Reverse Engineering 15 yr old electronics

[Dave Dunfield]

>One thing I forgot to mention in my last message. Get a good continuity 
>tester. 'Good' means one that is not fooled by diode junctions (and 
>preferably not by low-ish resistors), one that doesn't supply enough 
>voltage or current to damage anyting, one that beeps, and one that beeps 
>quickly (you want to be able to 'stroke' a probe along a line of pins to 
>see if a given connection goes to any of them).

A useful trick I sometimes use when I have trouble following a connection
(especially those which "disappear" into a multi-layer board). If you just
can't figure out where a signal goes - cut squares of tinfoil, and press
them against sections of the board with a firm sponge (something with
enough give to let the foil seat against all the pins). Then using a good
continuity tester such as Tony describes, you can quickly cover large
areas to quickly narrow down where exactly a signal is located. (use foil
squares sized as needed).

Obviosuly you do not want the board powered at all - insure that caps are
discharged, batteries removed etc.

Regards,
Dave
-- 
dave04a (at)    Dave Dunfield
dunfield (dot)  Firmware development services & tools: www.dunfield.com
com             Collector of vintage computing equipment:
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