Hi Chaps,
I was wondering if any of you have plugged in some things with reverse polarity and typically where I should start looking for the blown components.
firstly I have a G-OSD that I managed to plug in backwards at the field and it released the magic smoke.
there are a couple of components that look like they got pretty hot but I am unable to test them because I have never faulted anything this small before.
then I just did a really dumb thing and wired the plug for a lipo powered 12v supply backwards and powered up my little SD card DVR with it and this too released the magic smoke.
As I seem to have the same problem on both bits of kit I figured I'd try and find out if there is any way to trouble shoot these IC boards before I throw them in the bin.
I have basic test tools, and multi meter, and I have a tiny little 10w soldering iron which is small enough to re attach surface mount components.
both the things I have powered up backwards work to an extent, the G-OSD will power up and light up if I use my USB programming cable ( I had re-flashed it) and the DVR LED's light up if I plug in a USB lead from a PC, I haven't tested if video goes through it when powered up from usb yet, I will try that later. but these facts lead me to believe that only the input side of things is toast and as a result probably only a couple of things have gone pop.
I am particularly interested in what sort of things I should look for and how I test voltage regulators.
any ideas would be really appreciated.
This isn't about the money, it is about the satisfaction of not throwing something away.
many thanks
Steve