Dangers of Not Recycling PCBs

That PCB boards are found in all types of electronics is clear, but what’s perhaps not so clear is why there is so much emphasis on recycling them. As mentioned before, PCBs are a treasure of valuable materials that can be recovered and reused through the process of electronic waste recycling.

Actually, the dangers of not recycling e-waste or just sending to landfills always ignored by people, but the dangers are severe than you can imagine. Electronics contain plenty of hazardous substances, so if we just sending them to landfills, they easily get released into the environment and leak into the groundwater which will potentially pollute the water we drink and pose a serious threat to human health.

Electronics recycling is the most effective way to not just prevent pollution and possible ill-health, but also conserve natural resources. When we recycle valuable materials from electronics, we eliminate the need for extracting these elements from the nature. While resource conservation is a direct advantage of recycling electronic waste, cost and energy savings are the indirect benefits.

Learn more about how to tackle e-waste like PCBs, please visit www.epcb.com

4 Ways to Use Microcontrollers

A microcontroller is useful for a lot of things – like building your own music player, robots, or a display for whatever project you have. Some beginners might think it’s difficult to work with a microcontroller, here we would say, it is absolutely wrong. Here are four ways to easily start using a microcontroller:

Development kit: Most manufacturers of microcontrollers offer development kits as an easy way to test their microcontroller. These are usually well documented, but can be a bit pricey.

Breakout board: This is a board usually with a bare minimum of components which needed to get the microcontroller running. A breakout board is usually cheap, but it requires more knowledge about programmers and compilers.

Build your own circuit: You can just buy a microcontroller chip, and make your own circuit with it. It’s cheap, but you have to know how to build your own circuits as well as the knowledge about programmers and compilers.

Arduino: This is a board that is developed to make it easy to use for artists, designers and people with little technical experience from before. You don’t need to know anything about compilers or programmers, and the code is easy to understand.

It’s better for beginners to start out with Arduino, just because it’s so easy to get something cool up and running in no time. If you would rather learn about compilers and programmers right from the start, then try a breakout board is a good idea.
More about microcontrollers, pls visit www.epcb.com

How to Debug Your Circuit?

Sometimes a little mistake in your printed circuit board will cost you several hours even more to find out. To debug your circuit effectively, here’s the method we recommend to you. Several steps are listed as follows: 

-Print (or draw) your schematic diagram on a piece of paper

-Looks at the schematic diagram first, and then look at your circuit 

-You can start at the positive supply, and make sure what it should be connected to

-You check your circuit and mark yes as a record on a paper for everything that you have confirmed is there 

-Check one by one in a correct sequence, and do this until all the connections are checked

It may take you a little extra time, but it is really helpful, and save more time for you to some extent. 

Learn more, pls visit www.epcb.com

How to Adjust the Brightness of an LED

LED is kind of mini light bulb, a small component that creates light. Many beginners are likely to make it as their first works as it is simple. But how to adjust the brightness of an LED may still confuse many beginners, actually, there are two ways to change the brightness of the LED. 

Change the resistor value: To change the brightness by adjusting the resistor value just adding a potentiometer in series with the LED. When you adjust the knob of the resistor, the brightness of the LED will change.

Turn it on and off fast: Another method is to turn the LED on and off fast. Maybe a few hundred times per second. Usually you want to use a microcontroller for this. By adjusting the percentage the LED is on versus off, it will appear to the eye that the brightness changes.
More info., pls visit www.epcb.com

Breadboard

A breadboard is a board that you can use to connect circuits without soldering. Breadboards are often used to build a simple circuit or to test an idea. When you are learning about circuits, you will come across a lot of little circuits that you want to test. Then the breadboard is really useful.

You can build pretty much any circuit that uses through-hole components on a breadboard – as long as you have enough space on it for all the connections and components. But there are lots of connections in some circuits, and this makes it harder to take control of all the wires going around. At some point you won’t be able to connect such circuits on breadboards. One way is to create your own circuit boards, because it won’t be as expensive and complicated as you thought.

Read more, welcome to www.epcb.com

LEDs and Resistors

LEDs and resistors in series are common in our daily life, but how does it work? Here we explain a problem you may face. 

