Bring-up checklist
The terse working form, revision 3, 12 steps. This is the version printed and stuck to the bench; the method page carries the why at length. Steps are in order and the order matters: cold before hot, passive before active.
RULE 1 Never raise the limit to make it work. RULE 2 Write the number down before you change anything.
| # | step | watching for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inspection under magnification | bridges, tombstones, wrong orientation, debris |
| 2 | Cold resistance, every rail to ground | supply disconnected; under ~100 Ohm is a short, stop |
| 3 | First power, current-limited, minimum population | limit ~2x expected idle; modules and cables off |
| 4 | Rail order and timing on the scope | all channels at once; check which rail may lead which |
| 5 | Clock presence at the pin that consumes it | frequency, amplitude, shape at the destination |
| 6 | Reset behaviour | release timing, bounce, brown-out retrigger |
| 7 | Strap verification, pin by pin | boot-mode pins against the schematic; moved up 2026-08-20 |
| 8 | Loader, then the console | no characters vs garbled characters are different diagnoses |
| 9 | Thermal pass in the enclosure | to the claimed maximum, sensor on the most sensitive part |
| 10 | Peripheral walk, one at a time | exercise each alone, note the current draw |
| 11 | Soak, unattended, in the enclosure | minimum 24 h; free air does not count |
| 12 | Write-up before the bench is cleared | tables filled, dashes where unmeasured, outstanding stated |
A step with a dash in its result column was not reached, not passed; the checklist is also the record. The same list is in checklist.json if you want to print your own.