Reconstructing a schematic from a bare board
Notes on tracing an undocumented RF board back to a usable schematic without lifting components.
Method
Photograph both sides at high resolution, align them, and work net by net rather than component by component. Nets are what the schematic is made of; components just hang off them.
What tripped me up
Ground pours hide connectivity. Anything that looks like an isolated net is worth a continuity check before you believe it.
Next
Sweep each stage now that the topology is known, and compare against the expected gain profile.