Apollo Guidance Computer switching power supply works after 50 years

Re:Apollo Guidance Computer switching power supply works aft... by jacquesm on Saturday August 24, 2019 @05:42PM (#20789878)

> Well wire-bond (within IC packages) is a form of welding, so it's not so uncommon.. Also the electrodes within a vacuum tube were all welded.

Sure, but that is inside the components. This is on the outside, after the components themselves have been manufactured.

> Also wire welding is very common (it's the main technique) in automobile wiring harnesses.

That may be so today but it certainly wasn't in the 1960's.

And even today your typical automotive boars is just soldered. Makes me wonder whether satellites and current space and possibly aircraft circuitry is still manufactured like this.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apollo Guidance Computer switching power supply works aft... by jaak on Saturday August 24, 2019 @09:47PM (#20790844)

I'm not an expert on this, but there's a famous case from 1998 where the Galaxy IV telecommunications satellite developed "tin whiskers" on it's soldered connections which caused an electrical short resulting in a total loss.

So, at least in this case solder was used on a satellite.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_IV

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apollo Guidance Computer switching power supply works aft... by thewonderidiot on Sunday August 25, 2019 @12:31AM (#20791374)

Solder is used extensively in satellites nowadays. The catch, though, is that you must use leaded solder, because the lead dramatically decreases the occurrence of tin whiskers. RoHS has been rather annoying in the aerospace industry, because anything RoHS compliant can't safely fly.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apollo Guidance Computer switching power supply works aft... by varjag on Sunday August 25, 2019 @06:03AM (#20792185)

Weren't a lot components RoHS-compliant intrinsically anyway, without any change in process whatsoever?

[ Parent | on HN ]