First of all are the gold fingers flashed or electroplated. This makes
     a big difference based on the gold thickness. The thinner the gold is
     the greater the chance there is for pores in the gold going down to
     the nickel or even to the copper. These pore sites are where oxidation
     of the nickel or copper can take place thus changing the color of the
     gold.  My advice would be to measure the gold thickness and see if it
     is very thin (1 to 2 microinch) do you have a spec? and if it is
     electroplated gold (probably a minimum of 30 microinch) do a pore
     count test to see how poor the plating is, your vendor should tell you
     what you can expect. If this doesn't reveal any abnormalities have the
     gold surface analyzed for nickel oxides or other contaminants.

     Steve O'Hara
     [log in to unmask]


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Subject: [TN] dark gold fingers
Author:  Non-HP-annie.laberge ([log in to unmask]) at
HP-Vancouver,mimegw10