# Best way to find a leak

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2022-08-08
- Length: 1h 06m
- Episode: 598
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2022-08-08-best-way-to-find-a-leak
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/598-best-way-to-find-a-leak/

## Summary

Dave Jones and Chris Gammell discuss Jones's reverse engineering of a Banshee ultrasonic gas leak detector, focusing on its hazardous environment design and flawed LED display circuitry using 74HC164 shift registers. They explore the technical challenges of driving the display without proper current limiting and the decision to use a microcontroller or discrete logic for a replacement board. The conversation also covers the rise of RISC-V in the semiconductor industry, with Nordic Semiconductor hiring designers, and the state of IoT hardware, including critiques of Helium and news about Skywater's open-source ASIC efforts.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2022-08-08-best-way-to-find-a-leak#t=0) Introduction: Dave Jones and Chris Gammell
- [1:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2022-08-08-best-way-to-find-a-leak#t=77) Reverse Engineering the Banshee Gas Detector
- [21:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2022-08-08-best-way-to-find-a-leak#t=1297) Flawed LED Display Circuit Design
- [39:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2022-08-08-best-way-to-find-a-leak#t=2347) Google AR Glasses and Smart Glasses
- [45:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2022-08-08-best-way-to-find-a-leak#t=2701) DigiKey Warehouse and Automation
- [53:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2022-08-08-best-way-to-find-a-leak#t=3237) Skywater, Google, and RISC-V
- [1:00:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2022-08-08-best-way-to-find-a-leak#t=3615) Meta Metaverse Losses and IoT News

## Topics

- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Banshee (product)
- Fluke 87 (product)
- 74HC164 (chip)
- Raspberry Pi Pico (chip)
- Skywater (company)
- Nordic Semiconductor (company)
- Helium (product)
- Meta (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Ep027: Confusingly USB-C, Glowey Displays, Logically VGA, Hackers that Changed Gaming](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2019-07-19-ep027-confusingly-usb-c-glowey-displays-logically-vga-hackers-that-changed-gamin) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [523: Bad Experience With Donuts](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2026-04-02-523-bad-experience-with-donuts) (Embedded.fm)
- [Ep023: Everything Breaks... Raspberry Pi, ADS-B, Hackaday Website, and Automotive Airbags](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2019-06-14-ep023-everything-breaks-raspberry-pi-ads-b-hackaday-website-and-automotive-airba) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [025 - Opaque Magisterium](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2019-08-14-025-opaque-magisterium) (Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast)
- [Ep 375: Rebuilding Tech on Our Terms and the Hero Nerd](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2026-06-26-ep-375-rebuilding-tech-on-our-terms-and-the-hero-nerd) (Hackaday Podcast)

## Citing this page

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