When a hole is not a hole......

[DutchMF]

Hey guys,

Received my last batch of boards yesterday, and noticed that on my Boneyard on one of the pads for R11 the hole is closed up. Would it be safe to drill this with my Dremel, or would that most likely ruin the pad?

Paul

[oldhousescott]

That's a plated through-hole, but it only connects to the circuit on one side, so if you're careful, you can drill it out. Maybe run the drill in reverse so it won't pull up the pad? And you'll want to solder both sides to ensure connection.

[madbean]

Very sorry to hear that. I have seen that happen once or twice, but very very rarely. Does it appear to be closed from the top to bottom, or is it just filled in a little? You may be able to poke through it with a resistor lead. Drilling would be okay if you use a small enough bit and are very careful.

If something goes wrong let me know and I will send you a replacement.

[DutchMF]

Thanks for the offer Brian, but I'm gonna try to make this work first. I tried poking through with a resistor lead, but that didn't work. Here're some pics, never knew my camera could zoom so close!
Front:

Back:

I'm tempted to try drilling, but as it's a connection to ground, I could also leave the resistor leads a bit longer and connect it to the pad of C13 that goes to ground. Let me know what you think. BTW, also got two mudbunny boards, that layout is a work of art!

Paul