The Art of PCB Reverse Engineering: Tools & Techniques: May 2020

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

Monday, May 18, 2020

New Look, Better in Print!

It's been over five years since my first engineering book, The Art of PCB Reverse Engineering, was published on Amazon through its publishing arm, Createspace. It had since merge with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Recently, I did a thorough reformatting of the content of the book to migrate it to the Kindle platform. Since I was at it, besides changing the font to be consistent with the rest of my PCB-RE collection, I thought it would be good to give the dated book cover a total makeover as well. So here it is:

The new font is slightly larger than that found in the original edition, which should look better in print and provide some measure of relief for readers with weaker eyesight. Here are some two-page samples:

If you had been put off by the former font, perhaps this will allow you to reconsider again. Note that it is only available in the full-color edition (I still keep the Standard edition as it is for nostalgia sake). Readers who bought the non-color Standard edition may want to consider getting the new color edition in Kindle ebook form, which retails for only $29.95.

Just click on the book cover above to go to the Amazon store.

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Reader from Spain (Espanol)

"The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plains." So goes the nursery rhythm. Well, now that my books have found readers in that part of the world, I can safely say that PCB-RE has also gone ashore on the plains of Spain. Here's the review of one Spanish reader, Jose RV:

He's new to PCB-RE and posed the following question to me in his email:

In order to practice some manual RE, where can I find two layer PCBs? I have some old routers but they are 4 layer, which I think will be a bit challenging.

My reply:

Double-sided PCBs are quite rare these days. You might want to try finding them at the electronics hobby shops. Four-layer PCBs are more challenging for sure. PCB designers using four or more layers are usually driven by necessity due to the complexity of their circuit designs.

As a beginner, avoid attempting on large pin count type PCBs as you might get discouraged easily. Learn to develop your own personal style and skill, and the right strategies for different type of boards. The Art of PCB-RE and Tools & Techniques does cover these topics.

As the proud owner of my first two books, he even sent me a photo complete with a nice bed sheet background:

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Kindle eBook (Part 2)

Two weeks after releasing the trilogy book, PCB-RE: Real-World Examples in ebook form, I am happy to announce that The Art of PCB Reverse Engineering is also available on Kindle. I've given it an overhaul with a different font, one that I used for the sequel book and trilogy. Best of all, it is in full-color for only 40% of the retail price of the printed edition.

You can go to the Kindle store to take a look and download your electronic copy after placing your order. Thank you for your support in honest purchase. Have a great day and stay safe!

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