Suppose you have stumbled upon this confusion about series circuit. That you have two 3V LEDs connected in series to a 12V battery. What will happen then? Because the first LED would have 9V across it and the second one 6V, so you may wonder is it possible to burn them? If you use a resistor, it will lower the available volt for the second LED, but how will you make it work?

Actually, an LED will always try to get its specified voltage across itself. Two 3V LEDs in series, connected to a 12V battery will force a lot of current through the LEDs and they will burn out. When you put a resistor into the circuit, the two LEDs will have 3V across each, and the remaining voltage will be across the resistor. Then you can use Ohm’s law to find the proper resistor for the current you want. For the most common LEDs, you can usually aim for 15-20 mA.

More info., pls visit www.epcb.com

What is the Right Soldering Temperature?

The right soldering temperature is something that always ignored. But, have you ever confused what is the right soldering temperature in various situations? Our suggestion is that you have to get the solder joint hot enough to melt the solder. Most solder melts around 180 to 190 degrees Celsius equals to 360 to 370 degrees Fahrenheit. So we have to get the solder joint hotter than this.

There are few things that will impact the soldering temperature that you need on your soldering iron. If you have a high effect soldering iron with a large soldering tip, you don’t need that high temperature, maybe 250 degrees Celsius is enough. But if you are using a low effect iron with a small, tiny soldering tip which transfers heat badly, you need a higher temperature like 400 degrees Celsius. If you have a huge solder joint, you will need a higher temperature than if you have tiny, small solder joint.

More article about soldering, pls visit www.epcb.com

Why Do You Need to Tin?

To be honest, you don’t really need to tin. But it can help. For example, you can tin the tip of your soldering iron by first cleaning it with a sponge, then apply a bit of solder to the tip. Or you can tin the pin of a component by heating it with your soldering iron, then melt a bit of solder onto it. The advantage is that it will transfer heat better. So when you tin the tip of your soldering iron, it should make the soldering process a bit simpler. Do it every time your tip needs to be cleaned. Tinning the tip of your soldering iron before you put it down for the day is said to help your tip last longer.

More info., pls visit www.epcb.com

5 Top Soldering Mistakes

These 5 top mistakes beginners are easily make when soldering. EPCB here explains the reason why it is wrong in simple words. Hope it is useful to you.

1. Removing iron before applying solder: Some people are used to heating the pad and the pin, then removing the solder iron before trying to apply the solder. But this will unfortunately not work well. When you remove to iron, the pad and pin will cool down quickly, so the solder won’t melt.

2. Heating only the pad: This is another common mistake. You may heat the pad, then apply the solder. But since the pin is not heated, the solder will not connect properly to the pin.

3. Cutting pins too short: To make the board look nice and neat, some people often push the component all the way into the hole, then cut the pin so that it doesn’t stick out of the board at all. But this makes it hard to solder the pin, and ends up with some solder covering the hole, but not actually connecting the pin to it.

4. Using too little solder: Some people are afraid of using too much solder, so they apply only a little bit. Though the amount of solder isn’t the most important point, it’s better to apply enough solder to a solder joint so as to make sure it connects properly.

5. Afraid to heat the joint too much: You may worry about heating the board too much, so you try to solder the solder joint in less than a second to keep the circuit board from burning. However, you can damage some components by too much heat from the solder joint, but in the beginning it’s not something to worry about.

Through-Hole Components

Through-hole components are electronic components that have pins that go through the board. And you solder them on the other side of the board. Through-hole components have been used in the electronics industry for many, many years. But they are becoming less and less used. Instead, surface-mount components are taking over instead. The reason for this is that surface mount components take less space and require a simpler soldering process. At least it’s simpler for machines to do it – not humans.

But sometimes, maybe it’s better to use through-hole components instead of surface mount components. For example, if you are making a product that you are planning to mass-produce, then it’s a better idea to use surface mount technology. It will be cheaper in the long run. But if you want to make your first blinking light, then stick to through-hole. As long as you don’t have any strict space or cost requirements, then use through-hole when possible. The reason we promote through-hole over surface mount, is mostly because their easier to solder.

