DarrenF
Well-known member
Area 51 - isolating / repairing surface mount issue?
I've got an Area 51. HDD is good. It boots up, all self-tests OK, and even plays fine. Only problem is the colors are wrong. Then I lightly press on the PCB... the colors change. Pressing a little harder, and suddently they're correct. Release... back to wrong colors.
I'm assuming it's a cracked surface mount joint... somewhere. Are there any tricks of the trade to isolating the location of the bad joint(s)? I can only narrow it down to about half of the board, by carefully determining where flexing matters & doesn't. Will it likely be visalbe? (i.e. should I spend an hour or two visually inspecting with magnification, or is that a waste of effort?) Can I just put it in the oven to re-flow everything?
SMT is kinda new to me... I'm normally more of an 80s PCB guy.
I've got an Area 51. HDD is good. It boots up, all self-tests OK, and even plays fine. Only problem is the colors are wrong. Then I lightly press on the PCB... the colors change. Pressing a little harder, and suddently they're correct. Release... back to wrong colors.
I'm assuming it's a cracked surface mount joint... somewhere. Are there any tricks of the trade to isolating the location of the bad joint(s)? I can only narrow it down to about half of the board, by carefully determining where flexing matters & doesn't. Will it likely be visalbe? (i.e. should I spend an hour or two visually inspecting with magnification, or is that a waste of effort?) Can I just put it in the oven to re-flow everything?
SMT is kinda new to me... I'm normally more of an 80s PCB guy.
