# An Interview with Ben Heck(endorn)

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2020-04-28
- Length: 1h 23m
- Episode: 490
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-04-28-an-interview-with-ben-heck-endorn
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/490-an-interview-with-ben-heckendorn/

## Summary

Ben Heckendorn, host of The Ben Heck Show, discusses his transition from a high-volume YouTube series to contract prototyping, specifically designing accessibility controllers for disabled gamers and latency testing equipment for developers like Infinity Ward. He details the technical challenges of hacking PlayStation controllers compared to Xbox, the business of selling testing gear to major studios, and the current state of the pinball industry with manufacturers like Stern and Spooky. Heckendorn also reflects on the decline of Maker Faire, the evolution of 3D printing from hobbyist novelty to essential tool, and the technical history of microcontrollers from PIC assembly to modern ARM-based platforms.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-04-28-an-interview-with-ben-heck-endorn#t=0) Introduction: Ben Heckendorn and The Amp Hour
- [2:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-04-28-an-interview-with-ben-heck-endorn#t=160) Contract Prototyping and Accessibility Controllers
- [4:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-04-28-an-interview-with-ben-heck-endorn#t=293) Video Game Latency Testing Equipment
- [11:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-04-28-an-interview-with-ben-heck-endorn#t=712) Next-Gen Console Compatibility and Hardware
- [18:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-04-28-an-interview-with-ben-heck-endorn#t=1097) The Pinball Industry and Licensing
- [37:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-04-28-an-interview-with-ben-heck-endorn#t=2262) Maker Faire Decline and Maker Community
- [41:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-04-28-an-interview-with-ben-heck-endorn#t=2493) 3D Printing Evolution and Tools
- [47:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-04-28-an-interview-with-ben-heck-endorn#t=2854) Independent Film History: Possumus
- [53:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-04-28-an-interview-with-ben-heck-endorn#t=3236) The Ben Heck Show Production History
- [1:16:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-04-28-an-interview-with-ben-heck-endorn#t=4564) Microcontroller History and Embedded Engineering

## Topics

- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Maker community & events](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/maker-community)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Hori (company)
- Infinity Ward (company)
- Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (product)
- Stern (company)
- Spooky (company)
- Rick and Morty (product)
- AC/DC (product)
- Salier (company)
- Maker Faire (other)
- 3D printer (product)
- Replicator One (product)
- Autodesk Fusion 360 (tool)
- Possumus Woman (product)
- Element14 (company)
- Ben Heck Show (product)
- Revision 3 (company)
- Arduino (product)
- PIC (chip)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [81: Two of Those People Can't Be Ducks](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2014-12-17-81-two-of-those-people-cant-be-ducks) (Embedded.fm)
- [144: Asking For Clippy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-03-23-144-asking-for-clippy) (Embedded.fm)
- [501: If They’re Looking at the Details… then the Seafood is HORRIBLE](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2025-10-10-501-if-theyre-looking-at-the-details-then-the-seafood-is-horrible) (Making It)
- [Episode 045: Just what we need… another YouTuber with a backhoe.](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2015-11-13-episode-045-just-what-we-need-another-youtuber-with-a-backhoe) (Making It)
- [Episode 224: Jumping-in-furing-out-i-tiv-ness](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2019-08-16-episode-224-jumping-in-furing-out-i-tiv-ness) (Making It)

## 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/2020-04-28-an-interview-with-ben-heck-endorn. 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.