The Amp Hour

By The Amp Hour (Chris Gammell and David L Jones)

The Amp Hour is a weekly conversation about electronics and the people who design them.... more

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FAQs about The Amp Hour:

How many episodes does The Amp Hour have?

The podcast currently has 745 episodes available.

The Amp Hour episodes:

March 22, 2011An Interview with Jeri Ellsworth - The Ternary Tussle
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The Amp Hour – Now with 100% more guests! Welcome, Jeri Ellsworth!
C vs. assembly language. Jeri still uses asm, Dave has in the past but favors C, C stands for Chris, that's good enough for him.
Management of projects could improve projects, but not much can help code reviews.
Jeremy is done (for now) with his Arduino videos. More types of uC's to come!
Jeri's encounter with misogynistic bus gadget maker continues. Peter Bartok really dug quite a hole.
Continuing of misogyny in the electronics world, Edmund Optics' new catalog has made a stir, just like the one 4 years ago.
Chris hates that the first thing tech magazines started doing was talking about supply shortages (as people were being pronounced dead and missing).
Dave thinks being female will help you stand out in the job marketplace. Jeri suggests to stand out in any other way possible. She also mentions how much more difficult it is once in a workplace.
Bad way to stand out: being a white collar criminal. Tyco execs sent to jail and have huge fines for embezzling over $600 million. May explain the name change to TE Connectivity.
New Kickstarter project has first proto boards in: An open source USB protocol analyzer. Sextupled the funding request (!) and looks to be a great project.
Fund your favorite project, likely found under the "Technology" section of KickStarter.
The Australian version of KickStarter is called Pozible.
Looks like another Open Hardware Summit is on the horizon, set up by the wonderful folks at BugLabs.
Go Gear Go!
Dino suggests a printed sticker breakout board called Protoflex. Pretty cool! (and expensive)
Alan Yates (@vk2zay) suggests a set of SMD component boxes for storing teeny tiny parts.
There's a whole conference for printable electronics!
Jeri is considering printing her own chips, much like the folks the referenced her on video.
...more
1h 5min
March 15, 2011AD620, DesignSpark, Instrumentation Amplifier - The Rant Rhetorical
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Chris has a new bench!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l7y-67xRo4
New podcasts!
Vintage Volts is a podcast about electronics "back in the day" by Jeff Salzman.
The BeagleCast is a new podcast from the folks at BeagleBoard.org.
Jaime (@jpwack) is the awesome dude who put together the text and processing behind the final Widlar poster.
Tell your favorite chip vendor to get on Twitter!
Dave doesn't like that Atmel uses a broken system to download programs. Shouldn't have to re-register for each download.
Instrumentation amps are powering future applications of EEGs as a control device. One exampled discussed was the AD620.
Why is Tyco switching to TE Connectivity? Re-branding is a waste of time!
RS DesignSpark recently released their 2.0 software version. Also, we found out that RS = Allied.
What will happen when the world runs out of jobs? NYT article on the falling demand for brains. Has already happened for lawyers.
...more
1h 3min
March 08, 2011Bob Widlar, Electronic Design, FIRST Robotics - Monday, Meta Monday
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Protip: If you don’t understand the title, think U2…
Corrections
It was Electronic Design, not Design News with the new radio show we mentioned last week. Sorry!
WotW (our last?)
Lucas Weakley writes from Florida to show off his bench and some kind of device in a pelican case.
Our first female WotW submission, Irmi from Austria! She shows off her bench.
Soliciting feedback!
We want to hear your thoughts about changes to the show!
Should we bother with a live section? A chat room?
What do people think about some small sponsorships of the show so we can use the money for improvements?
A project show off/cry for help segment?
Please leave your thoughts in the comments below or on the EEVblog forum page about this topic.
Suggestion from a listener
Natalie Portman used to be a nerd! Awesome! She was an Intel semi-finalist. Check out the video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ64G7AYsFw
Wow
Rants
Why do the likes of EDN and EETimes think pop ups are effective? Tell your chip suppliers to not advertise like this with them anymore!
Nor buying covers of magazines for that matter. Silicon Chip Magazine is known to expressly forbid this.
Chris hates how the defacto prize in competitions is an iPad these days.
Discussion Points
Dave likes the new boards he ordered from ITead. Cheap and decent!
"The New Cool" by Neal Bascomb is a book about the FIRST Robotics competition. Great interview on the Diane Rehm show with the author and Dean Kamen, the contest founder and head of DEKA research.
Should apprenticeship be a path towards engineering? Discussion with the author of "Shopclass as Soulcraft" on Boston public radio.
While talking about the process of "Muntzing" a board (systematically taking off components to reduce cost), we also talked about Bob Widlar and Paul Rako's recent article. Here's Chris' poster idea for all aspiring chip designers to hang on their cube wall.
