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, November 22, 2021

By George!

Happened to catch a re-telecast of Ocean's Thirteen on TV late last night. The plot was interesting and the cast of characters quite entertaining. But those who watched Steven Soderbergh's Ocean trilogy must admit that lead actor George Clooney who played Danny Ocean displayed a personal charm that had audiences captivated throughout the show, notwithstanding appearances by heavyweights like Al Pacino, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.

The attempt to pull a heist over The Bank, Al Pacino's greatest and most advanced casino, run by an AI central control and surveillance system codenamed Greco, which even The Malloy Brothers believed was unbroachable, spun out a series of strategies that ultimately saw the team made off with half a billion in winnings and a quarter billion in diamonds.

A movie is just that—pure entertainment—if there is no takeaway after viewing and reviews. Strategies aside, I believe the success of a team is dependent on the participation of every player. More importantly, though, the charisma of a leader is the glue that gels the team and at the same time gives leeway for team members to be at their best in the roles and tasks assigned.

Do you have what it takes to be an Ocean, or the top players that swim in it? 

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