Found some good videos with various approaches to repairing traces on a printed circuit board:
Repairing broken traces on a PCB
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Category Archives: Electronics
Loctite Tak Pak
Over on How To Repair Damaged / Broken PCB Traces – 2 Great Methods, Mr SolderFix says that Loctite Tak Pak is good PCB glue. He recommends the Loctite SF 7455 activator, and the Loctite 382 instant adhesive. I tried to find some for purchase but it’s only available via international shipping and costs a fortune.
I have some glue in my drawer, particularly 24x 3G Super Glue for Plastic, Leather, Ceramics, Rubber, Metal, Wood Super Glue. Might give that a go for wiring a bodge wire to a PCB to see if it works okay or not.
Soldering Iron Tips
For my reference, there are Conical, Knife, Chisel, and Bevel iron tips.
Desoldering Made Easy
Found this video about how to desolder: Desoldering Made Easy – Amazing Trick || Soldering Tutorial. He was using 340°C iron temperatures.
Thyristor (Silicon Controlled Rectifier)
Watching Pure Electronics Repair. Learn Methodical Fault Finding Techniques / Methods To Fix Almost Anything I learned that a thyristor—which is also known as a Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR)—is a type of TRIAC.
The name “silicon controlled rectifier” is General Electric’s trade name for a type of thyristor.
Complex Programmable Logic Device
ChatGPT explains a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD):
A CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) is a type of digital integrated circuit that is used for creating custom digital logic designs. It’s a step between simple PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices) and more complex FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays).
Click through for further details.
Number pad
I have various workspaces in my lab, and I call one of them my “booth”. It’s called the booth because I use it when I need to take photos of things which I’m selling on eBay, usually Xbox consoles or games.
Anyway the booth is also setup with two video cameras, one for a view of the booth bench and the other for a view of my face while I am working in the booth. There’s a retractable drawer bolted under the booth bench too which is full of breadboard jumper wires, so this is the place where I do some of my electronics projects, particularly my Maxitronix X in 1 projects. It’s also a convenient workspace when I’m breadboarding something, as I have ready access to my component drawers above.
Today I’ve installed a number pad in the booth so that I can control my cameras in OBS Studio while I’m working at that bench:
Jaycar kit: Audio Playback Adaptor for CD-ROM Drives
This Audio Playback Adaptor for CD-ROM Drives was released with a Silicon Chip article back in November 2007, approaching two decades ago.
I just purchased the last two available from Jaycar, they no longer have any stock.
I now own three of these babies, and it is my hope that I can use their components to build some electronics that implements enough of the ATA protocol to unlock OG Xbox hard drives. I reckon my chances of success are pretty slim, but it will be fun trying!
This is them:
They’ve been on the shelf in a warehouse for years, check out how dirty they were:
For the record here is a screenshot of this item on the Jaycar website after I purchased all their stock:
Bluetooth signal quality on MacBook Pro
If you press the Option key then click the Bluetooth icon on your MacBook Pro then MacOS will show you the signal strength (RSSI) and other info about your Bluetooth devices. RSSI is the “Received Signal Strength Indicator” as explained by ChatGPT. The current RSSI for my bluetooth speakers is -67dBm, which ChatGPT explains:
An RSSI value of -67 dBm is generally considered a good signal strength when it comes to WiFi, and the same could be roughly said for Bluetooth and other wireless communication technologies. In terms of qualitative interpretation:
- -30 to -50 dBm: Excellent signal strength. This is about as good as it gets. Usually, this is only seen when you’re very close to the access point or device.
- -50 to -70 dBm: Good signal strength. For most general applications, this range provides a reliable, strong connection. Voice, streaming, and even video applications usually work well in this range.
- -67 dBm: This specific value is often cited in WiFi scenarios as the minimum strength for reliable voice applications.
- -70 to -90 dBm: Fair signal strength. The connection is more susceptible to interference and might not be reliable for all applications. Data rates will be lower, and minor obstructions can cause the signal to drop.
- Below -90 dBm: Poor signal strength. The connection is unreliable and might drop frequently. It’s challenging to maintain a stable connection in this range.
So, an RSSI of -67 dBm is generally good for most applications, including voice and streaming. However, the actual performance can vary based on the specific wireless technology in use, the environment (presence of physical obstructions, other interfering signals), and the application’s specific requirements.
Fuse access
I rewired my ATX power supply breakout board so that I would have ready access to the fuses. Probably gonna blow a few of those! The fuses are 5A 250V fast blow (F5A250V) so I can’t draw more than 60 Watts (at 12V). You can see in the previous post and the picture at the bottom of this post that the terminals used to be connected above the fuses, impeding access.
The ATX power supply breakout board is a Geekcreit® XH-M229 Desktop Computer Chassis Power Supply Module ATX Transfer Board Power Output Terminal Module.
This is the new setup:
This is the old setup:
