How To Take Good PCB Photos

When it comes to writing your own engineering books, good photos and illustrations are indispensable. No reader enjoys looking at photos that are blurred or poorly taken. Most of the time, I would figure in my mind what I wanted to include in each page and then search for relevant photos that do not have copyright, or if there were, I would ask for permission from the owners as much as I could trace the source. There were also times when I had to buy from stocked photo platforms like Shutterstock, but I felt it was worth the price to ensure my readers have an enjoyable reading experience.

But for the PCBs that I worked on, I depended mostly on photos taken using my mobile phone camera which, in most cases were quite adequate for the job. For my next book which is currently in the works, I started entertaining the idea of a more professional approach. The first attempt using a phone camera for the Gigabyte graphics card looks like this:

It's kinda...OK, except that perspective errors had obscured some reference designators around those tall components, and also the lightings were not evenly distributed and cast shadows on certain areas of the PCB. So I went online to look for some sort of studio light box that is compact but big enough to house the card and found one which is suitable for my purpose. The LED lightings were bright and even against a white backdrop, ensuring minimum shadow effects.

To correct for the perspective errors, I used a bridge camera to take the photo at a farther distance using a zoom factor of 17. The result:

Can you see the difference? I'm certainly pleased with how the photo turns out. Readers can now expect professional quality photos in my next book, Manual PCB-RE: The Essentials. I'm not sure how long it's going to take me to write but I can assure you that it will be worth the wait. I will update as the book progresses but in the meantime, if you have not gotten yourself a copy of my trilogy books, please proceed to the Order page to take a look, click on the links to bring you to Amazon where you can preview the contents, and then decide.

Take care and stay safe, my readers!

Graphics Card PCB-RE

My old desktop PC which is self-configured around an Intel P35 motherboard running off an E8400 Core2 Duo CPU, is still working well after almost 12 years on. Of course, I have upgraded the DDR RAM from 2GB to the current 8GB, and replaced the now defunked 250GB hard disk with a solid state drive of the same capacity. The last to go was the Gigabyte GeForce 8600 GT graphics card using an NVIDIA G84 GPU, which had caused some issues due to its Windows 10 driver compatibility and subsequent hardware failure.

Somehow, I didn't think to throw that old piece of 'junk' away. Nostalgia reason may be, but on hindsight it seemed to have been a good decision. Recently, I started working on my fourth book, Manual PCB-RE: The Essentials, again after shelving it aside for nearly one and a half years. The structure of the book is already in place; what it lacks is a candidate. Naturally, this graphics card came to mind. Besides being a contemporary example of a consumer PCB, it has some interesting features which makes for a rather challenging PCB-RE study.

I'm not sure how long it will take me to reverse it and then put it into content form, perhaps partially to showcase the essential techniques employed in manual PCB-RE. Hopefully, there will not be too many disturbances or disruptions to distract me from my writing.

New Look, Better in Print!

It's been over five years since my first engineering book, The Art of PCB Reverse Engineering, was published on Amazon through its publishing arm, Createspace. It had since merge with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Recently, I did a thorough reformatting of the content of the book to migrate it to the Kindle platform. Since I was at it, besides changing the font to be consistent with the rest of my PCB-RE collection, I thought it would be good to give the dated book cover a total makeover as well. So here it is:

The new font is slightly larger than that found in the original edition, which should look better in print and provide some measure of relief for readers with weaker eyesight. Here are some two-page  samples:

If you had been put off by the former font, perhaps this will allow you to reconsider again. Note that it is only available in the full-color edition (I still keep the Standard edition as it is for nostalgia sake). Readers who bought the non-color Standard edition may want to consider getting the new color edition in Kindle ebook form, which retails for only $29.95.

Just click on the book cover above to go to the Amazon store.

Reader from Spain (Espanol)

"The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plains." So goes the nursery rhythm. Well, now that my books have found readers in that part of the world, I can safely say that PCB-RE has also gone ashore on the plains of Spain. Here's the review of one Spanish reader, Jose RV:

He's new to PCB-RE and posed the following question to me in his email:

In order to practice some manual RE, where can I find two layer PCBs? I have some old routers but they are 4 layer, which I think will be a bit challenging.

My reply:

Double-sided PCBs are quite rare these days. You might want to try finding them at the electronics hobby shops. Four-layer PCBs are more challenging for sure. PCB designers using four or more layers are usually driven by necessity due to the complexity of their circuit designs. 

