Work on it for 10 years...

The Amp Hour · 30 Dec 2016 · 1h 42m · Episode 329

What this episode covers

Eliseo White and Chris White of Embedded.fm join Chris Gammell of Contextual Electronics to discuss skill improvement, the importance of deliberate practice, and the challenges of learning electronics and programming. They debate the best ways to teach engineering fundamentals, the limitations of prototyping platforms like MicroPython and Arduino, and the transition from hobbyist projects to manufacturable products. The conversation also covers their personal interests, including 3D printing, VR, and solar energy, while highlighting the gap between building a prototype and shipping a reliable product.

Mentioned

Companies
Embedded.fm, Contextual Electronics, Tesla, SpaceX
Products
Arduino, MicroPython, BeagleBone, Raspberry Pi, LulzBot Mini, Monoprice Mini, Flybricks
Chips
ESP8266, ESP32, nRF52
Tools
Analog Discovery, Saleae, Fusion 360, HemingwayApp

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 42m

    181: Work on It for Ten Years

    Chris Gammell of Contextual Electronics joins the hosts of Embedded.fm and The Amp Hour for a crossover holiday episode discussing expertise, prototyping tools, and industry trends. The conversation covers the limitations of MicroPython on custom hardware, the value of analog circuit design, and the importance of writing to clarify technical thinking. They also share personal updates on learning calculus, using VR for exercise, and the future of solar energy and automation.

  • Embedded.fm · 56m

    351: Dextral or Sinistral

    Hosts Elecia White and Christopher White discuss the value of show transcripts, compare NumPy and MATLAB for computational work, and detail Christopher's 3D printed Star Wars lightsaber and Elecia's Python-based origami seashell modeling. They also address listener questions regarding career transitions into embedded systems, emphasizing the importance of internships, open-source contributions, and building tangible projects like using Rust or Linux tools. The episode concludes with commentary on the hardware ecosystem, including ARM Macs and GPU shortages.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 01m

    144: Asking For Clippy

    Hosts Elecia White and Christopher White discuss the Hackaday Prize structure, the launch of the NPR podcast 'Embedded', and Christopher's recent success in obtaining his General amateur radio license. They compare the development experience of taking a Unity game engine course to embedded systems work, highlighting the superior tooling and rapid iteration times in game development versus the friction of bare-metal embedded toolchains like IAR. The episode also touches on the sale of Boston Dynamics by Google and offers a large batch of Atmel AT32UC3 microcontrollers to listeners.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 06m

    191: What, Yogurt!?!

    Hosts Elecia White and Christopher White answer listener emails, covering topics from I2C pitfalls and RTOS choices to advice for students and engineers dealing with legacy code. They discuss the 'March Micro Madness' dev kit tournament, automation in embedded testing, and the challenges of refactoring a 60,000-line monolithic codebase. The episode also includes career advice for undergraduates and a discussion on short stories.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 44m

    228: Pedantic or Andrantic

    Chris Gamble, a developer advocate at Hologram, discusses the complexities of cellular IoT connectivity, explaining how his company simplifies the hardware, connectivity, and software stack for developers. Elecia White, author of 'Making Embedded Systems', and Chris White, firmware engineer at Fitbit, share their professional backgrounds and recent holiday gifts, including Moog and Teenage Engineering synthesizers, a J-Trace Pro debugger, and a HackRF software-defined radio. The hosts engage in a deep discussion on pedagogy, specifically the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition, and strategies for learning complex topics like computer vision and embedded software by using practical projects as hooks.

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.