basic printed circuit boards

[tuckermot]

Hi all

I am interested in going back to basic,s involving pcb,s..My object is to be able to do basic simple repaire,s to radios, monitors ect. I know the world of pcbs is vast and i want to start at the begining,i am finding it hard to find what ref books to buy or where on the internet to find this information like how to read a pcb wiring diagram properly and understand the markings of the components ect.I have items at home that have stopped working and i would like to have a go at repaire.give me a house and i will bash it but give me a radio thats stopped working apart from confirming a supply to pcb i have not got a clue please if any one can point me in the right direction please private message me

cheers

Rich

 

[johnboy6083]

hi rich. My mentor from when i was training, was not only a spark, but a qualified video, TV, radio and microwave repair engineer. He said that he spent a lot of time and money going to college at night to learn (back when VHS and betamax was still about),. he quit his business repairng these items as it was becoming unprofitable, as its far easier to buy a new PCB, than to fault find and then repair it.
If your interested in this for academic/hobby reasons, then go for it, but not for financial gain

 

[tuckermot]

Hi john boy
i want to do this for non financial gain just get frustrated that i can do Installations and test with ease but when it comes to making a non working telly work i am at a lost .i understand most pcb,s are throw aways due to the llabour cost ect to repaire it just seems its a skill that is dieing andtis a real shame because the old school boys & girls who could fault find pcb,s are very clever and i respect what they do they are allways under rated in my eyes

 

[johnboy6083]

i agree, but would yopu pay somebody to repair something for you, that you could replace cheaper, or for only a small increase in price?

 

[tuckermot]

just want to repaire my own stuff ect hence no labour cost,s just finding it really hard to find the information i need to help me achieve this john .someof the components are pennies to replace so it is some times cost affective to repaire allso satisfaction in making a non working item work again is priceless

 

[johnboy6083]

ive no idea where you would start. try reading stuff like this maybe. http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=very%20basic%20electronics&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CC4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.seattlerobotics.org%2Fguide%2Felectronics.html&ei=rKT5TrzjPISg8QOLzqiJBA&usg=AFQjCNEyQEmhC6eMljL1duCAez2I8D4E0A

 

[netblindpaul]

tuckermot,
I suggest that if you are not familiar with the components used, you first study these, and how to recognise them.
There used to be paper cross reference books, these days the web is easier.
I had a breakdown before Xmas on a customer pcb.
Maker gone.
Needed it up and running before Xmas as it was a standby pollution control system.
I had never worked on the board or the system before.
You just need to understand what the I/O does then find out what it is not doing and work backwards.
Identifying each component and its function to be correct before moving on.
You'll need a good scope, good high input impedance a.c. & d.c. DMM, good soldering irons and de-soldering tool, some solder wick, tweezers of assorted kinds, and a good magnifying glass if your eyes are approaching anything like mine!!!
That is without the signal generation kit, an LCR meter is useful, as is an earth free work zone and "safety isolated" supply.

Before anyone says replace it with a new one, it is part of a system, which was custom built, so lead times on a replacement system would be 12-16 wks!
Costs would be well in excess of my couple of hours tracing and rectifying the board fault.

 

[tuckermot]

hi net
thats what i trying to get is a ref book which describes the components and there functions just can,t find one

 

[johnboy6083]

thats my comments shot down in flames! :33:

 

[Knobhead]

With multi layer boards it’s not really viable.

I had a nice little sideline repairing photographic studio equipment. It got very difficult sourcing components without going to the OEM, they would rob you blind.

 

[tuckermot]

netblind paul

My daughters ipod docking station does not work it has 12vdc on to the board but nothing works is this a common fix for a pcb ??

 

[telectrix]

one of the problems you face is that you can't test a component in situ, due to parallel paths. also, it is very easy to destroy modern pcb tracks when desoldering components. 40 years ago you could use a poker heated in the fire, but modern pcb's are designed to be throw away. most of the time it's only worth it if you can identify the fault quickly and replacement components are cheap and easily obtained. apart from your wanting to be able to do a repair for your own satisfaction, that's about it, really.

