The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

en-US us RSS Website Apple
Chris Gammell and Dave Jones' voices span the chasm of thousands of miles each and every week to speak to each other and industry experts about where the field of electronics is moving. Whether it be a late breaking story about a large semiconductor manufacturer, a new piece of must-have test equipment or just talking through recent issues with their circuit designs, Chris and Dave try to make electronics more accessible for the listeners. Most importantly, they try and make the field of electronics more fun. Guests range from advanced hobbyists working on exciting new projects up through C-level executives at a variety of relevant and innovative companies. Tune in to learn more about electronics and then join the conversation! Visit The Amp Hour website for our back catalog of 150+ episodes.
Website Apple RSS
Episodes
51
Transcripts
1
2% coverage
Missing Transcripts
50
With Chapters
0

Episodes

Published 2026-05-07

#723 – BeagleBoard’s Back with Jason Kridner

70 min
Open

Welcome back, Jason Kridner!

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2026-04-22

#722 – AI Tooling with Matt Liberty and Luke Beno

69 min
Open

Welcome back Matt Liberty (Joulescope) and Luke Beno (Werewolf.us)

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2026-04-08

#721 – Chip Design for Fun (and Waffles) with Julia Desmazes

59 min
Open

Welcome Julia Desmazes of Tales on The Wire

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2026-04-01

#720 – Hyper Growth and OpenClaw Interns

61 min
Open

  • Canonical (the makers of Ubuntu) acquired Golioth, meaning Chris is moving from a 12-person startup to an organization of over 1,200 people
  • Dave found this chart of Canonical products on wikipedia to be useful
  • An increase in professional travel from zero weeks to six weeks per year following the acquisition, including “sprints” in cities like London
  • The naming convention for Ubuntu releases (Year.Month) and the importance of Long Term Support (LTS) versions for backporting security vulnerabilities
  • Ubuntu Core’s role in embedded Linux devices, utilizing an immutable kernel and “snaps” for field update
  • Dave believes he influenced the Emergency Situation Surcharge at DHL after asking why it is still happening
  • Dave’s transition to a “Hipster Dave” persona, complete with a secondhand Mac and a goatee
  • The implementation of OpenClaw, a scripting service that interfaces with LLMs to act as an “automated intern” for repetitive administrative tasks
  • Chris really likes this video showing how to use OpenClaw
  • Using OpenClaw to automate forum registration approvals to combat high volumes of bot activity
  • The security implications of AI agents, emphasizing that they should be treated like interns with limited access to sensitive data and separate accounts
  • ARM released its first physical server chip, measuring approximately 70mm, marking a shift from a pure IP company to a hardware competitor.
  • The Super Micro CEO smuggling scandal, where the founder was accused of smuggling $2.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips.
  • The Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and its requirement for nearly all CE-marked electronic products to be updatable by December 2027.
  • Potential impacts of the CRA on one-time programmable (OTP) devices and the necessity of maintaining firmware support for five years post-product life.
  • SpaceX’s plans for a “Terafab” a manufacturing facility ten times larger than a Gigafactory designed to verticalize the entire supply chain from silicon wafers to final packaging.
    • Editor’s note: despite cool tech stuff happening, Elon is…so lame.
  • NASA’s cancellation of the Lunar Gateway project in favor of a direct path to establishing a moon base within the next five to seven years.
  • Pop culture recommendations including the series For All Mankind and The Expanse, along with the book Delta V.
Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2026-03-20

#719 – Inventing the Power MOSFET with Alex Lidow

65 min
Open

Alex is founder and CEO of Efficient Power Conversion, a leading manufacturer of GaN MOSFET’s.

Alex is also the inventor of the original Power MOSFET and HEXFET at International Rectifier.
Also, former CEO of International Rectifier (founded by his father!),
https://epc-co.com
We cover everything from inventing the power MOSFET on his first day on the job to silicon physics, AI data centres and humanoid robots. Enjoy.

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2026-03-11

#718 – Layout Review with Zachariah Peterson

60 min
Open

Welcome Zachariah Peterson of Northwest Engineering Solutions!

  • Zach listed the various places people can find his work, including
  • Zach mentions that he has been creating video content and seminars for several years, traveling to places like Denmark to teach high-speed design. 01:10
  • They discuss the recent acquisition of Altium by Renesas and how the company is trying to balance enterprise features with the needs of individual users. 03:15
  • He notes that the pricing for professional design software has recently become more accessible for freelancers and consultants. 11:15
  • He suggests that learning the fundamentals of EMC is one of the best ways for an engineer to become more valuable in the industry. 14:00
  • He warns against relying solely on semiconductor data sheets for EMC guidance because they often contain outdated or incorrect information. 18:45
  • They talk about the massive costs and delays that happen when a product fails its initial testing runs in a lab. 21:00
  • Zach shares how his background in applied physics and lasers made it easier for him to transition into high-speed RF and digital design. 25:15
  • He explains that he relies on mental models and specialized software tools more than solving complex equations by hand on a daily basis. 27:00
  • He stresses the importance of understanding the physical manufacturing process, such as how circuit boards are pressed and laminated. 30:00
  • They discuss the common problem of engineers over-specifying expensive materials when a cheaper option would work perfectly fine. 32:45
  • Zach predicts that the most useful AI tools will eventually be built directly into existing PCB design software rather than living in separate browser tabs. 35:30
  • He shares how he uses AI to quickly find generic part numbers, which saves him a lot of tedious manual searching. 42:00
  • He compares different AI design tools, noting that some generate schematics from data sheets while others use proven building blocks. 46:30
  • He describes an internal tool he is building to help him search through and reuse circuitry from his own past projects. 49:30
  • He admits he isn’t a fan of code-based schematics because he prefers graphical tools and doesn’t consider himself a professional coder. 51:00
  • He tells the story of how his popular one-minute design reviews started as a spontaneous way to manage the many requests he receives on LinkedIn. 54:00
  • He points out that many designers fail to use their software’s built-in design rule checks, leading to thousands of avoidable errors. 58:45
  • They talk about the decline of mentorship in the industry and the risk of companies losing important tribal knowledge as senior engineers retire. 61:15
  • Zach shares his goals for the coming year, including a deeper focus on manufacturing nuances and advanced EMC testing standards. 66:00
  • He encourages engineers of all levels to attend industry conferences like PCB West and DesignCon to learn directly from experts. 70:00
  • They conclude the episode by sharing where listeners can find more of his technical articles and videos online. 1:02:30
Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2026-03-04

