To My Readers



If this is the first time you're visiting my blog, thank you. Whether you're interested or just curious to find out about PCB reverse engineering (PCB-RE), I hope you'll find something useful here.

This blog contains many snippets of the content in my books to provide a more detailed overall sampling for my would-be readers to be better informed before making the purchase. Of course, the book contains more photos and nice illustrations, as evidence from its cover page. Hopefully, this online trailer version will whet your appetite enough to want to get a copy for yourself.

Top Review

I started doing component level repair of electronics with (and without) schematics more than 40 years ago, which activity often involves reverse-engineering of printed circuit boards. Although over the years my technical interests have shifted into particle beam instrumentation, electron microscopy, and focused ion beam technology fields, till this day——and more often than not——PCB repairs have returned multiple multi-million-dollar accelerators, FIB, and SEM instruments back to operation, delivering great satisfaction and some profit.

Many of the methods described by Keng Tiong in great details are similar to the approaches I've developed, but some of the techniques are different, and as effective and useful as efficient and practical. Systematic approach and collection of useful information presented in his books are not only invaluable for a novice approaching PCB-level reverse engineering, but also very interesting reading and hands-on reference for professionals.

Focus on reverse engineering instead of original design provides unique perspective into workings of electronics, and in my opinion books by Keng Tiong (I've got all three of them) are must-read for anybody trying to develop good understanding of electronics——together with writings by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill, Phil Hobbs, Jim Williams, Bob Pease, Howard Johnson and Martin Graham, Sam Goldwasser, and other world's top electronics experts.

Valery Ray
Particle Beam Systems Technologist

Saturday, March 9, 2019

Intermission Interview

For readers who wondered about the ScanCAD edition of PCB-RE: Tools & Techniques, it's not been formally published but wholly reserved as a marketing and distribution material for ScanCAD's use. If you managed to get your hands on a copy at one of these exhibitions the company participated, count yourself lucky!




Still, I would like to fill my readers in on a rare email interview I had with the CEO, Bill Loving, the details of which was recorded in the said edition. Here is the transcript:

It's not often you get the chance to talk to someone in the PCB-RE industry with a wide portfolio in terms of exposure and experience, much less to share what they know about their tools and trades. So when I was fortunate enough to get in contact with William Loving, the CEO of ScanCAD International Inc., I was tempted to ask him a few questions:

Me : Why is PCB-RE fast becoming an important and indispensable industry?
Bill : PCB-RE is a respected and much needed business activity in the world today. The tools and processes covered in this book are used globally by many companies and even governments to keep legacy systems running and to recover design data that has been lost.

Me : Do you think PCB-RE tools are susceptible to abuse for piracy purpose?
Bill : Any tool or process can be used for good or bad——it's a function of the user. We like to think that our family of customers are working for the good of all concerned. Sure, there will be some bad apples in the group, but we think it's very, very rare in our crowd. Like your good self, we do not condone illegal or unethical activity that will hurt the interest of any individual, company or organization.

Me : How do you think ScanCAD can benefit the PCB-RE community or companies?
Bill : Having been in the business for 27 years, I see PCB-RE as having a greater impact and positive influence not just on a community or company. Having worked with over 1000 companies across 48 countries, I dare say that our products contribute to the overall well-being of our environment. How, you ask? By keeping legacy systems running, we are extracting more value from our earth's limited resources that have already been used to produce existing electronics and systems. Keeping them out of landfills and in operation is a good steward thing to do. This helps on several levels: reduces the waste, extends use of resource and productivity, reduces air and water pollution since new systems do not need to be made to replace the old, etc. In some cases, a PCB may represent only a fraction of the mass of a large system, yet this PCB can cause the entire system to be scrapped if it can't be replicated. Now, that's a big multiplier effect!

Me : Do you foresee yourself and your team doing PCB-RE for the next 30 years?
Bill : ScanCAD will be around for a long time for sure. Like my colleague Jeff said, we have a dedicated and very capable team, with very good people who strive to be a positive influence in the world and do what's right. If I might add, they are also fun to work with! PCB-RE is a strange little niche——one that we enjoy doing——and one that your book has given us some interesting perspective to look at too.

There you have it! End of intermission.

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