Free_Electron is going to be on The Amp Hour! What should we ask him?

[ChrisGammell]

Ask here if you must, but we prefer questions be asked on our subreddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/TheAmpHour/comments/1ozy24/next_week_on_the_show_vincent_himpe_of_silicon/

[dr.diesel]

Do we known when he'll be on?

[ChrisGammell]

Whoops, sorry, I should have mentioned that. He'll be on the show this coming Monday and the show will air on Tuesday. No live streams are available.

[SeanB]

Hope it will be the first 6 hour Amp Hour. Better get some extra disk space to record the audio, and have 2 recorders going at both ends as well.

If there was a live stream you probably would kill the video server used.

Best I have been on was the interview from Tony C Smith of Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven and Gregory Benford. 3 smart gentlemen and then the rest of us. Was well worth the price.

[saturation]

I'd ask for 2 groups of users:

beginners [ as this is asked over and over ]

What would be the minimum set of gear to start a home lab?

Which model would you get, new or used?
function generator
power supply
oscilloscope
DMM
soldering iron

Which family of microprocessors would you stick with, and what programming environment would you choose?

What do you think of the Arduino as a development platform?


Experienced:

How has the industry changed since you began your career?  would you do EE all over again if you had too?
What is your vision of the future of a professional EE?
What is the future of test & measurement equipment?
What is the future of Agilent's new T&M group?

If you could choose only one, which would you own and why: the Agilent 3458a, Fluke 8508a, or another 8.5 digit bench meter?

[peter.mitchell]

I'd ask something like this;

I see a lot of old school micros such as the 8051 and the 6502 built into black box ICs, like touchscreen controllers and sensor modules, i was wondering if these was any particular reason for these old school micros and if it would be worthwhile learning how to use them? - Additionally, do you see them still produced in 10 years time?

[SeanB]

I'd ask something like this;

I see a lot of old school micros such as the 8051 and the 6502 built into black box ICs, like touchscreen controllers and sensor modules, i was wondering if these was any particular reason for these old school micros and if it would be worthwhile learning how to use them? - Additionally, do you see them still produced in 10 years time?

Out of patent and low royalty cost per chip. As well can be implemented in almost any process and uses very little silicon area to make a reasonably good micro. As well you only put in the peripherals you need, so it becomes even smaller as you only use what is wanted. Simple to program as well and there are a lot of debuggers and compilers for them as well.

[peter.mitchell]

I'd ask something like this;

I see a lot of old school micros such as the 8051 and the 6502 built into black box ICs, like touchscreen controllers and sensor modules, i was wondering if these was any particular reason for these old school micros and if it would be worthwhile learning how to use them? - Additionally, do you see them still produced in 10 years time?

Out of patent and low royalty cost per chip. As well can be implemented in almost any process and uses very little silicon area to make a reasonably good micro. As well you only put in the peripherals you need, so it becomes even smaller as you only use what is wanted. Simple to program as well and there are a lot of debuggers and compilers for them as well.

Yeah, i just thought it'd be a nice discussion topic.

[marshallh]

Ask if there's some T&M unit/niche product that has a market but needs to be made )

[EEVblog]

The show was 3.5 hours and we had to cut it very short!

[SeanB]

3.5 hours, hope there is a video. I would love to watch that.

[BravoV]

Provide the uncut version too, please.

[ChrisGammell]

I never understood the need for video. What do people watch during audio podcasts? How wildly we wave our arms while trying to make a point?

And yes, the whole thing will be uncut. You think i want to edit that much audio? Ha, think again! :-)

[EEVblog]

3.5 hours, hope there is a video. I would love to watch that.

It would be 2.5 hours of Chris trying to keep his eyelids open while typing notes, Vincent frantically flapping his arms around, and Dave nodding furiously while mumbling "yep, been there"

[ddavidebor]

Wow my horse is going to be very happy, since i listen the podcast when i ride him.

[SeanB]

3.5 hours, hope there is a video. I would love to watch that.

It would be 2.5 hours of Chris trying to keep his eyelids open while typing notes, Vincent frantically flapping his arms around, and Dave nodding furiously while mumbling "yep, been there"

Have you ever watched Jerry Pournelle on TWIT, that is a very interesting show. Even with a golf ball sized hole cooked through his head he is an amazing man.

[chicken]

The show was 3.5 hours and we had to cut it very short!

Looks like I will go on a VERY LONG walk this Saturday - taking an extend walk around the block for the Amp Hour is my weekend ritual. 

[jancumps]

But it is on Tuesday. Can you wait that long before listening?

[ivan747]

Wow my horse is going to be very happy, since i listen the podcast when i ride him.

Some people hear it in the car, while taking the bus, riding their bike... David listens riding his horse You must be the only listener who does that.