As a beginner, avoid attempting on large pin count type PCBs as you might get discouraged easily. Learn to develop your own personal style and skill, and the right strategies for different type of boards. The Art of PCB-RE and Tools & Techniques does cover these topics.

As the proud owner of my first two books, he even sent me a photo complete with a nice bed sheet background:

Kindle eBook (Part 2)

Two weeks after releasing the trilogy book, PCB-RE: Real-World Examples in ebook form,  I am happy to announce that The Art of PCB Reverse Engineering is also available on Kindle. I've given it an overhaul with a different font, one that I used for the sequel book and trilogy. Best of all, it is in full-color for only 40% of the retail price of the printed edition.

You can go to the Kindle store to take a look and download your electronic copy after placing your order. Thank you for your support in honest purchase. Have a great day and stay safe!

Kindle eBook (Part 1)

The current CoVid-19 situation has led Amazon to impose restrictions on fulfilling overseas orders for printed books. Having received some feedback from readers who wanted to order my PCB-RE books but could not, I decided to give the eBook option a try, beginning with the third of my trilogy works, since it is the shortest of the three. Still, it took quite a bit of effort to format the original manuscript to make it display correctly on Amazon's Kindle device.

I'm taking a risk by going the electronic distribution route, considering the rampant piracy out there. But desperate times require desperate measures, and besides reducing carbon footprint I'm able to pass the 40% cost saving off the book price to my readers as well. If this goes well, I might consider doing the same with my other two books.

If you do not own a Kindle tablet, you can still download the Kindle App into your Android device and place order to download a copy to read. Click on the image above to go to Amazon store.

V.Ray Follow-Up Email

After making the LinkedIn connection with this reader by the name Valery Ray and reminding him to collect the book freebies and review bonus from me, here's his email reply:

Thank you for connection and for offering to share additional materials available for the first book. 

I've started doing component level repair of electronics with (and without) schematics more then 40 years ago. Although since that time my technical interests have moved onto particle beam instrumentation and FIB technology, once in a while PCB repair returns to operation multi-million-dollar FIB/SEM instrument, bringing great satisfaction and some profit. 

Interestingly enough many of the methods you describing are similar to the approaches I've developed, but some of the techniques you describe are different, and as effective and useful as they are practical. Systematic approach presented in your books and collection of useful information is not only invaluable for a novice approaching PCB-level reverse engineering, but also very interesting reading and collection of reference material for professionals.

Well, you heard it from a field-weathered engineer with over 40 years of experience in PCB-RE. So if you're still wondering whether to go into this niche but satisfying endeavor in your engineering career, why not get yourself a copy to acquire the coveted knowledge and shorten your learning curve?

20020

Today, the total pageviews for my blog has crossed the 20,000 mark!

Readership from different countries now stand at 110. Thank you for visiting and recommending this blog. It would not have been possible without your help!

With the current stay and work from home advisory due to the CoVid-19 situation, please continue to share the posts with those whom you think might find useful and beneficial for their engineering endeavors.

Better yet, get my books to help you occupy your time and equip yourself during this probative period, and be ready when the restriction is lifted and the economy restarted.

Meantime, take care and stay safe, everyone!

LinkedIn Review

Have not login to my LinkedIn account for quite sometime, so it was a pleasant surprise to find a text message from a reader who bought my three books:

Here's his review and my reply:

Curious as to his profession, I went to his page and this is what he described about himself:

I'm a consultant - I solve problems you can't get solved by anybody else, for any money in ways your engineering department have declared heretical.

Now that's one heck of a confident guy indeed!

Coronavirus (CoVid-19)

Since December last year, a pneumonia-like symptom was detected among flu patients in the Wuhan city of Hebei province in China. City officials initially dismissed it and even attempted to suppress any alert that might cause alarm to the Central Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing. But before long, this virus started to spread quickly among the city residents and spiral out of control as those infected transit in and out of the city to other parts of the mainland.

Soon, other Asia countries also felt the impact of this unknown but highly-contagious virus. As a precautionary measure, flights to and from China were cancelled while citizens working abroad were quickly brought home through chartered flights and given 14-days stay-home orders. Cruise liners were denied docking when the British-registered cruise ship Diamond Princess was found to carry infected passengers. All this while, China's infection statistics literally exploded in the epicenter as the city of Wuhan was put into lockdown mode.