#717 – Back on the road in ’26

59 min
Open

  • Chris will be having a meetup in London March 8th, 2026 click here for more info. He will also be at Embedded World the following week at various events.
  • Dave is also headed to a meetup in Sydney that he has presented at in the past.
  • The “lazy man move” for meetup organizers: scheduling events within walking distance of home to simplify travel logistics.
  • Chris provides details on his latest high-density hardware project, a 22mm circular board packed with 0201 components, Bluetooth, and a suite of sensors, noting a move from BGA to QFN for better assembly reliability.
  • There is significant skepticism regarding “solid-state transformers” and tech articles claiming they will replace the traditional power grid, with the hosts citing efficiency losses that become massive at megawatt scales.
  • A fascinating look into global supply chains reveals how a single AI prompt can be traced back through layers of manufacturing to sugarcane fermentation and high-purity quartz mines in Spruce Pine, North Carolina.
  • The creeping normalization of biometric face scanning in public spaces, from water park lockers to international airport terminals.
  • The marketing tactics behind Donut Lab’s solid-state battery claims, explaining how “independent third-party testing” can be carefully hand-picked to avoid industry standards. They want us  to talk about it like this
  • The nuances of UL certification explains how companies sometimes use specific lab reports to imply broader official endorsements that do not actually exist.
  • Dave shares his experience watching the show Silicon Valley with his son and discusses the “hideous accuracy” of the Australian public service comedy Utopia.
  • The pros and cons of modular hardware are debated, covering the Framework laptop’s “Ship of Theseus” repairability model versus high-end gaming tablets like the Asus ROG Flow Z13.
  • Dave’s viral social media quest for the best Linux distribution leads to a consensus on Linux Mint as the top choice for beginners, fueling the ongoing joke about the “Year of the Linux Desktop”.
  • Recent industry news highlights the release candidate for KiCad 10 and the discovery of a three-cent Paduk microcontroller performing auxiliary functions inside Rode wireless microphones.
  • Pimoroni did extreme an cooling project back in 2024 that successfully overclocked the RP2350 microcontroller to 800 MHz. We just found out about it from a post from Jeff Geerling.
Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2026-02-26

#716 – Electronics Manufacturing History with David Ray

62 min
Open

Thanks to our sponsor for this episode, SeaSats! Check out their open positions making autonomous ocean vehicles.

Welcome David Ray of Cyber City Circuits

• The “Retro Electro” Series: David explains his passion for writing historical articles for Digi Key, focusing on “giants” like Orstead whose contributions to electricity are often overlooked.
• Career Background: David details his path from Marine Corps radio repair to cash register and Motorola radio repair.
• Starting the Business: In late 2019, David cashed in his retirement to buy pick-and-place machines and start his own factory.
• Teaching the First Lady: David recounts the story of teaching First Lady Jill Biden how to solder during a summer camp.
• Growth via Twitter: For the first few years, 95% of his revenue came from relationships built on Twitter (X).
• The Kit Business: David discusses his “Soldering Kit of the Month” program, noting that while fun, the kit business is exhausting and low-margin.
• Equipment & Machines: A discussion on why he uses Charm High machines and his strong advice to buy new equipment rather than used industrial machines, which are often sold because they are “used up”.
• Stencils & Paste: David advocates for framed stencils and GC10 solder paste, which is shelf-stable and prevents cold solder joints.
• Soldering Physics: Insights into the thermodynamics of soldering, especially the difficulty of working with 2 oz copper boards.
• John Fluke History: David previews his research on John Fluke, explaining that Fluke meters became yellow because the Navy had trouble finding gray ones on the ground.
• Upcoming Articles: David mentions future work on the history of Op-amps and strain gauges.
• Business Services: Overview of Cyber City Circuits’ services, including reverse engineering, obsolescence engineering, and free DFM (Design for Manufacturing) consulting.
• Success Philosophy: David shares his “Monopoly mindset,” viewing business setbacks as “chance cards,” and stresses that persistence is the only way to avoid failure.

Links from David

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2026-02-10

#715 – Shiny New Pebble with Eric Migicovsky

58 min
Open

Welcome Eric Migicovsky of Pebble!

  • Pebble is back after Eric worked with Google to open source PebbleOS and he reaquired the naming rights
  • Eric returns to the hardware space after 7 years, including working at yCombinator, a famous accelerator for early stage startups, and on Beeper, a cross platform app for messaging.
  • While discussing the difficulties of hardware project, Chris brought up a recent post about a high wattage lamp project HN
  • One thing Eric likes about hardware projects vs software is that “hardware projects can be done” as in they have a defined end state
  • A more recent project is a smart ring – The Index 01.
  • The non-replaceable battery is driven by the product specs, also the need for reliability
  • The ring doesn’t immediately need to be in range of a phone, it syncs the memory after the fact
  • Pebble is no longer a VC backed startup with a subscription model, so that changes a lot of constraints
  • Initially they sold 2 million watches, and 250 million in sales
  • Eric is driven by “gadgets”. He read “pen computing” and “popular mechanics” as a kid
  • Consumer companies vs other types (and why Eric likes the former)
  • Pebble went through different phases
  • The team spent 6 months in China, designing the first consumer version and working directly with factories
  • CTO of (original) Pebble, Andrew Witte, was a somewhat early guest of The Amp Hour
  • How much did the China ecosystem drive design decisions?
  • There was no such thing as a smartwatch factory (but are there ever now!)
  • The book Apple in China is supposed to be a great read and mirrors the Pebble Experience
  • We heard from Chrissy Meyer when she was on the show about working with the Apple Watch manufacturing proces
  • Water proof methods codeveloping in China
  • It’s an interative process of submerging designs in a glass vessel with pressure and bubbles seep out of the device at different points
  • The remedy? According to Eric: “More Glue” 😀
  • Eric shares his process on a YouTube channel called Tick Talk (not to be confused with the shortform video site)
  • There is a video with the CEO of SiFli, makers of the Bluetooth chip that is in the most recent Pebble devices
  • One interesting feature is a custom bus to the Sharp-made ePaper-like screen used onboard
  • FreeRTOS pebble OS
  • What is PebbleOS?
  • It’s targeted at an m33 class ARM chip and the kernel is FreeRTOS
  • The bluetooth stack is nimBLE
  • Eric went back and forth on whether to port to Zephyr for the Bluetooth stack and hw support from vendors like Nordic Semiconductor
  • The Index 01 ring is Dialog Semiconductor (now part of Renesas) part
  • One challenge is that rings have different sizes…so they mill the rings based on orders. The larger rings get an extra battery!
Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2026-02-03

#714 – The Measurement Blues with Martin Rowe

77 min
Open

Welcome Martin Rowe of EE World!

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2026-01-26

#713 – Rubber Duck Incarnate

69 min
Open

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2026-01-20

#712 – Robots Everywhere with Aaed Musa

58 min
Open

Welcome Aaed Musa!

