# Ep 313: Capacitor Plague, Wireless Power, and Tiny Everything

- Show: [Hackaday Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast)
- Published: 2025-03-21
- Length: 55m
- Episode: 313
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-03-21-ep-313-capacitor-plague-wireless-power-and-tiny-everything
- Listen: https://hackaday.libsyn.com/ep-313-capacitor-plague-wireless-power-and-tiny-everything

## Summary

Hosts Elliot Williams and Jenny List recap Hackaday Europe, detailing badge production logistics, customs delays, and the heroic work of Vojta Antonich in programming SAOs. They discuss a retrospective on the 2000s capacitor plague, attributing failures to thermal design rather than just chemical defects, and highlight a thermal microscope using germanium lenses. The episode also covers inefficient wireless power transfer experiments, PCB spring connectors from Decimo, and Mike Roller's world's smallest PCB blinky using an STM32L0 microcontroller.

## Chapters

- [0:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-03-21-ep-313-capacitor-plague-wireless-power-and-tiny-everything#t=1) Introduction: Hackaday Europe Recap and Badge Logistics
- [9:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-03-21-ep-313-capacitor-plague-wireless-power-and-tiny-everything#t=582) Capacitor Plague Retrospective: Thermal Design vs. Chemical Defects
- [18:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-03-21-ep-313-capacitor-plague-wireless-power-and-tiny-everything#t=1132) Thermal Microscope: Germanium Lenses and High-Resolution Imaging
- [25:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-03-21-ep-313-capacitor-plague-wireless-power-and-tiny-everything#t=1536) Wireless Power Transfer: Inductive Coupling and Efficiency Losses
- [30:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-03-21-ep-313-capacitor-plague-wireless-power-and-tiny-everything#t=1818) PCB Spring Connectors and Decimo Resistance Box
- [35:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-03-21-ep-313-capacitor-plague-wireless-power-and-tiny-everything#t=2120) World's Smallest PCB Blinky: Mike Roller's 3.2mm Board
- [42:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-03-21-ep-313-capacitor-plague-wireless-power-and-tiny-everything#t=2572) Quick Hacks: Synthesizers, 6502 Emulation, and Smart Dust
- [49:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-03-21-ep-313-capacitor-plague-wireless-power-and-tiny-everything#t=2991) Coal Fly Ash: Rare Earth Element Extraction

## Topics

- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Wireless & RF](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/wireless-and-rf)
- [Sustainability & circular products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sustainability-and-circularity)
- [Test & measurement](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/test-and-measurement)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- Hackaday Europe (other)
- Xane Hacker Space (other)
- Vojta Antonich (other)
- Brett Wallach (other)
- Todbot (other)
- Asianometry (other)
- Rubicon (company)
- Dell (company)
- Nicikon (company)
- Hyperspace Pirate (other)
- Tesla (other)
- Decimo (company)
- Mike Roller (other)
- STM32L0 (chip)
- Chris Dobble (other)
- RTLSDR (product)
- Look Mom No Computer (other)
- Maplin 4600 (product)
- Pebble (product)
- Texas Instruments (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Photon Rich, Cash Poor](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-10-14-photon-rich-cash-poor) (The Amp Hour)
- [Pneumatic Tubes, Straight To The Home](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2024-01-22-pneumatic-tubes-straight-to-the-home) (The Amp Hour)
- [Assembly Chat](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-10-11-assembly-chat) (The Amp Hour)
- [PITA Package](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-05-17-pita-package) (The Amp Hour)
- [Magical Fire Bags](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-12-09-magical-fire-bags) (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/hackaday-podcast/2025-03-21-ep-313-capacitor-plague-wireless-power-and-tiny-everything. 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 Hackaday Podcast.