More info. about through-hole components, please visit www.epcb.com

How to Use SMD Components?

SMD components are severely tiny if you have never used them before. And the first time you want to solder one – you will probably start to doubt if you’re actually able to do it. But usually, it works out fine. 

SMD is short for surface-mount device. SMD components can take up much less space than the traditional through-hole components, that’s why most of the modern technology today is made with SMD components. 

With the surface mount technology, it’s also easier to mass-solder. You can solder a circuit with SMD components by baking it in an oven. A lot of the new integrated circuits are only available as surface mount.

You can solder SMD components either using a soldering iron, or using a reflow oven. To solder with a reflow oven, you place solder paste onto the pads before you place the components. Then you place the board in a reflow oven, which melts the solder paste and fastens the components.

Learn more, please visit www.epcb.com

PCB Recycling

With the fast rapid development of modern technology, electronic products are used everywhere in our daily life. But it has been the fastest growing waste streams in our country, and a bad fact is that most of this e-waste ends up in landfills and incinerators. Only less than 30 percent of total old electronic products were recovered for recycling. Such a shame, considering your old electronics are treasures of valuable materials that can be extracted, processed, and reused in a variety of products.

Some of the most valuable metals that can be recovered from electronics are hidden in what are known as their printed circuit boards (PCBs). It is the board base for physically supporting and wiring the surface-mounted and socketed components of an electronic device. PCBs are found in almost all types of electronics – from your computers, cell phones, and cameras to your DVD players, televisions, and even some toys. Simple electronic devices usually have single-layer PCBs, while complex ones like computer motherboards can have up to 12 layers.

More info. about recycling PCBs, please www.epcb.com

How Does Power Affect Soldering Irons?

When talking about the wattage of a soldering iron and whether it is enough or not, one really needs to vary from unregulated and regulated tools.

Unregulated soldering irons usually have a fixed wattage that is selected to fit the given size of the tool tip. For electrical and electronics works and small to medium sized tools (usually less than about 2 mm width) 30W should be sufficient. Issues arise when soldering large or highly thermal conductive components due to decreasing temperature of the tool tip.

As to regulated soldering irons, high power ratings mean in that case the ability of the tool to reach the desired temperature fast (e.g. come from stand-by temperature or during soldering of components) as well as the ability to solder components with a large thermal mass (e.g. ground planes or heat sinks) while maintaining the pre-set temperature.
You can learn more about soldering tools from www.epcb.com

Reflow Soldering

Reflow soldering is the modern mechanism for assembling most printed circuit boards today. It enables mass production at a very rapid rate by allowing placement of the components to be separated from the actual soldering process. This process is somewhat different from how somebody would solder by hand. When you’re hand soldering you’re treating one component individually and applying heat to each component at a time so the technique has to be a little bit different.

Reflow soldering is the most common method of attaching surface mount components to a circuit board, although it can also be used for through-hole components by filling the holes with solder paste and inserting the component leads through the paste. Because wave soldering can be simpler and cheaper, reflow is not generally used on pure through-hole boards. When used on boards containing a mix of SMT and THT components, through-hole reflow allows the wave soldering step to be eliminated from the assembly process, potentially reducing assembly costs.

The goal of the reflow process is to melt the solder and heat the adjoining surfaces, without overheating and damaging the electrical components. In the conventional reflow soldering process, there are usually four stages, called "zones", each having a distinct thermal profile: preheat, thermal soak, reflow, and cooling.

More info. about PCB soldering, pls visit www.epcb.com

Why and When to Use Reflow Soldering?

As a beginner, you may confuse why you would use reflow soldering, what are the pros and cons of this technique, and when would you favor it over other techniques? This article will explain them one by one in easy words. 

