My responses:

	1. Change the board if a good one is available.
	2. Substitute socketed ICs or test them with an IC tester.
	3. Ask them how much they will be willing to pay for the repair cost  
to see if it worth it from now on.
	4. The repair cost will depend on the board documentation 
availability and the urgency of the repair.

	Mark Jordan


On 14 Jan 2007 at 19:14, Dennis Crawley wrote:

> Dario, Vasile and Mark Thanks for the input. (I forgot the [OT] label!)
> ..by friday i'll tell you how this ends.
> 
> Vasile Surducan wrote:
> > They gave you a very good question.
> > A few years ago I repaired a Kodak laboratory equiped with 4 or 5
> > pieces of 68000 processors which communicate between over a time
> > multiplexed serial bus.
> > I haven't complete documentation and the guy who service the tool
> > asked to the owner an equivalent of $3000 for exchanging the
> > damaged board.
> > I've sit (really sit on the floor) two fully days with an
> > oscilloscope, a sheet of paper and a pencil. After two days the
> > problem was solved with only $800.
> > I admit my nose help me always with those problems.
> > 
> > So the question was good and the answer could be:
> > 1. drop it to the garbage, it's time for new devices here
> > 2. pay me enough to reverse engineer the board and find the
> > schematic, then I'll be able to solve your problems.
> > 
> > greetings,
> > Vasile
> > 
> > On 1/14/07, Dennis Crawley <dennis.crawley@usa.net> wrote:
> >> Hi all.
> >> I'll have the last job interview this week, this time with an
> >> engineer. They make and sale instruments which determine
> >> components at molecular and atomic level.
> >> They want me at two areas, networking administration and technical
> >> services.(U$S 1000, 8hrs, Argentina)
> >> In that last interview they will give me a PCB board (15"x7") 
> >> with this question:
> >> "What would you do, if the problem is here".
> >> I have a glance of one  of many boards last week, (very short
> >> glance), and I saw a
> >> 68000 microprocessor, a lot of buffers like 74C244/5, 4 very
> >> populated connectors, and 4 or 5 PALs.
> >> I want to know if this is a normal interview, just because I have
> >> a nephew who is magician.... Perhaps he can do the job better
> >> than I can. 
> >> 
> >> No diagrams?
> >> 
> >> I would appreciate any comment.
> >> 
> >> Dennis Crawley
> 
> 
> 
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