this post was submitted on 12 Nov 2025
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Late Uncles Electronics stash: Things to not use anymore because of safety and obsoleteness and things that are as good as new (feddit.org)
submitted 2 days ago by DonnerWolfBach@feddit.org to c/askelectronics@discuss.tchncs.de
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So my late uncle was working at Siemens and had a "little" home workshop/lab with resistors, capacitors, ICs, switches, soldering boards, wires and what there is. He learned something regarding radio (german: Nachrichtentechniker I think). Among others there was a self built radio clock (that got quite warm, plugged it out bc of safety concerns)

Now I am getting into microelectronics and roughly know what there is. But I only know that I should not use the leaded soldering tin (bc lead) - is there anything else that is unsafe because of old standards or aging? What should be safe to use?

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[–] fif-t@fedia.io 16 points 2 days ago (1 children)

For the most part, leaded solder is fine and still commonly used by hobbyists (as far as I know), and is actually easier to use than lead-free solder. You can use it no problem, just handle it properly.

[–] einkorn@feddit.org 1 points 2 days ago (3 children)

just handle it properly

Well, how does one handle leaded solder properly, then?

[–] FabledAepitaph@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Just wash your hands and don't lick it tbh. People handle much worse on the regular--most denatured alcohols are literally poisoned. People use them all the time directly on their skin and inhale the fumes the entire time, for example. I wouldn't personally work in a lead mine, but a little exposure by touching a bit of it will be fine.

[–] aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com 6 points 2 days ago

soldering fumes are not lead, they are rosin. Those fumes can still be an irritant

[–] a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

Lick the solder. Got it.

[–] vext01@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 2 days ago

Ventilation

[–] aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com 2 points 2 days ago

i use nitrile gloves and am careful about solder debris; often doing the work on a piece of cardboard I can discard. I don’t sweep debris onto the floor or blow it away.

[–] cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 2 days ago

There's nothing wrong with using leaded solder, you just need to wash your hands after soldering. Many of the components made before RoHS will contain lead too.

Old capacitors may be no good. Electrolytic capacitors go bad with age. You can measure the leakage and ESR to see if they are still good. Any paper capacitors are going to be very leaky by now. If there are any oil filled capacitors from the 1970's or earlier, they may contain PCB oil, which is very toxic.

[–] OfCourseNot@fedia.io 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Tin-lead solder is what you use to solder electronics. Don't use it for pipes, tho, for that you want tin-silver.

[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 1 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

Yep.

Just don't breathe the fumes (many have a rosin core which is quite not fun to breathe in).

[–] aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com 8 points 2 days ago

RF ICs (MMICs) may have Beryllium Oxide ceramic packages - if broken/shattered/ground the dust is very toxic.

You may find mercury bulb switches. Not dangerous unless broken, but keep them out of the hands of unaware people.

[–] DonnerWolfBach@feddit.org 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Also a selection of the MC logic(?) ICs

[–] aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com 2 points 2 days ago

MC is Motorola, SN Texas Instruments, etc.

[–] einkorn@feddit.org 3 points 2 days ago

He learned something regarding radio (german: Nachrichtentechniker I think).

Telecommunications engineer?

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 days ago

Are the capacitors not dried out?

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Bet you have some capacitors I desperately need. If you're in the US I could pay you to send me a couple.