# Voltnuts for Flashlights

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2019-06-17
- Length: 1h 08m
- Episode: 447
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-06-17-voltnuts-for-flashlights
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/447-voltnuts-for-flashlights/

## Summary

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.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-06-17-voltnuts-for-flashlights#t=0) Introduction and Sick Leave Discussion
- [5:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-06-17-voltnuts-for-flashlights#t=331) Melted Switch and Battery Short Circuit Analysis
- [10:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-06-17-voltnuts-for-flashlights#t=616) DC Arc Over and Apple LCD Connector Failure
- [27:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-06-17-voltnuts-for-flashlights#t=1645) Battery Specifications: Watt Hours vs Milliamp Hours
- [34:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-06-17-voltnuts-for-flashlights#t=2074) Electronics Engineers and Mechanical Design Limitations
- [43:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-06-17-voltnuts-for-flashlights#t=2581) Tesla Manufacturing Costs and Design for Manufacturing
- [50:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-06-17-voltnuts-for-flashlights#t=3056) Make Magazine Closure and Venture Capital Analysis
- [1:01:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-06-17-voltnuts-for-flashlights#t=3702) Industry Consolidation: Infineon, Cypress, and RISC-V

## Topics

- [Batteries & low-power design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/batteries-and-low-power)
- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Design for manufacturing & NPI](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/design-for-manufacturing)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- EEV blog (other)
- Contextual Electronics (other)
- Apple (company)
- Tesla (company)
- Toyota (company)
- Make magazine (other)
- Infineon (company)
- Cypress (company)
- RISC-V (other)
- Sci-5 (company)
- Linear Technology (company)
- NXP (company)
- Free Scale (company)
- Rabbit 2000 (chip)
- Parallax (company)
- iCE40 (chip)
- ICEbreaker (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Ep 313: Capacitor Plague, Wireless Power, and Tiny Everything](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-03-21-ep-313-capacitor-plague-wireless-power-and-tiny-everything-cb8186ab) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [Ep 313: Capacitor Plague, Wireless Power, and Tiny Everything](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-03-21-ep-313-capacitor-plague-wireless-power-and-tiny-everything) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [iFixit’s Shahram Mokhtari on the hidden design of modern electronics, CES-week manufacturing headlines, and a Reconstruction of Juicero, the $700 connected juicer that defined over-engineering.](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/go-no-go/2026-01-06-ifixits-shahram-mokhtari-on-the-hidden-design-of-modern-electronics-ces-week-man) (Go/No-Go)
- [The Spark Gap - Episode 27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-spark-gap/2015-02-25-the-spark-gap-episode-27) (The Spark Gap)
- [244: Magic And Electrons](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2018-05-04-244-magic-and-electrons) (Embedded.fm)

## 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/2019-06-17-voltnuts-for-flashlights. 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.