The Amp Hour

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Natural Sciences
**The Amp Hour**

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

Latest Episodes:

An Interview With Luke Beno of Analog.io Oct 23, 2015

Show notes

Welcome, Luke Beno of Analog.io!

Analog.io is a data collection and charting website where you can view and share datastreams with others.
Luke entered Analog.io (including a hardware component) into The Hackaday Prize.
This is used for keeping track of lots of data over time, but Luke uses it for tracking beekeeping.
The site does not directly collect data, currently Analog.io pulls mainly from data.sparkfun.com. That server runs the open source phant.io.
Luke says it's easiest to get started using an Electric Imp or a Particle board.
The boards make http requests which get recorded by phant.io. Notification based upon trigger levels is not currently supported.
As platforms get larger, holes in server reliability become more apparent.
Dave and Chris have been reading Free by former guest Chris Anderson.
One example of a likely purchaser of services would be monitoring temp/humidity of vacation home (making sure the heat isn't broken).
There was a kickstarter about a bee hive with a direct tap.
Other similar platforms include xively and thingspeak.
Luke has a tutorial for getting up and running using a tiny temp/humidity board and an electric imp.
The service used to be called imp.guru, but changed names.
The electric imp uses a server/agent scheme.
You don't always need to use an Electric Imp, it just makes compiling and downloading (or updating) code easier.
Instead, Luke targeted a lower power solution using a sensor node built with an MSP430 and an NRF24 radio. The base had another NRF24 radio and an ESP8266 to talk to the wifi network.
Google is making a new router called OnHub.
Chris sees parallels to Distributed Control Systems.
The day of recording is BTTF day (Oct 21st, 2015).
Dave was very concerned about power consumption.
MQTT has a "broker" that acts like a satellite. Anyone subscribed to the broadcast message will get the data packet that is submitted by a device.
SmartThings was bought by Samsung and acts as a connected home router.
LoRA has 7 mile low power RF coverage. There is a kickstarter for this with the Things Network.
APRS is a ham radio version of multi node system.
Luke utilized the 43oh.com forums to build his system.
Software for his stack
- He programmed using Energia for the MSP430 (arduino style).
- He used arduino for esp8266
- The Sparkfun server running phant.io is NodeJS
- Analog.io is R uby on Rails.
- In browser processing and mapping is javascript/angular.js
In his day job, Luke is an ASIC architect for Triad Semiconductor.
He attempted to answer why aren't there low pin FPGAs with tons of resources like Dave wants (some are starting to hit the market).

Amazon Moves In, Dave Says Run Oct 16, 2015

Show notes

Amazon is getting into the IoT cloud business.
Chris views this similarly as Electric Imp with the server and the client (the small battery powered device). Brandon was on the show talking about it.
It's not always just pushing commands down to a battery device. Sometimes the devices publish to graphing services like analog.io/imp.guru.
Adafruit and Sparkfun also have publishing services, which Dave thinks will be hopeless against a service like Amazon.
Amazon has a set of development boards that already work with the service.
While Dave doesn't think the second place people will work, he has uploaded videos to Daily Motion (vs YouTube) as a hedge in case they ever usurp the big dogs.
Pirate Electronics is a nice electronics educational program online. However, they recently wrote about why they chose Python for microcontrollers (which aren't actually micros), which seems like they are optimizing for the wrong thing.
National is making some older parts EOL, though it may be that it's only certain versions of chips (packages, lead free, etc). The LM567, a tone detection chip, is on the list of EOL.
Dave asks about how a die shrink works at a fab.
Analog and Maxim Integrated may soon be....integrated. What will we call them, Maximalog?
There have been over $110B in mergers so far this year.
Dave remembers how Maxim released new databooks consistently. Referencing the parts contained within required the cross reference in the index.
Parts.io is now fully open to the public, no registration required. Chris was also on The Sparkgap Podcast talking about how to find op amps (and Parts.io as an extension of that).
The conference that Chris is helping set up (The Hackaday Superconference) is now open for registering for tickets.
There will soon be a 19 hour flight from Perth to London. Dave recalls traveling 48 hours (with time changes) to get to Europe.
You can communicate with the Amsat Fox-1, which is now in orbit.
Chris is back on the robots train. What won't automation and robotics do into the future?
The Skarp had funding suspended on Kickstarter. What does this say about future projects that have a "prototype".

An Interview With Dafydd Roche Oct 09, 2015

Show notes

Welcome, Dafydd Roche of TI and ExpatAudio!

Dafydd works in the audio group at TI as a definition engineer. One example product is the PCM1865, also discussed on /r/nicechips
Almost all chips need to be marketed for the mass market now, not single customers.
Rule of thumb: Number of bits * 6 = dB of range
- 24 bit = ~144 db of range
The eardrum tightens when subjected to loud noises.
Zipper noise
Dafydd has a side business with another UK expatriate called Expat Audio.
He has an ECM93 Pick and Place machine. Another rule of thumb is if you're not going to use the machine weekly, it's probably not worth it.
Hardware controlled chips are easier because it just takes resistors to set functions on the chip (no FW)
Development boards allow engineers to try out new features by "blue wiring it in"
Peak Music Power Output - PMPO
Watts are often listed as a percentage of THD.
Speakers are 1%. Additionally, toom accoustics will ruin the best speakers
One of the parts Dafydd has helped design is 600W single chip amplifier.
NPR did comparisons on bit rates to show that most people can't hear the difference.
1V RMS signal w/ 130 dB range...ends up being tens of nV at the low end of the scale.
Henry Ott was on the show, Dafydd loves his book.
We asked about the low material chip packages, in case audio could have the same problem as the Xenon flash bug for RPi. Dave did a video about this:
Future projects will be remote control of analog, recall setups using storage.

Many thanks to Dafydd for being on the show, you can reach him as @ExpatAudio on twitter and on their FB page

Be Tidy Oct 02, 2015

Show notes

Dave is having more microphone troubles.
Dave had to record earlier so he could go catch the first showing of The Martian
Back to the Future is only licensed with one theater in Australia??
Dave got a Fluke 8060, reminding him of our interview with Dave Taylor.
OSHWA came up with a new license, which caused a stir
- EMSL wrote a response.
- As did Boldport.
Can online education work for EEs? AMU is trying (with $12K of 'home equipment' required)
Dave has been looking at a new space but decided against it. His wife told him to "Be tidy" upon leaving.
Dialog is buying Atmel.
Johngineer mentioned on twitter how chip companies seem to halve every 18 months. https://twitter.com/johngineer/status/645775176848797696
Microchip has a much larger number of SKUs than Atmel, simply based upon the PIC16 family. Also, they used to be called "Arizona Microchip".
The Volkswagon emissions scandalv is interesting because of how few engineers impacted so much. There was also a single engineer that discovered the mishap.
The documentary (about electronics in Australia) we have been mentioning for a long time (by Karl) has finally started being released in parts.
Seeed launched a new kickstarter for the RePhone.
Quirky is bankrupt. Bolt wrote about why they failed.
Chris is helping set up a conference for hardware along with Hackaday. If you'd like to apply to speak, use this link: http://bit.do/had_conf

An Interview with Luke Iseman of yCombinator Sep 24, 2015

Show notes

Welcome, Luke Iseman, hardware guy at yCombinator!

Luke attended Wharton in the entrepreneur program. He did hardware on the side before turning it into a few businesses.
After school and some volunteering, he ran a pedicab company in Austin, designing and making and renting out new pedicabs.
The Garduino was a soil monitoring device. It became an early kickstarter project in the form of Growerbot. It was all open source.
After that, he partnered up and started on soilIQ, which had industrial design by Yves Behar.
Sam built and maintains a shipping container house in Oakland.
The Nebia showerhead
Luke joined yCombinator back in August of 2015.
yCombinator just opened up their applications again. They will interview the most promising startups and the ones that are accepted will spend 3 months in silicon valley.
yC now has almost triple digit hw companies, 900 total companies.
The insane costs of hardware are evident with the Amazon fire 7" tablet at $50.
On the Growerbot, Luke optimized for 0.5W solar without checking how often he should really send data (a couple times per day was sufficient).
The Startup podcast featured a company currently going through yCombinator, Dating Ring. There is another podcast being done about yC at KQED, as well as a range of shows about startup culture.
Location and timing can matter:
- Chaldal is a food delivery service in Bangladesh.
- Flirtey is a drone company in NZ thats already allowed to start doing public testing.
There are online services that hope to make things as cheap in the US as in China (or cheaper!). On example is the machining company Plethora.
The T eabot will be in restaurants and stores. A custom robot with a very high cost per square foot.
Luke had a $10K budget to build out a mini lab for yC. Beyond the basics (3D printers, soldering gear, etc), they expect hardware companies will go to outside firms for manufacturing. Alternately, the companies can spend time at TechShop for bigger things.
yC members like using Fictiv for 3D printed parts.
Luke wants a materials library for all things tactile: switches, buttons, leather samples, vinyl, etc.