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-12-22

#711 – Medical Electronics Education with Mark Palmeri

89 min
Open

Welcome Dr Mark Palmeri, professor at Duke University!

  • Mark has been at Duke since 1996, and has completed undergraduate, graduate, medical, and PhD degrees here (!)
  • He has focused on making medical devices and now teaches others to do the same in his Biomedical Engineering (BME) courses
  • Verification and Validation (v&v) is a large constraint in getting a regulated medical device to market
  • BME design fellows is a program that guides students towards real world use cases and design projects
  • The courses that Mark runs reminds Chris of “automatic job offers” that Chris has heard about for classes like those taught by former guest Larry Sears (at CWRU). Also SMPS design courses at UT Dallas and microarchitecture courses like those taught at University of Michigan.
  • Teaching the skills of troubleshooting / debug
  • Putting together circuits like Legos
  • There are difficulties when teaching students with various levels of experience, namely how deep to go on any particular subject and how much background to provide.
  • Mark has been flipping a circuit course on its head, instead prompting students with ideas like “how do you capture bio signals electronically and pull them into a microcontroller”
  • Tools of the trade for Mark’s courses include
    • KiCad
    • ngspice (built in to KiCad)
    • Jupyter notebooks
    • VS code
    • Git
    • Zephyr
  • Talking about power as an intuition builder, as opposed to currents or voltages
  • V&V requires that you have a quality management system (QMS)
  • IEC60601
  • Going through companies that have  QMS can be a shorter path for bringing a device to market
  • Even face shields needed to go through that process when COVID hit
  • Firmware and embedded in BME at graduate level
  • Mark and students in BME Design Fellows course have been working on a Tympanometer, targeted at resource constrained industries
  • Mark also teaches students how to use Zephyr, as opposed to how most educational programs migrate towards arduino
  • A challenge for teaching Zephyr is the devicetreed
  • They target Nordic Semiconductor parts, which have great support and educational resources
  • Mark experienced a “vertical learning curve” when first migrating designs to Zephyr a few years ago
  • Complicating things is that most students haven’t coded in C, if they have done much code at all
  • Teaching how to lock to a particular version with Zephyr manifests
  • Using CI/CD for automated builds
  • Focusing on state machines early on, using Zephyr’s state machine framework (SMF)
  • All of Mark’s courses are on github under his username mlp6
  • Teaching stack vs heap
  • Mark only ever has taken one official progrmming course
  • The benefits of experiential learning
  • Accreditation is a constant challenge with non-standard courses and testing
  • Duke is taking retrospective and prospective looks at the space of education
  • Problem sets are moot these days
  • Mark gave a great example about teaching a student about Bode Plots
  • “Thats a trick problem” is something Mark hears wrt testing (when it’s definitely not)
  • “Getting the reps in” is an important concept in educational contexts, and something Chris really resonates with
  • Building open ended problems vs closed
  • The more open ended a problem, the more time it take to grade / evaluate
  • TI-85 / 83 / 92 calculators
  • Jupyter notebooks as a way to track progress and have students show their work
  • More about the tympanometer project
  • They have been working with Duke hospital, a major benefit for Mark and his BME colleagues
  • Continuous middle ear infection that causes scarring that causes lifelong loss
  • Sound reflection under vacuum is an indicator that more testing is needed
  • The key innovation is making it lower cost and allow a layperson to do the screening to hand off a child to get more screening at a pro clinic
  • BME Design Fellow students getting to design the various parts of the design
  • They have multiple sources of funding: private, nih, etc
  • Value engineering in medical space
  • Mark points out the philosophical question on whether you can reduce costs by reducing testing … but thinking about whyat that takes to satisfy that need
  • Find Mark online
Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-12-06

#710 – Tugging on the Nerd Heartstring

56 min
Open

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-11-10

#709 – Nobel Prize Winner Dr Barry Marshall

50 min
Open

Dr Barry Marshall won the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.

But Barry is also an electronics hobbyist and vintage HP and Tek oscilloscope and vintage computer enthusiast. He visited the EEVBlog lab and sat down with Dave for an impromptu discussion about all sorts of things.

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2005/marshall/facts/

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-11-03

#708 – All the Connectors with Davide Andrea

65 min
Open

Welcome Davide Andrea, author or The Electronic Connector Book! And many thanks to Blues for sponsoring this episode of The Amp Hour! Get 10% off your next order in their online store for a development kit by using the code AMPHOUR.

  • Davide is an engineer working on Battery Management Systems at Elithion
  • He got into writing and editing books via a postcard sent to him after he gave a talk
  • For many years he was an editor at Artech house
  • He works on Lithium BMS systems for large setups
  • How do young engineers learn about connectors, but for tribal knowledge within larger companies?
  • Digikey catalog is a good search for connectors overall
  • Industrial cinch by Harting
  • Should you design a custom connector (“no”)
  • Davide also built and maintains an online tool for finding connectors called Identiconn
  • Fretting is when vibration causes a connector to fail
  • Davide had to go to Bell Labs docs to look up some specs
  • Chris remarked that Identiconn is a McMaster (Carr) style browsing experience
  • Vendors divide based on how the fields are set up, because that is actually logical for them selling parts. It’s harder for finding/discovering components though.
  • On distributor sites, the connectors are grouped by how they were bought
  • Chris asked Davide about things that have gone wrong in his career with connectors
  • FFC doesn’t connect back into the socket after the tab is ripped away
  • ribbon cable vs ffc, CIC vs FPC
  • IDC – insulation displacement connector
  • Davide has filled in with generated terms where there are no defined language for a family/type of connector, such as with “bump idc” connectors
  • “dual beam?
  • Chris and Davide did a joint search for the high density CM4 connector that mounts the Raspberry Pi module to another board
  • Gender of connectors (note: there is a great discussion about the historical nature of using gender for connectors in the book)
  • Pin vs plastic gender
  • Shrouded vs enshrouded
  • gaziatea (sic) – poem from the 1800
  • USB type A connector
  • Self mating
  • APC7 – self mting connector
  • Anderson connectors
  • TNC BNC search
  • PFFE for the dielectric on a BNC/TNC
  • Magnetic connectors with pogo pins
  • Example connector from Hyte
  • Crimps were designed in the 50s
  • The source of having so many power connectors is … imperialism? tahiti / fiji / nz all have different connectors
  • Why antennas are male/female is…money? And regulatory silliness via the FCC
  • Davide has also written about and is working on lithium ion batteries
  • A sodium ion battery book (self published, unlike the LiIon books) should be out next year
  • The Connector Book is self published. Your purchase directly supports Davide’s work…and you get the web tools for free!
  • “peak lithium”
  • What is required when refining sodium for batteries?
  • The voltage range and charging needs are different for Sodium Ion. For instance, the range goes from 4V to 2V
  • Find Davide on his various websites, on LinkedIn, on StackExchange, and on reddit
Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-10-28

#707 – Welding with an HDMI Cable

50 min
Open

Thanks to our sponsor Blues this week! Visit the Blues store and use the code AMPHOUR to get 10% off your first order of a kit.

