Abstract: Printed circuit board (PCB) apparatus comprising an apertured ground plane defining aperture pattern/s in the ground plane, each aperture pattern including apertures which, taken together, surround most but not all of SMT footprint/s and are interspersed with ground plane region/s which provide/s the SMT component with electrical connectivity to area/s of said ground plane other than said SMT footprint, thereby to maintain functionality of the SMT component including electrical connectivity between said SMT footprint and area/s of said ground plane other than said SMT footprint, while also slowing heat dissipation from the SMT footprint by restricting thermal conductivity between said area and said area's vicinity thereby to raise the temperature in the SMT footprint while a SMT component is being soldered thereto, thereby to at least partly prevent improper soldering of the SMT component which may cause the SMT component to subsequently detach from the board.

Abstract: Printed circuit board (PCB) apparatus comprising an apertured ground plane defining aperture pattern/s in the ground plane, each aperture pattern including apertures which, taken together, surround most but not all of SMT footprint/s and are interspersed with ground plane region/s which provide/s the SMT component with electrical connectivity to area/s of said ground plane other than said SMT footprint, thereby to maintain functionality of the SMT component including electrical connectivity between said SMT footprint and area/s of said ground plane other than said SMT footprint, while also slowing heat dissipation from the SMT footprint by restricting thermal conductivity between said area and said area's vicinity thereby to raise the temperature in the SMT footprint while a SMT component is being soldered thereto,thereby to at least partly prevent improper soldering of the SMT component which may cause the SMT component to subsequently detach from the board.