# PCB Mills, SDR and Oscilloscopes - Flaunting Furbelow Fanciness

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2013-05-15
- Length: 1h 20m
- Episode: 145
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-05-15-pcb-mills-sdr-and-oscilloscopes-flaunting-furbelow-fanciness
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/the-amp-hour-145-flaunting-furbelow-fanciness/

## Summary

Hosts Dave Jones and Chris Gammell discuss the Amp Hour t-shirt launch via Printfection and upcoming community meetups at Hamvention and Maker Faire. They review a $20 USB software-defined radio (SDR) dongle for visualizing RF signals and analyze the pricing strategies of oscilloscope manufacturers like Rigol and Agilent. The conversation also covers browser-based PCB design tools like PCBWeb, the technical limitations of 'alternate trigger' in modern scopes, and the niche market for desktop PCB mills such as the Other Mill.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-05-15-pcb-mills-sdr-and-oscilloscopes-flaunting-furbelow-fanciness#t=0) Introduction and Sponsor Read
- [1:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-05-15-pcb-mills-sdr-and-oscilloscopes-flaunting-furbelow-fanciness#t=68) Amp Hour T-Shirts and Printfection
- [3:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-05-15-pcb-mills-sdr-and-oscilloscopes-flaunting-furbelow-fanciness#t=180) Hamvention and Maker Faire Meetups
- [6:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-05-15-pcb-mills-sdr-and-oscilloscopes-flaunting-furbelow-fanciness#t=412) Software-Defined Radio (SDR) Dongles
- [18:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-05-15-pcb-mills-sdr-and-oscilloscopes-flaunting-furbelow-fanciness#t=1102) 80s CAD Software and Legacy Tools
- [26:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-05-15-pcb-mills-sdr-and-oscilloscopes-flaunting-furbelow-fanciness#t=1577) Oscilloscope Purchasing and Pricing
- [35:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-05-15-pcb-mills-sdr-and-oscilloscopes-flaunting-furbelow-fanciness#t=2108) Alternate Trigger in Modern Scopes
- [44:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-05-15-pcb-mills-sdr-and-oscilloscopes-flaunting-furbelow-fanciness#t=2670) PCBWeb and Browser-Based CAD
- [1:06:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-05-15-pcb-mills-sdr-and-oscilloscopes-flaunting-furbelow-fanciness#t=4018) Desktop PCB Mills and Other Mill
- [1:16:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-05-15-pcb-mills-sdr-and-oscilloscopes-flaunting-furbelow-fanciness#t=4586) Workbench of the Week

## Topics

- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Test & measurement](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/test-and-measurement)
- [Maker community & events](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/maker-community)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Wireless & RF](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/wireless-and-rf)
- [EDA & CAD tools](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/eda-and-cad-tools)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- Printfection (other)
- SDR (product)
- Rigol (company)
- Agilent (company)
- Tektronix (company)
- PCBWeb (tool)
- Other Mill (product)
- Roland (company)
- LPKF (company)
- DigiKey (company)
- Altium (company)
- KiCad (tool)
- Upverter (tool)
- CircuitHub (company)
- Thingsquare (company)
- Sapphire OS (product)
- iRobot (company)
- Stanford Solar Car Lab (company)
- OSH Park (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [The Spark Gap - Episode 9](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-spark-gap/2014-08-12-the-spark-gap-episode-9) (The Spark Gap)
- [035 - Giving it all away (Listener Survery)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2020-07-04-035-giving-it-all-away-listener-survery) (Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast)
- [009 - T0015! Part 0x2: All Ur sigs R belong to uS.](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2018-04-15-009-t0015-part-0x2-all-ur-sigs-r-belong-to-us) (Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast)
- [Ep 363: The History of PLA, Laser DIY PCBs, and Corporate Craziness](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2026-03-27-ep-363-the-history-of-pla-laser-diy-pcbs-and-corporate-craziness) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [171: Perfectly Good Being Square and Green](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-10-12-171-perfectly-good-being-square-and-green) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

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