Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: MOTM

Please forgive the crosspost.

I was working on a project last night, and was VERY nearly out of solder. And it was VERY nearly the time that Radio Shack closes; the only hope I had∗ of getting more solder to continue working that night. I ran out of the house, zoomed by one store that had just closed the gates, and made it to the other one (across town) just in time. Of course, the Radio Shack packaging wasn't nearly as helpful as one might have hoped.

I'm used to using "organic solder" on the PCB. I don't know exactly what that is; it's the stuff that comes with MOTM projects. I know (?) that Kester 331 is supposed to be similar. I picked up "Lead-Free Rosin-Core Solder", which is 97% tin, 3% copper (RS catalog number 64-027. (It's also a little thicker than I wanted, now that I think about it.) Is this right stuff?

(I ended up just using the solder I knew was right, rather than crack open something I wasn't sure of. I know I just should order from a catalog, but I wanted to wait until I had a few more things I needed to get...)

Thanks for any advice / help!

--PBr

∗ So, as an aside, where in the SF Bay Area, pref. around Berkeley, might one go instead of Radio Shack for various electronic parts and supplies? I don't expect a full-on Mouser-In-A-Storefront, but something that will handle the basics in a pinch would be nice. Does such a beast exist?