RoHS

[VacuumVoodoo]

ROHS as adopted by EU is IMNHO one of the most harebrained directives ever pushed forward by the green pseudo environmentalists.

Why? Because it considers itself with substances in general and not with products lifecycle. I'm all for controlled disposal and recycling of short lifespan products in mass distribution like cell phones, toys, PCs, TVs and white goods whose time to dumpster is dictated by fashion of the day.

Professional equipment with lifespan going into decades and then some is a different story. How many avocado green refrigerators (these were fashion of the month sometime in the 1980s) will go to the dumpster before you dispose of your custom guitar amp?

But, hey, there's a problem here. Cheap amps made in far east are already finding their way to the scrap yards courtesy Uli B. and other "business savvy" smarties.

So, even if ROHS was based on products lifecycle, how would the legislators ever be able to differentiate between a "insert your fav custom amp name" and EPI jr?

So to make things even more bizarre: China has implemented her own version of ROHS that is much stricter than EU directive. You think this is funny? Anything manufactured in China in compliance with their regulations is EU-ROHS compliant by default. You EU-ROHS compliant product is not good for China. The result: it's much easier to import from China than sell EU or US made stuff there.

Nostradamus could have been right. He predicted the Chinese will rule the world in 21st century. He also predicted who will succeed them but I'm not going to tell you

[CaseyJones]

The impact on world hunger will be even worse than the average guy who cannot afford a $ 6.00 lof of bread or a stinkin' beer, since the costs of corn, wheat and grain have gone through the roof.

Can't afford bread... make yer own.

Can't afford beer... make yer own.

Can't afford a Dumble... make yer own.

Can't afford a Fuchs... erm...

why would a hand built amp that reflects modern consern (RoHS)
be any less correct.....

How is a real '57 Strat with a nitro finish different from a late '90s MIJ replica?

How is a dumb-ass .022 "bumblebee" cap with 2mm long leads different from an orange drop?

Why is a '57 Gold Top worth less than half of what a '58 Sunburst sells for?

Why don't Russian made Mullards sound like real British Mullards?

If I get a dragon embroidered on me trousers how come I still don't sound like Jimmy Page?

etc.

ROHS as adopted by EU is IMNHO one of the most harebrained directives ever pushed forward by the green pseudo environmentalists.

This morning's pop quiz:

Q: Hey kids, what is the capitol of Europe?

A: Brussels!

Nostradamus could have been right. He predicted the Chinese will rule the world in 21st century. He also predicted who will succeed them but I'm not going to tell you

Nostradamus was mistaken. I'm gonna rule the 21st century. I nominate me for DickTator.

[Andy Le Blanc]

got to love it.....

I do make bread

I do make beer

I do make amp

love those old mullards

but to say an amp is not the same only because of the solder alloy.....

that just might be a little silly......

now parts is parts and old parts sound like old parts because thier old
Im very sure that with the efforts and emphasis on tone in this market
that any given amp can be duplicated within a 1% tolerance useing new
parts no matter what the solder type.... to a point where if you did not
know which was which youd be hard pressed to choose...

but what if you do not clone.... what if you actually have the wear with all
to present this old technology pragmaticaly without blind dogma, not
clinging to old and flaccid notions of anothers inanition......

fun little rant.....

there is an intrinsic value of the old and its half the
reason to do what we do ... but there is a point where a thing cannot at
the same time both be and not be what it is.....no matter how its wired...

[CaseyJones]

but to say an amp is not the same only because of the solder alloy.....

that just might be a little silly......

I don't care. A little silly? A lot silly? Back in grammar school I worried about bein' silly. Bein' perceived as silly. My little classmates thought I was odd and at a certain point I thought, "Aw, screw it!" and decided I got what I got so I might as well amp it up a bit. "Think outside the box"? Hell, I don't even know where the box is. Never seen the box. Not the box "they're" talkin' about, anyway!

