# An Interview with Alan Wolke (Re-broadcast)

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2021-08-24
- Length: 1h 27m
- Episode: 117
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-08-24-an-interview-with-alan-wolke-re-broadcast
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/117-an-interview-with-alan-wolke-re-broadcast/

## Summary

Alan Wolke, a field application engineer at Tektronix and popular electronics YouTuber, recounts his career path from a high school TV repair shop to designing high-speed optical transceivers at startups like Lytel and Multilink, and finally to validating read channels at Seagate. He discusses the technical evolution of oscilloscopes, the physics of noise in high-bandwidth instruments, and the importance of understanding tool limitations, drawing on his extensive experience with analog and digital test equipment. Wolke also shares insights into his ham radio activities, his YouTube content creation process, and the business realities of selling advanced test and measurement hardware.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-08-24-an-interview-with-alan-wolke-re-broadcast#t=0) Introduction and Early Electronics Career
- [6:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-08-24-an-interview-with-alan-wolke-re-broadcast#t=378) Ham Radio History and Project Diana
- [17:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-08-24-an-interview-with-alan-wolke-re-broadcast#t=1046) Career at Lytel and AMP: Optical Networking
- [21:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-08-24-an-interview-with-alan-wolke-re-broadcast#t=1273) Multilink, Vitesse, and Seagate Read Channels
- [33:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-08-24-an-interview-with-alan-wolke-re-broadcast#t=1983) Transition to Tektronix and Application Engineering
- [38:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-08-24-an-interview-with-alan-wolke-re-broadcast#t=2321) Troubleshooting EMI and Debugging Techniques
- [48:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-08-24-an-interview-with-alan-wolke-re-broadcast#t=2880) Oscilloscope Collection and Analog vs. Digital
- [50:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-08-24-an-interview-with-alan-wolke-re-broadcast#t=3046) YouTube Content Creation and Ham Radio
- [57:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-08-24-an-interview-with-alan-wolke-re-broadcast#t=3455) Future of Scopes and Coherent Optical Communications
- [1:16:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-08-24-an-interview-with-alan-wolke-re-broadcast#t=4578) Scope Pricing, Options, and Noise Physics

## Topics

- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Test & measurement](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/test-and-measurement)
- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Creator business](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/creator-business)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Tektronix (company)
- Lytel (company)
- AMP (company)
- Multilink (company)
- Vitesse Semiconductor (company)
- Seagate (company)
- Tektronix 465 (product)
- Tektronix 2467 (product)
- Allen B. Dumont (product)
- dorkage.com (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [S4E28 Kevin Distelhurst | Semiconductors – What They Are & How They’re Manufactured](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-07-28-s4e28-kevin-distelhurst-semiconductors-what-they-are-how-theyre-manufactured) (Being an Engineer)
- [Ep 319: Experimental Archaeology, Demoscene Oscilloscope Music, and Electronic Memories](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-05-02-ep-319-experimental-archaeology-demoscene-oscilloscope-music-and-electronic-memo) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [The Spark Gap - Episode 9](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-spark-gap/2014-08-12-the-spark-gap-episode-9) (The Spark Gap)
- [S6E41 James Davis | Living in Ukraine for $12/Day to Become An Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-10-10-s6e41-james-davis-living-in-ukraine-for-12-day-to-become-an-engineer) (Being an Engineer)
- [184: Not Likely, Possible, or Safe](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-01-18-184-not-likely-possible-or-safe) (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/2021-08-24-an-interview-with-alan-wolke-re-broadcast. 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.