# Mars, Makerbot & Power Outages - Reprobate Replicator Replication

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2012-08-13
- Length: 1h 08m
- Episode: 108
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-08-13-mars-makerbot-power-outages-reprobate-replicator-replication
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/the-amp-hour-108-reprobate-replicator-replication/

## Summary

Dave Jones and Chris Gammell discuss the engineering success of the Mars Curiosity Rover landing, noting its use of legacy algorithms and radiation-hardened PowerPC hardware. They analyze the controversy surrounding a Kickstarter project cloning the MakerBot Replicator, debating whether manufacturing efficiency constitutes innovation in open source hardware. The hosts also cover recent power grid failures in India, the business models of power semiconductor vendors like Infineon and STMicro, and technical insights into isolated power supplies using buck converters.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-08-13-mars-makerbot-power-outages-reprobate-replicator-replication#t=0) Introduction: Mars Landing and Power Outages
- [3:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-08-13-mars-makerbot-power-outages-reprobate-replicator-replication#t=196) Mars Curiosity Rover Engineering and Legacy Systems
- [11:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-08-13-mars-makerbot-power-outages-reprobate-replicator-replication#t=692) Podcast Server Issues and Libsyn CDN
- [18:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-08-13-mars-makerbot-power-outages-reprobate-replicator-replication#t=1088) MakerBot Replicator Kickstarter Controversy
- [37:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-08-13-mars-makerbot-power-outages-reprobate-replicator-replication#t=2230) Open Source Hardware Cloning and Value
- [44:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-08-13-mars-makerbot-power-outages-reprobate-replicator-replication#t=2668) Top Power Semiconductor Vendors and Six Sigma
- [50:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-08-13-mars-makerbot-power-outages-reprobate-replicator-replication#t=3005) India Power Grid Failure and California Crisis
- [1:00:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-08-13-mars-makerbot-power-outages-reprobate-replicator-replication#t=3628) Isolated Power Supply Design and TI AppNote

## Topics

- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Analog & power electronics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/analog-and-power-electronics)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- MakerBot (company)
- Libsyn (other)
- Infineon (company)
- STMicro (company)
- Texas Instruments (company)
- National Instruments (company)
- Valve (company)
- Enron (company)

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- [73: That's a Waste of Bits](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2014-10-22-73-thats-a-waste-of-bits) (Embedded.fm)
- [The Spark Gap - Episode 32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-spark-gap/2015-05-06-the-spark-gap-episode-32) (The Spark Gap)
- [Ep023: Everything Breaks... Raspberry Pi, ADS-B, Hackaday Website, and Automotive Airbags](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2019-06-14-ep023-everything-breaks-raspberry-pi-ads-b-hackaday-website-and-automotive-airba) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [Pi Powered Jägermachine, Anti-tracking hardware, Trojans inside AVR bootloaders, and more!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-electromaker-show/2022-10-03-pi-powered-jagermachine-anti-tracking-hardware-trojans-inside-avr-bootloaders-an) (The Electromaker Show)

## Citing this page

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