Abstract: A printed circuit board that has a surface which bears a plurality of circuit board pattern, each pattern being served with at least one individual terminal. The printed circuit board is used for a method of determining the stabilized surface insulation resistance of the substrate of the printed circuit board. The circuit board patterns are spaced-apart so as to lie upon surface band regions extending lengthwise and widthwise of the surface of the printed circuit board, these surface band regions being different from one printed circuit board pattern to another. This arrangement of circuit board patterns results in a substantial surface of the board to be dominated by the patterns suitable for the test procedure.

Abstract: To determine the stabilized surface insulation resistance (SIR) of a printed circuit board substrate, a test printed circuit board is provided which has desirable clean surface conditions. This surface bears a predetermined circuit board test pattern and has a known SIR characteristic resulting in a known stabilized SIR. The test board is then subjected to a soldering step which is performed in the same in-line production with commercial boards. After the soldering step, the SIR characteristic of the soldered test board is determined for a time period sufficient for a comparison with the SIR characteristic of the clean test board to enable the stabilized SIR of the soldered test board to be determined.