On a thru hole pc board trace side, whats the easiest way to find the component you want to unsolder? Its easy to get in the general area but after that it is hard to find the right solder pads amongst the thousands. The best way i figured out was shine a light thru the board but that doesnt work to well. Whats the trade secret to quickly finding the component you want to unsolder on the trace side?
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Whats the easiest way to find components on the trace side?
- Thread starter groundwire
- Start date
I have used a small very bright light or a good laser pointer will work great too. Lots of light and bright enough to shine through most boards.
I do a similar thing with a bright flashlight, sometimes I'll place a tuning tool at a point and then move it slightly so I can verify on the solder side as I see the shadow move. Laser pointer is a great idea.
I have a bright led lamp over the bench that works well, just shadow it with a finger and flip the radio usually works well. Essentially same method as those above.
Small bright LED flashlight centered on the component in question. Can still be tough at times to get it exactly right if there's a lot of stuff crammed in tightly, but you'll start to recognize the lead spacing of some components pretty quickly.
Well it seems like the light thru the pc board is what everyone does then. Hmmm, ok. Well that and practice im sure
Sure makes me nostalgic for the Motorola 2-way radio service data of the 70s and 80s. Always included "X-ray" diagrams that showed the circuit board's component position, gray for the bottom side foil and low-density pink for the top side foils. Showed you both sides at once, and where they overlapped.
When the laminate is totally opaque and light just won't penetrate, the last resort is a continuity tester. If the lead on the component can be touched with a probe tip, the other probe will show continuity when it touches the foil pad under that component lead.
Not my favorite method.
73
When the laminate is totally opaque and light just won't penetrate, the last resort is a continuity tester. If the lead on the component can be touched with a probe tip, the other probe will show continuity when it touches the foil pad under that component lead.
Not my favorite method.
73