Reflow soldering techniques are often a very good choice for surface mount components. While most surface-mount boards can be assembled manually using a soldering iron and solder wire, the process is slow and the resultant boards can be unreliable. Modern PCB assembly facilities use reflow soldering exclusively for large-scale production, with pick and place machines putting the components onto the boards, which have had solder paste applied to the pads, and the whole process is automated.
More articles about soldering, please visit www.epcb.com

Common Soldering Mistakes

One common soldering job might be to put a connector on something like this. The copper that has been exposed to air for a long time forms an oxide layer on its surface and that oxide layer tends to disrupt the alloying process of soldering. So it’s important to be able to get rid of that oxide layer before you begin soldering.

There are two ways to do that. The first is to mechanically remove it. You can do that by using sand paper to abrade away the oxide, and the other way is to chemically remove it and for that. Begin by adding some rosin, placing it in your vice, and heating it with your iron. You will have a nicely tinned piece of copper when a smoke forms as the flux burns off. 

Now, if you try to do the same process with the oxidized copper, you’re going to run into trouble. As you heat the joint after adding the flux, your solder is still tries to find its way. That copper hasn’t been properly soldered and the reason for that is the oxides that have formed on its surface tend to disrupt that alloying process. So in order to make a better solder joint, what you need to do is to remove an oxide layer.

More about PCB soldering, please visit www.epcb.com

Basic Connector Terminology

Connectors are used to join subsections of prineted circuit boards together. Usually, a connector is used where it may be desirable to disconnect the subsections at some future time: power inputs, peripheral connections, or boards which may need to be replaced.

Mating cycles: Connectors have a finite life, and connecting and disconnecting them frequently can wear them out quickly. A USB connector may have a lifetime in the thousands or tens of thousands of cycles, while a board-to-board connector designed for use inside of consumer electronics may be limited to tens of cycles. It’s important that you select a connector with a suitable life for your application.

Mount: This one has the potential for being confusing. The term “mount” can refer to several things: how the connector is mounted in use (panel mount, free-hanging, board mount), what the angle of the connector is relative to its attachment (straight or right-angle), or how it is mechanically attached (solder tab, surface mount, through hole). 

Strain relief: When a connector mounts to a board or cable, the electrical connections tend to be somewhat fragile. It is typical to provide some kind of strain relief to transfer any forces acting on that connector to a more mechanically sound object than the fragile electrical connections.
More info. about PCB board components, pls. visit www.epcb.com

Soldering Irons

Soldering irons, a simple iron and a temperature-controlled one, need different wattages while working.

A 30-watt simple soldering iron is okay for modest electronics. Soldering ordinary through hole electronic components and thin wire, even the thin metal legs on direct current power plugs and sockets, should be fine.

While a temperature-controlled soldering iron needs much higher power than a simple iron, for example 80W or more. This allows it to maintain a relatively constant soldering temperature even it is being used at the same time, and heat parts with larger thermal conduction or capacity. It won't slow down an operator, and is a bit more flexible on what it can be used for than a simple iron. That is very important on a production line, or where a lot of soldering joints need to be made relatively rapidly. However, a simple iron is likely to drop too far below adequate soldering temperature, and slow the operator down which will cause boss much loss.

Learn more about soldering tools, pls visit www.epcb.com~

3 Need-To-Know Soldering Techniques

3 need-to-know soldering techniques when soldering on printed circuit boards are descibed as follows by EPCB: 

Soldering iron: This is the most basic of the soldering techniques. You use a soldering iron to heat the component leg and the pad, then apply solder.

Using an oven: It is also called reflow soldering. Basically, just like baking bread, you bake your board the same way in an oven. It’s a very common technique for soldering surface mount components quickly. The cool thing about using the reflow soldering technique is that the components have a tendency to place themselves correctly. This is really useful for soldering integrated circuits with very little space between the legs. For example if you place an integrated circuit a bit off its pads, when the solder melts it will often slide into the right place.

Hot-air soldering: Hot-air soldering is a way to melt the solder by blowing really hot air at an area of your circuit board. It looks a bit like a soldering iron. But instead of a hot iron, it blows hot air. This is really useful for doing circuit board rework, especially fixing soldering errors on a board. For example if you soldered the chip the wrong way. It’s a hassle to desolder a chip pin-by-pin. But by heating it with hot air, the solder on all the pins melt at the same time and you can move it into the correct position.

