Omega Race PCB repair

[omegaman]

Ok, I have received an Omega Race PCB set to repair for a Klov member. The battery damage is pretty bad, but I will give it a shot anyway. Obviously it's not an economical repair so I am fixing it for a donation rather than a fee

I will post some pictures of the board as it stands now and follow up with the repair progress.

 

[omegaman]

 

[omegaman]

 

[ifkz]

I am very excited that you are willing to take on these difficult to repair PCBs. I look forward to seeing your progress as a fellow Omega Race owner.

 

[omegaman]

I think it will live....it's bad but I've fixed worse. You can see how bad the damage is under the IC sockets....all of the bottom row are shot and need replacing. This board will never be a "clean" example but it will work again.

 

[Jeff F]

I LOVE this thread! Please keep posting pictures of your progress... it shows what can be done and how to do it.

 

[smalltownguy2]

You, sir, are very brave.

I bow to your PCB repair skills.



I've got a non-working boardset right now that looks to be in pristine condition, so I may be PM'ing you soon

 

[omegaman]

You, sir, are very brave.

I bow to your PCB repair skills.



I've got a non-working boardset right now that looks to be in pristine condition, so I may be PM'ing you soon

Brave or stupid ...I'm not sure

No problem, send it over and I will sort it out for you.

 

[omegaman]

I thought I had better check some IC's just to confirm the board hasn't been fried by a bad power supply in its past......that would make it a pointless procedure.

The CPU and ROM are fine, a few Ram were bad but most were too corroded to check.

 

[Malice95]

Wow I second the notion that you are really great for taking this on. The owner must be very happy!

Cant wait to see the details.

 

[omegaman]

Today's casualties

 

[Malice95]

I thought I had better check some IC's just to confirm the board hasn't been fried by a bad power supply in its past......that would make it a pointless procedure.

The CPU and ROM are fine, a few Ram were bad but most were too corroded to check.

That IC tester looks handy for fixing boards.. pricey? Gotta keep any eye
on ebay for one.

 

[omegaman]

It's so "handy" It will check pretty much every chip you could imagine. Expensive? around $700

You see them on Ebay from time to time.

It takes the doubt out of it, no more messing about swapping ram and other IC's from board to board.

Once I get this PCB fixed to a point where it should boot I will use my Kurz Kasch tester so that you can see how it works.

A similar tool here http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/displayProduct.jsp?sku=1216745&CMP=e-2072-00001000

Not sure what the device list is though.

 

[omegaman]

Managed to spend a little more time on this board today. I thought I'd start on the Ram sockets nearest the battery first as these are the worst ones. Here is a shot of the underside. You can't remove the solder as it is so I add fresh solder to the top side and let the flux run through. The you can use the tip of your iron on one side and a small flat blade screwdriver pressed against the other side of the pin to pull it out. Add more solder again and suck out the rest with a desoldering station.

One down, 12 to go!

 

[omegaman]

Bottom row of Ram sockets removed.

 

[omegaman]

Video Rom sockets removed.

And the final 3 program Ram sockets removed.

Time to clean it up some more then fit new sockets.

 

[Malice95]

So does the acid actually destroy traces on the board or
just sockets/chips, etc. The traces look pretty good when you
hold them up to the light.

 

[omegaman]

Sometimes it will, this board was close but they are all intact so far. It's actually cleaning up ok. I should have time on Sunday to fit the sockets then fire it up!
The 3 ram chips that I didn't change all passed on my tester which is a good sign.

 

[omegaman]

Another thing to remember is not to try and scratch the crud off the board, the traces are very thin at points between the solder pads and easily damaged. Use a toothbrush and chemical cleaner, rinse with hot water then clean with PCB cleaner spray.
The best way to see if the trace is damaged is to hold the board up to a bright light.

Once I have the new ram installed I will run give it a quick test with the Microdoctor. You can test data and address lines, check ram and rom ...a lot like the fluke board tester.

 

[Malice95]

Microdoctor? Got a link? How is it better then a fluke? I'm thinking about picking up a fluke.