I just heard something very interesting indeed. My friend Rick Curl emailed to tell me about a printed circuit board (PCB) repair company he recently discovered.
It seems that one of Rick’s friends called him, saying she had a built-in microwave and conventional oven combo with a failed circuit board. She had already called several appliance repair companies, but the best price she could find was $1,500, and that was only “if” they could find a replacement board, which is when she turned to Rick.
Rick did some research and found the Circuit Board Medics. As he told me, “I like these guys! They repaired her board in 24 hours, offered a 5-year warranty, and charged her only $200!”
I did a bit of rooting around myself and learned that Circuit Board Medics was founded in 2010 in Greenville, South Carolina, as a specialized circuit board repair and remanufacturing company. From humble beginnings (reportedly from a simple washing machine circuit board repair in a garage), the company has grown into a mission-driven team focused on fixing electronics rather than replacing them.
Their core philosophy is rooted in repair over replacement, which is especially valuable today when many electronic control modules in vehicles, appliances, and industrial systems are expensive or hard to obtain. By repairing boards at a component level, they help customers save money, reduce waste, and avoid unnecessary downtime.
Circuit Board Medics specializes in diagnosing and repairing a wide range of electronic modules, including but not limited to the following:
- Automotive instrument clusters, ECUs/PCMs, and other control modules.
- Appliance control boards (ovens, refrigerators, washers, etc.).
- Commercial truck and industrial electronics.
- Specialty modules for tractors, RVs, motorcycles, and more.
- Even hard-to-repair elements like BGA rework or wire bond replacements.
Since opening, the company has expanded to serve customers worldwide, maintaining rapid turnaround times, thorough testing, and a reputation for strong communication and service. They emphasize that they don’t just repair boards; instead, they strive to fix the root cause of failures, often making their repaired boards last even longer than new replacements.
When I saw that they boast a 5-star rating based on 37,000+ customer reviews, I was moved to peek at their About Us page. I can see why Rick likes them so much. These are our sort of folks. All I can say is that if I didn’t already have a job, I wouldn’t mind working for Circuit Board Medics myself!
There’s more to this story: When I sent them the parts to be repaired, it was simpler to send the entire front panel assembly, which consisted of a metal rail with three PCB’s behind it. During return shipping one of the boards came loose from its plastic clips and slid sideways, knocking an electrolytic capacitor off one of the other boards. Unfortunately, it tore the pads off the PCB. I could have repaired it with some glue and a couple jumper wires, but I was concerned that I would void the warranty on their repair. I called them to explain what had happened, half expecting to have a fight on my hands. Instead, the person I spoke with was very apologetic and concerned. He assured me they would take care of it at no cost. Within minutes I had a prepaid OVERNIGHT return label in my inbox. They sent the returned (repaired) board the same day via OVERNIGHT return shipping. I installed the assembly and the rest is history. The owner of the oven is a happy camper (me too!).
This is the type of thing that sets great companies apart — I once had an extremely positive experience with HP — this was in the early 1980s — and I’m still bragging on them about it to this day!!!