4 Simple Steps for Better PCB Board

Well begun is half done. To build a better  PCB board, the most important step is not soldering, drawing a schematic, debugging you circuit, etc., good planning is really crucial. You can drastically reduce the time you need to build electronic projects, and increase your chances of finishing the PCB board, if you invest a little bit of time in planning. 

4 simple steps to plan your circuit by EPCB are as follows. 

1. Idea generation: If you don’t know what you want to make, then browse through a few electronic blogs or search YouTube to find cool ideas. Also check out some of the free schematics websites.

2. Goal setting: Do you know what your goal is? Then write it down on a piece of paper and hang it somewhere where you will see it daily. This way, you will always be reminded of what you are trying to do.

3. The action plan: You decide for yourself what kind of plans you like to develop. For advanced electronic circuit design it is useful to start with a functional block diagram, then write down the main steps involved in finishing your project. With the main steps planned out, you should try to estimate the time you need for each step. 

4. Take persistent action: You have created a goal from your idea and an action plan to reach your goal. All that matters now is action. Work persistently with your action plan. Usually it takes a lot more time to finish a project than originally planned. Don’t get discouraged by this. Keep on working until you reach your goal.

What is RoHS Solder?

What is RoHS? RoHS stands for reduction of hazards substances and in case of soldering, that mainly means lead. Lead is a poisonous heavy metal which is toxic to humans, mostly due to ingestion. If you eat a lot of lead, you may get lead poisoning, and this is common in young children. 

Also, there has been a political push to make sure that less lead is getting into the environment and in order to do so, this RoHS program has been implemented all over Europe so that most the electronics sold there no longer contain lead. And so, it is necessary to use an alternative formulation, such as lead-free solder.

A lead-free solder comes in different formulations and here EPCB introduces one of the most common formulations, which is mostly tin. This is a 99% tin solder that has a melting point that is slightly higher than tin-lead solder, so it is a little bit more difficult to work with, but it can be used with standard soldering equipment.

You may find that it is easier to learn with the lead solder. However, if you have concerns about health; if you have young children in your household; you may simply want to move to the lead-free solder and learn how to work with that particular material. The melting point’s a little bit higher, so you may need to work with hotter soldering iron, you may need to increase the heating times, but for the most part you should get the same results as you would with leaded solder.

Soldering Components on a Stripboard

A stripboard is a circuit board with holes and printed strips of metal. These boards are a good way of connecting simple to medium complicated circuits. Beginners are highly recommended to use stripboards in the beginning because you can control your connections and relatively easy to fix errors.

Soldering components on a stripboard: On the back side of the stripboard you can see several strips of metal which connect the holes either vertically or horizontally. Firstly, place all the components on the stripboard according to the schematic. Try to use the connections already on the stripboard as much as possible. Always think through where you want to place the components before you start soldering. After placing a component, bend its leads to make it stay in place when you turn the stripboard around to solder. Solder all the components to the stripboard and make sure you have good solder joints all over.

You can build all kinds of circuits! But a circuit with many connections can become a real hassle when you are trying to figure out which wire goes to where. You can first make sure all the connections are correct on your computer, then do it as per your schematic.

Learn more, pls visit www.epcb.com

PCB Design Rules

When you design a printed circuit board, you need to follow the PCB design rules of your manufacturer. These rules are the limits of the machine that makes the circuit boards.

The rules we need to pay attention to are these:

Minimum trace width: The minimum trace width is the minimum width of your traces. So you have to make sure you draw your circuit board “wires” with a width of more than 0.1524 mm.

Minimum trace/ vias/ pads space: Outside each trace, via or pad needs some space. In this case it has to be at least 0.1524 mm. 

Minimum silkscreen width: The silkscreen is what we use to draw or write text on a circuit board. The width of the silkscreen has to be at least 0.1524 mm.

Drilling hole and finish hole: The drilling hole has to be between 0.3 mm and 6.35 mm. And the finish hole between 0.8 mm and 6.35 mm.

SMT minimum solder mask width: This is the minimum width of the solder mask. Solder mask is something that the solder doesn’t like to stick to. So it is around all pads to keep the solder on the pad. And in this case it has to be at least 0.1 mm.

