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It’s actually probably harder these days to build something that isn’t RoHS compliant as a hobbyist than one that is. The vast majority of what you can buy fro
by nrp 7y ago
It’s actually probably harder these days to build something that isn’t RoHS compliant as a hobbyist than one that is. The vast majority of what you can buy from Digikey and Mouser and whatnot will be compliant, PCB shops will mostly do lead-free HASL (though you’d want ENIG anyway if you’re going to use a stencil), and lead-free solder pastes are more common than leaded ones. Basically you’ll probably have to either use old stock parts or pull some really old solder out of the fridge as a hobbyist to end up with lead.
- foldr 7y agoMost of the Chinese board fabs will sell you prototype-quality boards for a lower price if you use a leaded HASL finish (e.g. https://jlcpcb.com/quote#/?orderType=1&stencilWidth=100&stencilLength=100&stencilCounts=5&stencilLayer=2&stencilPly=1.6&steelmeshSellingPriceRecordNum=A8256537-5522-491C-965C-646F5842AEC9&purchaseNumber= https://jlcpcb.com/quote#/?orderType=1&stencilWidth=100&sten...) HASL is perfectly usable with stencils, in my experience.
- somehnguy 7y agoIf you do the soldering yourself it will almost definitely have lead unless you go out of your way to buy lead free solder. Leaded solder is still the standard solder to get as a hobbyist because it is much nicer to work with and the risk from handling it is pretty much 0. Just don't eat it.