Chris Gammell

With #tariffs in the US and different PCB assembly options, it can be tough to optimize for cost on a project. I talked about my experience using JLC assembly + #KiCad on episode 700 of The Amp Hour. Other topics included #solar, #batteries, #bluetooth.

theamphour.com/700-beware-o...

12 years ago, I talked to Andrew Seddon who was building a datasheet/footprint tool for #PCBdesigners. CircuitHub has since transformed into a digital factory for on-demand PCB assembly. We discussed #tariffs, #domesticmanufacturing, AI changes that to the industry

theamphour.com/699-circuith...

How hardware engineers fall asleep

(an #asmr reading the #eu #cyber resilience act)

3H, summer in the city · Luma Electronics work great in the heat, right? This is our July Hardware Happy Hour, and we're going to try out another new spot! We'll be going to Rosecomb Beer…

Another Hardware Happy Hour is coming up on July 29th in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill (and actually Cary for this one). Please share it with anyone you know in the area who might be interested: lu.ma/s3jyicee

I love watching Matt Brown's videos reverse engineering #iot products that have ...let's say "less than stellar" security implemented. He shows his hardwaer #reverseengineering and we get to follow along and learn with him.

I talked to Matt on ep698 of The Amp Hour

theamphour.com/698-hardware...

Tim from Mitxela kind of does it all: (super tiny) electrical, (super tightly written) firmware, (super nicely finished) mechanical. We dug into what motivates him to keep making and how he hyper optimized things like the fluid (LED) pendant.

Check it out here: theamphour.com/697-leds-eve...

I have always wanted something like an #ssh connection to the #iot devices I work on. Today we published about how to use #Golioth RPCs and a simple front end to do just that.

glth.io/remote-shell

Fun fact: MCP Servers aren't new, they actually have been around for a long time but Clippy (the original AI agent) got TOO powerful

Teardown 2025 Talk: Are we PLM yet? Teardown 2025 Talk: Are we PLM yet? A beginners introduction to product lifecycle management for KiCad.

I'll be speaking at @crowdsupply.bsky.social #Teardown2025 in just over a week!

I'll walk through how to automatically generate a #KiCad database library based on part data stored in Aligni #PLM software.

Slide deck PDF in the link below if you want to take a sneak peek:

cgnd.dev/posts/teardo...

Me running a Discourse forum in 2025 trying to determine if a post was written by a human...

Let my FOMO...commence! :-D

Do you understand how #RF and #magnetics work? Any time I check out Sam Aldhaher's visualizations, I do just a bit better. We spoke on The Amp Hour this week about how to get started in #blender and build out visualizations using tools like #openems and #elmer_fem.

theamphour.com/695-making-t...

I'm working on a video where Rajeev from Conexio optimized a #zephyrrtos program and hardware configuration to send every hour without needing batteries. Uses a Nordic nRF9151, solar panel, and supercap

blog.golioth.io/upcoming-web...

#695 – Making The Invisible, Visible with Sam Aldhaher | The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast Sam Aldhaher is a power engineer and 3D graphic artist, his Blender visualizations have helped many people understand how RF flows in a variety of circuits. Sam joins Chris to talk about how to get…

If you haven't seen Sam Aldhaher's visualization of #RF signals, you're missing out! I got to speak with him on #TheAmpHour this week and loved learning how #Blender can be used as not just visualization, but also a tool for calculation (with the plugin ecosystem) theamphour.com/695-making-t...

#693 – Small Scale Electronics Manufacturing with Colin O’Flynn | The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

Really enjoyed having Colin O'Flynn back on the show for a 3rd time. We chatted security, FPGAs, small scale electronics manufacturing, and the world of academia.

theamphour.com/693-small-sc...

probing a 20V rail with a DMM and my watch decides to buzz the "time to move" reminder right as the DMM leads make contact...

I've gotta up my demo game. Tried showing my nephews and niece my "cool electronics" that I brought with me. Turns out that an embedded cellular device that interacts with the internet is just par for the course. Needs more blinky or bombastic output. Good test audience though!

An AI generated image of a train inside a house, generating the heating and cooling for the house (with the normal orange and blue arrows representing airflow)

I talked about my upcoming solar install on TAH this week. Also wacky tariffs, peak power pricing, tiny electronics (AirTag clone course), oscilloscope triggering, and more.

Fill out our 2025 Listener Survey to be entered to win a Jumperless (OG) Breadboard!

theamphour.com/692-like-a-s...

Despite being a casual user, I'm deeply uninterested in the future of AI. I can't tell if I'm due to be removed from the "tech gene pool" or if I'm immune to some kind of manic mind virus. Every time a breathless piece about the amazing advancements of the technology pops up, I'm reminded. Ah well.

Hardware decisions are expensive over the long term. What if you could simulate a huge range of chips at the beginning of your design to determine which one to use?

Michael Gielda of Antmicro and I spoke on about understanding your problem space in intricate detail

theamphour.com/691-system-d...

This looks awesome! Such a high density design with really amazing capabilities

I've been challenging myself to make some really tiny PCBs using Bluetooth chips (nRF52840). I talked about it on TAH this week (among other things), and hope to share the boards soon.

theamphour.com/690-clap-on-...

Kevin is holding up a Jumperless breadboard with the words "The Amp Hour: in the LEDs backlighting the holes. The board is plugged into a computer via USB and Kevin is in his garage lab.

What happens when you take a switch matrix and allow any net (strip) on a breadboard connect to any other net? Well, really interesting things, it turns out.

I talked to @architeuthisflux.bsky.social about the Jumperless breadboard and how it all works

theamphour.com/689-a-jumper...

I'm a simple woman who enjoys drag soldering

This week on The Amp Hour: the Tandy 200, test equipment cashflow, the return of the Pebble watch, GPT trying its hand at CAD, solar output...and more

https://buff.ly/4aUVzQ6

You ever heard of 8-pin DIP? This is going to blow it out of the water... 7. Pin. DIP.

Update: send more pickles, these didn't work

Title page of the Star Wars: a New Hope film score; 3rd Horn Part

I've been waiting my whole life to play this concert. If you're near #MadisonWI weekend after next, come watch Star Wars while a live orchestra plays the incredible John Williams score live.

Current status: taking mental health advice from a pickle container

A metalized rasbperry in a glass case, with the label RP2350. There are pictures of 4 team members on teh front of the case.

I chatted with the embedded team at @raspberrypi.com about the #RP2350 on The Amp Hour. It's an amazing "dual dual-core" part that is finding its way into many products. We chatted #hardwaresecurity and #lowpower, as those were key enhancements over the #RP2040.

theamphour.com/687-the-rp23...