The Amp Hour · 5 Aug 2019 · 1h 11m · Episode 453
Dave Jones of EEV Blog and Chris Gammell of Contextual Electronics discuss hardware design challenges, including Jones's complex USB and power delivery implementation for the Micro Supply and Gammell's exploration of low-cost components like the three-cent microcontroller. They analyze the strategic value of sticking to familiar microcontrollers versus selecting parts based on technical merit, and discuss the impact of tariffs and supply chain shifts on small-scale manufacturers. The episode concludes with Jones sharing insights from his visit to the Apollo 11 tracking stations and the making of the documentary 'Apollo 11'.
early-stage companies and makers and hobbyists
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Hosts Carl and Corey discuss the strategic transition from using development kits to custom hardware designs. They analyze the risks of supply chain dependency, the importance of selecting dev kits based on final product requirements rather than convenience, and the software implications of hardware abstraction layers. The conversation also covers practical advice for first-time PCB designers, including managing power supplies and simplifying assembly processes.
Hosts Elliot Williams and Jenny List recap Hackaday Europe, detailing the logistical chaos of the SAO badge production, including customs delays and the heroic work of Voyer Antonich in programming PIC microcontrollers. They discuss a retrospective on the early 2000s capacitor plague, analyzing Asianometry’s theory that thermal design failures, rather than industrial espionage, caused the systemic component failures. The episode highlights several hardware hacks, including a thermal microscope using germanium lenses, inefficient but large-scale wireless power transfer experiments, and the use of PCB spring connectors in passive resistance boxes. Finally, they examine the trend of extreme miniaturization, featuring Mike Roller’s tiny PCB blinky and Texas Instruments’ new ultra-small microcontroller, while noting the potential for extracting rare earth elements from coal fly ash.
Hosts Jen Castillo and Alvaro Prieto discuss their pandemic-era projects, including Alvaro's recreation of his father's 7400-series digital clock, a USB-C power adapter using a Cypress chip, and a t-shirt quilt. Jen details her reverse engineering of a greeting card chip, her exploration of Chinese manufacturing via Alibaba, and her choreography of a remote dance piece. They also cover the cancellation of hardware conferences like Hackaday Supercon and HackRF, and recommend movies such as 'Mood Indigo' and '3 Idiots'.
Andrew Ikenberry, founder of Electrosmith and Qu-Bit, discusses the Daisy Seed platform, an embedded system for audio processing featuring an STM32H750 microcontroller and external SDRAM. He details the 'codec saga,' where supply chain disruptions forced three hardware redesigns (AKM, Cirrus Logic, TI) due to factory fires and obsolescence. Ikenberry explains how Electrosmith manages in-house SMT assembly in San Clemente to maintain quality control and iterates on manufacturing processes like reflow profiles to ensure reliability for B2B customers.
Anne Barela, a retired U.S. Foreign Service security engineer and consulting engineer at Adafruit, discusses her journey from Caltech and government service to the maker community. She explains how affordable dev boards like the Adafruit Trinket and Circuit Playground Express, along with libraries for CircuitPython and Arduino, lowered the barrier to entry for embedded electronics. Barela also shares insights on writing accessible tutorials, the impact of global chip shortages on hobbyists versus enterprise manufacturers, and the potential for open-source hardware in developing regions.
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