Podcasts by The Spark Gap

The Spark Gap - Episode 53 from 2018-01-31T21:00

Karl and Corey talk about projects they've been working on in their spare time.  Corey discusses his ping pong scoreboard's progress and challenges.

The Spark Gap - Episode 52 from 2018-01-01T18:00

Karl and Corey discuss how to work with development kits, specifically on how to best transition from a dev kit to a custom design.

The Spark Gap - Episode 51 from 2017-04-12T20:00

Karl and Corey talk about various ways to protect a design from other devices that can pull too much power, reverse voltage polarity, and otherwise cause damage.

The Spark Gap - Episode 50 from 2016-11-09T21:00

Karl and Corey discuss various means of user input: buttons, rotary encoders, and resistive and capacitive touch sensing.

The Spark Gap - Episode 49 from 2016-10-19T20:00

Karl and Corey talk about their trip to Portland, Oregon and the 2016 Open Hardware Summit.

The Spark Gap - Episode 48 from 2016-09-28T17:00

Karl and Corey are back to talk about design choices you can make when creating schematics and PCB layouts that will make board bring up and debugging much easier.

The Spark Gap - Episode 47 from 2016-04-27T20:00

Karl and Corey discuss the issues with heat in an embedded design, how to prevent it, how to detect it, and how to deal with it.

The Spark Gap - Episode 46 from 2016-03-09T21:00

Karl and Corey discuss the CANbus protocol and the new CAN-FD specification.

The Spark Gap - Episode 45 from 2016-02-10T21:00

Karl and Corey talk about some of the lessons Karl learned (and remembered) at the Signal Integrity Boot Camp at DesignCon.

The Spark Gap - Episode 44 from 2015-12-25T17:00

Karl and Corey air some grievances about Raspberry Pi, "Hoverboards", and PCB layout practices in this grab bag/Festivus episode.

The Spark Gap - Episode 43 from 2015-11-11T21:00

Karl and Corey talk about how knowledge of electronics can cause headaches when looking at products and crowd-funding campaigns.

The Spark Gap - Episode 42 from 2015-10-21T20:00

Karl and Corey finishing talking with Chris Gammell about parts.io and selecting the right op-amp for a given application. (Part 2 of 2)

The Spark Gap - Episode 41 from 2015-10-14T20:00

Karl and Corey are joined by Chris Gammell to talk about how to pick the right op-amp.  Part 1 of 2.

The Spark Gap - Episode 40 from 2015-10-03T20:00

Karl and Corey are back! Join them as they talk about design choices and gotchas involving connectors.

The Spark Gap - Episode 39 from 2015-08-12T20:00

Karl and Corey depart from hardware to talk about one of the more interesting bits of firmware, pointers.

The Spark Gap - Episode 38 from 2015-07-29T20:00

Karl and Corey talk about the gear they use to bring you this podcast.

The Spark Gap - Episode 37 from 2015-07-15T20:00

Karl and Corey talk about designing projects with the future in mind.

The Spark Gap - Episode 36 from 2015-07-04T00:07:42

Karl and Corey discuss a few submissions they liked from the Hackaday Prize 2015.  Disclaimer: Neither Karl nor Corey are affiliated in any way with the Hakaday Prize selection.

The Spark Gap - Episode 35 from 2015-06-17T20:00

Karl teaches Corey about how cars work and how electronics fit into modern automobiles.

The Spark Gap - Episode 34 from 2015-06-03T20:00

Karl's going to Burning Man.  Let's talk about some electronics you might want when camping in the desert.

The Spark Gap - Episode 33 from 2015-05-20T20:00

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 32 from 2015-05-06T20:00

Karl and Corey revisit topics from the past 31 episodes.

The Spark Gap - Episode 31 from 2015-04-22T20:00

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 30 from 2015-04-08T20:00

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 29 from 2015-03-25T17:00

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.

The Spark Gap - Episode 28 from 2015-03-11T17:00

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.

The Spark Gap - Episode 27 from 2015-02-25T21:00

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 26 from 2015-02-11T18:00

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.

The Spark Gap - Episode 25 from 2015-01-28T18:00

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 24 from 2015-01-07T21:00

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 23 from 2014-12-10T21:00

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 22 from 2014-12-03T21:00

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 21 from 2014-11-26T21:00

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 20 from 2014-10-29T05:42:07

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 19 from 2014-10-22T17:00

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 18 from 2014-10-15T17:00

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 17 from 2014-10-08T17:00

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 16 from 2014-10-01T17:00

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 15 from 2014-09-24T04:43:04

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.

The Spark Gap - Episode 14 from 2014-09-17T17:00

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 13 from 2014-09-02T02:15:16

Corey and Karl talk about setting up your workbench.

The Spark Gap - Episode 12 from 2014-09-02T02:14:05

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 11 from 2014-08-25T02:08:57

Karl and Corey interview James Snyder about the eLua project.

The Spark Gap - Episode 10 from 2014-08-20T19:39:04

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 9 from 2014-08-12T03:00:48

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 ...

The Spark Gap - Episode 8 from 2014-08-05T03:25:12

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 7 from 2014-07-30T03:24:17

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 6 from 2014-07-20T00:56:23

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 5 from 2014-07-14T14:58:46

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

The Spark Gap - Episode 4 from 2014-07-06T23:15

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 Spark Gap - Episode 3 from 2014-06-30T04:21:09

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 hobbyi...

The Spark Gap - Episode 2 from 2014-06-23T05:57:05

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.

The Spark Gap - Episode 1 from 2014-06-16T03:47:11

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 Arduin...