Ever wonder why perfectly good electronic widgets just quit?

[mixedgas]

Worth a read:

http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/referen...preciation.pdf

Tin whiskers have been the bane of my existence, many a time.

Steve

[discothefunkyhippo]

Interesting and entertaining read, thanks Steve.

-Sal

[DanBarlow]

Maybe that explains the old stereo that starts working again when you turn the volume up...

[absolom7691]

Maybe that explains the old stereo that starts working again when you turn the volume up...

Ha! Reminds me of the good-ole NiCad days when I used to zap some of my RC-10 batteries back to life with about 10 amps across each cell!

It makes sense why older electronics still work well in comparison with new stuff, over long periods of time. I would imagine the miniaturization of the ICs and other SMDs make modern IC boards far more susceptible.

[planters]

Thanks, Steve. Now, I have another excuse when I need it. But seriously, that was interesting.

[lasersbee]

Very Interesting read. Thanks for the link to the PDF.
I also had whisker experiences with my old Ni-Cad
RC batteries. Same remedy as absolom7691 above.

Jerry

[syrah]

Cover the whole pcb with epoxy, problem solved. That is, unless you'll need to replace a thing or two.

[mixedgas]

Cover the whole pcb with epoxy, problem solved. That is, unless you'll need to replace a thing or two.

Certain epoxies are quite corrosive for SMD electronics. One would have to choose very carefully what one uses.

Steve

[swamidog]

i posted the nasa pdf link to facebook and (small world), a friend of a friend mentioned she did some early work on wicker suppression:

Paula Lieberman: Relevant link which has bearing on it, indirectly is the 1981 NAECON session I was organizer and chair of about Thermomechanical Structural Failure of High Voltage Encapsulation.... I was the project officer resposible for managing and funding from the government side the investigation which I then followed through on by insisting the study get open literature publication. One of the things I on a visti to then GE Valley Forge Space Division was a designed-for-space component which was oil-filled which had developed highly impressive metal whisker as a catastrophic failure mechanism... the effort I oversaw, carried over into redesigning that type of component and not having the electrical gradient which, er, contributed to precipiating whisker growth...

Possibly there are papers from the Materials Science Department of that no longer extant organization, look for A. T. Tweedie who was the head of the department, bearing on the situation.

[dkumpula]

Thanks for the post, Steve. It's nice to know that it isn't just old people that develop oddly placed whiskers over time.

David