Module board discontinuities?

Question

I'm not too experienced with electronics and made a really noobish mistake. I was holding up the board with a set of helping hands. I was padding the alligator clips with some fabric but I knocked it over and scratched the board with the clips in the process. Is this serious damage? If so, can it be fixed?

juno 106 module board

If no traces are broken I would just clean it and cover it up lacquer or some insulating coating — sstobbe, Jun 05 '17 at 21:31
"I was padding the alligator clips with some fabric" - Instead of fabric, which can slip and allow the alligator clips to damage the PCB like that, consider adding heatshrink sleeving of the correct diameter onto the jaws of the alligator clips. Then shrink the tubing. (Some people prefer using silicone tubing instead, which can be harder to find but doesn't require shrinking and may be thicker and higher-friction for more grip.) — SamGibson, Jun 05 '17 at 22:45

Trevor_G · Answer 1 · 2017-06-05T21:22:40.627

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Use a sharp crafting knife to gently scratch off the etch resist (the green stuff) then tin the traces with a little solder.

If there is a break that is too wide to bridge with just solder use a single strand of wire as a jumper. (Offcut resistor leads work great)

If you want to replace the resist after, a little clear nail polish works.

Test the continuity after with a multi-meter.

If they are high-frequency signals, it may affect performance though.

edited Jun 05 '17 at 21:22

answered Jun 05 '17 at 21:10

Trevor_G

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First verify via continuity or under high magnification that they are actually broken. Likely only a few are. – Chris Stratton Jun 06 '17 at 05:53

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 05 '17 at 21:29

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I don't think it's devastating. On top of what was already said above, I would clean metal craps between the traces.

answered Jun 05 '17 at 21:29

Fredled

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Module board discontinuities?

2 Answers2