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-10-18

#706 – Leading Edge Analog with Joren Vaes

64 min
Open

Welcome Joren Vaes, design engineer at SOFICS

  • Simulation is critical when designing analog devices based on a PDK from the fab
  • Parasitics are significant, especially with new nodes having upwards of 16 metal layers
  • Chris complained about a class where the professor made them draw planar structures with graph paper with colored pencils
  • Large fabs on leading edge nodes have 1800 page textbook of rules
  • Because the constraints get tighter, that book gets longer for each node
  • 2 nm mass production on finfet currently with TSMC
  • 22 was the last classic cmos
  • Finfet, looks like a devil
  • ‘gate all around’ / nanosheet
  • CFET (complementary field effect transistor) is next
  • Joren really gets Maxwells Equations…as you have to at super high speeds
  • SOFICS are making phy’s / IP blocks
  • Amplifiers that are DC to 50 GHz
  • Making a datasheet for the resulting IP block
  • Joren got his PhD working on millimeter wave applications
  • It’s all just physics
  • Using coils to impedance match between layers
  • Reflecting off of different materials at angles is Snells law (not lorentz equation) and that extends to different materials at different wavelengths
  • Cables are very lossy at 100 GHz…dBs per cm
  • Parasitics impact every part of the design process
  • Wireline community – name for the high speed interfaces, including research in the space
  • Most transistor threshhold voltages that Joren works with are … 750 mV!
  • Voltage dependent drc rules
  • Electromigration – holes in wires from electrons
  • ESD is a big part of the business, and a large source of parasitics
  • New product development for IP blocks
  • Working with customers and Foundry at the 2 nm node
  • Design companies need to be paying 100s of thousands to software providers
  • After, it goes to spice and schedmatic
  • Joren decides whether to jump in on layout
  • LVS – layout vs schematic
  • Parasitic extraction (spice netlist)
  • PDKs define how you can do the layout stage
  • Lower cost tools exist but more expensive tools have tooling that tells you when you’re violating DRC
  • 3 main vendors
    • Cadence
    • Synopsis
    • Siemens (Calibre)
  • Foundries soemtimes only support one tool
  • Doing test wafers  allows testing of structures. They often get MPW at a discount from the fab (since they’re often testing new processes as well)
  • How do they test with packaging options?
    • ‘low speed’ can be die bonded or pcb mounted
    • high speed does on wafer probing (with veeeery expensive probes)
  • Check out Sofics.com for more info on the company. They also have a blog with a great name.
  • Follow or connect with Joren on LinkedIn

 

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-10-09

#705 – Psst…Hey buddy, wanna buy an Octopus?

46 min
Open

  • Contextual Electronics is “still a thing”.
  • Sydney hosted the International Astronautical Congress (IAC). The IAC is the “big space event of the year,” held annually in a different city.
  • Chris noted that US space funding seems low, leading some friends to move from NASA to private industry.
  • Dave recorded two walkaround videos: a 30-minute bird’s eye view using a GoPro on a pole and a physical hour-long walkaround.
  • Large companies had private stands, while smaller, two-man companies had sub-booths within their country’s larger rented stand (e.g., South Africa, Germany, Poland).
  • Niche companies included those selling “space connectors,” described as regular connectors sold at potentially 10 times the price to space customers.
  • Australia had a large presence, with stands for the country and individual states (Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania) hosting local niche space gear firms.
  • Dave toured a new, completely mobile Mission Control facility built into a semi-trailer van. This unit is designed as a generic platform with screens, server racks, and redundant power, allowing any space company to install their own servers and operate anywhere in Australia.
  • An Australian company specialized in “Space lube” (lubricants for satellites and actuators), necessary because water-based lubricants would boil off or freeze up and cause gear to seize.
  • Chris has a new “quasi obsession” with the old technology of DIN rail. He is using 3D printers to mount development boards onto DIN rail to organize his desk.
  • DIN rail is common in Australia and Europe for electrical switchboards and automation equipment (PLCs, power supplies).
  • Dave sent a photo of “Fish Pointer’s” organized desk, which Chris identified as using “Gridfinity,” an ad hoc, modular standard popular in the 3D printing community, often associated with Zack Friedman of Voidstar Labs.
  • Dave runs a Creality K1 3D printer that is networked, allowing him to control and print remotely.
  • Chris purchased a filament dryer for only $42 to combat the issue of filament going brittle due to moisture.
  • Dave recounted his attempt to sort 330 tins of salvaged parts (feet, spacers, grommets) from vintage test gear.
  • The space industry is currently “so hot” due to private funding, unlike the “dead” industry 10 to 15 years ago.
  • It is now easy to book a payload slot on a launch vehicle like SpaceX. Dave said that Firefly was actually “begging” people to put payloads on its Moonlander to help fund the mission, though that’s source unknown. It was supported by CPLS as part of NASA.
  • The Commodore Corporation recently changed hands, and a consortium of enthusiasts released a new Commodore 64 Ultimate, featuring a transparent keyboard PCB signed by original designers, including Jerry Ellsworth. The appeal is nostalgia, as modern chips far outperform the 6510 CPU it uses.
  • Chris bought a split, ergonomic Corne V4 keyboard (RP2040 chip) from AliExpress for $68. The key feature is working with Vial, a pleasant web serial-based app for reconfiguring key mappings. Dave stated he hates split keyboards and rechargeable keyboards that only last a week.
  • Dave is installing 75 kWh of beefy outdoor battery packs (800-900 kg total) received “free” due to a government subsidy.
  • He poured a new, completely reinforced concrete slab rated for over 1,500 kg to support the batteries on a flat surface, using pre-welded mesh instead of tying rebar.
  • The new system includes an 8 kW inverter. Dave intends to install a changeover switch to run the house off the batteries if the power grid fails. Dave noted he mainly wants the “warm fuzzy” feeling of running his entire house on solar and batteries.
Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-10-02

#704 – Applied Embedded Electronics with Jerry Twomey

50 min
Open

Welcome Jerry Twomey (Effective Electrons) author of the book, Applied Embedded Electronics: Design Essentials for Robust Systems. Chris first heard Jerry on Embedded.fm last year.

