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

Thursday, May 27, 2021

Update on New Book (Part 2)

A Holistic Approach

There is no one size fits all approach when it comes to PCB diagnostics; more often than not, it depends on what kind of PCB and failure you're up against. While there may be visible and obvious signs that point you to the source of a problem, such as a burnt or blown component, you shouldn't expect these as the norm. There are engineers who swear by a specific tool or technique that they claim to be as reliable as clockwork, but even that is no guarantee to work every time or fool-proof against any PCB. "Well, it's fine with me so long as I'm comfortable with the method of my choice." Sure. But why limit yourself if there are better and more effective ways to do a job? After all, if you intend to make repairing PCB a lifelong career or passion, it makes sense to learn as much as there is to learn about this trade, to seek continuous improvement and a whole new level of experience. This is what distinguishes a professional from an amateur, or a craftsman from a mere worker.

What I'm advocating in this book is a holistic approach to PCB diagnostics that is based on practical, real-life examples. This includes case studies from my own work experience using various tools and techniques, as well as that of some field engineer friends of mine who are generous enough to share their expertise. There is a Chinese saying, "It is not beyond one's dignity to learn from the wisdom of others." In a company of three we can always find a teacher who can endow new knowledge, or a master who can impart a useful skill. One of the most important trait of a good engineer is a willingness to be open to opportunities of learning to further enhance one's abilities. This is something that cannot be attained in a classroom, but only by emulating other good engineers.

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