MEP EP#222: Turning It On - New Design Checklists with James Lewis

Published: April 29, 2020, 11:26 p.m.

MEP EP#222: Turning It On - New Design Checklists with James Lewis
James Lewis

How to test and validate if your new PCB Assembly is working properly
  • What do you do before power on?
    • Component checks?
    • Current limiting?
    • Voltage limiting?
  • The Smoke Test
    • What do you do if it all goes up in smoke?
  • Validating power systems or supplies
  • Equipment for testing
  • IR cameras for looking for hot spots
  • Minimal viable electronic lab equipment
    • Digital Multimeter
      • auto ranging
      • true RMS
      • measure/verify caps (but gotta take it out of circuit)
      • Consider bench style
    • Power Supply
      • Power output, watch the power ratings
      • Current limiting (critical)
      • Output control
      • Avoid the cheap ATX route
    • Oscilloscope bandwidth vs sample rate
      • channel count
      • built-in AWG
      • serial decodes
      • Probes
    • Function Generator
      • Great for filters and to replace a clock, but how useful are they?
    • All-In One devices
      • Analog Discovery 2
      • Great for turning-on boards from home
      • Compromised specs, but could be "good enough."
    • Soldering Station
      • Think about rework
      • Can you remove SMT?
      • Hot air, etc.
      • Will you need to add debug headers?