventilated, of course!
;'>
In Vino, Plumbum!
-doc
--- In wiardgroup@yahoogroups.com, "Gary Chang" <gchang@...> wrote:
>
> Perhaps our path is to somehow establish Wiard modules as works of art
> - which would change their status, associating them with other
> artifacts that have banned substances (leaded crystal, stained glass,
> ivory carvings, etc.).
>
> I hear what Doc is saying about SOIC based electronics - they are not
> built for the future. Even my friends at Apogee Electronics (makers
> of fine ADCs and DACs) admit that the state of the art is "disposible
> electronics," designed for obsolescence in a few years.... The chief
> designer at Apogee is also a synth enthusiast who appreciates the
> longevity of this through-hole, descrete topology design that ROHS
> seems to be aiming at ridding the planet of.
>
> We have already seen our Kurzweil 2500s turn into giant doorstops when
> the run of LSI chips designed for it ran out. We will see this with
> other devices made with custome LSI technology. People like Grant
> know better than to use this technology (aside from the monumental
> initial expense) because it shortens the fixable life of the
> instrument when compared to simple opamps and transistors that can be
> found most anywahere.
>
> So, the issue is now how to establish a special
status for this
> stuff... I know that the US allows digression for art objects - but
> getting Wiard products to be listed under art objects will be a
> challenge meant for a legal expert, not a musician...! 8~)
>
> gary
>
> --- In wiardgroup@yahoogroups.com, "drmabuce" <drmabuce@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
> > In my day job, i work in the Aerospace Hardware racket and we are
> > wrestling with the slippery slopes of Rohs (and WEEE)implementation
> > schedules.
> > First off here is a page that outlines a '50,000 foot' overview:
> >
> > http://www.newark.com/services/rohs/rohs_facts.html
> >
> > It's more informative in how much it DOESN'T say. IMHO it appears
> > that the regulations are still in the 'make it up as we go along
> > phase' which means, in hard-nosed practical terms, that customs entry
> > points will polarize for a while:
> > Some will become lax while the poor overworked and underpaid customs
> > officers try to decipher and comprehend the reams of conflicting
> > directives.
> > Others are going to take a -'kill 'em all and let god sort 'em out'-
> > approach in order to avoid making a mistake (this has happened to my
> > company a few times since December.
> >
> > Regarding the current USA export policy. My reading of the bulletins
> > is that the shipping declaration may, at the sellers option, label a
> > shipment as Rohs compliant. If that shipment is inspected at the
> > destination and the compliance claim is false the exporter risks being
> > put on an import ban list. If the exporter simply declines to indicate
> > whether a shipment is compliant the burden of proof is shifted to the
> > importer. This varies from nation to nation and the risk is that the
> > shipment will be shunted to a lengthy 'pending-inspection' queue.
> >
> > Thus the bottom line is that after July 1 2006, if a shipment is
> > declared as electronic equipment, the risk of non-Rohs-compliant gear
> > being stopped at the border is high and likely to get higher.
> > Exemptions exist (ie for military hardware) and others are being
> > discussed for "vintage" equipment but that will be based on the date
> > of manufacture, and thus a new Wiard would not qualify. Some of our EU
> > customers have been able to successfully appeal customs decisions but
> > the process takes time.
> >
> > On a personal peeve note: Rohs compliance favors robot-assembled SOIC
> > boards over hand-wired PCBs .... at the risk of sounding like a
> > luddite (transistors are for babies! Tubes are the only choice for
> > Real Men!) Artisanal electronics is truly threatened by this policy.
> > The lead-free alernatives touted by the importer nations are all
> > designed for the manufacture of disposable appliances (ie cell phones,
> > computers & ipods) and they exempt their own militaries because the
> > best and the brightest in their own research departments know
> > full-well that lead-free alternatives are a decade from being
> > equivalent in function and durability.
> > Green technology is a worthy cause and that makes this an authentic
> > dilemma. But i think it's a mistake to accept the propaganda being
> > circulated that cost is the only reason to resist the current
> > lead-free technologies. The alternatives just aren't ready to stand in
> > for the old technology yet... not in any device that you hope to use
> > 10 years from now.
> > i've been a vegetarian for 30 years but there's no getting around the
> > fact that a little lard still makes a better pie crust than anything
> > else, it takes a just pinch of compromise to make real life work.
> >
> > (sorry for the screed)
> > -doc
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In wiardgroup@yahoogroups.com, "mrboningen"
> > <darkflametwentythree@> wrote:
> > >
> > > i'm still worried too :( what are the new US export policies
regarding
> > > shipping to japan or europe grant? are you allowed to do it? i
> hope so!
> > >
> > > best wishes,
> > >
> > > gregg
> > >
> > > --- In wiardgroup@yahoogroups.com, Ingo Zobel <synaptic_music@>
wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > as you can imagine i really don't know much about
> > > > US export policy, i just have a little panic actually.
> > > > i can understand if you don't care about those few modules
> > > > going to europe, but you bet that i care about it, because
> > > > i'd be one of those buyers. looks like i have to check the
> > > > EU import policy in greater detail now.
> > > >
> > > > best wishes
> > > >
> > > > ingo
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --- Grant Richter <grichter@> schrieb:
> > > >
> > > > > It is the responsibility of the BUYER to comply with local
> > > > > regulations.
> > > > >
> > > > > Wiard is governed by US export policy, not the import policy
> of the
> > > > > country of destination.
> > > > >
> > > > > --- In wiardgroup@yahoogroups.com, Ingo Zobel <synaptic_music@>
> > > > > wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > hello grant,
> > > > > >
> > > > > > so you stopp selling things to your european customers?
> > > > > > i don't hope so, because i love your work and i really want
> > > > > > to add more of your stuff to my system everytime when you
> > > > > > come up with something new. i there a workaround for
> > > > > > europeans like me?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > best wishes
> > > > > >
> > > > > > ingo
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > --- Grant Richter <grichter@> schrieb:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > > There are no plans to remove the lead content from any Wiard
> > > > > > > electronics.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Wiard modules are museum pieces and are designed using
> > "archival"
> > > > > > > techniques with the goal
> > > > > > > of having a useful life of 100 years. The use of lead
> solder is
> > > > > > > intrinsic to this process, since
> > > > > > > the life span of lead solder connections is know from
> experience
> > > > > to
> > > > > > > last this period of time.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > The life span of lead-free solder joints in not know at this
> > > > > time.
> > > > > > > There is a known failure
> > > > > > > mode in lead-free solder which prevent it's use in
> military and
> > > > > high
> > > > > > > reliability electronics (tin
> > > > > > > whisker growth).
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > I can assure you the lifetime ground water lead pollution
> of all
> > > > > > > Wiard modules ever built does
> > > > > > > not approach 1/1,000,000 the number of lead molecules
> leached by
> > > > > acid
> > > > > > > rain from all the
> > > > > > > leaded glass windows in churches during a single rain storm.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
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