TO: ALL WOOD COUNTY ARES MEMBERS (OFFICIAL)
ALL ARES AND NON-ARES AMATEURS ANYWHERE (INFORMATION)
FROM: KEN HARRIS WA8LLM ARRL DISTRICT 3 EMERGENCY COORDINATOR
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INC.
WOOD COUNTY ARES BULLETIN NR 18.06 DATE: February 11, 2018
SUBJECT: CHECK THE OBVIOUS FIRST
If something doesn't work the way it should when building or repairing it, look for obvious problems first. If whatever you are working on needs electric power, make sure there is power connected to it, or the batteries are good. If there is power going into the device, check to make sure the fuse is good, if it has one. Look for things that may be obvious such as a loose wire.
A lot of time can be wasted looking for a problem that may as obvious as the nose on your face. If it's a piece of electronic equipment that you just got through putting together, look for things you may have put in wrong. Look for transistors, diodes, and capacitors to make sure you didn't put them in backwards.
Look for traces on a printed circuit board that may be open. Make sure that wires which are attached to another part of the circuit are connected in the right place. Look for components that don't look right. They may be swelled up, cracked, or look burnt black. Look for cold solder connections.
Most of the time when you find the problem, and make it work, you will find that it was something obvious.
Written from experience.
Ken Harris WA8LLM
WCEC
Wood County WV