Min solder mask clearance: The solder mask clearance is the space that is needed around the solder mask. 0.13 mm is better.
Learn more about PCB design tips, pls visit www.epcb.com

Soldering Tools That Make Your Life Easier

The soldering tools you need to get started with soldering are a soldering iron and some solder wire. But there are some other tools that will make your soldering much easier. Aside from the soldering iron and the solder wire, here are a few other useful tools that EPCB would recommend to have when soldering electronics.

Wet Sponge: A wet sponge is very useful for cleaning the tip of the soldering iron. The tip is hot so that it will oxidize very fast and get dirty. A clean tip transfers heat faster and makes your soldering easier. A sponge is so cheap, so you should always keep one together with your other soldering tools.

Tweezers: Tweezers are some very handy soldering tools. You use them to keep components in their place and to avoid burning your fingers when soldering. You can also use them for placing small surface mount components.

Solder sucker: The solder sucker is a mechanical vacuum pump that sucks the solder away from the solder joint when it is melted.

Solder wick: The solder wick is a tool you use for de-soldering. It is made up of copper threads that will “suck” the solder from the solder joint. The solder wick is used for removing small amounts of solder. 

Connector Basics

Connectors are used to join subsections of circuits together. Usually, a connector is used where it may be desirable to disconnect the subsections at some future time: power inputs, peripheral connections, or boards which may need to be replaced.

USB connectors come in two flavors: host and peripheral. In the USB standard, there is a difference between the two, and the connectors on cables and devices reflect this. However, all USB connectors will have some things in common: 

Polarization: A USB connector can only nominally be inserted one way. It may be possible to force a connector in wrong, but that result in damage to the device. 

Four contacts: All USB connectors have at least four contacts These are for power, ground, and two data lines. 

Robust power connection: It’s important for the power pins to make connection before the data lines, to avoid trying to power the device over the data lines. All USB connectors are designed with this in mind. 

Molded strain relief: All USB cables have plastic overmolding at the connector to prevent strain on the cable that could potentially damage the electrical connections.
More about connectors, you can leran from EPCB Blogs

Basic Connector Terminology

Connectors are used to join subsections of circuits together. Usually, a connector is used where it may be desirable to disconnect the subsections at some future time: power inputs, peripheral connections, or boards which may need to be replaced.

Gender- The gender of a connector refers to whether it plugs in or is plugged into and is typically male or female. Unfortunately, there are cases where a connector may be referred to as “male” when it would appear to be female.

Polarity- Most connectors can only be connected in one orientation. This trait is called polarity, and connectors which have some means to prevent them being connected wrong are said to be polarized.

Contact- Contacts are the business portion of the connector. They are the metal parts which touch each other, forming an electrical connection. This is also where problems occur: the contacts can become soiled or oxidized, or the springiness required to hold the contacts together may fade with time.

Pitch- Many connectors consist of an array of contacts in a repeated pattern. The pitch of the connector is the distance from the center of one contact to the center of the next. This is important, because there are many families of contacts which look very similar but may differ in pitch, making it difficult to know that you are purchasing the right mating connector.
More about connector, pls visit www.epcb.com

Basic Connector Terminology

Connectors are used to join subsections of circuits together. Usually, a connector is used where it may be desirable to disconnect the subsections at some future time: power inputs, peripheral connections, or boards which may need to be replaced.

Gender- The gender of a connector refers to whether it plugs in or is plugged into and is typically male or female. Unfortunately, there are cases where a connector may be referred to as “male” when it would appear to be female.

Polarity- Most connectors can only be connected in one orientation. This trait is called polarity, and connectors which have some means to prevent them being connected wrong are said to be polarized.

Contact- Contacts are the business portion of the connector. They are the metal parts which touch each other, forming an electrical connection. This is also where problems occur: the contacts can become soiled or oxidized, or the springiness required to hold the contacts together may fade with time.

