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, September 26, 2026

Engineering Sovereignty


Three months ago, I had a meeting with two Singapore army representatives over coffee, discussing PCB-RE in the context of engineering expediency and operational capabilities. There was even the idea of a presentation to their top management, though it did not materialize in the end.

However, a seed has been sown since that meeting, and I have been quietly working on the framework of a discipline—Engineering Sovereignty. I wouldn't be surprise if many in the industry are not aware of this term. Most companies are more concerned about solving their immediate engineering problems than retaining valuable knowledge that is locked in the minds of their best engineers.

I'm not saying they lack sound practices in their organizational processes; but documenting technical designs of their products alone do not ensure that the know-how and experiences of their brilliant engineers, accummulated and built-up over the span of their career, are accurately and reliably passed on to the next generation. Personal legacy and skills can only be transmitted via mentoring and meticulous apprenticeship.

The Charter Seal above gives a concise definition on this concept of Engineering Sovereignty, and it is not only applicable to the military but commercial organizations as well. The first volume on this subject is near completion. I have kept it under wraps until now, while working in tandem with my Solutions on Obsolescence books, which were recently released. Although they belong to different series, they are related in regard to the challenges faced by many organizations today.

More will be revealed once the first draft of Volume 1 is ready. Until then, you may want to secure copies of the Solutions to Obsolescene books (click the book covers to go to the Amazon bookstore to order). 

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