  • Jerry’s Background and Book Motivation: Jerry shares his quick history, moving from the Boston area to San Jose (Silicon Valley) and eventually to San Diego, where he has worked across diverse sectors including consumer electronics, aerospace, defense projects, DARPA research, and medical electronics. His book focuses on how to develop robust systems, providing guidance that is timeless rather than applications manuals that quickly become outdated.
  • The Analog Problem: Although modern systems may be digital end-to-end, Jerry emphasizes that the predominant causes of failure and design difficulties are often analog in nature. Academic study often teaches ideal signals but neglects real-world issues like inductance, noise, and cross-coupling.
  • Consulting Experience & Troubleshooting: Jerry discusses being called in to fix systems that failed strenuous regulatory testing for medical devices, where reliability is first and foremost (similar to an aerospace way of thinking). Failures often stemmed from basic issues like a lack of ESD protection, absence of error correction in data streams, insufficient detection of errors, and common mode noise rejection problems.
  • High-Speed Data and Signal Integrity: At high data rates, communication becomes a “communications channel problem,” not truly a digital one. When bits are underneath a tenth of a nanosecond, the communication turns into multiple standing wave transitions. The two primary limits on performance are rise and fall times and distance traveled.
  • Real-World Applications: Jerry has worked extensively on medical devices, including early-generation Dexcom glucose monitoring systems (two on-body monitors and a hospital insulin pump/monitor), and a wearable EEG monitor. He also worked on a system that required packing five video cameras into an endoscope distal head, measuring 11 mm in diameter and 13 mm long.
  • Architecting Systems and Identifying Bottlenecks: When starting a new project, Jerry suggests defining needs and interfaces and looking at the system as a black box. Engineering time should focus on the bottleneck—the hardest part of the system. For medical implantables, this might be minimizing power consumption down to virtually nothing, which could take up 90% of the effort.
  • Power System Design: Jerry advises purchasing commercial AC-to-DC converters due to competitive pricing. He notes that switching supplies (buck converters) commonly introduce noise that can lead to EMI failures or corrupt sensitive analog front ends. A classic case of “digital thinking in an analog scenario” is when a sensitive analog front end is powered by a noisy switching converter.
  • Working with Embedded Teams: Jerry prefers guiding embedded teams toward “self-discovery,” using bench time and empirical measurement (such as comparing grounds on a scope) to demonstrate non-ideal connections and grounding issues. He advises against the “seagull manager” approach.
  • Grounding Best Practices: For integrated circuits (chips), designs must be fully differential because securing a good hard ground reference is impossible. On singular circuit boards, a common uncut ground plane (dedicated ground plane, often multiple layers stitched together with vias) is the recommended approach. Cutting the ground plane is discouraged as it can create a slot antenna, increasing the signal radiating from the board by about 7 dB. Jerry has published rules on grounding.
  • Engineering Intuition vs. LLMs: Jerry notes that intuition is gathered through painful learning experiences and guidance from experienced designers. He expresses concern over the reliance on LLMs (Language Learning Models), which, while improving, can confidently provide incorrect answers, especially regarding complex topics like signal grounding.
  • Limits to Moore’s Law: CMOS scaling is approaching physical limits, likely unable to go below 10 or 11 nanometers. Modern performance gains are achieved through more parallel processing, not significantly faster clock rates, which have plateaued around 5 GHz due to parasitics and timing limitations. Jerry’s article discusses this topic.
  • RISC Architectures: The industry benefits from migrating to RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) architectures (like ARM) because they eliminate useless architecture and transistors associated with complex instruction sets (like x86).

Find Jerry on Effective Electrons and on LinkedIn

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-09-24

#703 – Building wafer.space with Tim Ansell

58 min
Open

Welcome back Tim Ansell!

  • Tim’s past appearances and previous work
  • Tiny Tapeout
    • Matt Venn’s Tiny Tapeout program further subdivides the manufacturing costs, making it the cheapest way to create custom silicon, typically costing around $300 per design.
    • Tiny Tapeout lowers the barrier to entry, allowing people to “just try it and see if you like it,” similar to writing a “hello world” program.
    • The program has already processed almost 3,000 projects, demonstrating high community demand when costs are low.
    • Despite limitations, advanced projects are possible: a developer taped out a Linux capable SOC using open-source tools and the Tiny Tapeout space.
  • Introducing Wafer Space
    • Tim started Wafer Space, based in Singapore, to provide community access to open-source manufacturing after Efabless ceased operations.
    • Wafer Space focuses on the GF180MCU PDK (Global Foundries 180 nm process), which is a much cheaper technology manufactured in Singapore.
    • The core offering is a low-volume production run: $7,000 USD gets you 1,000 chips back. This volume is enough for prototyping and shipping a small product (e.g., 500 units).
    • The design envelope area is 3.8 x 5 mm (20 mm squared) using the 180 nm process.
    • Interested parties should sign up via the Crowd Supply page.  The deadline for purchase is the November 28th and submissions are due by December 3rd, with delivery by March 15th.
  • Manufacturing & Packaging
    • By default, customers receive bare silicon die
    • Tim is working with PCB manufacturers (like JLC PCB, PCB Way, Seed Studio) to offer Chip on Board (COB) wire bonding assembly onto custom PCBs (think black epoxy blob on a PCB)
    • COB packaging is significantly cheaper (sub-$2) than standard packaging houses (which often charge around $7 per chip).
    • This approach also provides faster iteration speed, as PCB manufacturers offer quick turnaround times (sometimes 3 days) compared to typical packaging houses (3 months)
  • Getting Started & Resources
    • If you are new to chip design, starting with Tiny Tapeout’s click and drag tools is highly recommended. Matt Venn previously talked/sang about Siliwiz
    • More advanced tools include Verilog and VHDL (coding style) or KLayout and Magic (drawing shapes, similar to PCB design).
    • To follow the project or seek help, join the Wafer Space Discord
    • New services offering open-source silicon manufacturing include IHP (Europe/130 nm) and Chip Foundry (US/Skywater), increasing ecosystem resiliency.
  • Website: Wafer.space
  • Sign up on the CrowdSupply campaign
Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-09-15

#702 – Test Point Accupuncture

66 min
Open

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-08-22

#701 – Electric Propulsion with Todd Bailey

90 min
Open

Welcome back Todd Bailey of Starlight Engines, now Muon Space! (11 years later)