Singapore was not spared either, considering there are many Chinese nationals who have obtained citizenship and permanent resident status, and these have went back to their former homeland to celebrate the Lunar New Year with their families and friends. The same quarantine measures were also enforced on them upon their return from the festive holiday. Thankfully, the government had learned well from the 2004 SARS saga and the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID) quickly implemented various measures to contain the spread.

The World Health Organization (WHO) closely monitored the situation and development in Asia and in particularly China, refusing to announce it as a pandemic since that would most certainly cause worldwide panic and impact the global economy. To remove the stigma of associating the virus to China by its initial name Wuhan-virus, WHO codenamed it the CoVid-19 virus, a new strain of the coronavirus that is especially lethal to the elderly and those with underlying health or medical issues. The west, however, seemed oblivious to this growing threat and went on its daily routines as usual.

Before long, Italy reported its first cases of infection and within just weeks, the number spiraled as its medical facilities buckled under the weight of thousands of patients needing healthcare. To date, its fatality rate has overtaken China and South Korea as many succumbed to the virus. Two important reasons could be attributed: 1. Italy has the second highest number of elderly in the world, next to Japan; and 2. Its culture of exchanging kisses and cheek rubs most likely accelerated the infection process. But the virus is not done yet. Other European countries such as UK, France, Germany and Spain became the latest victims of CoVid-19's ravages.

It was only a matter of time before the United States felt its sting. As of now, New York has become the epicenter in US, with other states like Florida, Illinois and Michigan taking a hard hit. Predictably, Wall Streets went from its long-run Bull market straight into the Bear bucket. Billions worth of stock investment were wiped out overnight as companies and businesses struggle to stay afloat from the international trade and supply chain freeze. Unemployment and business stagnation forced many to look to the government for financial aid and bailout.

Indeed, the future looks bleak and dark for the whole world as WHO finally declared the CoVid-19 a worldwide pandemic. The only thing we can do now is wait and pray that with the coming of summer, there will be some relief and a possible cure soon for this scourge...

From Italy with Thanks!

A few days ago, I received the following email from a reader by the name Leandro Genovese who purchased my trilogy books:

I discovered only now that there are some other useful resources over the special books you wrote! I would like to receive this freebies and the bonuses, but yes, I'll attach in this email the proof of purchase. I want to add a special thanks for the help your material gave to me. It's very useful for a newbie like me and I'm very grateful.

Thanks Thanks Thanks!!! 

Here's the proof of purchase he attached (a photo of the three PCB-RE books):

From his name and the foreign text in the email header, I gathered that he is from Italy. It's always nice to know that my works are greatly appreciated by readers around the world, especially those who are new and starting out on this exciting journey of PCB-RE.

I wish him all the best and thank him for the support through honest purchase, which is important for a full-time author like me.

As they would say in Italian: Grazie mille!

A Reader's Bookshelf

Had been absent from Twitter for quite a while, so it came as a plesent surprise when I was browsing through the latest posts that I came across someone putting up a picture of his bookshelf in the works. Right in the middle shelf are two of my books! Can you see them?

This young engineer by the name of Jeremy Hong is no stranger to me. He bought all my books on PCB-RE and left glowing reviews for the first two. Not only that, he conducted talks on this niche subject at various hackers convention and meet-ups, and recommended my sequel book PCB-RE: Tools & Techniques in his presentations.

This was what he said about my books in an email:

So far I am really enjoying the books, they have been super informative and in some cases kind of mind-blowing, but I'm finally glad that I now have reference books dedicated to this subject.

You can google and find him with the search words 'Hong Electronics'.

Occasional Bulk Orders

Among the trilogy of my PCB reverse engineering books, the sequel PCB-RE: Tools & Techniques is the most popular, with the first book The Art of PCB-RE coming in a close second. Sales of these books are quite constant across each month but occasionally there would be a bulk order made, which I suspect were procurement by a company instead of an individual.

Why would I say that? Well, individuals don't just buy 10 or 20 books at one go unless they want to give the books away as Christmas gifts to their friends, and we're talking a big group of friends who have interest in this niche topic. On a company level, however, there are some good reasons to do so:

1. It's core business is providing PCB-RE training to customers and since my books are currently the only available resources on this subject, they are used as a kind of reference textbooks for the training program.

