# Idiorhythmic IPC Inconcinnity

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2011-11-22
- Length: 1h 04m
- Episode: 70
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-11-22-idiorhythmic-ipc-inconcinnity
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/the-amp-hour-70-idiorhythmic-ipc-inconcinnity/

## Summary

Hosts Abraham and Dave Jones discuss the realities of engineering consulting, contrasting hourly billing and tax implications in the US with Australian sole trader structures, while highlighting the risks of fixed-price quotes and spec creep. They explore the challenges of standardizing PCB footprints across different EDA tools like Altium and KiCad, noting the lack of universal libraries and the influence of PCB assemblers on design choices. The conversation also touches on Apple's supply chain dominance, the technical limitations of tiny microcontrollers like the ATtiny10, and the business model behind Amazon's Kindle hardware.

## Chapters

- [0:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-11-22-idiorhythmic-ipc-inconcinnity#t=28) Introduction and Thanksgiving Chat
- [8:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-11-22-idiorhythmic-ipc-inconcinnity#t=488) Consulting Economics and Tax Rates
- [17:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-11-22-idiorhythmic-ipc-inconcinnity#t=1072) Pitfalls of Fixed-Price Quotes and Spec Creep
- [21:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-11-22-idiorhythmic-ipc-inconcinnity#t=1265) The Reality of Consulting vs. Employment
- [24:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-11-22-idiorhythmic-ipc-inconcinnity#t=1442) Ham Radio, Snowblowers, and Autonomous Robots
- [45:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-11-22-idiorhythmic-ipc-inconcinnity#t=2727) PCB Footprint Standardization and EDA Tools
- [54:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-11-22-idiorhythmic-ipc-inconcinnity#t=3259) Apple's Supply Chain Power and Kindle Economics
- [1:02:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-11-22-idiorhythmic-ipc-inconcinnity#t=3724) Next Week's Guest: Cree's John Edmund

## Topics

- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [EDA & CAD tools](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/eda-and-cad-tools)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- EEV Blog (other)
- Element14 (other)
- Altium (tool)
- KiCad (tool)
- Eagle (tool)
- ATtiny10 (chip)
- Apple (company)
- Amazon (company)
- Kindle (product)
- Cree (company)
- Roomba (product)
- iRobot (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [20: Soldered Together By Monkeys](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2013-09-26-20-soldered-together-by-monkeys) (Embedded.fm)
- [123: Banished from Running Linux](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-10-28-123-banished-from-running-linux) (Embedded.fm)
- [Code-Based PCB Design with AI: Inside atopile](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2026-06-23-code-based-pcb-design-with-ai-inside-atopile) (OnTrack)
- [The Spark Gap - Episode 52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-spark-gap/2018-01-01-the-spark-gap-episode-52) (The Spark Gap)
- [Solving PCB Library Issues: Expert Advice from Elizabeth Bustamante](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2025-04-19-solving-pcb-library-issues-expert-advice-from-elizabeth-bustamante) (OnTrack)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-11-22-idiorhythmic-ipc-inconcinnity. 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 The Amp Hour.