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

Saturday, July 4, 2026

The Mindset of Remanufacturing


Remanufacturing is not just a set of processes. It is a mindset. Five principles distinguish true remanufacturing from lesser imitations. 

Principle 1: Assume Nothing 

The repair technician assumes a component is good until proven otherwise. The remanufacturer assumes a component is bad until proven good.

Principle 2: Wear Items Are Always Replaced 

Certain components have finite lifespans: bearings, seals, gaskets, brushes, filters, belts. Even if they appear functional, they have consumed part of their design life.

Principle 3: Restore, Don't Just Replace (When Economical) 

Some components (housings, shafts, blocks) are expensive to replace but can be restored to original tolerances through machining, grinding, thermal spray coating, or other processes.

Principle 4: Test to New-Product Standards 

A remanufactured product must perform identically to a new product under the same test conditions.

Principle 5: Warranty Parity 

A remanufactured product without a new-product warranty is not truly remanufactured. It is something less—rebuilt, reconditioned, or refurbished—regardless of what the marketing says.

Remanufacturing is not equally applicable to all products. It thrives where: 

  • The core has high intrinsic value (e.g., cast iron block, precision-ground shaft) 
  • Wear items are modular and replaceable 
  • The product is designed for disassembly (or can be disassembled with reasonable effort) 
  • New replacement cost is high 
  • Customers value reliability and warranty 

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