SolidCon and Traveling Tech - Joined Junk Jocularity

The Amp Hour · 28 May 2014 · 1h 11m · Episode 200

What this episode covers

Dave Jones and Chris Gammell discuss the SolidCon conference, where Gammell presented on open-source hardware design tools, highlighting the rise of IoT protocols like MQTT and platforms like dweet.io. They critique Mentor Graphics' new PADS offering for releasing only a schematic tool, arguing it fails to address the needs of hobbyists who require full PCB layout capabilities. The conversation also covers the Solar Roadways project, which they deem impractical for roads due to cost and complexity, and the auction of Jack Kilby's original microchip prototype by Texas Instruments.

Mentioned

Companies
Mentor Graphics, Texas Instruments, DigiKey, Fluke, Bug Labs, Quirky, Local Motors, PCH International, Apple, 3D Robotics, GE, O'Reilly, Zappos, Makani, NASA, Bell Labs, Fairchild, Red Hat, Google, Ford, Altium
Products
Solar Roadways, Google Glass, Pelican, Rigol, Beats by Dre, Highway 1, Tegano, Mantis, Wind-powered Kite, BenchBuddy, Mantis Microscope, Oscilloscope, Portal Lab
Tools
PADS, KiCad
Also
SolidCon, MQTT, dweet.io, Jack Kilby, Arduino, SparkCore, Electric, Center for Bits and Atoms, Fab Labs, Neil Gershenfeld, Nadia, James, Renee DiResta, Tony Hsieh, Vegas Tech Fund, Christie's, Elon Musk, Computer History Museum, Art of Electronics, eBay, Amazon, Teespring, GigaOM, Stacy Higginbotham, Peter Semelhack, Andy Simon, Python, Facebook, Twitter, Cisco Live, Fort Mason, San Francisco, Australia, Mexico, China, MIT, Fab, Shop Bot, Modelo, Epilog, CNC, BGA, Venture Funding, Hexagonal Tiles, FR-4, LEDs, Microcontrollers, Snow Melter, EEV Blog, Contextual Electronics, LED, Gooseneck Mics, Flying Camera Rig, Solder, Lead, Lead-free, Rossum Core, Flux Pens, Syringe, No-clean, Alcohol-based, Jeff Kaiser, Citrus-based, Hexachromo Valent, TSA, ATX Power Supply, Extension Cord, Abbott, Aussies, Open Hardware Design Tools, Internet of Things, Bluetooth, Circuit Hub, Brady Forrest, Maker Fair, Maker College, OATV, Hackerspaces, Sydney, Germany, Eagle, CERN, Interactive Router

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Embedded.fm · 31m

    Bonus: From Solid Con

    Elecia White interviews several hardware innovators at O'Reilly's Solid Conference, including Erin Mulcahy of littleBits, who demonstrates magnetic modular electronics and the new Arduino and cloud modules for prototyping. Jack Mudd of Onewheel explains the self-balancing electric skateboard's firmware tuning and successful Kickstarter, while Taylor Stein of AutoDesk highlights the free enthusiast license for Fusion 360 CAD software. The episode also covers Qualcomm's Laurie Yoler on IoT connectivity, Playtabase's Ahmed Daoud on the Remo gesture controller, Panoptes UAV's Terrence McKenna on collision avoidance sensors, and Coversant's Michael Holdmann on XMPP-based IoT service buses.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 08m

    100: Unintentional Radiator

    Hosts Amelia Cook and Christopher White reunite with guests Star Simpson and Jen Costillo to reflect on the evolution of the hardware hobbyist landscape over the two years since their first appearance. Star Simpson, who works at Orion, discusses her wearable device project and her open-source FPGA toolchain initiative called Balboa, while also recounting the challenges of crowdfunding the Octopart reference card. The group analyzes the shifting attitudes toward privacy and security in the Internet of Things, the rise of accessible prototyping tools like 3D printing and Crowd Supply, and the changing ecosystem of development boards including the Odroid and Arduino.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 14m

    171: Perfectly Good Being Square and Green

    Saar Drimer, founder of Boldport, discusses his approach to creating aesthetically pleasing, non-rectangular PCBs and the business model behind the Boldport Club. He explains how he uses his open-source tool, PCBMode, which bypasses traditional schematic capture to allow for artistic freedom in layout, and details the operational challenges of shipping monthly electronics kits to hundreds of subscribers via Cratejoy. Drimer also touches on the tension between engineering rigor and creative iteration, noting that his work often involves challenging assembly processes to encourage deeper engagement from hobbyists.

  • Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast · 1h 43m

    044 - Scots Army Knife

    Piotr Esden-Tempski of 1BitSquared discusses the company's role in manufacturing open-source hardware, specifically the Glasgow digital interface explorer, the iCEBreaker FPGA board, and the Black Magic Probe debugger. He explains the economic rationale for using an old Quad 4C pick-and-place machine for small-batch production and details how Glasgow uses an FPGA to dynamically generate hardware protocols via the nmigen HDL. The conversation also covers the geopolitical shift toward RISC-V in China, the challenges of debugging legacy industrial equipment, and the importance of documentation and community education in the open-source hardware ecosystem.

  • Embedded.fm · 56m

    35: All These Different Reasons Why You Might Want to Do Something

    Chris Gammell, co-host of The Amp Hour podcast and employee at a large industrial electronics company, discusses his new online course, Contextual Electronics, which bridges the gap between academic theory and practical hardware design. He explains the course's structure, which targets advanced Arduino users by teaching them to design, source parts for, and build a 'Bench Buddy' project using KiCad and open-source tools. Gammell details the logistical challenges of running a remote hardware class, including managing global time zones, version control via GitHub, and optimizing for low-cost, low-quantity component sourcing.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by The Amp Hour. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.