  • Todd was on Episode 194 of The Amp Hour, when he was consulting in the art and design space and building instruments like Where the Party At (WTPA). He was designing ‘robot doors’ for Calvin Klein’s house, discussed last time.
  • Through Andy Reitano, Todd learned about a role at Lockheed Martin (a US defence company) working on sonar for submarines.
  • “What a good job is”
    • Fun
    • Lucrative
    • Skills / teach you
  • Todd, Andy, and other Lockheed Martin friends worked on the VEC9 discussed in ep194
  • Clearance was required to work on sonar
  • Military electronics had some differences from his past work, but Todd was interestingly complementary of requirements driven design / waterfall
  • Chris and Todd were hanging out in a bar before he moved over to working on space and Todd mentioned he wanted to be Zefram Cochrane and do interesting things that matter (in space).
  • Star Trek First Contact (gah, I said generations)
  • Past guest Shawn Meehan talked to Todd and that’s how he started working at the “stealth space startup” at the time
  • Astra
  • HBO (not Netflix) special called Wild Wild Space
  • Other past guests of the show who were at Astra include Charles Aylward and Jeri Ellsworth
  • Silicon Valley Startup
  • “When the heavens went on sale” (book)
  • Commercial space by SpaceX
  • Rocket Lab was second
  • “Fail on stage”
  • Booster state of that rocket motor control
  • Electric turbo pump
  • Delphin engine
  • Cryogenic / feedback was hard
  • Alameda indoor test facility
  • Meant to fit in shipping container (8×8.5×40 ft)
  • System design and market requirements (launches don’t want small rockets)
  • Working remote
  • No place like home Jim Williams essay
  • Leaving Astra
  • Staying in the trenches
  • Rocket Lab
  • 3rd stage “Kick stage, now known as “Photon“
  • Things you can work on in space
    • Radios
    • Sensors
    • Power
  • Electric propulsion (EP)
  • Apollo fusion – Alex Zannos (Contemporary) and Mike Cassidy (CEO)
  • After working on fusion didn’t have legs, they switched to working on Hall effect thrusters
  • “Low earth orbit is 50% of the way to anywhere in the solar system”
  • Rocket equation
  • Stage fires then falls off
  • Kick stage is 3rd stage
  • Accelerating an ion beam
  • Delta V book
  • Rocket efficiency
  • “Seconds of ISP” How much mass do you use to go distance
  • Asteroid mining
  • Who buys EP?
  • SpaceX built their own Argon thruster
  • Torque rods / reaction wheels
  • Apollo successfully pivoted
  • Acquired by Astra space / finished the apollo constellation engine
  • In 2022, Todd and his cofounder Mark Hopkins started Starlight Engines after some initial proof points and then fundraising
  • Had opinions about EP
  • Goebels and Katz textbooks about EP
  • Busek electric propulsion is a family business that has tried all kinds of EP. Run by Vlad Ruby & son Pete.
  • Starlight is based on solid Zinc propellant
  • Traditionally it’s Xenon
  • “The honda civic of hall effect sensor systems”
  • The atomic mass of Zinc is light
  • “Lickable EP”
  • Discharge converter runs the ion beam
  • Custom magnetics
  • 300W – 800W
  • 28V spacecraft bus
  • “Plume divergence”
  • Need to go from solid to gas
  • Cathode is a thermionic emitter “Like a tube amp”, it emits to boil off electrons
  • Zinc gets caught in electron cloud, knocks an electron off to make ions, ejected from a positively charged plate nearby.
  • Novel propellent is a differentiator
  • Starlight had a scrappy factor, like they built their own vacuum chamber (for 15K!)
  • The device is not known to be operational in space yet (they sell it but don’t operate it, so it’d be tough to know)
  • “Give the first one away”
  • Have sold 4 propulsion systems
  • Muon space needed a propulsion system and instead decided to buy the company. They weren’t put off by “two guys in a garage and contractors”.
  • Muon builds things like fire detection satellites
  • For more info about their past work and see pictures of the plumes, check out Starlightengines.com
  • To see the new things they’ll be working on, check out Muon space
Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-08-07

#700 – Beware of the Overachievers

75 min
Open

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-07-31

#699 – CircuitHub, 12 Years Later with Andrew Seddon

83 min
Open

Welcome Back, Andrew Seddon! Founder and CEO of CircuitHub.

  • Andrew was first on episode 131 of The Amp Hour
  • CircuitHub has a partnership with Worthington Assembly
  • Worthington and CircuitHub host the Pick Place Podcast
  • Mimicing silicon manufacturing
  • Common parts library
  • Setting the factory up to have only 50k SKUs in house for speed of loading / attrition
  • Driving people to 2000 parts was the original intent, but didn’t hit the mark
  • Level of production needs to be high
  • Many parts need to work in conjunction
    • Reflow
    • PnP
    • Throughhole
    • Selective soldering
    • Inspection
  • Need to solve for the whole setup. Making smt 10x better doesn’t make overall 10x better
  • Starlink manufcaturing localy
  • PCB fabs in the US, 50 left, getting rolled up under Private Equity (as are things like machine shops)
  • AI with VCs
  • How it impacts the electronics industries
  • KiCad
  • More AI stuff
  • Automation on checking
  • Still humans involved
  • PDKs for chip companies
  • File checking / JLC
  • Types of customers
    • 10 largest companies on the planets
    • It’s individuals who order and try it out, that often becomes a repeat business thing
    • Customers / types of boards / size of orders
    • More startups who also want production
  • Future serving lower cost areas
  • Proto service 2-4 layer black soldermask (unlisted)
  • See the CircuitHub capabilities
  • Going high volume
  • People making weekly or monthly units and spreading it out
  • Spinning up custom in-house high volume
  • Flattenting the price curve
  • Tariffs
  • New customers approaching them because of it
  • Can consumer be done in the US?
Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-07-17

#698 – Hardware Security with Matt Brown

67 min
Open

Welcome Matt Brown of Brown Fine Security!

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-07-08

#697 – LEDs Everywhere with Tim from Mitxela

75 min
Open

Welcome Tim from Mitxela!

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-06-18

#696 – It Works With Option Number 5

63 min
Open

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-06-04

#695 – Making The Invisible, Visible with Sam Aldhaher

75 min
Open

Welcome Sam Aldhaher, power engineer and 3D graphic artist!

  • Fast track if listeners want to get better at this art
    • Learn blender – donut
    • KiCad -> Blender reference
    • Play with geometries nodes (ElectroMag Nodes, Fast Henry)
  • Find Sam on social
Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-05-21

#694 – Voltage, Vibes, and VOCs

71 min
Open

We are doing a 2025 listener survey! Answer the survey and put in your email to win one of three Jumperless OG units donated by Kevin Cappuccio (past guest of the show). Last day to input is June 1st.

This episode was recorded Monday the 12th, which has implications on discussions.

