# Sipping Coulombs

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2018-04-23
- Length: 1h 08m
- Episode: 389
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-04-23-sipping-coulombs
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/389-sipping-coulombs/

## Summary

Dave Jones of EEVblog and Chris Gammell of Contextual Electronics discuss the business realities of hardware, including the bankruptcy of Chip Board and the supply chain constraints facing Jones's own multimeter production. They analyze the economics of low-cost single-board computers like Raspberry Pi and the challenges of designing for long battery life, using a hypothetical keychain device to illustrate power budgeting with primary lithium cells and BLE. The conversation also covers the culture of Defcon badges, debunking pseudoscientific wireless charging claims, and the importance of validating product requirements early.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-04-23-sipping-coulombs#t=0) Introduction and News Sources
- [2:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-04-23-sipping-coulombs#t=150) Automation Tools and Chip Board Bankruptcy
- [6:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-04-23-sipping-coulombs#t=374) Low-Cost Hardware Economics and Raspberry Pi
- [13:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-04-23-sipping-coulombs#t=839) Supply Chain Constraints and Production Limits
- [19:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-04-23-sipping-coulombs#t=1147) Crowdfunding Fraud and Brand Protection
- [23:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-04-23-sipping-coulombs#t=1401) Defcon Badge Culture and Conference Electronics
- [32:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-04-23-sipping-coulombs#t=1961) Debunking Wireless Charging and Low Power Design
- [46:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-04-23-sipping-coulombs#t=2776) Battery Sizing and Power Budgeting for Low Power Devices
- [55:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-04-23-sipping-coulombs#t=3312) Custom ASICs and Conclusion

## Topics

- [Batteries & low-power design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/batteries-and-low-power)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- EEVblog (company)
- Contextual Electronics (company)
- Integromat (tool)
- Zapier (tool)
- Chip Board (company)
- Raspberry Pi (product)
- Broadcom (company)
- Espressif (company)
- ESP32 (chip)
- Olimex (company)
- MediaTek (chip)
- Texas Instruments (company)
- DigiKey (company)
- Mouser (company)
- Indiegogo (company)
- Kickstarter (company)
- Defcon (other)
- Joe Grand (other)
- Batterizer (product)
- WeCharge (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Hard Earned Lessons Learned with Wayne Frick of ChirpSounds – Part 2](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/predictable-designs-podcast/2020-06-22-hard-earned-lessons-learned-with-wayne-frick-of-chirpsounds-part-2) (Predictable Designs Podcast)
- [EP014: Keeping Raspberry's SD Card Alive, We Love MRRF, and How Hot Are Flip Chips?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2019-04-12-ep014-keeping-raspberrys-sd-card-alive-we-love-mrrf-and-how-hot-are-flip-chips) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [#018: The Hidden Complexity of Sleep Tech: Power, Comfort, and 8 Hours of Reliability](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2025-11-26-018-the-hidden-complexity-of-sleep-tech-power-comfort-and-8-hours-of-reliability) (Coredump Sessions)
- [278: Bricks' Batteries Last Forever](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-02-15-278-bricks-batteries-last-forever) (Embedded.fm)
- [T-26-012 : Founders From The Show Floor - CES 2026](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/tradeoffs/2026-02-04-t-26-012-founders-from-the-show-floor-ces-2026) (TRADEOFFS)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-04-23-sipping-coulombs. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to The Amp Hour.