The Art of PCB Reverse Engineering: Tools & Techniques: Olympics Fever

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

Friday, August 6, 2021

Olympics Fever

The Tokyo Olympics 2020 finally went full swing after a one-year delay due to the global pandemic. We're into the second week of this international sports event and the Olympics fever has hit a high pitch as medals are snatched up in the various sports categories.

Only the fastest, strongest and most determined and disciplined sportsmen and sportswomen will attain the highest glory and honor in their fields of expertise and professionalism. It is the same in every engineering field, including PCB-RE, one of the hardest to master yet the most rewarding niche skill any engineer can ever dream of acquiring.

Look no further if you are one of those looking to make a splash in the engineering Olympics pool, or leave a blazing trail on the tracks of the Olympics circuit stadium. Below are all the resources you'll ever need to get you started on the road to glory: