#691 – System Designer Lets You Try Every Part With Michael Gielda The Amp Hour Electronics podcast

1:15:11

Welcome Tim from Mitxela ! Introduced by Mike Harrison , past guest of the show Fluid pendant Volumetric display London hackspace https://matthias-research.github.io/pages/tenMinutePhysics/index.html FLIP in Blender CHNT36ta Pick and place doing 0201 Precision Clock Sewing machine (check out that GIF!) Secret life of machines – Tim Hunkin Isaac Singer Tim has many Lathe projects on the hardware projects page Flag Steam Engine Learn how to machine from MrPete222’s YouTube channel Schlock Mercenary (Comic) Sprite tm on The Amp Hour Gameboy advance link cable Writing a gameboy emulator Emulators got him into electronics No$ (“nocash”) emulator AVR instruction set MIDI CNLohr on The Amp Hour https://mitxela.com/projects/slide2 Forcing brainfuck (language) quop movfuscator Puzzles Spacechem (Game) Zach Barth of Zachtronics on The Amp Hour babaisu LED errings watchdog timer allows ridiculously low power 1 way loader autobauding Find all of Tim’s projects on mitxela.com Watch the latest videos on the mitxela youtube…

The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

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#696 – It Works With Option Number 5 1:03:08

23 days ago1:03:08

1:03:08

Dave found a wrist mounted DMM that looks…inadvisable We’ll discuss the survey results next time! Florin Cocos of VoltLog Great Scott Sam Aldaher on the show last week Gerald Undone did a studio tour with Captain Disillusionment Short videos Dave using a go-pro on a bike Separate gyro file to stabilize D-y hybrid inverter Chart Remote shell Cline Chris is finally getting solar open energy monitor Emporia vue Sense We talked with Joe Bamberg when he worked there Driving back from canberra Ben Krasnow makin’ magnets! Bluetooth videos…

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#695 – Making The Invisible, Visible with Sam Aldhaher 1:15:13

5 weeks ago1:15:13

1:15:13

Welcome Sam Aldhaher , power engineer and 3D graphic artist! Sam has always been interested in art…and power engineering He primarily works in Blender and has been for 5-6 years Inputs and outputs Starting from Altium / KiCad for eCAD Blender doesn’t accept step files, it works with meshes like STL KiCad -> Blender is a good flow , as there are add-ons to import KiCad Making a good visulalization is all about lighting, materials Building library of models Modeling magnetic fields Research in wireless power openEMS vtk format The marjority of tooling is glued together with python ElectroMag Nodes – Sam ‘s tool – $1 Right hand rule Developing intuition Elmer finite element solver Past guest Katerina Galitskaya also visualized RF and talked about the differences of testingi n a chamber vs building a visualization FastHenry is inductance tool that was created in 80s at MIT for wirebonds. Didn’t have a visualization front end, like SPICE 3D whiteboard Using Blender to prototype and then taking it to other tools ( CST , Ansys ) Validating on the bench with an impedance analyzer Simulating power loss is difficult Quality factor “CAD is too perfect” Adding surface imperfections Node system is similar to simulink, adding blocks (Chris also thought this sounded like the effects in Davinci Resolve) Lighting Making the background dark means you don’t need to have far field details Tutorials Blender Guru – how to make a donut Sam’s video about how to draw components on a PCB in Blender Doing the same with Geometry nodes in Blender Ability to create things procedurally How to create ICs in Blender Using LLMs for python glue code What is a shader? HardOps tool, simplifies workflow (shuffle button) Visualizing an Inverted F antenna in Blender Remembering that videos are just still frames in order Electric fields propagating on the antenna itself Radiated electric fields (red and blue and black) OpenEMS generates GBs of data Blender geomtry goes out to OpenEMS so it’s geometrically linked What if it was a ceramic antenna instead of a metal inverted F? Simulating 60 GHz from a radar chipset Meshing – sam ple points in space simulating points in time Impacts of stubs / squares on microwaves Human Hand Interaction with 60GHz Electromagnetic waves SAR simulations – how much heat do you generate Simulating motor windings on a PCB The above was a collaboration with past guest Carl Bugeja When to switch from near field (electro) vs far field (openEMS) Calculating values with inductance calculator FastHenry tool on Github Sam’s work on artstation ZS smart watch Fast track if listeners want to get better at this art Learn blender – donut KiCad -> Blender reference Play with geometries nodes (ElectroMag Nodes, Fast Henry) Find Sam on social LinkedIn Twitter/X YouTube Instagram EEVblog forum…

The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

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#694 – Voltage, Vibes, and VOCs 1:11:34

7 weeks ago1:11:34

1:11:34

We are doing a 2025 listener survey ! Answer the survey and put in your email to win one of three Jumperless OG units donated by Kevin Cappuccio (past guest of the show ). Last day to input is June 1st. This episode was recorded Monday the 12th, which has implications on discussions. Dave recently returned from Melbourne for Dave’s recent visit to Electronex . Dave saw past guest Scott Williams there (he has been interviewed by both Dave and Chris ). Scott’s company Xentronics is also a Golioth partner They discussed service providers in the electronics industry at including turnkey solutions (concept to production and marketing) versus services only (firmware, PCB layout, CAD). The choice of show for a service provider might depend on the customer vertical (e.g., medical expo for medical device design). Farmers are described as rough clients due to being cost-constrained, needing durable solutions for harsh environments, and being unforgiving of downtime. The Australian Manufacturing Week was unexpectedly enormous , dwarfing the electronics show in scale and attendance, with lines up to 40 minutes long just to get in. The manufacturing show featured “Heavy Metal” manufacturing , like laser cutters, sheet metal benders, and giant machines cutting thick steel, which Dave found more exciting than the electronics demos. They discussed the scale of manufacturing equipment , comparing it to shows like IMTS in Chicago with multi-story machining centers and machines weighing hundreds of tons. Australia manufactures things like steel, large steel structures (bridges), and large custom parts like excavator scoops. Dave is conducting environmental air quality tests in his office , measuring formaldehyde, CO2, and other factors. He has to run his air conditioning for one of the test conditions. The environmental monitor measures temperature, pressure, humidity, VOCs, noise, carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, PM2.5 particulate matter, and radiation . The radiation sensor uses a tube requiring 381 volts . XKCD graphic showing relative radiation Dave observes large formaldehyde spikes every time he opens his door , which go down within about 10 minutes. His CO2 levels are typically 800-900 ppm . The AC unit cycling is visible in the humidity measurements . Chris asks about the availability of affordable VOC sensors now. Dave believes his monitor uses a common sensor like the BME680. Chris explains that the availability of affordable VOC sensors is linked to FEMA trailers after Hurricane Katrina , where high formaldehyde levels caused illness, leading to regulations and subsequently more affordable sensors. Modern VOC sensors often measure gas resistivity in ohms . Some PM2.5 sensors use a fan and a laser to detect particles. Dave saw small desktop lathes at the manufacturing show and was tempted to buy one for $800. Chris explains the difference between a mill and a lathe. Potential uses for a lathe are discussed, including making knobs . Chris advises against buying a personal machining tool like a lathe or mill unless you need parts immediately, suggesting using online services instead, as getting $800 of value from occasional use is difficult. Dave jokingly suggests a lathe might be useful for “zombie apocalypse manufacturing” , or more darkly, for making gun barrels . Chris mentions his past experience with a mill, which he traded for a 3D printer kit. He now prefers “it just works” solutions. They discuss receiving free 3D resin printers and the difficulty of finding uses for them unless you are already skilled in 3D modeling. Discussion shifts to the recent drop in tariffs between China and the US. Dave believes this will lead to lots of manufacturing coming back to the US , citing announcements from car companies and others (but providing no sources). Chris found this CBS article after the fact , but it’s light on details. NPR covered how tariffs are impacting Digikey and Thief River Falls Chris is skeptical that the tariff drops or initiatives like the CHIPS Act will cause significant, long-term shifts in the global supply chain, especially for components like capacitors or packaged semiconductors. The complexities of building fabs and the long lead times are mentioned in relation to the CHIPS Act. Chris recommends a YouTube channel about shipping and logistics and mentions MarineTraffic.com for tracking live global shipping data. Dave mentions issues with Bluetooth data dropouts and incorrect values on a new Brymen BM787 multimeter . Dave recently made a video about Test Controller , a free Java-based program that automates hundreds of test instruments (multimeters, power supplies, loads) via serial interfaces. It allows scripting and custom driver creation. Dave considers using Test Controller and multiple instruments with his microscope PC for overlaying data on video. Chris introduces the concept of “vibe coding,” which means letting AI do the coding . You act as a product manager providing requirements and feedback. Dave has used AI for coding before and is interested in using it for his next project due to infrequent coding leading to needing to relearn tools. He suggests using it for a simple timer project, especially for annoying tasks like generating fonts. Chris is using AI for a location-sharing web app prototype for a meetup. He describes the experience of watching the AI modify files and interact with tools as “trippy”. He uses “Claude credits” for this. They discuss AI as a new tool. Chris expresses concern about how students learning to code today will develop troubleshooting skills if AI does much of the basic work. Dave received a new piece of high-end test equipment: a Microtest Impedance Analyzer (model 6632) . This is distinct from an LCR meter and can measure the entire frequency impedance sweep up to 10 MHz (for the model received). The impedance analyzer can be used to characterize components like PCB inductors, assess bypass capacitor performance on boards, or measure materials like piezoelectric substrates . It can also show admittance circles and DC bias characteristics. Chris mentioned that past guest Carl Bugeja would benefit from a tool like the impedance analyzer Dave notes the impedance analyzer is very specific and requires special fixturing. It supports open, short, and load compensation . Dave also recently received a heavy GW Instek AC power source , which can be used for power line simulation (adding spikes, dropouts, etc.) to test products. Trying out generating show notes using NotebookLM from Google. We’d love your feedback in the comments.…

The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

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#693 – Small Scale Electronics Manufacturing with Colin O’Flynn 1:18:42

9 weeks ago1:18:42

1:18:42

Welcome back Dr Colin O’Flynn of Dalhousie University and New AE tech! Colin has been on the show twice before Episode 239 in 2015 Episode 552 in 2021 Colin continues to publish/do research around side channel attacks Now he’s targeting different ports / Jitter measurements JTAGulator RF Mixer Side channel with power Can you fix it on a chip? Targeting an SD Card port because there’s a clock Other clocked things like displays / RF State of hardware security RPi episode (RP2350) OpenTitan Root of Trust Episode with Laura Abbott from Oxide Open vs closed about security Guidelines for what to care about like in the ARM PSA UK gov’t Lowrisc Sonata System CHERI / CHERIot Secure / non-secure Artix 7 FPGA Mouser bonded area Pick and place experiments Charm High / Neoden Failing on fast turn Person running production Recovering from Covid shortages Airtag teardown ESP32 HCI supposed vulnerability (and response) Colin is writing a book about small scale production Sign up to learn more about the book when its available ! Students “Kids these days” ChatGPT in the classroom Check out Colin’s blog for more info!…

The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

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#692 – Like a steam engine in your house 1:13:25

13 weeks ago1:13:25

1:13:25

We are doing a 2025 listener survey ! Answer the survey and put in your email to win one of three Jumperless OG units donated by Kevin Cappuccio (past guest of the show ) Note: this was corrected from the original, these are not v5 units, they are the original Jumperless units. Apologies for the confusion ~CG Chris signed on to get solar installed He’ll be taking advantage of Duke Energy’s PowerPair , a program to get a bulk amount for the battery and ongoing payments to act as a virtual power plant. Telsa Powerwall 3 Teardown Australian politicians are proposing money for batteries for everyone in Australia Peter Walkinson batteries CATL batteries Back powering off a Chevy Bolt AC battery power Peaker plant Check out the rates for peak power in New South Wales (high!) Base load Chris is working on a new series for tiny hardware nRF52840 With careful planning, it’s possible to get a “0.4 mm pitch” (found out it’s actually 0.35 mm!) onto the JLC 6 layer process because they now allow via in pad. Jumperless v5 episode (though as a reminder, we’re giving away the OG versions, not the v5) Dave review of Jumperless (mailbag video) We are doing a 2025 listener survey and added some new questions Slow trigger R&S version Laminated cheat sheet Jeff Geerling Bosch video The Tariffs in the US are an absolute mess. Since recording they have been downgraded, but they are definitely still going to have some outsized influece on the electronics world. Chris thinks that it makes more sense to race to the bottom of available parts (like the new $0.10 CH572 with Bluetooth), pay the tariff, and put in more time and effort on the software. Not that Chris is the intended audience, but also that it’s not going to have the effect that is Ghostbusters song…

The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

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#691 – System Designer Lets You Try Every Part with Michael Gielda 1:11:55

16 weeks ago1:11:55

1:11:55

Welcome back (for a third time!) Michael Gielda of Antmicro Michael and Chris usually see each other around the Zephyr booth at Embedded World , but not this year Antmicro continues to work on Zephyr , which targets hardware using Devicetree Renode Mult-node testing code aethero Data center in space Cosmic shielding corporation Tying the simulation to reality How do you know an actuation has happened RESD – Renode sensor data format Drone data example Finding and testing the variety of use cases Borderline criteria Fuzzing Kenning AutoML Anomaly detection on an MCU with Kenning Co-op example Adding System designer Environment al board Aerocore2 STM Camera Checking on the pin / assignment problem Supporting vendors that have good support / open source ADI plugins for Zephyr Root of Trust Caliptra Interested in Antmicro services and products? Check out offering.antmicro.com…

