EP#140: The Genesis of My Bill Of Materials

10/02/18 • 59 min

Parker
- RTL SDR functional setup?
  - RTL-FM
  - Seems to work fine for FM stuff
  - AM works in direct sampling mode but I can’t seem to get that to work with RTL-FM
    - Upconverter needed?
    - Auto switching signals?
  - RTL_FM also does not support stereo sound
  - Might need a new option?
    - R820T P7K5 Software Defined Radio?
- KiCad User improvements for MacroFab in the future
  - KiCad Python API has awful documentation
- Particle Spectra Conference
  - Workshops for IoT hardware and software
  - MEP EP#122: Brandon Satrom and the LANoT
Stephen
- Vox in a box tester layout is complete. Will order tonight
  - May use this to also develop a preamp for a friends leslie rotary cabinet
R.F.O.
- Parallax Propeller 2 Soon?
  - Production samples work!
  - Changes from First Prop
    - 80Mhz -> 180Mhz
    - 32 -> 64 I/O
    - Hardware peripherals
    - Built in Debugger
    - Preliminary Specifications and Datasheet
  - Ken Gracey and Chip Gracey on the Podcast?
- Luke Robertson from the Slack Channel
  - How do you search for technical information? I am specifically thinking in regards to forums. I realize there is a niche forum for everything but I was wondering if there are a few standouts people prefer (presumably ones that aren't laced with kids looking for answers to their homework).
  - Luke mentions Eevblog.com and diystompboxes.com

Tags: electronics podcast, KiCad, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MEP, Parallax Propeller 2, Particle Spectra, R820T P7K5, RTL_SDR, RTL-FM, Vox in a Box

Parker
- RTL SDR functional setup?
  - RTL-FM
  - Seems to work fine for FM stuff
  - AM works in direct sampling mode but I can’t seem to get that to work with RTL-FM
    - Upconverter needed?
    - Auto switching signals?
  - RTL_FM also does not support stereo sound
  - Might need a new option?
    - R820T P7K5 Software Defined Radio?
- KiCad User improvements for MacroFab in the future
  - KiCad Python API has awful documentation
- Particle Spectra Conference
  - Workshops for IoT hardware and software
  - MEP EP#122: Brandon Satrom and the LANoT
Stephen
- Vox in a box tester layout is complete. Will order tonight
  - May use this to also develop a preamp for a friends leslie rotary cabinet
R.F.O.
- Parallax Propeller 2 Soon?
  - Production samples work!
  - Changes from First Prop
    - 80Mhz -> 180Mhz
    - 32 -> 64 I/O
    - Hardware peripherals
    - Built in Debugger
    - Preliminary Specifications and Datasheet
  - Ken Gracey and Chip Gracey on the Podcast?
- Luke Robertson from the Slack Channel
  - How do you search for technical information? I am specifically thinking in regards to forums. I realize there is a niche forum for everything but I was wondering if there are a few standouts people prefer (presumably ones that aren't laced with kids looking for answers to their homework).
  - Luke mentions Eevblog.com and diystompboxes.com

Tags: electronics podcast, KiCad, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MEP, Parallax Propeller 2, Particle Spectra, R820T P7K5, RTL_SDR, RTL-FM, Vox in a Box

Previous Episode

EP#139: Breaking Bad Taps

Parker
- Diagnosing power drops in the Wagon
- RTL SDR update?
  - RTL-SDR for the Raspberry Pi
  - Maybe a Live twitch session with some seasoned Python / SDR Peeps?
- Wrote about PCB Stackups for the MacroFab knowledge base
Stephen
- Vox in a Box
  - Power supply and Power amp have schematics
  - Test Box
- Design for the power supply and power amp
R.F.O.
- SQFMI Leaks new project
  - #Watchy
  - E-ink, ESP32 based, Accelerometer, 25 day battery life, Arduino support, and Open Source
- Productivity, Unfinished Projects, and Letting Go
  - Steven Dufresne wrote this article for Hack A Day
    - Doing Only The Interesting Parts
  - Getting Lost on a Tangent
- Broken Taps Suck...
  - Have you ever broken a tap?
  - What is your method for removal?
- Raspberry pi development
  - Pi-top?

Tags: #Watchy, Breaking Bad Taps, Breaking Taps, development, electronics podcast, Lost and Forgotten Projects, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MEP, PCB Stackups, Power Drops, Raspberry Pi, RTL SDR, SQFMI, Vox in a Box

Next Episode

EP#141: It Depends – An In Depth Look at MLCCs with James Lewis

James Lewis
- Our guest this week may or may not be an Engineer or may or may not have Hair!
- James Lewis’ passion for teaching non-engineers has led to him to create the Bald Engineer Blog and the AddOhms video tutorial series
- With 15 years of experience in electronics, marketing, sales, and teaching James boils seemingly difficult concepts down to the core, so that anyone can learn what they need to finish that next great project
- Worked at Agilent as an FAE for oscilloscopes (for about 10 years), then as an FAE and marketing at KEMET for about 7 years
- Now working as oscilloscope product manager at Rohde and Schwarz
MLCC - Multi - Layer Ceramic Capacitors
- Where did all the MLCCs go?
  - Looking back, it was obvious we were headed towards a shortage but companies didn’t see it coming
- What are they?
- Common uses?
- 4 ways Ceramics lose capacitance
  - Temperature
  - Tolerance
  - DC Bias
  - Aging effect
- What to consider when choosing an alternative dielectric/technology for capacitors
Questions from the Slack Channel
- Insights into selecting bootstrap caps for high-frequency, high-voltage H-bridges
- What footprint should we be designing with, going forward? Presumably different sizes for decoupling vs bulk on the power inputs for getting different ESRs?
- Is MLCC cracking due to pcb flex something that still gets seen in 0402 and below?
- General rules of thumb on choosing appropriate packages based upon desired voltage rating and capacitance?
- What *is* the fundamental physical mechanism behind this voltage-dependent capacitance drop?
  - KEMET Ask an FAE on Ceramic DC Bias
- Why does the Y5V dielectric exist?
Notes
- SL0 ceramic capacitor dielectrics
- SMT Soldering Guide for Capacitors

Tags: AddOhms, Agilent, Bald Engineer, DC Bias, electronics podcast, FAE, Flexing, Hair care tips and tricks, James Lewis, Kemet, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MEP, MLCC, Multi-Later Ceramic Capacitors, Murata, Rohde and Schwarz, Y5V