Ken Fischer apparently thought wire color had an effect on tone. Who knows? Maybe it does.

now parts is parts and old parts sound like old parts because thier old
Im very sure that with the efforts and emphasis on tone in this market
that any given amp can be duplicated within a 1% tolerance useing new
parts no matter what the solder type.... to a point where if you did not
know which was which youd be hard pressed to choose....

At least I'm absolutely straight on which parts I prefer, I prefer old parts. I like old tubes, old sockets, old resistors, old caps, old knobs, old wire... (deep breath) old cars, old motorcycles, old guitars, hell yeah... old wine, old whiskey and what the hell a well preserved old broad every now and again.

Antiques and curios are a tangible connection to the rest of human history. If you're a student of history you understand that everything is connected to everything else. New stuff is just less connected, it ain't got no mojo. Say it like it's two words, "Moe-Joe". Old amps just have the right smell. It takes years of gigs to get that hot tubes cigarettes and hint of old beer smell. New amps built with old parts at least get the old wire and hot tubes thing goin' quicker. Hey, anything that conjures the muse. Unless you're in one of those harsh tuned down new(ish) bands, those guys are like muse repellant!

Seriously, vintage (pre-RoHS compliant) parts are a direct connection to our industrial heritage and I like that. Besides, the old stuff is frequently mil-spec which means it was designed to function in a nuclear war zone. RoHS compliant my ass, you can just about drop a damn bomb on the parts I use and they'll still work. Not sure if the solder would take the heat though. Bring on yer hirsute careless and stoned roadies, tell 'em to do their worst and they ain't gonna break it.

[Andy Le Blanc]

ah-men brother.... say it louder

its the very reasons I love the tubes too.....

leaded or not.......

[Nigel Tufnel]

Great thread guys, CaseyJones you may just be my brother from another mother. I might chime in with my own views when I have some more time to spend at the keyboard but I'm afraid my posts will get far too loooooooong.

[VacuumVoodoo]

The RoHS directive is currently undergoing a revision and update. Some exceptions will be removed from the list and some more chemical substances will be banned. Banning of these chemical substances will be GOOD FOR YOU!
Polybrominated fenyls used to make plastics etc flameproof will be banned. Why is it good for you? Because they are used for flameproofing PCB laminates and materials used for tag strips, turret boards etc. This will make true PTP electronic assembly easier to comply with RoHS directive. Just remember: TRUE PTP means no boards, no tag strips. So stop complaining and whining
PCBs, tag strips etc on ceramic substrate will still be allowed, use these and you'll be able to honestly claim your amps are built like a Sidewinder missile.

[CaseyJones]

The RoHS directive is currently undergoing a revision and update. Some exceptions will be removed from the list and some more chemical substances will be banned. Banning of these chemical substances will be GOOD FOR YOU!
Polybrominated fenyls used to make plastics etc flameproof will be banned. Why is it good for you? Because they are used for flameproofing PCB laminates and materials used for tag strips, turret boards etc. This will make true PTP electronic assembly easier to comply with RoHS directive. Just remember: TRUE PTP means no boards, no tag strips. So stop complaining and whining
PCBs, tag strips etc on ceramic substrate will still be allowed, use these and you'll be able to honestly claim your amps are built like a Sidewinder missile.

Oh, c'mon... Bureaucrats are a buncha wankin' wankity wankers who get paid for a buncha wank, they produce nothing and actually detract from value-added.

Law is frequently one or two dimensional, that's the letter of the law and that's that. It saves the conceptually challenged (PC for "no talent", not at all creative, slightly dim-witted) the headache of havin' to see shade and hue. Black 'n' white not shades of gray and certainly not color.

I guess they'll save us all from gettin' buried under piles of almost instantly obsolete cel phones and computers.

Whatever. Write more laws, that gives me more laws to break. More laws to break makes me more of an outlaw. Bein' more of an outlaw gives me more street cred than you.

Oh... my amps are built like a Mercury rocket.