A high res version for printing
...more
1h 4min
March 01, 2011Cores, Digikey, Electronic Design - The Commercial Competitor Commencement
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WotW
Dino (who now has a uStream channel for his workshop)
Modular bench
Bench with dresser drawers
Bench with old Tek scope!
Mitch (@mitpatterson)
Bench with etching tools laid out
Panorama of home lab
Shoutouts
DigiKey and Electronic Design Magazine have a new show!
Rants
DigiKey and Electronic Design Magazine have a new show!
We don't want to register for new shows or for engineering calculator apps for phones.
The people who claim to have an idea that will "make millions" but want you to build it for them...because they can't.
Follow-Up
Intel 14nm fab going to be made possible with new EUV tools.
Discussion Points
Intel wants to charge to upgrade the performance of your existing CPU.
Europe wants the chip fabs to come back. Apparently, they just figured out that manufacturing is important.
Why are 9V batteries still common in cheapo DMMs?
As a reminder for those interested, the 555 Contest ends tomorrow, March 1st at 11:59 pm EST! Get your entries in now!
...more
1h 5min
February 23, 2011Freescale, Hackerspaces, Printable Electronics - Publish Popular Parts Please!
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Chris apologizes for the poor audio quality on his end, it was a new setup (again) while the bench is being finished.
What's your favorite movie about engineering? Piggybacking on an article by Bill Schewber article from EEtimes.
Bjork pulls apart a TV and tells us about it. WTF.
"You shouldn't let poets lie to you"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75WFTHpOw8Y
Intel's new fab is going down to 14nm! Holy hell!
Why Arizona? Why not somewhere with water? Like Cleveland! (we promise, the water isn't on fire anymore)
NY wants to bring an engineering school and high tech to NYC? If cost was no issue, perhaps?
Dave reviews another scope and we talk about system level design
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os1agF35jxU
The battle rages on! An updated roadmap for printed electronics! Chris tells Dave to look for low cost fares to the US!
You can print wax masks for chips now, perhaps another good step for etching.
A new podcast exists for hackerspaces, and not just on iTunes as we said in the show.
Another shout out and place to hang out, the Savage Circuits chat is on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month.
None of these are as big as the Engadget TV show. How do they get so many people? Good for them!
Dave talks about an article he read about a mathematician that predicts lottery tickets.
Freescale going public again after having been private for less than 4 years. Are chip companies too big to fail?
A new Amp Hour initiative:
Chip companies should publish their most popular parts. This would allow smaller manufacturers to target chips they know aren’t going away any time soon. This would help on price and longevity of the part for the designer and would allow manufacturing efficiencies for the chip maker as more people gravitate towards these more popular parts. Think about it, chip companies!
...more
1h 4min
February 16, 2011Agilent, Analog, Cold Fusion - Funding Fusion Is Not Futile
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WOTW
Kibi (a WOTW alum!) send in pictures of a past bench! And a past beefy power amplifier!
Jeremy Blum (@sciguy14) submitted pictures of his work workbench on his personal site! Great toaster SMT reflow!
Not submitted, but Steve Liebson did a video interview with Jim Williams and we get to see Jim's lab.
Events
Analog aficionados meeting out in Silicon Valley. Sounds awesome!
Rant
TI is SO thoughtful to let us upload videos for them to keep! Wow, thanks guys!
Discussion Points
Dave did a review of the new Agilent Scope! Great teardown!
Agilent moving manufacturing for low end back into the US. Is this a new trend?
Karl's documentary still isn't done, but will be an interesting look into local electronics manufacturing in Australia.
Science funding is under threat in the US, but Obama is pushing for more funding in next year's budget.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson explains why science funding is important regardless.
New wireless system for cell phones called "LightRadio" could get rid of towers.
Dave turned down his wireless router, but does he have ElectroMagnetic sensitivity?
Cold fusion is back in the news. Dave thinks it's viable in <20 years, based on a documentary he saw recently.
Microchip is selling already programmed parts under different part numbers. Cool idea!
At the recent SavageCircuits chat, EOD asked our opinion of the Parallax Propeller.
WTF
DigiKey sent Dave a catalog?? And from Switzerland no less!
Ferudun Yurdabak emailed Dave with a photo is his old 555 timer chip, the exact same batch as Dave's one - amazing coincidence after 34 years!
For reference, the WTF soundclip comes from here: End Of The World
...more
1h 4min
February 09, 2011DJ and Jazzy Jeff
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This week on The Amp Hour, Dave and Mightyohm Jeff Keyzer join forces to talk about:
Jeri was naughty and got thrown out of the Designcon conference!
Workbench of the Week from SnakeBite & Jeff's buddy Tony