  • Dave recently returned from Melbourne for Dave’s recent visit to Electronex.
  • Dave saw past guest Scott Williams there (he has been interviewed by both Dave and Chris). Scott’s company Xentronics is also a Golioth partner
  • They discussed service providers in the electronics industry at including turnkey solutions (concept to production and marketing) versus services only (firmware, PCB layout, CAD).
  • The choice of show for a service provider might depend on the customer vertical (e.g., medical expo for medical device design).
  • Farmers are described as rough clients due to being cost-constrained, needing durable solutions for harsh environments, and being unforgiving of downtime.
  • The Australian Manufacturing Week was unexpectedly enormous, dwarfing the electronics show in scale and attendance, with lines up to 40 minutes long just to get in.
  • The manufacturing show featured “Heavy Metal” manufacturing, like laser cutters, sheet metal benders, and giant machines cutting thick steel, which Dave found more exciting than the electronics demos.
  • They discussed the scale of manufacturing equipment, comparing it to shows like IMTS in Chicago with multi-story machining centers and machines weighing hundreds of tons.
  • Australia manufactures things like steel, large steel structures (bridges), and large custom parts like excavator scoops.
  • Dave is conducting environmental air quality tests in his office, measuring formaldehyde, CO2, and other factors. He has to run his air conditioning for one of the test conditions.
  • The environmental monitor measures temperature, pressure, humidity, VOCs, noise, carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, PM2.5 particulate matter, and radiation. The radiation sensor uses a tube requiring 381 volts.
  • XKCD graphic showing relative radiation
  • Dave observes large formaldehyde spikes every time he opens his door, which go down within about 10 minutes. His CO2 levels are typically 800-900 ppm.
  • The AC unit cycling is visible in the humidity measurements.
  • Chris asks about the availability of affordable VOC sensors now. Dave believes his monitor uses a common sensor like the BME680.
  • Chris explains that the availability of affordable VOC sensors is linked to FEMA trailers after Hurricane Katrina, where high formaldehyde levels caused illness, leading to regulations and subsequently more affordable sensors. Modern VOC sensors often measure gas resistivity in ohms.
  • Some PM2.5 sensors use a fan and a laser to detect particles.
  • Dave saw small desktop lathes at the manufacturing show and was tempted to buy one for $800.
  • Chris explains the difference between a mill and a lathe. Potential uses for a lathe are discussed, including making knobs.
  • Chris advises against buying a personal machining tool like a lathe or mill unless you need parts immediately, suggesting using online services instead, as getting $800 of value from occasional use is difficult.
  • Dave jokingly suggests a lathe might be useful for “zombie apocalypse manufacturing”, or more darkly, for making gun barrels.
  • Chris mentions his past experience with a mill, which he traded for a 3D printer kit. He now prefers “it just works” solutions.
  • They discuss receiving free 3D resin printers and the difficulty of finding uses for them unless you are already skilled in 3D modeling.
  • Discussion shifts to the recent drop in tariffs between China and the US. Dave believes this will lead to lots of manufacturing coming back to the US, citing announcements from car companies and others (but providing no sources). Chris found this CBS article after the fact, but it’s light on details.
  • NPR covered how tariffs are impacting Digikey and Thief River Falls
  • Chris is skeptical that the tariff drops or initiatives like the CHIPS Act will cause significant, long-term shifts in the global supply chain, especially for components like capacitors or packaged semiconductors.
  • The complexities of building fabs and the long lead times are mentioned in relation to the CHIPS Act.
  • Chris recommends a YouTube channel about shipping and logistics and mentions MarineTraffic.com for tracking live global shipping data.
  • Dave mentions issues with Bluetooth data dropouts and incorrect values on a new Brymen BM787 multimeter.
  • Dave recently made a video about Test Controller, a free Java-based program that automates hundreds of test instruments (multimeters, power supplies, loads) via serial interfaces. It allows scripting and custom driver creation.
  • Dave considers using Test Controller and multiple instruments with his microscope PC for overlaying data on video.
  • Chris introduces the concept of “vibe coding,” which means letting AI do the coding. You act as a product manager providing requirements and feedback.
  • Dave has used AI for coding before and is interested in using it for his next project due to infrequent coding leading to needing to relearn tools. He suggests using it for a simple timer project, especially for annoying tasks like generating fonts.
  • Chris is using AI for a location-sharing web app prototype for a meetup. He describes the experience of watching the AI modify files and interact with tools as “trippy”. He uses “Claude credits” for this.
  • They discuss AI as a new tool. Chris expresses concern about how students learning to code today will develop troubleshooting skills if AI does much of the basic work.
  • Dave received a new piece of high-end test equipment: a Microtest Impedance Analyzer (model 6632). This is distinct from an LCR meter and can measure the entire frequency impedance sweep up to 10 MHz (for the model received).
  • The impedance analyzer can be used to characterize components like PCB inductors, assess bypass capacitor performance on boards, or measure materials like piezoelectric substrates. It can also show admittance circles and DC bias characteristics.
  • Chris mentioned that past guest Carl Bugeja would benefit from a tool like the impedance analyzer
  • Dave notes the impedance analyzer is very specific and requires special fixturing. It supports open, short, and load compensation.
  • Dave also recently received a heavy GW Instek AC power source, which can be used for power line simulation (adding spikes, dropouts, etc.) to test products.

Trying out generating show notes using NotebookLM from Google. We’d love your feedback in the comments.

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-05-13

#693 – Small Scale Electronics Manufacturing with Colin O’Flynn

78 min
Open

Welcome back Dr Colin O’Flynn of Dalhousie University and New AE tech!

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-04-15

#692 – Like a steam engine in your house

73 min
Open

We are doing a 2025 listener survey! Answer the survey and put in your email to win one of three Jumperless OG units donated by Kevin Cappuccio (past guest of the show) Note: this was corrected from the original, these are not v5 units, they are the original Jumperless units. Apologies for the confusion ~CG

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-03-23

#691 – System Designer Lets You Try Every Part with Michael Gielda

71 min Transcript
Open

Welcome back (for a third time!) Michael Gielda of Antmicro

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-03-12

#690 – Clap on, clap off, lights flicker

62 min
Open

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-02-26

#689 – A Jumperless Breadboard with Kevin Cappuccio

74 min
Open

Welcome Kevin Cappuccio, creator of the Jumperless Breadboard (v5 and before)

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-02-12

#688 – The Tandy Train

70 min
Open

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-01-28

#687 – The RP2350 with the Raspberry Pi Team

Open

Welcome James Adams, Chris Boross, Liam Fraser, and Luke Wren!

