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Many thanks to our sponsor, Triad Semiconductor! They are giving listeners of The Amp Hour a free 1-year trial of their ViaDesigner software (a $500 value)! Just enter the code ‘amp100’ at registration. Awesome!
- Paul Otellini from Intel made $19 million last year.
- The satisfaction of seeing something made is a good goal to shoot for in a job, maybe more so than money?
- Dave will be doing an Ignite talk later this month. The last time Dave gave a talk (below) he just winged it!
- Chris had a hard time writing his Maker Faire talk (and a harder time presenting it)
- We’ve been going for 2.5 years now! Crazy!
- Setting deadlines for yourself can be difficult http://pandodaily.com/2013/04/05/ten-websites-that-teach-coding-and-a-bunch-of-other-things/
- 5 tips from a former Apple hardware employee (mostly from the mfg side).
- Dave has done a video showing the 2 layer board manufacturing process.
- “Crisis couriers” is how Fedex started. “Why would anyone need a package in 24 hours?”
- If you’re into military tech, this new laser from the US Navy is terrifying and awesome. Lots of cool systems surely integrated to allow it to happen (Tracking, cooling, power, etc)
- Mike Harrison has been playing with lower power lasers.
- The PETMAN robot from Boston Dynamics is super creepy.
- Markings have officially started disappearing from Yageo resistors. While this decision was likely driven by cost in high volume production, it hurts for prototyping.
- Chris is disappointed current sources aren’t real and how that can mess up SPICE sims.
- Perhaps we should have a T shirt slogan: “Current sources aren’t real”?
- Should we bring back WotW? This week Jose writes in showing off his bench (which was confusing until we got to the messy pictures!).
- Should we bring back CotW? This week we talk about the LT6110, a chip that helps compensate when pushing power over thin wires.
- Dave and the EEVblog forum have been investigating wonky behavior in the LT3080 (which Dave used on his PSU). Maybe Bob Dobkin will write us another email about it? (a highlight of our radio show so far!)
- What are the effects of top down design decisions, like this one in Russian metro card readers?
We hardly ever (never?) get to all the links we’d like to. You can find the other links on our subreddit or comment on or submit your own! If you like the show, also please remember to give us reviews on iTunes and to leave comments below, on the subreddit or on the EEVblog forum. Thanks!
Many thanks to krossbow for the picture showing us just how green the grass can be.
Great show as always.
While the ViaDesigner trial is greatly appreciated, the install is broken right out of the box. Getting a licence error on first run. Also, WTF…they need my MAC address to license the product?!?! Can’t be bothered…I hate software with terrible install process and shit overly complicated licensing. EVERY install should be: double click on setup, click yes a handful of times, click finish. Run product. Enjoy product. It’s ok to bother me about a license, but do it after I love your product. Also, what is all this Mentor Graphics shit? MGLS? LM? ePD is already running? What is this shit? It’s shit…that’s what this shit is.
Terrible software experience.
I’ve had to use my MAC address before. Usually that’s part of the FlexLM licensing scheme. Also, I believe their software is built on top of the Mentor Graphics
shitstuff.Hey CJ- Our ViaDesigner software is built on top of Mentor Graphic’s software. Yes, the install is more complicated than we would like. And, the software does require a license file for the product because a lot of the underlying technology is directly from Mentor Graphics. This is a pretty serious set of tools combined together in one environment. So, while the install is pretty crappy once you get through the install you will have a mixed-signal design and simulation environment that includes:
Schematic Capture with Hierarchy
You can design using schematics, VHDL, Verilog, VHDL-AMS and SPICE
You can simulate VHDL, Verilog, VHDL-AMS and SPICE in a unified simulator
Design wizards for a wide variety of mixed signal functions
Hope you are willing to give it another shot and seriously we will keep working towards the click, install, no license needed.
Hey Dave,
please don’t lose the fun. If the videos eat up all your time, take a creative break and get a much faster rendering machine. Dedicate say a week-long block of time (or two) a month for non-video-related work.
Hi guys,
Some T-Shirt slogans you might have forgotten:
“More gear than talent” by Kent Lundberg, I think
“It’s not personal, it’s technical.” by Chris or Dave
@Dave: Don’t be too disappointed about never being promoted for spilling the bad news: “It won’t work like that”. In past times messengers were killed for bringing bad news…
Awesome, thanks!
Chris, glad to hear others are bugging you about going to Dayton . You’ll never regret going if you make the trip. If I still lived in Youngstown, where I’m originally from, I would have made it years ago, but fortunately last year/this year I was given an appreciation award by my employer enabling me to fly in. I’m sure you would have the opportunity to meet many listeners who will pick you out of the crowd, and this alone will be rewarding for you. Hope to see you there, and hope we have last years weather…
K0WFS
Yes, this would be the main benefit and if I do go, we’ll definitely have a meetup at the seediest bar I can possibly find! 😀
To paraphrase Dave, can you buy the Triad Semi chips on DigiKey?
No. As I found out from their CMO, we totally botched the explanation. They’re custom chips, not reconfigurable. Kind of like the quick turn digital ones that Jeri used for toy manufacturing, where the design is based around the metalization layer.
I feel like an idiot that I missed that, but it’ll give good conversation the next time we bring it up.
The Not Possible Conversation reminded me about this quote From Iron Man (2008)
Engineer: Mr. Stane. Sir, we’ve explored what you’ve asked of us and it seems as though there’s a little hiccup. Actually, um…
Obadiah Stane: A hiccup?
Engineer: Yes, see to power the suit… sir, the technology doesn’t actually exist. So it…
Obadiah Stane: Wait, wait, the technology? [gestures towards the Arc Reactor] William, William… here is the technology! I’ve asked you to simply make it smaller.
Engineer: Yes, sir, and that’s what we’re trying to do, but… honestly, it’s impossible-
Obadiah Stane: [yelling] TONY STARK WAS ABLE TO BUILD THIS IN A CAVE! WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS!
Engineer: Well, I’m sorry. I’m not Tony Stark.
Seems like ViaDesigner only gave me 1 moth instead of a ear after registering. What happened to the 1 year trial? I have yet to install the software, but the email says the license lasts until May 10, 2013.
Ivan-
You initially get sent a 30-day evaluation license. A cron job on our server then sends you a new license towards the end of your 30-day trial. Since you have a 1-year free license with your amp100 coupon code you will receive a new 1-year license in about thirty days. So, you actually get a free 13-month license.
Slogan: The Amp Hour – What’s current
We’re doing, “The Amp Hour: Keep Current”, though the temptation to use “Watt” instead of “what” is pretty high 😉
Some advice for the hosts from a greybeard:
Dave: I learned decades ago that the circuits in ap notes are never to be trusted.
Chris: don’t ever get a job designing any military or space hardware. You see there is this thing called an approved parts list! One of my earliest designs was when I was seconded into Hughes Aircraft to design a signal interface unit between the shuttle and a spacecraft to be used before launch from the shuttle. I was not able to use any CMOS devices yet my coworker, who was doing the power interface for the exact same satellite was able to: the two groups had different APLs!
Good advice! I’ve worked off a restricted APL before, but never that much!