The new one-stop EE shop, EEweb.com
Jeff rants about Eagle and the lack of IPC footrints
Forest Mims autobiography:
Siliconnections: Coming of Age in the Electronic Era
Job interviews techniques of employers
Ridiculous packaging from HP and Newark
And how to sneak into a trade show
...more
1h 3min
February 02, 2011Bowie and The Brown Note
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The 555 contest continues onward! Everyone is getting excited!
Dave's classic 1976 vintage Signetics 555 timer chip (which he destroyed! RIP). Can anyone beat it?
WOTW
William
L-shaped bench photos
Laurence White
Photo tour of the workshop
Mr. J from Boston
Home workbench
Radio gear
Rants
Dave doesn't like how all those cupcakes he's sending to US Senators have been blasted with high energy rays!
Shoutouts
Dino Segovis linked here from his site!
MAKE has a new live show! Great production value!
Discussion Points
Dave plays the lotto!
Plastic transistors are improving in the lab...could help for future printable electronics.
Using lasers in board/chip construction followup:
@chrisindallas alerts us to PBeam technology for chips
And laser board cutters are already available for £80K
Cherish notes there are external forces pushing new methods to reduce chemicals in processing
Perhaps the economy is picking up? NI plans to increase headcount 19% next year.
ADI and NI have a free SPICE package that is pretty fancy. Bloated software but Chris liked it at first glance.
Microchip still charges $900 for open-source software you can download and compile for free.
Intel had a bit of a snafu with one of their latest chips. Time for heads to roll? Or is it a $700 million lesson like at IBM back in the day? (thanks to Eduardo for the link!)
Videos
David Bowie's Space Oddity
The Brown Note (Noise) episode on South Park
Mythbuster's investigation of the (busted) brown note theory
Super Awesome Sylvia
WTF, mate?
Another Gammell on YouTube has some cool soldering videos
...more
1h 6min
January 25, 2011555 Contest, Computer Museum, Octopart - The Green Pen Hornswoggle
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Shoutouts
Thanks to Mitch (@mitpatterson) for linking to us from his site!
Alexander linked here too and asked about what to do when family and friends might not be interested in hearing about your latest project.
Octopart now indexes Digikey as well!
Electronics porn! Hi res photos of an old Microchip part.
Light can get into lots of parts and mess them up, not just the ones that are supposed to get erased.
WOTW
Kibi
Workbench (clean)
Computer desk
Workbench (messy)
Current source
Darren Landrum
Bench Overview
Some tools
Under the bench
The audio bench
The YouTube guided tour!
Discussion
Stories of audiofools: Green pens to "increase the audio fidelity" of CDs? Ha!
Jeff from Mighty Ohm posted some awesome pictures of the computer museum down in Austin
Chris and Jeri Ellsworth started a 555 design contest! Check out the contest site for more details and be sure to start your designs! The deadline is March 1st.
Zombie magazines! Is Popular Electronics coming back to life? Many veterans remember it fondly, Dave included!
...more
1h 4min
January 18, 2011The Ben & Jeri Show
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WOTW
None! C'mon people! But we did hear that some people have been building benches, such as John S. Can't wait to see them!
Chris is planning a new bench as well! And has been doodling in Google Sketchup to get an idea of what he wants:
View from the front
From afar with the rafters included
And from the top for a better idea of shelving
Shoutout
Many well wishes to any listeners in Brisbane (CRAZY flooding videos if you hadn't seen it). If your lab got hurt and we can help find you some new gear, please give us a shout.
There's a new site in town that gathers together engineering bloggers, similar to ScienceBlogs.org. The site is called EngineerBlogs.org and is looking for writers if you meet a small set of criteria.
Discussion Points
One of our listeners Mike Cowgill was venting on his site about The Ben Heck show and that it's not more inclusive of a larger viewing audience.
He also wondered why someone like Dave or Jeri (and her new video series) weren't picked up by Element 14.
But Jeremy Blum was recently tapped to do a new video series with Element 14.
Element 14 is starting to sell Arduino's from their store. The beginning of price wars?
Arduino? Open Source? Stop talking about them! Glossywhite from the EEVblog forum wrote about how he's sick of those terms.
TI is trying (and possibly succeeding) in busting into the market though...with all their free stuff!
And back to the debate about printing chips, why not use lasers instead (once they perfect the board cutting version)? Much more accurate than printing.
Analog Devices and the Analogue Dialogue is still turning out great content. This month, there's a helpful article about choosing capacitors for linear regulators.
Other resources from ADI suggested by listener Carmen were the Op Amp Applications Handbook and the Data Conversion Handbook (both awesome and free).
US President Obama has been talking about Engineers, whereas past presidents have lumped them in with scientists.
...more
1h 4min

FAQs about The Amp Hour:

How many episodes does The Amp Hour have?

The podcast currently has 745 episodes available.

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