Hardware Podcasts

36: Drive the Boat with a Wii Mote

Embedded.fm · 22 Jan 2014 · 52m

What this episode covers

Mark Garrison, co-founder of Saleae, discusses the evolution of his company from a garage-side project to a small business selling the Logic 8 and Logic 16 logic analyzers. He details the challenges of bootstrapping, the importance of distributors like Avnet over Digi-Key for production, and the technical hurdles of FPGA design and manufacturing. Garrison also shares anecdotes about debugging a custom electric sailboat project and the company's plans for new high-end products.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Saleae, SparkFun, Avnet, Digi-Key, Fluke, SpaceX, Pebble, Fitbit, Valve
Products
Logic 8, Logic 16, Mooshimeter, Oculus Rift, Arduino

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 36m

    An Interview with Joe and Mark Garrison - Subtly Spelling SayLeeAy

    Joe and Mark Garrison, founders of Salie, discuss the challenges of scaling their logic analyzer business, including a failed attempt at in-house PCB assembly and the impact of counterfeit clones. They detail the complex FPGA design for their Logic Pro 16, focusing on signal processing, filter implementation, and timing constraints. The conversation also covers their software architecture, cross-platform development, and strategies for protecting intellectual property against hardware cloning.

    Scaling productionMicrocontrollers & dev platforms
    5 chapters

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 04m

    Younker Youtube Yarling

    Dave Jones and Chris Gammell discuss various hardware development challenges, including Jones's struggle with a New Haven Display that went out of stock after he designed it into his power supply project. They also cover Jones's frustration with IT Studios providing vague feedback on a PCB Gerber file, leading to production delays. The conversation extends to industry commentary on R&D spending, citing a Booz Allen study, and the ethical implications of buying and modifying knockoff Saleae logic analyzers.

    Sourcing & supply chainPCB design & layout
    8 chapters

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 04m

    Year End, 2017

    Dave Jones of AEV discusses the logistical and financial challenges of fulfilling his successful Kickstarter for the AEV Multimeter, including component supply issues and complex international shipping. Chris Gammell of Contextual Electronics critiques the Raspberry Pi Foundation's push for commercial use of their boards and discusses the rising cost of prototyping services. The hosts also reflect on industry trends, including the failure of Patreon's fee hike, the stagnation of 3D printing in manufacturing, and the lack of scalable open-source hardware companies.

    Crowdfunding & preordersLogistics & fulfilment
    7 chapters

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 04m

    Otiose Ontocyclic Opiniasters

    Dave Jones from EEVblog details his frustrating experience designing an Arduino-compatible power supply, citing API incompatibilities in Arduino 1.0 and a bug in the IDE that deletes source files. Chris Gammell discusses his project to integrate an MP3 player into a vintage radio, highlighting the difficulty of sourcing obsolete VLSI Solutions chips and the competitive advantage of Shenzhen's supply chain. The hosts also debate the feasibility of reshoring electronics manufacturing to the US and Australia, the importance of passion in engineering education, and the Haxlr8r hardware startup accelerator.

    Debugging & failure analysisSourcing & supply chain
    6 chapters

  • The Amp Hour · 58m

    What's In A Name?

    Dave Jones of EEV blog and Chris Gammell of Chris Gammell's Analog Life launch the first episode of The Amp Hour, discussing the nascent maker movement, the business models of open-source hardware companies like SparkFun and Adafruit, and the challenges of component sourcing. They analyze industry consolidation, the impact of major customers like Apple on supply chains, and the strategic use of low-cost development tools by companies such as Texas Instruments and Microchip to capture market share. The conversation highlights the trade-offs in engineering design, from BOM optimization to the realities of manufacturing in China versus local hand-assembly.

    Direct-to-consumer & e-commerceSourcing & supply chain
    8 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Embedded.fm. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.