2. It is engaged in PCB-RE products or services and one of the best corporate gifts is books related to their nature of business. It's a kind of reward for loyalty to the company or appreciation for long-term customers.

3. It is advantageous to use the books as attraction at exhibition booths to potential customers looking for a solution to their obsolescence problem, or who are thinking of buying PCB-RE product software or else engaging such services.

The above three points are real-life examples from companies who have ordered from me personally at special rates, instead of ordering online at the retail pricing. But whatever the reasons, I'm grateful for these companies who supported me in honest purchase of my books, and I wish them well in their businesses and future ventures.

Circuit Topologies

Next to identifying and deciphering components, familiarity with electronic circuit topologies that are common to different PCB types may prove crucial between a prematurely aborted and a successful PCB-RE attempt. The term 'topology' used here is not referring to network theory in the strictest sense that is taught in the classroom; rather, it refers to the 'configuration' or 'model' of a circuit, as in an op-amp configuration or a filter model.

In this respect, any circuit——digital or analog——is made up of a collection of discrete and/or integrated components that conforms to a certain pattern of connectivity to perform a known function. For example, consider the various passive filter topologies made up of LC discrete components:

Depending on the positions and values of the inductors and capacitors, these can form lowpass, high-pass or bandpass filters of either balanced or unbalanced configurations, as shown below:

Then, of course, there are the active filter topologies made up of op-amps and RC discrete components:

This is just a small sample of what circuit topologies is about. There are many types in analog, digital and power circuits across the spectrum of electronics and PCB designs, too numerous to include here. However, there is no reason to despair or become discourage, since these resources can be readily found online in electronics educational sites and discussion forums. Articles and videos are also helpful sources of information or tutorials to increase your knowledge and understanding of how circuits are designed and work.

Seasons Greetings!

Christmas is just round the corner following the winter solstice. It's the time of the year to gather with people you love and care about, to spend quality time and enjoy their company over heart-warming meals and moments.

It's also a time to reflect and reminiscent, and then look forward to a new year, hopeful of a better and brighter future. And while we're at it, let's not forget to go something good to help the less fortunate, be it charity or community volunteering work. For readers who have bought my books, I would like to thank you for your honest purchase, and to let you know that part of the royalties goes to support the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), so you're actually contributing to charity as well.

Here's wishing all my readers:

Stay safe and well through the season holidays!

Packaging Challenges

You might be surprised to know that electronics packaging predates the printed circuit board. Over the past 60 years, packages have continued to shrink in footprints yet increase in functionalities. Some packages are no bigger than the period at the end of this sentence.Today, there are more types of packages than ever before that can be found mounted on a given PCB. The ever expanding package acroniums is proof of this phenomenon: QFN, QFP, SOT, TSSOP, PDIP, WLCSP, BGA, FPBGA, SOIC, PoP, COF, WLP, FOWLP, and many more.

COF and WLP Packaging

This increasing trend in PCB design also presents challenges to PCB reverse engineering, especially for newbies and occasional apprentices. Identifying these components is one thing; finding related information and datasheets is another; yet still to overcome is the accessibility of probe points since most of these use BGA footprints with high-density pin-counts to reduce PCB real estate. It's a literal nightmare for manual PCB-RE work.

So unless you have the resources to do it, my advice is to steer clear of them unless it's a do-or-die mission. Remember, you have been warned.

Deciphering Components

Except for ICs and components with large surface areas which permit printing of part numbers most surface mount devices use some form of cryptic coding system to indicate their identities or values. Some basic components like resistors, resistor networks, and capacitors may also contain long strings of alphanumeric characters that require their manufacturers' references to make sense of their package and content. Take for example the two types of through-hole resistor coding:

The pair on the left uses color coding, with four and five bands of color for the top and bottom resistors, respectively. The pair on the right shows the same value in alphanumeric notation wrapped around the resistor's body. Resistor color and numerical codes are necessary for deciphering both color and alphanumeric codes found on resistors and capacitors.

Surface-mounted devices, passive and active, are becoming common place these days so it's good to keep a copy of SMD codebook at hand for easy reference and be familiar with their outlines and packaging.

Exercise: Can you identify and decipher the components on a PCB shown below?

