the price of things

Happy holidays everyone and now this weeks moan Is it me or has the price of solder tripled in the last couple of years? Also car batteries.

As a direct importer, I can tell you that it has at least quadrupled!Sean McAuliffe

Sales Rep.

Installation Distributors

And Sean I meant old school, not ROHS, also I have an account with the UK DEI distributor. I reckon I pay twice the US price for DEI product, UK trade price inc. sales tax for the Clifford 3.3X = $235! Scotch 33+ = $5 per reel, etc. etc. Not forgetting petrol (gasoline ) at just under $10 per gal. I've gone in 3 years from 3litre engine size to 1.4Litre!

Howie, I gotta ask. What is RHOS??When all else fails, Read the Instructions

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An international standard for lead free solder, stops the poisonous fumes, costs 50% more and destroys the bits on your soldering tools.

I should have googled it. I was thinking it was like your RTFM acronym.  Merry Christmas.When all else fails, Read the Instructions

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Sorry, I ass/u/med (you know why I split that don't you) that ROHS solder was a US requirement too. Perhaps Mr. K Pierson, if he can tear himself away from home refurbishment can verify that. RTFM isn't mine, I borrowed it from "If it doesn't work, test; if it still doesn't work kick it; if it STILL doesn't work, RTFM!" I actually prefer KISS (keep it simple stupid) attributed to the MacDonalds founder or all the "P"s:- Proper Preparation Prevents P**s Poor Performance. That's actually the answer to nearly all those Rookie questions; whatever the question. Especially the ones that involve problems with by-passes or wiring queries. A few years ago I did my first RAM, (they are as rare as rocking horse doodie in Europe) I got the info from Directwire, Avox, Bulldog AND here and still tested everything. Going back to pricing I was under the impression that US prices for security were 50% of ours. WRONG! Add carriage and they are virtually the same. In fact accessories such as 508d, 530t are actually cheaper here.

RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) is a UK directive that has been partially adopted by California. My understanding is RoHS is more concerned about disposal of electronic goods then the adverse effects of the manufacturing process. As of right now the USA has not adopted a federal standard. RoHS components are becoming more and more available and their prices are getting closer and closer to their non RoHS counterparts. However, the manufacturing process is still more expensive as the RoHS solder is more expensive and harder to work with. Howie I'll have more pictures uploaded soon - I've been busy!Kevin Pierson

Thanks for that info, Kevin remember it was only the Germans who originally wanted immobilisers and look where that led to. Got to be nicer working inside in this weather. It occurs to me that in England at least Health and Safety (or elf and safety as we call it) is the biggest growth industry around. I now have to wear a fluorescent anorak when working outside.