# 480: Surprises Early In The Game

- Show: [Embedded.fm](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm)
- Published: 2024-06-27
- Length: 1h 01m
- Episode: 480
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2024-06-27-480-surprises-early-in-the-game
- Listen: https://embedded.fm/episodes/480

## Summary

Jerry Twomey, principal engineer at Effective Electrons and author of the new O'Reilly book 'Applied Embedded Electronics,' discusses the critical gap between ideal textbook electronics and real-world non-ideal behaviors. He explains how the industry's shift toward System-on-Chip (SoC) designs has led many engineers to treat hardware as a black box, often resulting in failures related to EMI, ESD, and signal integrity that are not caught in simulation. Twomey shares specific lessons from his 40-year career, including the unique challenges of designing for satellite environments like vacuum and radiation, and advocates for getting hardware prototypes early to uncover these surprises.

## Chapters

- [0:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2024-06-27-480-surprises-early-in-the-game#t=7) Introduction and Guest Background
- [2:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2024-06-27-480-surprises-early-in-the-game#t=167) Lightning Round and Career History
- [6:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2024-06-27-480-surprises-early-in-the-game#t=379) The Purpose and Audience of 'Applied Embedded Electronics'
- [8:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2024-06-27-480-surprises-early-in-the-game#t=488) Non-Ideal Electronics: ADCs, Noise, and Effective Bits
- [10:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2024-06-27-480-surprises-early-in-the-game#t=637) The Shift to System-on-Chip and Black Box Design
- [19:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2024-06-27-480-surprises-early-in-the-game#t=1177) ESD Mitigation and RF Front-End Challenges
- [36:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2024-06-27-480-surprises-early-in-the-game#t=2219) Spacecraft Electronics: Vacuum, Radiation, and Thermal Extremes
- [54:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2024-06-27-480-surprises-early-in-the-game#t=3273) Control Systems, PID Tuning, and Ziegler–Nichols
- [59:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2024-06-27-480-surprises-early-in-the-game#t=3551) Advice on Simulation vs. Hardware and Final Thoughts

## Topics

- [Analog & power electronics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/analog-and-power-electronics)
- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)

## Most relevant to

established companies

## Mentioned

- Applied Embedded Electronics (product)
- Making Embedded Systems (product)
- Effective Electrons (company)
- O'Reilly (company)
- nRF5340 (chip)
- Nordic (company)
- IBM (company)
- Fairchild (company)
- LSI Logic (company)
- Atmel (company)
- Planet Labs (company)
- SpaceX (company)
- Voyager (product)
- Electronic Design (other)
- UCSD (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Applied Embedded Electronics with Jerry Twomey](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2025-10-03-applied-embedded-electronics-with-jerry-twomey) (The Amp Hour)
- [Photon Rich, Cash Poor](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-10-14-photon-rich-cash-poor) (The Amp Hour)
- [An Interview with Kieran O'Leary](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-07-29-an-interview-with-kieran-oleary) (The Amp Hour)
- [Why 90% of Electronics Fail EMC Tests and How to Fix It](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2026-02-03-why-90-of-electronics-fail-emc-tests-and-how-to-fix-it) (OnTrack)
- [Really long needle nose pliers](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2024-04-25-really-long-needle-nose-pliers) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2024-06-27-480-surprises-early-in-the-game. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Embedded.fm.