Month: April 2008

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RoHS and Tin Whiskers

The latest edition of The Embedded Muse newsletter from The Ganssle Group has a good summary with a few links about this topic.

The EU’s RoHS standards have caused a wholesale retreat from the use of lead in solder. While their intentions are noble, the electronics industry is likely to suffer mightily since alternative solders spontaneously grow tin whiskers that can, and have, create short circuits.

This problem is actually a bit of a blessing for manufacturers with short warranties (< 2 years). It can force more rapid replacement/upgrade cycles yielding more sales dollars.

Back in the early 1990’s there was bill before the US Congress to force removal of lead from electronic solder in the US. The goal of the bill was to reduce lead exposure for children. The EIA and other organizations pointed out to the Congress that lead in children had long ago been traced to other sources, not electronics. The Congress rightly dropped the idea when they realized that lead from electronic circuits was only likely to get into children whose parents allow them to suck on electronic circuit boards. Now the EU has these RoHS regulations and if US manufactures want to sell to EU countries they are supposed to move to lead free solder.

I encourage every embedded systems engineer to head over and sign up for a free subscription to The Embedded Muse newsletter, a great source of embedded systems news and information delivered free to your inbox.

Lead free solder and tin whisker links:
NASA Goddard Tin Whisker Homepage
Roll back the lead-free initiative: 12 ROHS myths
Pushback
Pb-Free.com
THAT Corporation Links to Lead Free Information

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FCC issues $6 mil in fines against TV manufacturers and retailers

This week the FCC has taken action against television manufacturers and retailers for violating the rules regarding DTV and V-chip regulations.

From the FCC news summary:

The Commission’s DTV- related enforcement efforts have focused on protecting consumers from unknowingly buying televisions that will not allow consumers to enjoy the full benefits of the digital transition. The orders demonstrate the Commission’s commitment to strong enforcement in promoting the successful transition to digital television.

Here are links to the individual FCC actions:

Audiovox Corporation

Best Buy Co., Inc.

Circuit City

CompUSA

Fry’s Electronics

LG Electronics Inc.

Panasonic Corporation of North America

Philips Consumer Electronics North America

Polaroid Corporation

Precor Incorporated

Proview Technology

SANYO

Sears and Kmart

Syntax-Brillian

Target Corporation

Vizio, Inc.

Wal-Mart

Westinghouse Digital Electronics

 

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Monty Hall Problems

John Tierney has published an article in the New York Times this week, Cognitive Dissonance in Monkeys – The Monty Hall Problem.

The Monty Hall Problem has struck again, and this time it’s not merely embarrassing mathematicians. If the calculations of a Yale economist are correct, there’s a sneaky logical fallacy in some of the most famous experiments in psychology.

The article and his two follow-up posts on his New York Times Blog, TierneyLab, contain the clearest explanations for the Monty Hall problem I’ve ever read. If after reading the article and posts (linked below) with comments, you still can’t quite get your head around this classic problem in probability, post a comment here and I’ll try to help.

Monty Halls Other Problems – TierneyLab – Science – New York Times Blog

The Psychology of Getting Suckered – TierneyLab – Science – New York Times Blog

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Expelled Exposed

A movie is opening on the 18th that in my opinion is a propaganda documentary of the worst sort. I think the movie’s intent is to mislead the public by misrepresenting science and scientists in the hopes of getting a particular set of religious teachings forced on students via public school science classes.

The National Center for Science Education has started a new web site, Expelled Exposed, to help people:

Learn more about the anti-evolution movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, featuring Ben Stein.

The NCSE is doing a great job of collecting links to news and reviews about the movie. Be sure to re-visit the site as they are updating it frequently when new information is available.