You can apply to YC with your big idea (and prototype!) today. Applications are open thorugh October 13th apply.ycombinator.com

Standing With Ahmed Sep 18, 2015

Show notes

Dave just got back from Electronex
Chris uses Boomerang to return emails. This is better than letting the amount of emails build up to the point of needing to "declare email bankruptcy"
Ahmed, a 14 year old hardware enthusiast from Dallas, was arrested when he brought his clock project to school.
Ahmed seems like a pretty collected individual for being a teenager. Here he talks about the experience:
Mike from Hackaday wrote about building clocks in conjunction with NYC Resistor.
Chris just got back from XOXO which was an emotional and awesome conference.
In order to make more connections, Chris made a blinking badge.
You can see past years videos on the XOXO youtube page.
Chris is helping put together a hardware conference in November with Hackaday.
The BB8 is a fantastic little robot, based on the Sphero.
Elecia recently did a talk about the guts of the BB8 at the Hardware Developer Didactic Galactic.
Chris from Bolt wrote about who is investing in hardware.
After hearing him speak at XOXO, Chris had a chance to talk to Bryce from Indie.vc.
Dave was surprised that OpenROV is taking investment. They also just launched a new Kickstarter.
Argonne recently announced a breakthrough in the Mott transition...OK!
You can write assembly language for a MIPS processor in the browser and simulate it!
Chris thinks that most designs these days that people will just throw more horsepower at problems.
Watch a talk relating semiconductor physics to Angry Birds.
Saar from Boldport discusses the backwards nature of the EDA industry.

Next week we will have Luke from yCombinator talking about the program and their new focus on hardware!

Thanks to svofski for the picture of the nixie tube clock.

An Interview with Ronald Sousa of Hash Define Electronics Sep 10, 2015

Show notes

Quick announcement: Chris will be in Portland for XOXO fest and will be running a hangout Friday September 11th at the Lucky Lab Brew Pub from 4-6pm. Bring your projects!

Welcome, Ronald Sousa of Hash Define Electronics!

Ron has worked for 10 years in the fuel measurement industry.
Leeds has the benefit of being the location of the Farnell trade counter.
Many startups in Leeds have been compared to Cocoon, a home automation / smart web cam.
Different parts of the UK are known for different things/industries
Bruce Kelly was the one that convinced Ron to attend the University of Leeds for his master's degree.
The junk box from Farnell provided lots of inspiration for projects, especially things like the large siren and PIC12s.
Ron's love of embedded comes from his interest in robotics.
His background in fuel measurement and delivery comes from his first gig out of college where he had to learn how to do everything.
Really the job was based around measuring liquids. There are multiple methods for doing so:
- Geared flow meter - liquid squeezing through gears
- Turbine - Measuring how much rotation is caused from liquids going past/through the turbine.
- Ultrasound - Measuring how ultrasonic pings change as liquid properties change.
Mike did teardown on an ultrasonic gas meter:
What is a meter vs a gauge?
- A meter is certified and is used in billing applications for the gas.
- A gauge does not need to be and exists mostly to alert the driver to their levels.
The various sensors communicate on a CAN bus.
ATEX standards exist to make sure there’s no spark.
The calibrated sensors they were using i2c sensor interface.
While Ron also has used a variety of PICs in the past, the NXP LPC11c14 had the right mix of peripherals for his design.
Because density and other properties can be similar between fuels, Ron used a color sensor to delineate different fuel types.
CAN requires unique IDs for each node. Ron also tried creating a master node and broadcast packets to sync the variety of devices on the net. As with other ID schemes, the lowest node wins because the IDs are always XOR'd to compare the addresses.
ATEX requires traceability, including the unique IDs of each node.
Ron seems to have, "MacGuyver syndrome". He enjoys fixing engineering problems under pressure.
- One was an RFID solution with a relay, it turned out there was inductive kickback causing issues.
- Another they forgot a 24V to 5V optocoupler board, so Ron rigged up a regulator that did the job for 2 years.

Many thanks to Ron for jumping on the show last minute. You can see his tweets under his handle @opticalworm

A Security Update with Michael Ossmann Sep 04, 2015

Show notes

Welcome back, Michael Ossmann!

