13 Nov
2005
13 Nov
'05
2:29 p.m.
John Elliott wrote:
Paul Koning <pkoning at equallogic.com> writes:
: The only way I can think of is to take a large piece of paper, draw
: the components (ICs, etc.), then trace each etch on the PCB. You
: might use a felt tip pen to put a dab of color on each pin whose
: connection you have marked on your drawing.
If you've got a digital camera, take pictures of both sides of the PCB,
and you can then draw on the pictures using a graphics program.
Duh, good plan :) Previously I've tried sticking boards on the scanner,
but it doesn't cope well with the upperside due to raised chips - the
image ends up out of focus and difficult to work with.
Using a camera is a much better idea - stick it on a tripod and make
marks on the desk below where the PCB is. Flip the PCB over for the
reverse side and line it up against the marks, and in theory it should
line up perfectly in a graphics package (once one of the image pair is
flipped)
Slight lens distortion shouldn't matter as the critical thing is that
the image pair are crisp and in focus...
I don't know why I'd not though of that before, but it's a great tip and
far better than the scanner approach...
cheers :)
Jules