Hardware Podcasts

Voltnuts for Flashlights

The Amp Hour · 17 Jun 2019 · 1h 08m · Episode 447

What this episode covers

Dave Jones and Chris Gammell discuss the dangers of shorting batteries, using a melted toy switch to illustrate how low ESR components can fail catastically, and analyze an Apple LCD connector failure caused by moisture ingress and insufficient creepage distance. They debate whether electronics engineers can effectively handle mechanical design, citing Tesla's manufacturing inefficiencies and the value of specialized industrial designers. The conversation concludes with the closure of Make magazine, analyzing its failure as a result of venture capital pressure on a low-margin business model, and touches on industry consolidation involving Infineon, Cypress, and RISC-V.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Apple, Tesla, Toyota, Infineon, Cypress, Sci-5, Linear Technology, NXP, Free Scale, Parallax
Products
ICEbreaker
Chips
Rabbit 2000, iCE40
Also
EEV blog, Contextual Electronics, Make magazine, RISC-V

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