# Chris Becomes Self Employed - Quixotic Quitting Quaere

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2014-02-12
- Length: 1h 16m
- Episode: 184
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-02-12-chris-becomes-self-employed-quixotic-quitting-quaere
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/184-chris-becomes-self-employed-quixotic-quitting-quaere/

## Summary

Chris Gammell of Contextual Electronics announces he is becoming self-employed after his employer rejected his request to work part-time, a decision driven by the growth of his own business and consulting pipeline. Dave Jones of EEV Blog discusses the operational details of his successful Kickstarter, including a $40,000 capital outlay for genuine parts, pilot run hiccups with Maxim components, and his transition to a drop-shipping model with his local assembler. The hosts also analyze the strategic implications of Tektronix's new MDO 3000 mixed-domain oscilloscope and the broader economic impact of manufacturing industry closures in Australia and the US.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-02-12-chris-becomes-self-employed-quixotic-quitting-quaere#t=0) Introduction: Chris Gammell Becomes Self-Employed
- [3:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-02-12-chris-becomes-self-employed-quixotic-quitting-quaere#t=198) Chris Gammell's Business Strategy and Income Streams
- [14:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-02-12-chris-becomes-self-employed-quixotic-quitting-quaere#t=878) The Collapse of Australian Automotive Manufacturing
- [23:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-02-12-chris-becomes-self-employed-quixotic-quitting-quaere#t=1399) Shenzhen Maker Faire and Dangerous Prototypes Workshop
- [26:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-02-12-chris-becomes-self-employed-quixotic-quitting-quaere#t=1582) DigiKey Logistics and Warehouse Operations
- [35:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-02-12-chris-becomes-self-employed-quixotic-quitting-quaere#t=2138) Dave Jones's Precision Current Source Test Jigs
- [43:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-02-12-chris-becomes-self-employed-quixotic-quitting-quaere#t=2615) Tektronix MDO 3000 Oscilloscope Review
- [51:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-02-12-chris-becomes-self-employed-quixotic-quitting-quaere#t=3091) Kickstarter Fulfillment and Manufacturing Hiccups
- [1:09:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-02-12-chris-becomes-self-employed-quixotic-quitting-quaere#t=4184) Analog Devices System-on-Chip and Industry Trends

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Test & measurement](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/test-and-measurement)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Contextual Electronics (company)
- EEV Blog (company)
- Tektronix (company)
- MDO 3000 (product)
- DigiKey (company)
- Maxim (company)
- Analog Devices (company)
- Dangerous Prototypes (company)
- Kiva Systems (company)
- Boston Dynamics (company)
- Google (company)
- Keysight (company)
- Agilent (company)
- Holden (company)
- Ford (company)
- Toyota (company)
- GM (company)
- IBM (company)
- Texas Instruments (company)
- Intel (company)
- National Semiconductor (company)
- Keithley (company)
- BenchBuddy (product)
- Libsyn (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [134: Kevin Kelly Remains Undefeated](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2026-06-24-134-kevin-kelly-remains-undefeated) (Thoroughly Considered)
- [3: Onward](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2015-10-28-3-onward) (Thoroughly Considered)
- [S3 E7: Building Bootstrapped Hardware That Sells with Christian Reed](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-builder-circle/2026-01-13-s3-e7-building-bootstrapped-hardware-that-sells-with-christian-reed) (The Builder Circle)
- [44: Light Up Strikes Back](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2014-03-26-44-light-up-strikes-back) (Embedded.fm)
- [96: Yarn Is Serious Business](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-04-08-96-yarn-is-serious-business) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

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