Circuit Break - A MacroFab Podcast

Guests

• Zapp
  • Chief Bling Officer (CBO) at AND!XOR
  • During his limited free time he writes vulnerable C code, dabbles in Kicad, and trolls Arduino bot accounts on Twitter
  • Never been seen at the same time and place as Batman...But then again, neither has Stephen
• Hyr0n
  • A button pusher, easily replaced by a thousand monkeys with a thousand laptops, but manages to crank out firmware and hacker puzzles
  • If you’re reading this statement, he already has root access to your computer

We have had Zapp and Hyr0n on the podcast before. Check out MEP EP#69: Incognito Mode and MEP EP#109 Arduino, The Gateway Drug To #BadgeLife.

Topics

• Hyr0n’s Theremin
• Arduino bot accounts?
• Quick Recap on DEF CON 26 and the Bender AND!XOR Badge
• Engineering Process behind badge design 
  • idea -> thing
  • Come up with all the ideas and Venn Diagram the hardware needed to enable those ideas
• Espressif ESP32
  • Pushing it to the limit 
    • Spec sheet thots "oh shit, nice, lots of ram"
    • Developer after math "oh shit, xtensa sdk blows, it needs all that RAM"
  • Pros and Cons
  • Hardware and software interactions are interesting and poorly documented
  • Erratas?
• SD Card failures?
• Hackaday Badge and Hackaday Super Conference
  • Zapp and Hyr0n are giving a talk about lulzcode and hardware puzzles
  • Lulzcode docs

Tags: AND!XOR, Arduino Bot Accounts, Bender, DEF CON 26, electronics podcast, ESP-32, ESP32, Espressif, Hackaday, HyR0n, Lulzcode, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MEP, Super Con, Theremin, WROVER, Zapp 

• Gene Frantz - Chief Technology Officer for Octavo Systems
  • One of the founders and the visionary behind Octavo Systems
  • Professor in the Practice at Rice University in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
  • Was the Principal Technology Fellow at Texas Instruments where he built a career finding new opportunities and building new businesses to leverage TI’s DSP technology
  • Holds 48 patents and has written over 100 papers/articles and presents at conferences around the globe
  • Has a BSEE from the University of Central Florida, a MSEE from Southern Methodist University, and a MBA from Texas Tech University
• Erik Welsh - Applications and Systems Manager for Octavo Systems
  • Has over 16 years of industry experience designing hardware and software systems, including 11 years at Texas Instruments
  • Supported hundreds of developers bringing embedded systems quickly to market
  • Simplifying complex systems is a passion and mentors engineers developing embedded Linux systems
  • Developed platforms for cutting-edge wireless research to provide open-access to startups
  • Began his career as a SoC (System-On-Chip) designer eventually leading SoC Security Architecture development
  • Currently holds multiple patents in the area of System-in-Package technology
  • Has a Bachelor of Science and Masters in Electrical Engineering from Rice University
• Octavo Systems
  • For more background on Octavo Systems check out MEP EP#17: System-in-Package (SiP) Platforms with Greg Sheridan
  • How do System-In-Package devices make designers and engineers lives easier?
  • Certification for FCC and CE? Some modules are pre FCC certified with an ID. Is there a benefit using a System-in-Package to reduce product development risk here?
  • OSD335x C-SIP
  • The Future of SIP

Tags: electronics podcast, Erik Welsh, Gene Frantz, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MEP, Octavo Systems, OSD335X C-SIP, System on Chip, System-in-Package

• Misha Govshteyn
  • CEO of MacroFab
  • Founder of Alert Logic
• Christopher Church
  • Founder & CPO of MacroFab
  • Founder of Dynamic Perception
  • Co-Founder/Chief Architect at Alert Logic
  • Chris was on a previous MEP episode about the recent Chinese tariffs
• Supply chain hardware and software security
  • This topic spurs from recent allegations from bloomberg about the possibility of a hardware supply chain infiltration in Super Micro Computer Inc, which may cause security concerns for servers owned by Amazon, Apple, and Facebook
  • Underlying premise of the alleged hardware hack
  • What is the general structure of intelligence agencies that makes something like this probable or possible?
  • Existing public cases that are similar
  • Is this hack even technically feasible?
  • What impact should this have on our supply chain decisions?