Pitch- Many connectors consist of an array of contacts in a repeated pattern. The pitch of the connector is the distance from the center of one contact to the center of the next. This is important, because there are many families of contacts which look very similar but may differ in pitch, making it difficult to know that you are purchasing the right mating connector.
More about connectors, pls visit www.epcb.com

Electronics Kits for Kids

General electronic kits with numerous capabilities, LED lighting kits, circuit building kits and kits for teaching kids robotics are some of the different types of electronic kits available for kids. All of the different types of kits have options that range from inexpensive small starter packages with simple instructions for younger beginners up to more complex and expensive kits that allow advanced users to create larger projects. Kits for building specific items such as clocks or radios are also available.

LED cube kits, flickering flame lights, arcade game lights and blinking light sculptures are some of the many kits available for learning about electric lighting. Robotics kits are available to build rovers, vehicles and walking robots. Kids can build projects and watch them come to life as working toys.
More info, pls visit www.epcb.com

Simple Electronic Projects for Teens

Some of the best simple electronic projects for teens are those that involve light-emitting diodes, known as LEDs. These simple projects have a visual output that helps teenagers know that the project is working properly while they learn about electronics. Some other simple electronic projects for teens include remote control testers, dark and light sensors, and sound-activated switches. 

One of the simplest electronics projects for teens is a simple LED circuit that involves a battery, an LED and a current-limiting resistor. In this circuit, the battery powers the LED, turning it on. In order to work properly, the positive terminal of the battery must be connected to the LED anode while the negative battery terminal is connected to the LED cathode. This demonstration teaches teens how current flows in an electronic system. After mastering a simple LED circuit, teens can learn more by placing switches or additional components in the circuit.

Another simple electronic project for teens is a dark-sensing circuit that uses two transistors, a light-dependent resistor, an LED, a battery and several bias resistors. In this type of circuit, the LED will turn on when the light-dependent resistor is in a dark environment. Although this type of project is more complex than a simple LED circuit, it teaches teens how transistors and light-dependent electronic devices work.

More about LED PCBs, pls visit www.epcb.com

Short Circuits

Short circuits usually happen when a hot wire touches any of the other two wires in your fuse box. This causes extra current to flow through the circuit, which causes the circuit breaker to trip or the fuse to blow. However, this is not the only reason for short circuits to occur. There are many potential problems in electric circuits, such as faulty wiring, broken insulation, circuit overload, as well as defective plugs, switches, cords, and receptacles. One can take place in both direct and alternating current circuits.

Warning: Short circuits can be dangerous, as they can produce very high temperatures due to the high current flow through the circuit, which may cause the wire to explode and catch fire. This same principle is applied deliberately in the world of arc welding, which uses electricity to generate huge amounts of heat.

Safeguards: The use of safety fuses and circuit breakers, which disconnect the electricity in reaction to an excessive current, can often reduce the damage that a short circuit cause and are also helpful in isolating the exact location of the short circuit. If you suspect a short circuit has occurred, you can test this by turning on a switch or plugging in a particular electrical appliance. If doing so causes the lights in the rest of the house to go out, then it's a short.

More info., pls visit www.epcb.com

Circuit Tester

To use a circuit tester, begin by protecting yourself from electrical shocks by using a circuit tester with an insulated grip. Insert the probe into the main holes of the wall outlet, and monitor the voltage. After checking the amount of voltage, gently remove the probes from the power outlet. 

Before testing your circuit, ensure that your circuit tester is insulated. Hold the insulated part to protect yourself from all types of electrical shock. Most circuit testers come with insulated parts, but when checking the circuit, avoid touching the exposed metallic parts of the probe for additional security.

Then insert probes into each main hole of the wall outlet. It is not necessary to put probe into the ground if you have a probe on the outlet. Follow the directions given by the manufacturer when inserting the probes.

Finally, view the voltage indicator on the tester to monitor the amount of voltage coming from the outlet. The amount of voltage varies based on the type of outlet used. Failure to obtain enough voltage is a sign of electrical shorts or leakages. If you cannot obtain the required voltage, check your circuit to ensure the sufficient flow of power. After testing your circuit, remove the probes from the power outlet gently. Do not pull the probes harshly because they can stick in or tear a connector in the outlet.

