Printed circuit board repairs often are difficult and tedious, but the difficulty can be mitigated by employing a few simple tips. There often are scratches on older printed circuit boards, but using a magnifying glass and good light source can make it much easier to find and repair these scratches. Before starting printed circuit board repairs, the board should be safeguarded against static electricity. If chips and wires need to be removed during repair, then they should be lifted out very gently. Whenever new wires are added, they should be checked for proper power to ensure they are working.
Scratching on the board is one of the biggest causes for printed circuit board repairs. This can be difficult to see, especially if the scratches are shallow and do not readily appear. To more easily see the scratches, it may be a good idea to use a magnifying glass and a light source. The light can make the scratches more visible when shined in the scratched area, and the magnifying glass will make it easier for a person to see even tiny imperfections in the circuit board.
Static electricity is particularly dangerous to circuit boards, and exposure to this can ruin any printed circuit board repairs. This is because, if any static hits the internal components, then they can easily short out or otherwise stop working; this leads to further repairs — if the board can be salvaged. To keep a board from experiencing this, it should be kept away from plastic and carpeting, and proper antistatic equipment should be used.
Printed circuit board repairs often require wires and chips to be removed so new ones can be added. When doing this, one should be careful and proceed gently. This is true even if the wires or chips are not cooperating. If a person tries to forcibly remove these, then there is a chance that any associated contacts will then need to be replaced. The parts may break inside the board if this is done, making repairs considerably harder to perform.
New wiring often is used with printed circuit board repairs, but just because the wiring is new does not mean a person should forego testing. After the new wiring is in, one should ensure that power is properly running through the wires via an electrical meter or a similar device. This may show a person that the wiring is bad, improperly installed or, perhaps, that there is another problem with the board that is blocking the flow of energy.
