Motherboard traces to nowhere?

[larrymoencurly]

I have an MSI Z68A-G43 (G3) motherboard with an Asmedia ASM1083 PCI-E to PCI bridge chip with 2 signal traces that each go into a serpentine for about 2" and then just end, without being connected to anything. These traces are on opposite sides of the circuit board, and actually they aren't even connected to their chip because the jumper positions for them are empty (no even pins soldered in). Also each serpentine trace is surrounded by a pair of copper traces that aren't connected at either end. How do such surrounding traces help when they're not connected to anything at either end?

I can't find a datasheet or even pinout for this chip, but what's normally the purpose of circuit traces like this? Is it for measuring the capacitance of the circuit board material, to adjust the signal timing?

[ratdude747]

Re: Motherboard traces to nowhere?

looks like an antenna almost.

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: Motherboard traces to nowhere?

Yep, and the jumpers read SIM1 SIM2... that could be a GSM antenna. Don't ask me what it's doing on a *desktop* motherboard tho.

[kc8adu]

Re: Motherboard traces to nowhere?

like said antenna will work well against metal and inside a metal case.

[selldoor]

Re: Motherboard traces to nowhere?

I have an "out of the box" suggestion - out of my mind some would say!!
To me it looks like a snake and in Canada they have a mystical pagan sea serpent called Msi-Kinepeikwa .
Perhaps Msi have adopted this as a good luck symbol to protect it from bad capacitors.
Anyone know if it appears on any othe MSI boards?