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Off By One! DOH!

A project log for WITCH-E Decimal Based Computer

Document and create a modern replica of the Harwell Dekatron computer known as the WITCH

daves-dev-labDave's Dev Lab 11/20/2017 at 02:290 Comments

I ordered the new Pulse Generate a little over a week ago. It was due to arrive on Friday, but on Thursday night I woke up in the middle night in a state of panic that only Freddy Krueger could have generated. I just realized I had an "Off-By-One" error on the PCB for the Pulse Generator that would be arriving the next day. I HATE IT WHEN THIS HAPPENS! I found some time this evening to start the assembly of the Pulse Generator. One of the first items to address were the changes needed for my little mistake. I took an exacto knife and removed the three traces from the PCB. I personally like to remove the whole trace, one for the fact that it appeals to my OCD, and two as it gives me a strong visual clue that the board has been modified and exactly how it was modified. I carefully cut the trace on each end and then use the edge of the knife to pull up the trace. As you pull the trace up it will work back to connection point, and if you've scored it properly will stop there. There wasn't an "easy" way to add wire fixes for these traces so I just soldered them to the base of the connector. This connector has a lot of room at the base, so it won't interfere with the mating connector. This will teach me to order PCBs at 3am.... DOH!

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