Tags: Amazon, Apple, Bloomberg, china, Christopher Church, Conspiracy, electronics podcast, Facebook, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MEP, Misha Govshteyn, NSA, Security, Supply Chain

• James Lewis
  • Our guest this week may or may not be an Engineer or may or may not have Hair!
  • James Lewis’ passion for teaching non-engineers has led to him to create the Bald Engineer Blog and the AddOhms video tutorial series
  • With 15 years of experience in electronics, marketing, sales, and teaching James boils seemingly difficult concepts down to the core, so that anyone can learn what they need to finish that next great project
  • Worked at Agilent as an FAE for oscilloscopes (for about 10 years), then as an FAE and marketing at KEMET for about 7 years
  • Now working as oscilloscope product manager at Rohde and Schwarz
• MLCC - Multi - Layer Ceramic Capacitors
  • Where did all the MLCCs go? 
    • Looking back, it was obvious we were headed towards a shortage but companies didn’t see it coming
  • What are they?
  • Common uses?
  • 4 ways Ceramics lose capacitance 
    • Temperature
    • Tolerance
    • DC Bias
    • Aging effect
  • What to consider when choosing an alternative dielectric/technology for capacitors
• Questions from the Slack Channel
  • Insights into selecting bootstrap caps for high-frequency, high-voltage H-bridges
  • What footprint should we be designing with, going forward? Presumably different sizes for decoupling vs bulk on the power inputs for getting different ESRs?
  • Is MLCC cracking due to pcb flex something that still gets seen in 0402 and below?
  • General rules of thumb on choosing appropriate packages based upon desired voltage rating and capacitance?
  • What *is* the fundamental physical mechanism behind this voltage-dependent capacitance drop? 
    • KEMET Ask an FAE on Ceramic DC Bias
  • Why does the Y5V dielectric exist?
• Notes
  • SL0 ceramic capacitor dielectrics
  • SMT Soldering Guide for Capacitors

Tags: AddOhms, Agilent, Bald Engineer, DC Bias, electronics podcast, FAE, Flexing, Hair care tips and tricks, James Lewis, Kemet, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MEP, MLCC, Multi-Later Ceramic Capacitors, Murata, Rohde and Schwarz, Y5V

• Parker
  • RTL SDR functional setup? 
    • RTL-FM
    • Seems to work fine for FM stuff
    • AM works in direct sampling mode but I can’t seem to get that to work with RTL-FM 
      • Upconverter needed?
      • Auto switching signals?
    • RTL_FM also does not support stereo sound
    • Might need a new option? 
      • R820T P7K5 Software Defined Radio?
  • KiCad User improvements for MacroFab in the future 
    • KiCad Python API has awful documentation
  • Particle Spectra Conference
    • Workshops for IoT hardware and software
    • MEP EP#122: Brandon Satrom and the LANoT
• Stephen
  • Vox in a box tester layout is complete. Will order tonight 
    • May use this to also develop a preamp for a friends leslie rotary cabinet
• R.F.O.
  • Parallax Propeller 2 Soon? 
    • Production samples work!
    • Changes from First Prop 
      • 80Mhz -> 180Mhz
      • 32 -> 64 I/O
      • Hardware peripherals
      • Built in Debugger
      • Preliminary Specifications and Datasheet
    • Ken Gracey  and Chip Gracey on the Podcast?
  • Luke Robertson from the Slack Channel 
    • How do you search for technical information? I am specifically thinking in regards to forums. I realize there is a niche forum for everything but I was wondering if there are a few standouts people prefer (presumably ones that aren't laced with kids looking for answers to their homework).
    • Luke mentions Eevblog.com and diystompboxes.com

Tags: electronics podcast, KiCad, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MEP, Parallax Propeller 2, Particle Spectra, R820T P7K5, RTL_SDR, RTL-FM, Vox in a Box

• Parker
  • Diagnosing power drops in the Wagon
  • RTL SDR update? 
    • RTL-SDR for the Raspberry Pi
    • Maybe a Live twitch session with some seasoned Python / SDR Peeps?
  • Wrote about PCB Stackups for the MacroFab knowledge base
• Stephen
  • Vox in a Box 
    • Power supply and Power amp have schematics
    • Test Box
  • Design for the power supply and power amp
• R.F.O.
  • SQFMI Leaks new project
    • #Watchy
    • E-ink, ESP32 based, Accelerometer, 25 day battery life, Arduino support, and Open Source
  • Productivity, Unfinished Projects, and Letting Go
    • Steven Dufresne wrote this article for Hack A Day
      • Doing Only The Interesting Parts
    • Getting Lost on a Tangent
  • Broken Taps Suck… 
    • Have you ever broken a tap?
    • What is your method for removal?
  • Raspberry pi development 
    • Pi-top?

Tags: #Watchy, Breaking Bad Taps, Breaking Taps, development, electronics podcast, Lost and Forgotten Projects, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MEP, PCB Stackups, Power Drops, Raspberry Pi, RTL SDR, SQFMI, Vox in a Box

We would like to thank everyone that entered into the MacroFab Design Contest: Blink an LED Sponsored by Mouser Electronics. The winner for the Pragmatic Blinky was Dillon with the  Disintegrated LM3909 – 1.5V LED Flasher. The winner for the Most Complicated Blink was Paul Gallagher with  The Bouncy Thief LED Blinking Machine. And The winner for the Wearable blink was Gerben with the Led eyelashes.