 

[topquark]

There is an electronics forum here: Forum for Electronics They do have various eBooks available but you'll need a number of points in order to access them. Failing that you could try working your way through this (not sure it's that compreshensive, but looks to cover the (very) basics): A Rough Guide to Electronics so would be a start.

About the only thing I fix these days is power supplies (and only some of them). As already said, not commercially viable though.

Edit: just checked and it looks like the eBooks have been removed from the edaboard forum.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

I can understand where you are coming from Tucker......i have come from an engineering background..(heavy industries)....and enjoy repairing mechanical stuff that i have stashed away that you always promised yourself that you would "get up n running"....i know that the world of PCBs is a but different from vintage lawnmowers and old power tools n all that lot.....but still good fun to watch how it all comes apart and how it was constructed though isn`t it.....and then when you put some power....(or petrol) in it ..and it fires up...sometimes for the first time in many years........

 

[kenny7askew]

c&g 224 course books parts 1to 3 would be a good place to start i did it some years ago and i think you can still do the course and get the books

 

[tuckermot]

thank you all i have enough reading to get me going now

 

[Specialist]

Hi all

I am interested in going back to basic,s involving pcb,s..My object is to be able to do basic simple repaire,s to radios, monitors ect. I know the world of pcbs is vast and i want to start at the begining,i am finding it hard to find what ref books to buy or where on the internet to find this information like how to read a pcb wiring diagram properly and understand the markings of the components ect.I have items at home that have stopped working and i would like to have a go at repaire.give me a house and i will bash it but give me a radio thats stopped working apart from confirming a supply to pcb i have not got a clue please if any one can point me in the right direction please private message me

cheers

Rich

Hi Rich: Take a look at www.electronicrepairguide.com you should find everything you want on there. Also an addition to Pauls earlier list is a Capacitor ESR meter, available from the above site. I put off buying 1 for a long time prefering to do things the old fashioned way, but since buying 1 I would'nt part with it.

 

[tuckermot]

thank specialist

 

[Specialist]

No problem mate, my Daughter just reminded me that I bought her an Electronics training course on CD ROM a couple of months ago.
If it's any good to you then I can do you a copy of it.

 

[grantr37]

I will sort you out with a load of material at the start of the new year, with multi layer boards its not much more of a problem than with single or double sided boards with plate through hole, the only real problem with multi layer boards is either heat damage(over current through tracks) or manufacturing defects/water or chemical ingress and corrosion, both of which can only be seen with specialist thermal imaging or x-ray testing equipment, and only the manufacturers have that......if a multi layer circuit board has a board fault (the actual sheet of fiber glass and printed tracks) such as a broken or burnt through track, then that can never be repaired even by the manufacturer, and they will have it shredded and recycled and just manufacture a nice shiny new PCB to replace it...as the boards are bonded sandwich construction.... You should use what is referred to as the "half split method" when fault finding circuit boards.....then there is learning about the relationship between components, Logic Element components, microprocessor/micro controller input and output signals and anything that can interfere with them and cause the microchip to shut off/power down or give out a non-useful output signal that may make other components power down or malfunction etc... You should be keen to work on de-soldering / reworking small sized surface mount components and be willing to make up a number of small selection boxes of components as well as a small tool kit of good quality electronics tools, I would say that you can build a very good tool kit for about £200-£220.00 ($300) and a good shop-available multimeter should do for your purposes....if you would want to buy an oscilloscope and it is only for hobby use, then don't worry about buying a big expensive benchtop oscilloscope or an expensive handheld Fluke one......a good hobby use one would be a Velleman HPS-10 or HPS-20 (10 Megahertz or 20 Megahertz) which is single channel (single input probe) and these are available in Europe, the UK and the USA for about £130.00 ($200.00) I am not sure where you stay so that's why I mention Dollars...