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Whisker Anecdotes
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Tin and Other Metal Whisker Anecdotes
This portion of the NASA Goddard Metal Whisker WWW Site is intended to collect Whisker Anecdotes where more "formal" publicity of the item is either unavailable or "unwanted" by the individuals/organizations experiencing the problems. Attempts have been made to gather and report the information in as detailed a manner as possible while protecting the sensitivity/anonymity of the parties involved.

Anecdote #1:  Field Failure Caused by Tin Whisker Short ~20 Years after System Fielded (Reported in 2002)

Anecdote #2:  Tin Whiskers Observed in Waveguide that Affected Performance without Electrical Shorting (Reported in 2004)

Anecdote #3:  Field Failures due to Tin Whiskers Breaking Loose from RF Enclosures - Package Lids (Reported in 2003)

Anecdote #4:  Tin Whiskers on Shields (Enclosure) of GPS Modules (Reported in 2003)

Anecdote #5:  Field Failures Due to Tin Whiskers on "Bright" Tin-Plated Circuit Breaker Contacts (Reported in 2003)

Anecdote#6:  Tin Whiskers in Radio & Telephone Equipment (Observed in 1981)
 
Responsible NASA Officials:

   Michael Sampson/NASA GSFC Code 306
   Dr. Henning Leidecker/NASA GSFC Code 562		 Additional Researchers: 

   Jong Kadesch/Orbital Sciences Corp.
   Jay Brusse/Perot Systems

Last Updated:

June 9, 2008

DISCLAIMER:
This website provides information about tin whiskers and related research. The independent research performed during the past 50+ years is so vast that it is impractical to cover all aspects of tin whiskers in this one resource. Therefore, the absence of information in this website about a particular aspect of tin whiskers should NOT be construed as evidence of absence.

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