The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

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#690 – Clap on, clap off, lights flicker 1:02:15

17 weeks ago1:02:15

1:02:15

Meetup.com doubled their prices so the 3H Triangle group moved to Luma (same is true for SF, Seattle) Note taking apps after Evernote was gutted: Joplin , Obsidian Battery leakage in a DMM Causes of leak The PCB of a Tonie box with an SD card glued in place. Board has an ESP32-S3. ( Product page ) Design decisions – Latched / unlatched EEVblog video Pulse stretcher 3rd mode ‘break on open’ Chris is working on a design inspired by the Apple AirTag Golioth just launched Bluetooth support (recorded prior to this announcement) It has an nRF52840 and NFC onboard, with a bunch of sensors. It won’t work with FindMy nroot tag Linus video about M4 Mini Jeff Geerling talking about storage MKBHD iPhone16e NTN Keyfinders The Clapper SAW filters Dave’s talk at UNSW (months ago) How did you learn about oscilloscopes without the internet AC power issues – brownout? need to scope power Scale of electricity…

The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

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#689 – A Jumperless Breadboard with Kevin Cappuccio 1:14:05

19 weeks ago1:14:05

1:14:05

Welcome Kevin Cappuccio, creator of the Jumperless Breadboard (v5 and before) Check out the Jumperless v5 on Crowd Supply OG Jumperless Video This update shows a bunch of images with the breadboard off 3M whitelabels their breadboards (because of the adhesive?) Breadboard spring clips Spring clips (in 3D) Elecrow 369 CH446Q , a clone of Zarlink MT88161 FPAA Resistance of the traces BSky Schematic CLOSS network Power Op Amps +/- 9V supply Or just all the parts laid out in one pic Layers/routing Probe circuit Bus Pirate adapter Raspberry Pi adapter Interface Full color WJP 3d printing ( and on X ) Zephyr shells You can still buy these on CrowdSupply Repos https://github.com/ Architeuthis-Flux/JumperlessV5 https://github.com/ Architeuthis-Flux/Jumperless https://github.com/ Architeuthis-Flux/breadWare Follow Kevin online Bsky Mastodon Discord…

The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

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#688 – The Tandy Train 1:10:01

21 weeks ago1:10:01

1:10:01

Tracking test equipment on one long homepage… the emporer of test equipment If you track it, it’s not hoarding…it’s curation Very specific piece of junk wood Garage Solar Amber allows you to sell power back in Australia at some wild rates Dave is trying out case design in OpenSCAD…it looks…ok Pebble is returning to the world after Google open sourced the OS (kudos) Andrew Witte, former CTO of Pebble, was a guest on the show Tandy200 Annie Lennox on the train with her Tandy (see cover image) Capacitive forming / reforming Electric Dreams Multimeter repair Tandy teardown…

The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

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#687 – The RP2350 with the Raspberry Pi Team

24 weeks ago

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Welcome James Adams , Chris Boross , Liam Fraser , and Luke Wren ! The last time the RPi team was on the show was about the RP1 (#648) The order of parts being released was RP2040->RP1->RP2350 Check out the datasheet for the RP2350 Learning from silicon Security and power states The part is a “Dual dual core” The Arm side is a Dual M33 The RISC V side is a Hazard 3 processor , designed by Luke based on a previous processor called the Hazard 5 HB5 There is a mux on the core and you select which side you’re going to use at boot There are 48 GPIO (but users always want more) Chris Boross (first time on the show) is on the commercial team. He’s seing interesting applications for the RP2350 including devices that are using it for motor control. They also have seen the part used in satellites because mRAM or masked ROM is less susceptible to radiation errors The PIOs have changed, but are more evolutionary from the RP2040 The PIO allows you to create state machines that process inputs without processor interventions, basically like tiny cores 2 cores – 8 total Interesting PIO applications Luke still likes that DVI on 2040 that was discussed on the first episode they were on (#529) CAN is possible USB host / device MII / RMII ULPI – USB 2.0 Phy The core frequency only increased 133 MHz -> 150 MHz. There is tougher timing with the M33 LVT – lower voltage threshhold 30 -> 40 pins There are now variants listed on the RP2350 product page (but not in mass production) that include flash in the SOM package RP2040 was one power domain “Powerman” (and of course AVR Man ) Switched core AON – always on 32 kHz There is a C/C++ SDK that is the basis for other ports Security is a focus for the RP2350 Bootrom in every chip Secure boot M33 features – secure / non-secure RISC V PMP RCP – Redundancy Coprocessor Raspberry Pi had a challenge / bounty for getting the secret out of the RP2350 OTP with secure boot One of the few silicon companies doing this sort of thing in public Past guest Aedan Cullen was one of the hacks called “Hazardous threes”. He gave a talk about it at 38C3 Past guest Colin O’Flynn was also mentioned because collaboration around side channel attacks with the Chip Whisperer IOActive used a FIB – Fine Ion Beam – and passive voltage contrast to capture an impressive image of a decapped chip (see the RPi post ) “Never want to see ‘novel technique’ in an email” Improving the RP2350 silicon How do you decide what to fix/leave? Can it be changed in metal/vias? SIO spinlock not being fixed Chicken Bit Filler cells are reprogrammable and help with fixes It costs approximately $50K per layer to change (ostensibly because of the high costs of masks) ULA – uncommitted logic array Die shrink doesn’t seem to make sense Will keep making each chip as long as 40 nm fabs are around Thinking about the RP2040 The easiest way to get started is to use a Pico (RP2040) or a Pico 2 (RP2350). Both have connectivity options as well. Raspberry Pi is now a public company! Doesn’t change much other than the business scrutiny.…