According to their layout:

Chip Capacitor, Tantalum                                                  Chip Resistor, size 0603

1uF 35V                                                                             10 Ohms

Diode, case SOD-80               Low-Capacitance               NPN Transistor, SOT-323

Switching                                Diode Array (5V)                 BFR92AW

Chip Resistor, size 0805

4.64K                                                                                 Chip Capacitor, unknown

Chip Capacitor, unknown

How many did you manage to get right?

Ps: If you have purchased The Art of PCB Reverse Engineering, you are entitled to get a copy of the SMD Code Reference Book (500+ pages) and other goodies.

An Identity Crisis

If there is any certainty when doing PCB-RE, it is encountering 'unknowns'——components that are custom-built, without readily available information or datasheets. The proliferation of mobile devices and gadgets has seen ICs with multiple specialized functions integrated into a small wafer die,26 in a bid to reduce physical size and power consumption.

Take, for example, Apple's iPhone 5S motherboard shown below:

It's hard to imagine that so many components could be cramped within that 4.5-by-0.85 inch of physical space on both sides of the PCB, most of the chips being BGA-type and some with high pin-count footprints! This should come as no surprise, given that advances in wafer fabrication technology has already achieved under the sub 20-micron scale presently.

But don't be intimidated or become discouraged by this revelation. PCBs of this sort are an exception rather than the norm for manual PCB-RE. Truth is, it's not cost-effective to reverse engineer such boards in the first place, considering the low cost of manufacturing that arises from the high-volume production demands for these devices. It simply doesn't make economic sense.

That said, even in moderately complex through-hole or surface-mounted boards, do anticipate finding some unknown components as well. Sometimes it's not the big chips that stump you (though that is quite likely to happen) but the little discrete parts that seemingly look harmless enough until you try to identify them. Here's one example to prove my point: a reader once emailed me the following photos seeking my assistance to identify them:

Can you guess what these are? On first look, you may mistake them to be some sort of SMD resistors, except that the unique numbering and 3-terminal pinout provide tell-tale signs they are something else. Want to know what they are? Get a copy of PCB-RE: Real-World Examples and you'll learn their identity and many other useful tips.

Evaluating Your Chances

What are the chances of success in doing PCB-RE? It depends on several factors and your approach. Within each approach, the time and effort required will also increase with the complexity of the PCB, while the rate of success and the quality produced will be affected by the capability of the equipment or tool used, as well as the experience of the engineer doing the PCB-RE work. Quantifying the methods and their related factors into a single chart offers a rough but straightforward comparison as shown in the table below:

Another way of representation would be individual SWOT charts that give a sweeping view of each approach's strengths and weaknesses. The closer to the center (i.e. bullseye) a factor is, the better the weightage and vice versa.

No matter what you opt for, it is important that you have a good understanding of the process involved, not just the cost incurred. Other more specialized aspects of PCB-RE such as mobile forensics may require formal training to be proficient in performing the tasks yourself, unless you prefer to engage a professional to do the job. These exotic, CSI-like practices and many other PCB-RE methods are also covered in my best-selling book PCB-RE: Tools & Techniques.

Old but not Obsolete

Good things never die, even if they grow old. The same can be said about software, one in particular which I've fondly remembered since my early engineering days...

You might not believe me if I tell you that there's a community of PCB designers who're die-hard DOSbased OrCAD fans. For readers who've worked with the DOS version of OrCAD products, it may come as a pleasant surprise that these EDA tools, which used to cost from between $495-$1,995 individually or $3,995 for a complete suite, are now available for download complete with user and reference manuals. You'll need to register as a member first—subject to approval by the moderators of the group, though.

OrCAD ESP

OrCAD SDT

OrCAD VST

OrCAD PCB

The last DOS version is the OrCAD ESP 4.40 release which comprises the following modules:

• SDT 386+ 1.21 Schematic Design Tool
• VST 386+ 1.20 Verification & Simulation Tool
• PCB 386+ 2.22 PCB Layout Tool
• PLD 386+ 2.01 Programmable Logic Design Tool
• MOD 386+ 4.04 PLD Modeling Tool

I've worked extensively with the SDT 3.21 in my early engineering days from 1990-1995, mainly to draft schematics as well as flowcharts and 2D mechanical drawings for my test program set documents. To the hardware engineers in my company's engineering design department, this humble piece of software was just a toy compared to their powerhouse EDA suite from Mentor Graphics running on Sun's top-end graphical workstations. Perhaps, but then again there are many products out in the market which were designed and produced using OrCAD too.

