HP 15CLE - how successful?

[jebem]

(09-29-2014 02:20 AM)Daniel Kekez Wrote:  One failure mode is tin whiskers that can grow on lead-free solder joints. These are small tin hairs or tendrils that form over time on lead-free joints in the presence of mechanical stress, leading to short circuits. NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre has an extensive site dedicated to tin and other metal whiskers.

Tell me about it!
Just for fun, I used to open the damaged germanium AF radio-frequency transistor series (the shielded ones having 4-pin, one being the shield pin connected to the metal case) removed from old transistor radios from the 60's, just to find out what was the cause of failure - The metal wires from pnp junctions had grown metalic "hairs" touching the case.
This is a classic cause for failure on old Ge transistors.