  • The last time the RPi team was on the show was about the RP1 (#648)
  • The order of parts being released was RP2040->RP1->RP2350
  • Check out the datasheet for the RP2350
  • Learning from silicon
  • Security and power states
  • The part is a “Dual dual core”
  • The Arm side is a Dual M33
  • The RISC V side is a Hazard 3 processor, designed by Luke based on a previous processor called the Hazard 5
  • HB5
  • There is a mux on the core and you select which side you’re going to use at boot
  • There are 48 GPIO (but users always want more)
  • Chris Boross (first time on the show) is on the commercial team. He’s seing interesting applications for the RP2350 including devices that are using it for motor control.
  • They also have seen the part used in satellites because mRAM or masked ROM is less susceptible to radiation errors
  • The PIOs have changed, but are more evolutionary from the RP2040
  • The PIO allows you to create state machines that process inputs without processor interventions, basically like tiny cores
  • 2 cores – 8 total
  • Interesting PIO applications
  • The core frequency only increased 133 MHz -> 150 MHz. There is tougher timing with the M33
  • LVT – lower voltage threshhold
  • 30 -> 40 pins
  • There are now variants listed on the RP2350 product page (but not in mass production) that include flash in the SOM package
  • RP2040 was one power domain
  • “Powerman” (and of course AVR Man)
  • Switched core
  • AON – always on
  • 32 kHz
  • There is a C/C++ SDK that is the basis for other ports
  • Security is a focus for the RP2350
  • Bootrom in every chip
  • Secure boot
  • M33 features – secure / non-secure
  • RISC V PMP
  • RCP – Redundancy Coprocessor
  • Raspberry Pi had a challenge / bounty for getting the secret out of the RP2350 OTP with secure boot
  • One of the few silicon companies doing this sort of thing in public
  • Past guest Aedan Cullen  was one of the hacks called “Hazardous threes”. He gave a talk about it at 38C3
  • Past guest Colin O’Flynn was also mentioned because collaboration around side channel attacks with the Chip Whisperer
  • IOActive used a FIB – Fine Ion Beam – and passive voltage contrast to capture an impressive image of a decapped chip (see the RPi post)
  • “Never want to see ‘novel technique’ in an email”
  • Improving the RP2350 silicon
  • How do you decide what to fix/leave?
  • Can it be changed in metal/vias?
  • SIO spinlock not being fixed
  • Chicken Bit
  • Filler cells are reprogrammable and help with fixes
  • It costs approximately $50K per layer to change (ostensibly because of the high costs of masks)
  • ULA – uncommitted logic array
  • Die shrink doesn’t seem to make sense
  • Will keep making each chip as long as 40 nm fabs are around
  • Thinking about the RP2040
  • The easiest way to get started is to use a Pico (RP2040) or a Pico 2 (RP2350). Both have connectivity options as well.
  • Raspberry Pi is now a public company! Doesn’t change much other than the business scrutiny.
Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2025-01-21

#686 – A Benchtop Pick and Place with Stephen Hawes

Open

Welcome, Stephen Hawes!

Is this the year you should get a Pick and Place? Stephen won’t say yes (but I will)

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2024-12-23

#685 – Data Provenance in the Home, Server, and Fab

Open

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2024-12-10

#684 – Lee Felsenstein: The Computer Revolution & Counterculture

Open

A full 3 hour discussion with the legendary Lee Felsenstein, designer of the Osborne 1, SOL computer, VDM-1, Pennywhistle modem, and the inventor of social media. Covering everything from the Berkeley free speech movement, the counterculture movement, his career, through to Obsorne and how he invented social media with Community Memory.

His book: https://www.amazon.com/Me-My-Big-Idea…

https://felsensigns.com/

00:00 – Full 3 hour talk with Lee Felsenstein
08:24 – University of California at Berkeley, and the Free Speech Movement.
29:04 – First Junior Engineer job at Ampex
36:20 – The first hackathons with Richard Greenblatt
37:33 – Hackers, Heros of the computer revolution
1:03:36 – Techical career at Ampex
1:12:52 – Atari Computers and Steve Jobs, Nolan Bushnall, and Allan Alcorn
1:15:00 – He tried to pitch social media to Steve Jobs
1:22:15 – Designing the Pennywhistle 103 modem +
1:25:36 – Marty Spergel selling kits
1:31:53 – Steve Wozniak and how the Apple 1 is NOT a personal computer
1:43:42 – Osborne Computers
1:53:22 – Osborne 1 physical design
1:57:57 – Osborne 1 development timeline
2:01:19 – The Osborne Effect wasn’t what killed the company

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2024-11-20

#683 – Troubleshooting is the skill

Open

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2024-11-06

#682 – Your Mind Is The Tool

Open

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2024-10-30

#681 – Compact High Speed Design with Lukas Henkel

Open

Welcome Lukas Henkel of OV Tech GmbH, a product design firm based in Nuremburg Germany!

Lukas also was a co-founder of PCB Arts. We had his cofounder Saber on the show in the past.

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2024-10-21

#680 – Catching Rockets with Musk Sticks

Open

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2024-10-11

#679 – Satellite Design Engineering with Dan Esparon

Open

Dan Esparon from Inovor Technologies in South Australia joins Dave to discuss all about the engineering of designing and launching satellites!

Dan works for Inovor Technologies, an Australian company that designs and builds satellites entirely in-house!

Recently they designed and launched the aussie Kanyini satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
https://www.inovor.com.au/missions/

They design and build their own Flight computers, ADCS systems, UHF radios, Battery modules and Solar Arrays in Australia.

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2024-09-30

#678 – All About Antennas with Katerina Galitskaya

Open

Welcome Katerina Galitskaya!

  • Chris started following Katerina’s antenna posts on LinkedIn
  • Monopole vs dipole
  • Lower frequences are harder bc longer wavelength
  • PCB size half of frequency
  • Place antenta on the shorter side
  • How to ruin your PCB
  • When to go to a antenna engineer?
  • Where will the device be?
  • Antenna environment
  • Start from vacuum, start adding elements
  • Dummies in the lab. The one in the episode photo is a dummy head filled with liquid (?!)
  • SAR – Specific Absorption rate
  • Simulation vs lab work (dimensions)
  • Anechoic chamber
  • When to go with custom antenna?
  • Buying off the shelf antenna?
  • New Airpods with fancy 3D antenna
  • Ben’s video about laser sintered antennas
  • MIMO / Beamforming
  • the failed promises of 5G
  • When to simulate
  • Some open source programs out there (“EMSee”?)
  • Simulating vs visualizing
  • Most of the time it’s not about vizualizing fields
  • What is the iteration elements of the antenna?
  • Satellite antenna design
  • Good to go external
  • Thinking about the dielectric const of case
  • Follow Katerina on LinkedIn!
Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2024-09-23

#677 – Watt Is The Deal

Open

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2024-09-02

#676 – Moving House (And Lab)

Open

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2024-08-08

#675 – Changing Course with Shawn Hymel

Open

Welcome Shawn Hymel!

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2024-07-25

#674 – Turtles as a Service

Open

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge
Published 2024-07-15

#673 – Lifelong Learning with Bitluni

Open

Welcome, Matthias Balwierz / Bitluni / Luni!

Play Episode Page Apple Extract Knowledge