Mike just got back from DEF CON, Bsides and Blackhat in Vegas.
Usenix WOOT is an offensive technology with academic members.
There was a car hacking talk based upon the Jeep Recall (by Chris Vallesec & Charlie Miller). This resulted in a recall of 2.5M vehicles.
There was also a Tesla Hack but they pushed an Over The Air (OTA) update.
Movies about hacking: Sneakers (the only one you need)
Some cars have OnStar, others have Wifi.
Mike wrote an article about the Toyota unintended acceleration. It contains links to testimony and writeups by Michael Barr.
Reliability testing is only as good as your tests.
The tire pressure monitoring sensor lives inside each tire and wirelessly transmits back to a receiver. It does not send any CAN bus packets.
Dave wonders if cars will be solar flare vulnerable.
Another new hardware conference is hardwear.io.
Smart TVs have been proven to have multiple vulnerabilities.
The Rad1o badge at CCC, discussed a few weeks ago, was designed by the Munich CCC group and distributed to nearly 5000 attendees of CCCamp. It was based upon the HackRF One. Cost was kept down by using chips gifted from some manufacturers.
Nerds in tents seems to be an interesting way to do a conference. Camping saves on money, which makes the camp very affordable. They need lots of generators though.
Other conferences coming up:
- Open Hardware Summit
- ORCONF2015 will be in Geneva at CERN. It is run by the OpenRISC group.
- ToorCon - San Diego
- 2016 - ToorCamp / EMFcamp
Mike now has 9 videos up for his SDR course. He has also been teaching in person a lot.
The HackRF2 is possibly coming out, but it's not Mike. If he were to do a v2, he wouldn't change radio, he'd just change micro.
Many people use the HackRF with a BBB. Making a "cape" could be an option but it doesn't have 1GBPS ethernet, precluding high speed streaming of data back to a network.
The FCC put out a NPRM about their changes to the authorization process. The public comments close Sept 8.
Mike used to work for the NTIA (other spectrum management gov't users).
These changes prevent users from installing programs like OpenWRT, which people want to make their devices more secure.
You can submit your comment here. If you're looking for a template for what to include in your letter, check out this reddit comment.
Chip of the Week: The LPC4300 Family, a dual core Cortex M4... which happens to be in HackRF One. It has configurable state machines, which are similar to theminion cores in the OpenRISC. The chip also has a USB controller with PHY.

After the outro...

Mike forgot to talk about the YARD Stick One, the product he is releasing next week! A prototype version was used in a DEFCON talk by Samy Kamkar about car hacking.

Thank you to joybot for the picture of the lock

The Cost Of Doing Business Aug 28, 2015

Show notes

Chris is on hotel Wifi, so really he's talking to Dave on an app via his phone and then recording locally.
Is there an uncanny valley in hardware?
Altium bought Octopart and Ciiva.
Dave predicted that they would in a blog post a few months back when Altium raised more money.
Another potential acquisition would be Polar Instruments, makers of SI tools.
Gowin is a company out of China manufacturing FPGAs. They are partnering with Synopsis (makers of Synplify Pro).
Chris is intimidated by tcl scripts.
Synplify Pro was also used as part of the A ctel / Microsemi tool chain.
Chris thinks this is similar to the ESP8266 as it opens up the marketplace for more
How much use will there be for FPGAs past eduction for most users? Jack Gassett was on Embedded.fm talking about eduction.
The PSOC family is interesting and has some reconfigurable logic.
Adafruit hit $33 million and did so by bootstrapping.
Tim Ferriss had the founder of Evernote on his show who was talking about the Dunbar number (NOT Godwin's Law)
Silicon valley perks have started to make their way into non SV companies.
Timesheets are evil, especially when you're socially pressured to up your hours per week.
Dave's past company was doing production in china and spent $10K on internet access over a phone. The cost of doing business.

Thanks to Pictures of Money for the money jar picture.

An Interview with Fran Blanche Aug 21, 2015

Show notes

Welcome Fran!

Fran has a wonderful YouTube channel. She also works on the Dinosaur Den with former guest Bil Herd.
Fran's audio company called Frantone recently relaunched. This was after taking a break and briefly working for ElectroHarmonix.
Chris recalls buying a pedal from "analog man"
Fran sent Dave a board from the launch vehicle
Fran also made multiple videos about the LVDC saturn. The boards used DTL logic.
XKCD's Up Goer Five is a great poster.
Dave was talking about a Daisy wheel printer
George RR Martin uses a DOS wordstar.
Apollo DSKY display
Archivists recently uncovered a private stash of stuff from Armstrong's collection.
The Smithsonian has a wide range of experimental and historical vehicles. Fran did a video tour a while back.
The audio appearance of Mr T has been shown on Fran's channel in the past:
Lone inventors like Tesla, Philo Farnsworth,Edwin Armstrong (among others) were "lone inventors" but were on the shoulders of giants.
Chris has been reading Tesla's Colorado Springs notes.
Fran asserts that Elon Musk is closer to Edison...a super effective administrator.
Stephen Hawking is worried about the limit of human understanding. A combination of Woz/Musk/Hawking are worried about AI.
The gun toting drone was...interesting...
Frantone electronics are currently manufactured by Barefoot Electronics out of St Louis
Fran also does textiles via the Contour Corsets brand.
The 8038 analog generation chip
Chris asks about the hybridization of pedals and is readily shut down by Fran and Dave.
Instead it'd be better to generate a sine via a Wien bridge oscillator, like the original HP 200a.

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