EBME Forums Forums Free discussion Free discussion Circuit board repairs

Hi, and welcome to you too!

The point of going to college is to be able to board swap with some intelligence, not the change each board one at a time until it works, it is not a set of christmas tree lights after all.

To repair a board has to be done to approved standards, the indemnity requires that any "modification or repair" be done as approved by the original manufacturer. They are not going to let you do the repairs as it kills the cash cow they have. Face it, how many of you have been on an approved manufacturers course to repair to component level?

Patients are a prime responsibility, and that is another reason to use highly trained and competent technicians.

Well it is nice to see that this industry has as much fire in its feelings as every other one I have worked in, nice to see guys passionate about their work and keen to kick for change.

Let's hope that we all get to do some "real" repairs soon, and then we will all be happy.

And have a go at the SMD reworks, they really are fun.

Very good.

Soldering etc. SMD has been well demonstrated on a number of YouTube videos.

You're right about having a go. Best to try out your new found skills on a few junk boards first. After that (like most other practical skills), it's a question of practice, practice and er, practice.*

Passion? Keen to kick? Oh yes, I can do that! Ha, ha.

* Perhaps I had better admit that I haven't tried it yet myself. Blokes with younger eyes and steadier hands do a far better job! My (pathetic?) excuse is that most of the stuff I work on is at least twenty years old! And I'm OK with transistors, resistors and capacitors et al.

Having worked in PCB test Engineering and semiconductors I'm well aware of how things work in other industries (the "real world").
Yes, I think a good level of fault finding to component level should be a given for any tech. However, we live in an increasingly litigeous society and I'd rather replace a PCB than end up in court. A sad situation perhaps, but that's how things are.

I grew up with the notion that you find the faulty part(s) & carry out the necessary repair. I too worked for a very large manufacturer & carried out SMD repairs on a daily basis, & as such I try to still do as much as I can to keep from going too rusty.
It seems that college students these days don't have the faintest idea of what a single component does, let alone be able to desolder it (When I was last in college a chap behind me asked his colleague if the diode he had was polarised.....)
I also think the problem starts outside of any schooling. As a child there was always something doing at home be it electronic, mechanical or driven by an engine. This helps develop core skills that just can't be taught in a couple of years.
Anyway, back here, I still carry out component repairs on many items unless they are directly patient connected, which my Managers are very happy with as often the kit is turned around quicker than sending it back to the OEM & is often £K's cheaper.

Touché! Good Man! Bravo! (and even ...) Encore!

As I've said many times before, it's all a matter of attitude, mindset ... and yes, compassion.

But (by the number of times it gets mentioned on this forum) it seems that the younger ones are more frightened about ending up in Court!

I would counter that notion with this:- how often does that happen, and if it did, what was the outcome (meeting the firing squad at dawn)?

Or ... could it be just an excuse for not simply cracking on and attempting a repair? Now, there's a thought!

But what we're all wondering is:- what was his colleague's response?

It was something like: "Er...Yeah I think so" after a long pause!
Scary thing is, this was 2nd year HNC students. Also throughout my ONC & HNC there was very little emphasis on fault finding.

You never stop enjoying the feeling of satisfaction you get when you find & fix a fault on any piece of equipment be it 2 years old or 20. Like many EBME engineers, I joined the TV trade when I left school & still enjoy a dabble now and then when the old Sony monitors drift in from our more aged stack systems!

I do also feel that things may eventually go full circle & we will be encouraged to keep equipment alive the 'old fashioned way' in a bid to reduce waste in the future (I hope so anyway!).

TV trade? That will cheer up Big Tony no end, inshallah.

For myself I concur 100% with what you're saying. Remember Meccano? That's where it all began for blokes of my era, I reckon. It certainly was in my own case.

Sadly, I have met too many techs who aspire to be biomeds (not all of them youngsters, either), who in my opinion (and, as you must know, I'm always happy to advise, good or bad) need, shall we say, to look elsewhere for their vocation! They simply lack the enthusiasm for all things technical ... from anaesthetics to x-ray, and ASCII to Xenon (if you see what I'm saying).

Frankly, some folk see it (biomed, that is) as an "easy job in comfortable surroundings" ... and then spend most of the time whinging about pay grades, perks, and all that [censored]. In fact, money seems to be their main motivator. Missing the point (and dare I say, the joy) of the thing by a good Country Mile.

But was the diode polarised? In a way, yes ... why not? It sounds to me like the guy was well on the way to an understanding of what was going on!

I feel lucky to have been involved with electronics from school, that interested me in studying for an OND in electrical and electronic engineering.

I found this course the most interesting and useful courses I had done. There was one component we studied Black and White TV, Colour TV which included a practical fault finding exam (part of the city and guilds exams)

Now a days I don't know what they study at college or tech

Me neither.

But let me tell you that the hardest course I ever did myself was REME Artificer training. It was hard enough even qualifying to get on the darned thing in the first place. Many good guys didn't even pass that first hurdle. That was back in the days when "only the strong" (committed etc.) survived. And the evil sods in charge even failed blokes in the final weeks of (what was) an eighteen month course. In fact, they watched you the whole time, scribbling crappy notes in their little notebooks, ready to be dragged out again at "judgment day".

Nothing else that I've done, either before or since, was as demanding as that. And (by the way) it was a marriage breaker too!

It was the only thing I tried in the army that I seriously thought about "jacking" (as in, "is all this really worth it"?) ... rather than simply being chucked off! Ha, ha.

Anyone who has successfully gone through all that gets my immediate respect!

What's all this got to do with circuit board repairs? Not much really ... except (as I said before):- "it's all a matter of attitude, mindset"!