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

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

STO Answer Book


Here's the book blurb I've crafted for the upcoming Answer Book, which is really a companion tutorial to Solutions to Obsolescence (STO):

The Answer Book is the companion every reader of Solutions to Obsolescence needs. It takes the 15 chapters of the main textbook and turns each set of discussion questions into a working session. You’ll find not just answers, but the reasoning pathways—the trade‑offs, the numbers, the risk calculations, and the contract clauses that separate a confident retrofit specialist from a hesitant one.

From TCO showdowns (new vs. refurbished lighting ballasts) to ethical dilemmas (third‑party remanufactured medical devices) to nitty‑gritty engineering (inertia ratios, thermal spray coatings, and VFD inrush currents), this book walks you through the decisions that obsolescence experts face daily.

Whether you’re a plant engineer, a remanufacturing line manager, a procurement professional, or a student of circular economy, the Answer Book will cement the concepts—and give you the scripts, formulas, and checklists to apply them immediately.

  • TCO calculations for real decisions
  • Root cause analysis for warranty returns
  • Scripts for plant manager conversations


No fluff. No evasion. Just solutions. 

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