I feel the need to express myself regarding the ban on lead in solder we know and 'love' as RoHS... I'm not doing this as a representative of any organization... these are just my personal thoughts... Personally, I am convinced that the lead free solder substitutes for eutectic tin/lead solder are ultimately going to prove be not as reliable, cost effective or environmentally beneficial as the normal solders we have always used for decades that have always contained lead. Also, I am convinced that the worldwide impact of the printed circuit and electronics component and assembly industries changing to lead free solders will be worse environmentally than it would have been if they had not changed at all. John Burke, a member of the TechNet e-mail forum has taken on the challenge of pushing back against this 'lemming like' rush to what many consider madness... http://www.rohsusa.com/ Many of our colleagues are supporting his views and efforts to bring back some common sense to this industry... If you have not seen or been given the opportunity to sign the petition to remove the ban on lead in solder that has been imposed by the EU under the legislation of the RoHS initiative... Please check it out at the following website. http://www.petitiononline.com/RoHSUSA1/petition.html Currently there are 211 signatures on the petition... Help protect the environment and our industry... and add your name to the others who are willing to push back against RoHS. Best regards, Bill Brooks, CID+ Vista, California http://www.pcbwizards.com/leadfree.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DesignerCouncil Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF DesignerCouncil. To temporarily stop/(restart) delivery of DesignerCouncil send: SET DesignerCouncil NOMAIL/(MAIL) Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------