got a couple of scratches due to some dodgy cutter giving me problems, to my gut i say they arent a problem, but my gut doesnt know anything, how do they look and whats a good rule of thumb for rating scratches and how likely they are to cause issues
also due to my cutters ive pulled a couple of pads off!
if looking at the component side of the pcb (front?) its the right pin from R12 and the left pin from R13. Both pads from the back
to my untrained eye it looks as if those pads dont really go anywhere direct so im ok just making sure the front is secured?
im also guessing if a scratch connects two tracks its a big deal too
in terms of the pcb screen, i can understand what all the tracks are, but what are all the big blocks of darker space that alot of pads seem to land on, is that ground?
The darker spaces in your photo are the fiberglass panel that the copper traces and planes sit on top of. That doesn’t conduct electricity. The big yellow areas are the “ground plane” (or “fill”, after how you create them in the PCB design program) – all that, and all pads that connect to it, is at 0 V.
R12 and R13 are part of the PWM control. Ignore that, I thought it was the #1222 VCO but this seems to be something else.
If you think a scratch connects 2 tracks it shouldn’t then use a multimeter and measure whether there is indeed an unwanted connection.
It depends on the design of the pcb, but you often see that ground fills up all the space between the other tracks. Sometimes you see this on both sides of a pcb. From the picture you uploaded I gather Sam uses this in his designs too.