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Tracing a Short Circuit

The term short circuit is often used to refer to a whole range of electrical issues and malfunctions. However, a short circuit occurs when a circuit is configured in a way that allows current to travel down an unintended path. Often, whatever wire or path the electrical current heads down is "short" in that it has a low electrical resistance. The sudden influx of so much current can result in a spark or a blown fuse.

To trace a short circuit, all the electrical switches should be turned off. All lights and other electric appliances should be unplugged. The tripped circuit breaker should be reset. After resetting the breaker, if it trips again immediately, there is a possibility of a short circuit in a receptacle or a switch. If the circuit breaker does not trip, turn on each switch until the breaker trips again. When the breaker trips upon turning on a particular switch, it is evident that there is a short circuit in a fixture or receptacle controlled by the switch.

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Soldering Problems

The ideal solder joint for through-hole components should have a wetting angle between 40 and 70 degrees from horizontal, and a smooth, shiny and concave surface. However, it’s really not easy to do. And we always face the following soldering problems.

Stray solder spatters: These bits of solder are held to the board only by sticky flux residue. If they work loose, they can easily cause a short circuit on the board. Fortunately, these are easy to remove with the tip of a knife or tweezers.

Lifted pad: Sometimes you can see a solder pad detached from its circuit board’s surface. This most often occurs when try to de-solder components from the board. The simplest way to repair is to fold the lead over to a still-attached copper trace and solder. Other alternatives are to follow the trace to the next via and run a jumper to there.  

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Common Soldering Problems

The ideal solder joint for through-hole components should have a wetting angle between 40 and 70 degrees from horizontal, and a smooth, shiny and concave surface. However, it’s really not easy to do. And we always face the following soldering problems.

Overheated joint: Sometimes we may have an overheated joint, and that is because the solder has not yet flowed well and the residue of burnt flux cause troubles in fixing this joint. Actually, we can prevent this issue by properly prepared, such as a clean and hot soldering iron, and clean joint timely. 

Too much solder: This might be a perfectly good joint, but it is entirely possible that a blob of solder wets neither the pin nor the pad and is not a reliable electrical connection. If it happens, to draw off some of the excess solder with the tip of a hot iron is a good method. In extreme cases, a solder-sucker or some solder wick can be helpful as well.

Untrimmed leads: Leads that are too long easily cause short circuits. It would not take much force to bend that lead over to touch an adjacent trace. However, it is not difficult to tackle this issue, just to trim all leads at the top of the solder joint.

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Bridge Rectifiers

A bridge rectifier is a specific arrangement of diodes that is most often used to convert an alternating current input into a direct current output. Because all electronics require direct current, bridge rectifiers are present in almost all types of electronics. Bridge rectifiers make use of a specific arrangement of at least four diodes configured into a bridge circuit, and they provide the same output polarity no matter the input polarity. Bridge circuits come in many different types, sizes and voltages, and are an essential part to the power supply of almost all electronics. Bridge rectifiers are lower in weight and cost than other products that perform the same task.
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PCB Advantages

Printed circuit board is one of the new wonders in the modern production of electronics parts. It is made of glass fabricated plastic with copper tracks that act as wire to which the components are attached. In order for components to be properly placed into the board, the production requires holes to be drilled on the board. PCB is soldered to create a stronger hold for the components. There are a variety of advantages of PCB, here EPCB lists four reasons for your reference.

Fixed PCB components: Printed circuit board has no complex wirings attached all over the board. Thus, it makes the circuit board a simple electronic part to use. Since the board components are fixed and easy to identify, it makes the board easy to maintain.

Less short circuits and wrong wirings: A PCB has minimal chance of short circuits and wrong wirings in its production since the copper tracks are embedded to the board.

Inexpensive: Creation of multiple circuit boards from one design is easy to do since it only needs to print the design and etch it in a copper board. It makes mass production much cheaper. One can save the schematic design and can reproduce it anytime that the board is needed.

Easy reproduction: As mentioned above, printed circuit boards are ideal for reproduction of multiple boards. Since it is computer generated, one can create uniform printed circuit boards using the same schematic layout. Thus, creating boards that are identical is effortless to make.