# An Interview with Joe Grand - Pancyclopaedic Prototyping Polymath

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2011-09-13
- Length: 1h 04m
- Episode: 60
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-09-13-an-interview-with-joe-grand-pancyclopaedic-prototyping-polymath
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/the-amp-hour-60-pancyclopaedic-prototyping-polymath/

## Summary

Electrical engineer and inventor Joe Grand discusses his experience co-hosting the Discovery Channel show Prototype This, where he and his team built complex prototypes like a water slide simulator and a six-legged vehicle, ultimately leading to the show's cancellation due to high production costs. He details his career in security consulting with the group 'The Loft', his preference for 8-bit microcontrollers, and his recent work on a low-cost laser rangefinder licensed to Parallax. Grand also shares insights on manufacturing strategies, contrasting local Bay Area production for complex items with offshore manufacturing for high-volume, low-cost goods like DEF CON badges, while warning against the risks of unmanaged factory substitutions.

## Chapters

- [0:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-09-13-an-interview-with-joe-grand-pancyclopaedic-prototyping-polymath#t=15) Introduction: Joe Grand and Prototype This
- [2:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-09-13-an-interview-with-joe-grand-pancyclopaedic-prototyping-polymath#t=163) Building Prototypes for Discovery Channel
- [7:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-09-13-an-interview-with-joe-grand-pancyclopaedic-prototyping-polymath#t=432) TV Production Costs and Industry Politics
- [16:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-09-13-an-interview-with-joe-grand-pancyclopaedic-prototyping-polymath#t=960) The Six-Legged Vehicle Failure
- [21:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-09-13-an-interview-with-joe-grand-pancyclopaedic-prototyping-polymath#t=1289) The Loft and Early Hacker Culture
- [25:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-09-13-an-interview-with-joe-grand-pancyclopaedic-prototyping-polymath#t=1544) From The Loft to Security Consulting
- [39:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-09-13-an-interview-with-joe-grand-pancyclopaedic-prototyping-polymath#t=2373) Current Projects: Parallax and Laser Rangefinder
- [44:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-09-13-an-interview-with-joe-grand-pancyclopaedic-prototyping-polymath#t=2646) Manufacturing Strategy: Local vs. China
- [56:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-09-13-an-interview-with-joe-grand-pancyclopaedic-prototyping-polymath#t=3390) Risks of Factory Substitutions

## Topics

- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Discovery Channel (company)
- Prototype This (product)
- Parallax (company)
- DEF CON (other)
- e-teknet (company)
- MakerBot (company)
- Jack Kilby (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Sam Holland (Co-Founder, Informal)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it/2026-04-15-sam-holland-co-founder-informal) (Just Gonna Send It)
- [Episode 065: A mallard is a tool you use when you do chisel work](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2016-04-01-episode-065-a-mallard-is-a-tool-you-use-when-you-do-chisel-work) (Making It)
- [140: Physics Is the Same Everywhere](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-02-25-140-physics-is-the-same-everywhere) (Embedded.fm)
- [469: It’s My Fault, But Also Your Fault](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2025-01-31-469-its-my-fault-but-also-your-fault) (Making It)
- [Episode 279: Making things for making things](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2020-10-02-episode-279-making-things-for-making-things) (Making It)

## Citing this page

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