• MacroFab Engineering Podcast Favorite discussion
  • Winner : Bobricius with the Solar-powered flashing LED heart pendant PCB coil
• Stephen
  • TPS4021 4.5-V to 52-V Input Current Mode Boost Controller
    • PMP8621 TI app note for doing an 18V to 300V@ 10mA supply
    • Datasheet issues 
      • Two dimension drawings?
      • The thermal pad - What do you connect it to?
  • TPA3116 - 30W from an 18V supply
• R.F.O.
  • RE: Simulation talk from last week 
    • David Patterson emailed in and suggested HyperLynx Design Rule Checking (DRC)
  • RE: Jeep Wagoneer Project 
    • Brian Gosney emailed in about his '77 Dodge Colt Radio project 
      • Taking the stock AM radio, removed electronics and replaced them with Brian’s own design
      • Bluetooth connectivity
      • Fuel Injection: MegaSquirt?
  • OpenMV Cam H7 - Machine Vision w/ MicroPython
    • The OpenMV Cam H7 is an open-source MicroPython powered machine vision camera designed for low-power real-time applications
    • More powerful than the previous version (2x)
    • Removable camera modules: Global shutter and thermal sensor support
    • Kwabena was on MEP EP#27: If There is a Bug, You Can Fix It

Tags: Blink an LED, Contest, Design Contest, DRC, electronics podcast, HyperLynx, Kwabena, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MegaSquirt, MEP, OpenMV, PMP8621, TPA3116, TPS4021

Before we get started I would like to thank everyone that entered into the MacroFab Design Contest: Blink an LED Sponsored by Mouser Electronics. The judges are going through the entries this week and we will announce the winners on the blog and typical social media locations on September 17th, 2018. Stephen and Parker will announce the winners of the MacroFab Engineering Podcast Favorite on the next episode 138.

• Stephen
  • Both Introduction and Design Posts for the uTracer are live on AnalogEng.com
  • Vectrex
    • Modding the internals to display synthesizer "sounds"
    • Vectrex Service Manual
• Parker
  • Software Defined Radio update 
    • Python on the Raspberry Pi talking to Arduino
• R.F.O.
  • Simulation of circuits 
    • Do you use it?
    • Should engineers do more simulations?
  • uConfig
    • KiCAD Schematic Symbols from PDFs
  • Samsung Caps? Counterfeit parts rampant? 
    • James Lewis from Slack - “Established brand name, new to the market, and famous for being the cheapest. It’s a thief’s dream.”

Tags: Counterfeit Capacitors, electronics podcast, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MEP

• Parker
  • Wagon Chime Module 
    • Experimented with brake clean and that seemed to not remove the finish
    • Any other suggestions?
  • Wagon Powered Mirror Module 
    • Schematic complete and Board laid out
    • Used DRV8872 motor drives 
      • SOIC-8 style package instead of SO-36 of the BTM7742G
  • Just another project to work on 
    • Raspberry Pi - RTL SDR radio
    • Wood front panel
    • Tube preamp that runs off of 12V
    • Touch VFD?
• Stephen
  • uTracer blog post by the Designer
  • New blog: Analogeng.com
  • Hickok 5055 power supply
• RFO
  • How we built a connected custom PCB badge for the Kentucky Derby
  • Stephen's Counterfeit Capacitor Problem
  • Capacitance Multiplier Video
    • Stephen used this technique before
  • Brandon Drury asks “What do we think of engineering paper that is green and looks exactly like graphing paper...but isn't. All my professors require it this semesters and I'm exceptionally fond of you and Stephen making fun of your respective academic institutions. Ignore my request at your peril/benefit.”
  • From the previous podcast on 1D mouses
    • Tom Anderson has experience with a 1D mouse
    • Dials/rotary encoders for scrolling through terminal text

 Tags: 1D mouses, Capacitance Multiplier, Chime Module, Counterfeit Capacitors, electronics podcast, Hickok 5055, Kentucky Derby, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MEP, Raspbeery Pi RTL SDR, uTracer, Wagon

• Parker
  • Wagon Chime module 
    • Two ICS 
      • MC14001B
      • MC14069
    • Interesting metal can for a speaker module
    • Two transistors in a push pull configuration
    • Replaced electrolytic caps and it kinda functions
  • Powered Mirror Circuit 
    • RKJXT1F42001
    • BTM7752G
• Stephen
  • uTracer complete! 
    • Cleaner signals?
  • Lessons learned
  • Things Stephen would do different if he could
• RFO
  • Craig Rettew askes: “Cost comparison between 2 layer and 4 layer boards. Are 2 layer much cheaper? Would a 4 layer board allow for a smaller board area vs 2 layer to make up for cost?”

Tags: BTM7752G, Chime Module, electronics podcast, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MC14001B, MC14069, MEP, RKJXT1F42001, uTracer, Wagon