# At least my house isn't haunted

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2023-04-24
- Length: 1h 03m
- Episode: 629
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-04-24-at-least-my-house-isnt-haunted
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/629-at-least-my-house-isnt-haunted/

## Summary

Chris Gammell recounts a bizarre electrical failure in his US home where one of the two 120V phases was lost, causing power to backfeed through his hot water heater's resistive element to the other leg, leaving half the house dead. Dave Jones analyzes the physics of this split-phase system failure and the role of the resistive load in bridging the gap. The hosts then discuss the recent Starship launch failure, the acquisition of National Instruments by Emerson Electric, and Dave's microcontroller selection process comparing Microchip PIC and STM32 chips.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-04-24-at-least-my-house-isnt-haunted#t=0) Introduction and Puzzler Recap
- [1:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-04-24-at-least-my-house-isnt-haunted#t=60) Chris's Haunted House Electrical Mystery
- [4:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-04-24-at-least-my-house-isnt-haunted#t=293) Diagnosing the Split-Phase Failure
- [10:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-04-24-at-least-my-house-isnt-haunted#t=623) The Root Cause: Broken Hot Leg and Resistive Backfeed
- [32:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-04-24-at-least-my-house-isnt-haunted#t=1938) Starship Launch Failure Analysis
- [43:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-04-24-at-least-my-house-isnt-haunted#t=2628) Emerson Acquires National Instruments
- [51:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-04-24-at-least-my-house-isnt-haunted#t=3063) Microcontroller Selection: PIC vs STM32
- [1:00:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-04-24-at-least-my-house-isnt-haunted#t=3632) Nordic Semiconductor nRF54H20 and RISC-V

## Topics

- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- Starship (product)
- National Instruments (company)
- Emerson Electric (company)
- Prusa (company)
- STM32 (chip)
- PIC24 (chip)
- Nordic Semiconductor (company)
- nRF54H20 (chip)
- LabVIEW (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Ep106: Connector Kerfuffle, Tuning Fork Time, Spinach Contact Prints, and Tesla's Permanent Memory](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-02-19-ep106-connector-kerfuffle-tuning-fork-time-spinach-contact-prints-and-teslas-per) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [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)
- [The Spark Gap - Episode 32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-spark-gap/2015-05-06-the-spark-gap-episode-32) (The Spark Gap)
- [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)
- [405: Bacta Tank for Your Brain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2022-03-11-405-bacta-tank-for-your-brain) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

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