Board Revision
A board revision is the new version code given when the schematic or the printed circuit board layout of the same product changes. Codes such as Rev A, Rev B are printed on the board; this is the basis for tracking which board works with which software version and which bill of materials.
The revision code links three documents to one another: the printed circuit board file, the bill of materials belonging to that revision, and the firmware version compatible with that hardware. When this link is not established, it cannot be known what behaviour a board coming back from the field ought to show.
- It must be visible on the board: the revision code written in silkscreen is read at a glance when the enclosure is opened.
- A small change is also a revision: even if only a single resistor value changes, the behaviour may have changed; the code is advanced.
- Software compatibility: if the pin assignment has changed, old software drives the wrong output on the new board. For this reason a compatibility table is kept.
Its value in terms of technical support is this: when a problem is reported from the field, the first thing asked is the board revision and the software version. Once these two are known, whether the problem is a known issue or a new situation can be distinguished within minutes.
The context in which this term is used: Our Services