Loopback

The Amp Hour · 6 Nov 2017 · 1h 03m · Episode 366

What this episode covers

Chris Gammell and Dave Jones, founders of Contextual Electronics and EEVblog respectively, discuss the origins of The Amp Hour podcast, tracing its roots to a Reddit interaction and their early days at Keithley and Altium. They analyze the semiconductor industry's consolidation, highlighting the financial struggles of companies like Freescale and the aggressive marketing strategies of Texas Instruments with the $4.30 Launchpad. The conversation explores the economics of open-source hardware, detailing how designers like Jones optimize BOMs to compete with giants like SparkFun and Adafruit, while warning against gray market counterfeit components and invention brokers.

Mentioned

Companies
Contextual Electronics, Keithley, Altium, Freescale, Texas Instruments, SparkFun, Adafruit, Rochester Electronics, Farnell, RS
Products
EEVblog, Launchpad, Arduino, Design Spark
Tools
Eagle

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