Electrical Archeology

The Amp Hour · 7 Mar 2022 · 1h 08m · Episode 580

What this episode covers

Chris Gammell and Dave Jones discuss the challenges of finding replacement components, specifically a Sino Power MOSFET with built-in ESD protection, and the broader issue of obscure semiconductor sourcing. They analyze the technical and economic trade-offs of using SO8 packages versus power packages, and the scarcity of ideal diode controllers. The conversation shifts to the practical failures of floating solar farms and the complexities of grid management, before concluding with an analysis of the current hardware engineering labor market, focusing on the disparity in compensation between software and hardware engineers and the impact of remote work mandates on retention.

Mentioned

Companies
Sino Power, VB Semi, LT, TI, OnSemi, ABB, Altium, Google, Apple
Products
F-150 Lightning, Cybertruck
Also
LCSC, DigiKey, Mouser

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