cut traces......... repair? copper strip? material?

I have a circuit pcb from a console that has been modified by cutting many traces and would like to repair to normal. What type of material is out there for this job? copper strip, trace pen....? any help???

Resistor leg trimmings come in handy for things like this.

Or tinned copper wire if you are out of resistors! 

Yes, if I run out of component clippings (or the current demands it) I use a piece of earth conductor pulled from a 1.5mm lighting circuit cable.

For low current requirements, wire wrap wire works well.
Best,
Bruno2000

i usually just scratch off a little of the protective coating on either side of the lead and use some thin hookup wire (depending on how thick the trace is)  That way its protected by the insulation should it be in close proximity to something else.

I recall from the way back machine, that somebody used to sell adhesive backed copper foil, so you could literally replace traces, but I will second what everybody else is saying, small gauge solid hook-up wire, similar to thru hole component leads is fine. For longer connections, small gauge insulated wire.

In a console, I would be careful to replicate the original layout as closely as possible since small changes could make a significant difference in things like fader kill, crosstalk, etc.


JR

Stained Glass craft stores have adhesive backed copper foil in many widths.

I recently tried to repair a few pads that were cold soldered and the pads came off.  :-[ I was able to fix it using stripped out hook up wire to connect the leads together but I was wondering how people feel about CircuitSealer pens. Do they work ok? Any experience with these type of circuit pens? Could I have just re-drawn the pads with these things?

Thanks

ding said:

I recently tried to repair a few pads that were cold soldered and the pads came off.  :-[ I was able to fix it using stripped out hook up wire to connect the leads together but I was wondering how people feel about CircuitSealer pens. Do they work ok? Any experience with these type of circuit pens? Could I have just re-drawn the pads with these things?

Click to expand...

It's a lot easier to use 30 AWG or 28 AWG wire, soldered to the chip/part pins, and held down with LocTite Tac Pac.

-a

I don't know what is the conductive element in a circuit sealer pen.

Do they spec a resistance?

I would suggest using real wire and perhaps some adhesive to provide mechanical strength. For TH components you might even want to secure the component on the top side so it doesn't stress and re-injure the repair.

JR

JohnRoberts said:

small gauge solid hook-up wire, similar to thru hole component leads is fine. For longer connections, small gauge insulated wire.

Click to expand...

I've done the same.

0,6 mm (0,28mm²) solid tinned copper with PVC insulation 0,3 mm (1000VAC) to be perfectly exact. Works fine even for most SMD repairs and I strip the insulation off where necessary.

Here's an example use that goes somewhat beyond hardcore: http://www.michaelkingston.fi/files/studiomaster-wiring.jpg

(a combination of missing or peeled off traces and modifications with that green wire)

For doing relatively short-length "fixes", for many years I've been using the individual solid-core insulated wires found in CAT 5/6 computer cable.  That particular cable is used for 10BaseT Ethernet computer networking inside the walls and ceilings of buildings.  It is different from the commonly seen "patch cable" which uses stranded conductors.

Almost always, the cable is "plenum rated" to meet building Fire Codes, and that means the plastic insulation is heat resistant, so it won't easily melt when soldering.

The cable contains 4 pairs (8 insulated conductors) each with a unique color code.  Each conductor is 24 AWG (approx 0.5 mm) in one solid piece.  The wire is bare copper under the insulator, but it is no big deal to tin the copper after you strip the insulation.

Bri

a few months ago i rebuild a trident 80b aux master section that had traces that were completely burned off. I suspect this came from hot swapping modules. Anyway long story short. I just used hookup wire to jumper the burned off traces... worked like a charm.

I used to use a repair kit from Pace called Thermobond CIR-KIT. It includes various pads and traces that can be thermally bonded to the pcb. You need the specific Pace solder station to use the flat faced tips, but I suppose you could make something else work. The kit also includes barrel replacements for fixing vias of through hole components. I used this method to repair audio equipment under avionics regulations. We have this kit at my new job, but haven't needed to use it, it's easier to use jumper wires.