Tech Tip #13 - Power Supply Distribution.
There are too many times when people measure all the voltages on the Power Supply Card and see that everything is perfect, but the machine still has a fault present....
There are a LOT of things that can happen to wiring, pins & connectors in between the Power Supply and all the cards that it provides power to.
Loose connectors, poorly crimped pins, corrosion and burn out are all culprits that can reduce (or remove) voltages on your MPU, Driver & Sound cards.
While the Power supply might have 5v or 12v leaving it, it doesn't mean the mpu (& other) boards are receiving the FULL 5v or 12v ;-)
It's always best to measure on each of the boards, as most boards have their own voltage regulators and associated components which can fail to..
Also be aware that measuring the "test points" on a board can also be misleading, it may well be an accurate 5v, but there's also a lot of things that can alter the voltage before it goes to the logic IC's, CPU and PIA chips...
Measuring the test point is a good "first point" to look at (you can quickly see if volts are there or not),
But, you should then follow up by measuring the voltage pins on the chips on your board.
Refer to my previous Tech Tip about measuring IC pins in sockets.....
MM.
Tech Tips are brought to you by me, and are aimed to assist beginners and advanced users.
Common sense is sometime so common that everyone ignores it ;-)
