Most unpopulated/useless PCB

[gertux]

Everybody who takes apart electronics stuff knows that often there are unpopulated footprints on PCB's, but when I took apart my Philishave C242 yesterday I found the most unpopulated/useless production PCB I ever stumbled upon.

Anybody seen something like this before or even worse ?

[P90]

It's cheaper for them to manufacture one design and use it for various models, populating the pcd as needed for more features on higher models.

[stj]

having messed with those myself, i can enlighten you.
your missing a philips led bargraph i.c., a bunch of led's, a nicad battery, and a bunch of passives to charge it.
 

[P90]

having messed with those myself, i can enlighten you.
your missing a philips led bargraph i.c., a bunch of led's, a nicad battery, and a bunch of passives to charge it.
 

yup, you have to pay extra for those upgrades...    :-)

[gertux]

@stj
thanks for the info about the missing parts, but I won't add them to my trimmer 

@P90
Yep I know why they do this, i just never saw it in this extreme, not one component populated apart from the switch 


I just wondered if there were more (extreme) examples.

[stj]

well they could have skipped the pcb and hotglued the switch! 

[P90]

well they could have skipped the pcb and hotglued the switch! 

LOL
I'm surprised the bean counters didn't

[buck converter]

Once took apart a remote for an rc helicopter that never seemed to work. Maybe because half the board was not populated