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

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Trilogy Rhapsody

This post has nothing to do with Elisabeth Haydon's fantasy-romance series, The Symphony of Ages. Rather, it is a celebration of the third milestone in my writing journey since completing the trilogy book to the PCB-RE subject.

Since its release less than two weeks ago, sales of the book is climbing steadily, thanks to the support of readers. And while it is not as abrupt as the sequel book, it too has achieved the No. 1 spot on Amazon's New Book listing much like its predecessor:


Since I started out to write my first engineering book in 2013 while working part-time, the journey has been both challenging and rewarding. Compared to other well-known authors in the electronics discipline, I'm still far from a best-seller author (and I don't think it'll probably happen any time soon...). Still, I'm happy how it has turned out and shaped my appreciation for the many kind people out there who supported me through honest purchase, and in return expressed their appreciation for my engaging and entertaining writing style.

I don't think I will be writing a fourth book on PCB-RE, though I had mentioned one by name out of enthusiasm in an earlier post. Likelihood it'll be put on hold indefinitely unless there is enough demand or request from readers on specific topics of interest, which I doubt since the sequel book already covers much of what tools and techniques there are out there.

So yes, the PCB-RE trilogy works is a complete collection. Perhaps some other engineers may take up where I left off to write their stories and experiences in days to come. I would gladly look forward to that day!

Meantime, I'll be taking a break from writing engineering stuff for now...
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