| General > General Technical Chat |
| What are your favourite electronics smells? |
| << < (5/9) > >> |
| eti:
--- Quote from: mc172 on November 30, 2021, 12:51:27 pm --- --- Quote from: eti on November 29, 2021, 04:55:54 am ---~ Rosin flux evaporating ~ A hot iron heating a cheap phenolic PCB ~ Overheating of a fibreglass PCB (it says "Warning: remove iron!") ~ The smell of overheated transformer varnish ~ Burning diode/IC smoke ~ The scent of a venting electrolytic cap ~ PVC insulation melting (a little bit, not too much) ~ The unusual smell when an LED explodes 😁 ~ "Old electronics" smells --- End quote --- Most of these are horrible, rancid smells. I can't say that I've ever exploded an LED but the rest from memory smell absolutely disgusting. I didn't even think they could be an acquired taste but then again some people enjoy the taste and smell of burning tobacco so there you go. :-// The exception would be that "old electronics" smell, especially where there's also something mechanical going on like a cassette deck or VHS/VCR or even an old video camera. I think the grease adds nicely to the smell for a well-seasoned old-timey flavour. One of my favourite electronics smells is/was soldering with Alpha brand solder with about 3% silver content, with lead of course. It used to come on a blue spool, not sure if they make it any more. It's probably really bad for you but I used to enjoy soldering with that stuff until I ran out. RS sell an anti-corona lacquer (https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/electronics-varnishes/0569313) that smells nice, kind of like marzipan. It looks like they've stopped doing it, probably because as usual with things that smell nice, it's really bad for you. Another not quite so electronics-related favourite is machining stainless steel from virgin bar stock, also TIG welding stainless steel. Machining any kind of stainless smells nice, but machining 316L for example right from the mill-finished outer faces has this particularly nice smell to it. --- End quote --- Sounds like you’re in the wrong business to me. Those smells are part and parcel of electronics, and part of the experience. Heheh. To each their own. |
| Halcyon:
--- Quote from: johnboxall on November 30, 2021, 12:11:41 pm ---An electronics store. I worked at various DSE stores in the 90s, and the older ones had a certain smell. Metallic, damp cardboard, dusty TV antenna boxes, sweat and a little despair at stocktake time. --- End quote --- Reminds me of Tandy Electronics. |
| coppercone2:
I can tell you my least favorite smells 1) 70's old rotten capacitor fish smell (JFC! its like you throw a rotten fish on a frying pan) 2) old tektronix plastic boxes. I actually sold a probe because it smelled so bad and bought a phillips active probe instead. I could not get the smell to get out of the plastic with all sorts of dips, treatments, washing machine cycles, etc. And a nice 'electronics' smell is ozone in small amounts from arcs. Usually it means you got a high voltage arc circuit energized. High voltage spark speaker first start is like the first thanksgiving dinner you liked. How about burnt teflon wiring? :scared: |
| Psi:
I do love the chemtronics solder braid flux smell |
| HighVoltage:
The ozone of high voltage discharges |
| Navigation |
| Message Index |
| Next page |
| Previous page |