Part One= E-waste treasure trove

[Degate]

Makes sence about poorly done nickel plating. the boards i was referring to were from flat screen tv's and video game consoles. not like those boards are anything really high value. considering now a days they make stuff so cheap they break after 2-3 years

Environment banned the use of lead based solders, the new tin alloys grow whiskers that eventually short circuit other components rendering the device useless.

NASA has a website dedicated to the topic, many photo's.

Tin is not the only metal known to grow whiskers.

NASA Tin Whisker (and Other Metal Whisker) Homepage

Zinc Whiskers in Data Centers: why are these the silent troublemakers?

[Thornton Scrapper]

Now this got me thinking of the voyager satellites NASA sent out in the 70's. probably all lead solder used on that considering its going out to space and not ganna be an environmental concern. crazy how that thing is still going.

[Degate]

Now this got me thinking of the voyager satellites NASA sent out in the 70's. probably all lead solder used on that considering its going out to space and not ganna be an environmental concern. crazy how that thing is still going.

Lead does not grow whiskers, capacitors also age out. Caps usually have a 10 year life span, people that purchase old transistor radios and stereo equipment replace every cap which usually brings the unit back to life.