So how do we run these legacy DOS software from within modern operating systems that are now the dominant landscape of most PCs today? The answer: Virtual PC or DOS emulator. And there are many flavors to choose from—Microsoft's Virtual PC, Oracle VM's VirtualBox, VMware Player, the open source DOSBox, etc. Most of these x86 machine emulators are free and they support and run different OSes such as Linux, Windows, OS/2, BeOS, and even the Mac OS X.220 I've installed and run Microsoft's Virtual PC and DOSBox with some of my favorite software of by-gone era just to re-live the good old nostalgic DOS days.

For more details and links to these resources, get a copy of The Art of PCB Reverse Engineering. The full-color and standard editions are similar in content, except the color edition costs slightly higher but hey, you get to see the illustrations and photos in their full glory!

X-Men Reverse Apocalypse

One of the best things about writing the sequel book PCB-RE:Tools & Techniques was having the opportunity to know and interact with nice and interesting people. John McMaster was one of them. I got to know him while searching for X-ray related PCB-RE information, and came upon his Twitter page on a home-brew X-ray machine which he designed and built for his IC reverse engineering work. In fact, his amazing tool was featured in a number of websites like Makezine and Dangerous Prototypes.

John was kind enough to give permission for me to include this project in my book, and he even provided me with the necessary X-ray prints of his endeavors, as well as his fun bio photo:

Of course, I was more interested in the PCB-RE aspect than the IC-RE which is his main focus. Nonetheless, being the helpful guy that he is, my requests were granted:

John went so far as to fill me in with the details of his home-brewed project through our email correspondences, which readers who bought the book would have the pleasure of learning firsthand from the 'master', Mcmaster himself. (pun intended)

So if you have not gotten a copy yet, you may want to get it here.

Manual PCB-RE: Instrumentation

Setting up an electronic lab like a commercial repair house is certainly out of the question,unless you're prepared to fork out a fortune to do so. But if you're thinking of doing PCB-RE manually, all you really need are just a couple of basic inexpensive equipment:

• Digital Multimeter (DMM)
• SMD LCR Meter
• Power Supply
• Universal Device Programmer
• Multi-Protocol Adapter

Most engineers should be well acquainted with the first three; the last two are not really for novice but can come in handy if you want to delve deeper and get a better understanding into the workings of a board.

Digital Multimeter (DMM)

The DMM is perhaps the most basic measuring instrument an engineer or technician will ever get to learn and use at work. Increasingly, digital multimeters are preferred over analog ones for their accuracy, functions and ease of operation, since they come with a numerical display that provides quick reading of the electrical entities being measured.

Choosing a DMM would seem like a no brainer but there are subtle yet important differences that separate a good model from an average one. Besides quality and reliability, resolution and accuracy are two primary factors that should not be overlooked. Though we're not particularly concerned with these traits when it comes to doing PCB-RE, it is imperative to get a DMM that has fast continuity test response.

This feature becomes apparent when you need to do a sweep on rows of connector pins to get a connectivity detection beep, so a slow response will potentially miss probe points that have valid connections. So invest in a good DMM to save yourself from this stigma.

SMD LCR Meter

Surface-mounted components are becoming popular with board designers due to the small sizes and space economy they afford. Some of these devices are so miniature there is hardly space for part numbers or even abbreviated values to be printed on them. Using the probes of a DMM to measure these devices can be challenging and frustrating. Enter the SMD LCR meter.

This remarkable and portable one-hand operated instrument identifies both marked and unmarked SMD-components with easy probing, passive or through-hole. A standard model can measure capacitance, inductance and resistance with speed and precision. Advance model can even check secondary parameters such as the capacitor's ESR, quality factor (Q),

dissipation factor (D) and impedance (Z).

SMD LCR meters come in different makes and functions. Those providing only basic functions may cost just between $20-$50 apiece, whereas more advanced models can run into $150-$300 an unit.

Power Supply

You have two choices when it comes to power supply: fixed and adjustable. Depending on what you intend to use with the power sources, you can opt for:

• Fixed power supplies with common voltages such as +5V, +12V, +3.3V, etc. which many PCBs require. A PC power supply unit will be adequate to provide these multiple outputs. But a note of caution: you will need to provide some kind of safety measures to ensure you don't fry the PCBs you're working on.