The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

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#686 – A Benchtop Pick and Place with Stephen Hawes

25 weeks ago

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Welcome, Stephen Hawes ! Chris interviewed Stephen back in 2020 for his second episode of The Contextual Electronics Podcast. It was when Stephen was still working at Formlabs and the Lumen/Opulo were a glimmer in his eye. The Lumen v4 is a Benchtop Pick and Place machine that works with OpenPNP Where are we in relation to reprap? Powered feeders Videos about eeprom KiCad pos file Can reliably place 0402 Lumen v4 product page Motherboard of v4 Running Marlin FW Head has two heads/nozzles Compare the Lumen to other methods (hand placed, paying for assembly) OHM (Open Hardware Manufacturing) podcast What industries are open? Thea Flowers (of Winterbloom synth fame ) just joined the team Microscope Other tools Space constraints Stephen does a great job talking through many experiments and upcoming features on his youtube channel Prototyping PCBs with a fiber laser Micronix Making PCBs on a 3D printer (hack session with Stephen’s former employer) Timon (Skerutsch) makes double sided PCBs by inserting enameled wire through drilled holes Is this the year you should get a Pick and Place? Stephen won’t say yes (but I will)…

The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

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#685 – Data Provenance in the Home, Server, and Fab

29 weeks ago

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Home assistant Homelab subreddit Solar assistant proxmox CarPlay / android auto NUCs Video Interview with Lee (since posted as #684 of TAH) 25K pound amplifier repair and associated EEVblog forum post Louis Rossman also talking about the copyright claim How the Fairlight CMI changed Music Read more here Synths / woodworking are hobbies that will eat all free cash flow (and Chris is considering the latter… ) Pat Gelsinger has stepped down / retired / been forced out at Intel Intel will now have co-CEOs . As past guest Luke Wren wrote on Mastodon, “ Based on historical trends I predict the number of Intel co-CEOs will double every two years “ Startup in Ohio will apparently be making Quectel parts for the US market . We expect to see lots of silliness like this in the next few years because of forthcoming tariffs……

The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

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#684 – Lee Felsenstein: The Computer Revolution & Counterculture

31 weeks ago

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A full 3 hour discussion with the legendary Lee Felsenstein, designer of the Osborne 1, SOL computer, VDM-1, Pennywhistle modem, and the inventor of social media. Covering everything from the Berkeley free speech movement, the counterculture movement, his career, through to Obsorne and how he invented social media with Community Memory. His book: https://www.amazon.com/Me-My-Big-Idea… https://felsensigns.com/ 00:00 – Full 3 hour talk with Lee Felsenstein 08:24 – University of California at Berkeley, and the Free Speech Movement. 29:04 – First Junior Engineer job at Ampex 36:20 – The first hackathons with Richard Greenblatt 37:33 – Hackers, Heros of the computer revolution 1:03:36 – Techical career at Ampex 1:12:52 – Atari Computers and Steve Jobs, Nolan Bushnall, and Allan Alcorn 1:15:00 – He tried to pitch social media to Steve Jobs 1:22:15 – Designing the Pennywhistle 103 modem + 1:25:36 – Marty Spergel selling kits 1:31:53 – Steve Wozniak and how the Apple 1 is NOT a personal computer 1:43:42 – Osborne Computers 1:53:22 – Osborne 1 physical design 1:57:57 – Osborne 1 development timeline 2:01:19 – The Osborne Effect wasn’t what killed the company…

The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

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#683 – Troubleshooting is the skill

33 weeks ago