Re: RoHS

On Mon, 16 May 2005 09:38:04 +0100, the renowned Paul Burke
<paul@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Winfield Hill wrote:
>> RoHS (Restriction on certain Hazardous Substances)
>>
>> "While the RoHS initiative takes effect in the European Union
>> on July 1, 2006, it impacts the electronics industry worldwide."
>>
>
>Does it half. I'm getting bunches of notifications from Farnell telling
>me that yet another product has been withdrawn because of RoHS
>noncompliance. The latest to go is the TC55. I haven't looked at their
>suggested replacement yet, but you can bet that it's not pin compatible,
>is packaged differently, or is electrically different.

About 30-45% more quiescent current, and input voltage 6.5V abs max
vs. 12V abs max. The latter will be a killer in some cases, obviously.

On the plus side, it's stable with a ceramic output cap, has a much
tighter tolerance, better typical drift, and better dropout at higher
currents.

>Over the European
>electronics industry as a whole, millions of pounds will be spent on
>completely unneccessary redesigns, the overall result of which will be
>at best a marginal improvement in public safety. Meanwhile, Europe's
>competitors will be able to go ahead merrily, only modifying products
>intended for Europe. Daft or what?
>
>Paul Burke

I don't think that's going to happen. The rest of the world will go
along (kicking and screaming in some cases). Same as with ISO9000-- it
didn't just go away, multinationals (such as the automakers) began to
require it. Even if the finished products of small-scale manufacturers
are not compliant, the cost of compliance at the component level will
be borne by the entire market, not just the EU.

The whole thing reminds me a lot of the shift to SMT technology
<mumble> years ago, except that the upside is not so evident.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
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