• Adjustable power supplies. These benchtop equipment are more costly but still affordable, and they provide built-in current limiting and over-voltage protections, plus you get to have a variable range of voltages at your disposal.

Manual PCB-RE: Hand and Power Tools

These days, a set of assortment hand and power toolkit can be had for between $100-$200, one would think it makes no sense to buy each item separately. While there is no harm getting one of these kits if you have the extra cash to spare, you may want to be more selective in the quality and suitability of the tools you are going to personalize and use for all your future PCB-RE works without over-cluttering your work space and spending time searching for them.

As a minimum, I would recommend the following:

The wire stripper may seem like an odd addition to the manual tool set, but it does have a role to play in the PCB-RE process when required.

Two other hand tools I can think of that's good to add to the above list are a set of fine grain hand files and a small hammer or mallet. The hand files come in handy when you need to scrap off stubborn lacquer conformal coating from the tip of component pins to facilitate contact probing during continuity check. The hammer or mallet is used in conjunction with the flat-head screwdriver to loosen screws with tops that are rounded out.

One last versatile tool is the power drill set. The motorized drill can either be battery powered or cabled. Different sets of drill bits, screwdriver bits and nut drivers permit drilling or screw and bolt locking and loosening with ease.

Manual PCB-RE: Equipment & Tools

Every trade has its expert, and every master craftsman has his tools. PCB-RE engineers are no exception, more so when it comes to doing PCB-RE manually. In my fifteen years of experience reverse engineering printed circuit boards (PCB) and modular electronic units, I've come to appreciate the importance of having a good set of tools on hand to get the job done. Not just the basic toolkit, but the essential ones.

A typical electronics workbench setup (courtesy of Mitch Haile)

If you want to do serious manual PCB-RE, whether in a workshop setting of your employment or in the comfort of your own workspace at home, some form of electronic equipment and hand tools are indispensable. Depending on how comprehensive a level of PCB-RE you intend to engage in, it will determine the outcome of your inventory and acquisition. Generally, there are four categories to consider:

 1. Hand and power tools

 2. Instrumentation

 3. PCB-related equipment

 4. Diagramming tool

The first three are hardware and safety related while the fourth is software, though strictly speaking, the line of distinction is not that concise in some cases.

The Magic Bullet

Some while ago, I came across a query in Reddit regarding my books:

There are a few books on Amazon authored by Mr. Keng Tiong Ng that cover the topic of reverse engineering PCBs. Anyone in the know find them useful? 

Here's one reply:

They're an enjoyable read, but nothing exactly earth-shattering...

Well, any hacker—hardware or software—would tell you in the face, there's no shortcut to doing reverse engineering. Those in the engineering industry know that the work of an engineer is never easy, right from the start when you take up this field of study to the day you learn and master the trade and become good at what you do. Temple Grandin puts it succinctly when he said:

People are always looking for the single magic bullet that will totally change everything. There is no single magic bullet.

PCB-RE is no exception. In my 15 years of reversing PCBs and electronic modules as part of doing repair and diagnosis of circuit boards, I had to literally 'bite the bullet' and refused to call it quit if ever the schematic diagrams were to materialize in the end. Of course, knowing the techniques of doing PCB-RE and the kind of tools available to ease the process will be a great help to reduce the learning curve and become proficient quickly. Which is why one reader, a 65-year old retired engineer, commented:

Books on this topic are as rare as hens teeth.The first book The Art of PCB Reverse Engineering was mainly about RE techniques and ways to keep the extracted data organized. It was really well written and an enjoyable read. The sequel PCB-RE book is about the tools (hardware and software) that can be made or purchased to ease the RE process. Again it was really well written and a good read. I've been doing RE for years mainly to help in the repair undocumented products and yet I still found some very useful stuff in these two books. The reader should be aware that RE takes a lot of time and no book is going to be a magic bullet that will give instant results. However learning to be organized and to correctly document the results can be learned from these books and that means you get to waste less time. You can also reuse and expand a well documented partial RE when tackling a different fault on the same product. Have no fear of Mr Ng's English; it is really good.

That said, there IS only one 'magic bullet' but do you have the courage to bite it? Here it is...

One thing the person who replied is right though—my books are an enjoyable read. And if I may add, they're also informative and worth your time and money for all the heart and sweat I put into writing them, including the contributions of fellow engineers who shared their expertise and valuable experiences.