If you're replying to me you misunderstood me. Mythbusters gets a very obvious result in a relatively quick period of time because bacteria doesn't take long to grow in a culture.Originally Posted by jb143
Now, if Frankie uses a multimeter (which may or may not be useful depending where you put the 'trodes; after all only parts of the surface of a contact will be pitted and corroded) that'd put it in line with, say, the bathtub electrocution experiment. Otherwise, though, this was just going to be "eyeballing it."
Anyhow, some random thoughts:
Blue Lander, I can't imagine the isopropyl is leaving a noticable residue. Most likely you aren't cleaning it enough to clear off all the dirt - I find I have to use a few q-tips per side of a dirty NES cartridge to get it somewhat clean. Other possibilities are applying it with something that's not clean (I bet you a washcloth will leave some garbage behind) or not using actual 99% isopropyl.
Washing a PCB can be safe so long as you are able to get everything dry - which is actually harder than it sounds as many chips are socketed or whatnot. I have done with with a number of PCBs, from Genesis 2 mainboards to a few arcade boards. I haven't washed anything in a dishwasher though - all by hand under a faucet with no soap. It tends to leave waterspots but it's much better than having lots of dirt all over stuff.
Of course there are lots of potential pitfalls - damaging the PCB with heat at any point in the process, from washing it to blow-drying it, is a big possibility.
The key reason washing PCBs is considered "safe" by many while blowing on NES cartridges isn't is that you must repeatedly blow on a NES cartridge and you don't clear off the moisture.
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