The Spark Gap

Karl and Corey explore the analog world a bit by discussing Analog to Digital and Digital to Analog Converters.

Karl and Corey revisit topics from the past 31 episodes.

Karl and Corey talk about different displays you can use in embedded systems.

Karl and Corey discuss various ways to switch on power to circuits.

Karl and Corey are joined by Fouad Kiamilev from the University of Delaware to talk about ASIC design and ways to be a more healthy and productive engineer.

Karl and Corey are joined by Andrew Retallack of Crash Bang Prototype to talk about his work with moving people past their reliance on Arduino.

Karl and Corey talk about mess ups, disasters, and other horror stories from their past.

Karl and Corey are joined by Bob Coggeshall of Small Batch Assembly to talk about designing PCBs that will go through SMT at a professional assembly house.

Karl and Corey are joined by James Lewis of Kemet Electronics to talk about capacitors.

Karl and Corey talk about their personal goals for 2015, the future of the podcast, and discuss a few topics on reverse engineering.

Karl and Corey discuss projects they've left unfinished and wonder why this seems to happen so often.

Karl and Corey finish their talk about PCB layout.  This part talks about signal layout and some manufacturing details.  Part 2 of 2.

Karl and Corey talk about PCB layout and some tips for hobbyists. In this part, component placement and power layout.  Part 1 of 2.

Karl and Corey throw out some old boards and discuss lessons learned the hard way.

Corey and Karl discuss the benefits of controlling your embedded product with smart software and simple firmware. 

Corey and Karl talk about the popular Serial Communications - Uart, SPI, I2C, and CAN.

Karl and Corey talk about the fascinating topic of In-Circuit Programmers and Debuggers.

Karl and Corey talk about the new Arm Cortex-M7 microcontroller.

Corey and Karl discuss the origins and the future of the Raspberry Pi. They explore how a product with an imperfect beginning can still become a huge success.

Karl and Corey discuss the operation of an Adjustable Constant Current Dummy Load.

Corey and Karl talk about setting up your workbench.

Karl and Corey talk about the advantages and challenges of adding Ethernet capability to an embedded system.

Karl and Corey interview James Snyder about the eLua project.

Karl and Corey wax poetic about the aspects of embedded electronic engineering that can can worsen your mood and waste your time.

Karl and Corey discuss the practice of Manufacturers charging money to unlock built-in features of Test Equipment.

They give their opinion on whether unlocking those features by means of “hacking” your equipment is actually stealing.

Alternatives to paying exhorbant sums of cash to unlock existing features are considered.

Karl and Corey welcome guest Jacob Rosenthal to explain the Internet of Things.

Corey and Karl welcome their first guest Rodney McGee to talk about his research in electric vehicles and Vehicle to Grid (V2G) technology.

Corey and Karl explain the different ways to implement USB connectivity on an embedded device, from the physical layer to application layer.

Corey inquires about Karl's hobby, CNC Machining. Karl discusses his CNC Router and the decision that went into it.

Corey and Karl start off their first episode of "The Great Debates!"

Corey takes the position that RTOSes for the most part don't belong in single core embeeded systems.

Karl takes the position that the advantages of using an RTOS ,even in single core microcontrollers, far exceed their disadvantages.

Karl and Corey discuss the basics of how to power your electronic circuits.

Linear Regulators, LDOs, and Switch Mode Power Supplies are explained. Traps for new engineers and hobbyist working with power supplies are lamented.

In this episode Karl and Corey talk about Corey's newest hobby, 3D Printing.

Also, Karl gets the outcome of the 3D Systems vs. Form Labs lawsuit wrong.

In this episode Karl and Corey talk about the heart of many embedded electronics projects: The Microcontroller. They discuss their evolving feelings for the maker communities darling, the Arduino. They also give an overview of other potential candidates for a microcontroller.