[sdiy] Tin Whiskers

[Glen]

I've known about zinc and tin whiskers for a long time. They're common
problems inside Hammond organs. The ironic part is, what was supposed to be
a plating applied to a steel chassis to insure the longevity of the
product, turns out to be what "kills" the circuitry mounted in or near the
chassis. The problem seems much worse if you live in tropical areas, or
very near the coast.

Did NASA mention that these whiskers are known to become airborne and land
on nearby circuitry, causing current leakage, short circuits, and generally
weird circuit behavior? It happens in the Hammond organs all the time.

I'm not sure what to do about whiskers on IC leads. Did NASA have any
suggestions for suppressing whisker growth?

take care,
Glen


At 05:07 PM 1/11/05 , Roman wrote:

>that's scarry!
>It's like we're all doomed, no matter what we do.
>I have never imagined such a thing.
>No wonder they make you replace the FCP every 2-3 years.
>Otherwise it would get covered in whiskers anyway
>
>Roman
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Scott Gravenhorst" <music.maker at gte.net>
>To: <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
>Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2005 2:27 PM
>Subject: [sdiy] Tin Whiskers
>
>
>> http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/photos/index.html



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