Repairing some broken PCB traces...heard of using defogger repair kit??

Question

Why do you use a defogger repair kit?? I basically burn the heck out of some traces on my PCB and will have to replace them....is it cheaper to get the defogger kit or get some copper from Radio Shack. Thanks

Answer 1

Defogger repair kits are basically a conductive paint. The idea here is to draw or paint a conductive path on the PCB to replace the burnt copper trace.

For a small opening in a trace you can usually bridge the gap with solder and a short piece of solid wire.  26 AWG  Wire wrap wire is good for this and you can use it to make a jumper connecting the ends of a longer burnt out section.

If you have burnt traces as badly as you say I hope you are only dealing with a one or two sided PCB.   Complex PCB's may have multiple internal layers of conductive pathways that are not easily accessed and if damaged are pretty much unrepairable without having detailed drawings of tegh PCB traces