# Brewing Electronics with Eli Hughes

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2020-10-05
- Length: 1h 16m
- Episode: 511
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-10-05-brewing-electronics-with-eli-hughes
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/511-brewing-electronics-with-eli-hughes/

## Summary

Eli Hughes of TZero Research and Development discusses building a connected brewery monitoring system using acoustic sensors and cellular connectivity. He details his transition from FreeRTOS to the Zephyr RTOS, highlighting Zephyr's benefits for standardizing builds and enabling PC-based simulation. Hughes also shares his experience as an NXP Pro Support engineer and the business lessons learned from validating product-market fit with craft brewers.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-10-05-brewing-electronics-with-eli-hughes#t=0) Introduction and RTOS Philosophy
- [8:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-10-05-brewing-electronics-with-eli-hughes#t=525) FreeRTOS vs. Zephyr: Complexity and Tooling
- [13:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-10-05-brewing-electronics-with-eli-hughes#t=827) Zephyr's PC Simulation and Standardization
- [20:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-10-05-brewing-electronics-with-eli-hughes#t=1225) TZero's Sonic Density Sensor and Brewery Monitoring
- [24:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-10-05-brewing-electronics-with-eli-hughes#t=1458) Startup Journey: From Consulting to Product
- [35:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-10-05-brewing-electronics-with-eli-hughes#t=2118) Funding, Validation, and the 'Hang in the Morning' Mentality
- [46:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-10-05-brewing-electronics-with-eli-hughes#t=2761) Connectivity Choices: Cellular vs. WiFi and Battery Power
- [56:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-10-05-brewing-electronics-with-eli-hughes#t=3385) Expanding to Glycol, Synthetic Biology, and NXP Pro Support

## Topics

- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Wireless & RF](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/wireless-and-rf)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- TZero Research and Development (company)
- Zephyr (tool)
- FreeRTOS (tool)
- NXP (company)
- Nordic (company)
- Altium Live (other)
- Sonic Density Sensor (product)
- LPC55S69 (chip)
- CMake (tool)
- Ninja (tool)
- West (tool)
- Sega Embedded Studio (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Eli Hughes' Nordic and i.MX powered Guitar, Pico Operating System, WiFi over LoRaWAN and more!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-electromaker-show/2024-05-24-eli-hughes-nordic-and-i-mx-powered-guitar-pico-operating-system-wifi-over-lorawa) (The Electromaker Show)
- [370: This Is the Whey](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-04-22-370-this-is-the-whey) (Embedded.fm)
- [Zephyr with Luka Mustafa](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-pragmatic-embedded-podcast/2025-11-09-zephyr-with-luka-mustafa) (The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast)
- [479: Make Your Voice Heard](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2024-06-13-479-make-your-voice-heard) (Embedded.fm)
- [531: Sequestering the Mess](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2026-08-06-531-sequestering-the-mess) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

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