Is ENIG good enough for card edge connectors?

[ZackAttack]

I've been toying around with building my own PCB for the 2600 and I've noticed that the price difference between ENIG gold fingers and hardened gold is quite a bit. Especially in low volumes.

 

Does anyone know if there are existing cart PCBs that have used ENIG for the gold fingers plating and how well they have held up? 

 

My concern is that ENIG might seem to work fine for the first couple of years, but will eventually have corrosion or wear problems that only show up after years of service.

[brain]

It's not hard gold, but I've had units in production and use for years with ENIG and no issues.  If it does wear away, there's copper below it, which might get a bit of patina on it, but nothing a quick run with an eraser or something won't fix.  Unless the item is a collector unit, I am not sure the extra cost of hard gold on the fingers is worth the expense.

 

On the other hand, depending on PCB house, hard gold on the fingers may not cost that much, so if folks care a lot, a batch of 100 PCBs might only be only $.50/PCB more for hard gold.

 

For my money, though, I don't think it's justified.

 

Jim

 

[pcrock]

Hi friends, please..
Where do I find cartridges connector that fits perfect on a Vader´s atari 2600 console??
Thanks