The Power of Open Source: Solving Our Toughest Technical Challenges

This week’s podcast is all about open source development. My podcast guests are Julie Shen and Engineering Leader Tim Juravich from Deloitte.  Julie, Tim and I discuss the challenges of open source development today, how developers can navigate these issues, and where the open source road is headed in the future. Also this week, I check out a super cool collaboration called the Moon-Rice project … Read More → "The Power of Open Source: Solving Our Toughest Technical Challenges"

Simulating Antenna(s) to Bits and Back in Wireless Communication and Radar Systems

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a presentation by a company whose name requires no introduction, so I won’t introduce it (I’m joking—I’ll introduce it later). The topic of this talk was today’s “latest and greatest” tools and techniques for designing wireless communication and radar systems, with an emphasis on simulation.

Today’s simulation tools blow me … Read More → "Simulating Antenna(s) to Bits and Back in Wireless Communication and Radar Systems"

Scalability, Modularity, Flexibility with QMCs and VITA 93

My podcast guest this week is Jan Zimmerman from TEWS Technologies. Jan and I are talking all about VITA 93 – a new QMC mezzanine card standard and why scalability, modularity and flexibility are central elements of this new standard. Jan and I also discuss the unique I/O capabilities of QMCs and how TEW Technologies is furthering innovation in this arena. 

 

Read More → "Scalability, Modularity, Flexibility with QMCs and VITA 93"

WTW (“What the What”)? Another 100 Mindboggling Columns!

“Good grief, Charlie Brown!” I just exclaimed upon realizing that I’ve hit another 100-column milestone (including this one) here on EE Journal. That makes 400 columns since I joined the community.

As my columns average around 1,500 words apiece, that’s a whopping 600,000 words—each one handpicked at the crack of dawn whilst still glistening with the morning dew, fresh, fragrant, and … Read More → "WTW (“What the What”)? Another 100 Mindboggling Columns!"

July 28, 2025
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featured chalk talk

Advances in Solar Energy and Battery Technology
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and onsemi
Passive components will play an important part in the next generation of solar and energy storage systems. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton, Prasad Paruchuri from onsemi, Walter Fusto from Würth Elektronik explore trends, challenges and solutions in solar and energy storage systems. They also examine EMI considerations for energy storage systems, the benefits that battery management systems bring to these kinds of designs and how passive components can make all the difference in solar and energy storage systems.
Aug 13, 2024
54,798 views

featured paper

Agilex™ 3 vs. Certus-N2 Devices: Head-to-Head Benchmarking on 10 OpenCores Designs

Sponsored by Altera

Explore how Agilex™ 3 FPGAs deliver up to 2.4× higher performance and 30% lower power than comparable low-cost FPGAs in embedded applications. This white paper benchmarks real workloads, highlights key architectural advantages, and shows how Agilex 3 enables efficient AI, vision, and control systems with headroom to scale.

Click to read more

discussion
Posted on Jul 25 at 6:51pm by traneusee
Allen B. Dumont introduced oscilloscopes mid 1930s. Radio development did not need oscilloscopes. Television development needed oscilloscopes. Signal generators existed from the beginning of radio. Galvanometers are even older.
Posted on Jul 25 at 4:43pm by traneusee
My apology for posting the same comment twice. I was trying to perserve breaks between paragraphs.
Posted on Jul 25 at 9:54am by theboom
*Great interview as always!
Posted on Jul 25 at 9:52am by theboom
Read interview as always, Amelia. It would have been cool to hear about the pros and cons or strategies of open sourcing one's own for-profit product. Thank you!
Posted on Jul 24 at 11:15am by Max Maxfield
You forgot to mention debonair, but doubtless you were just being modest, which is another trait for which you are justifiably renowned (assuming you are the John mentioned in the column, of course :-)
Posted on Jul 24 at 9:52am by JK
"This John fellow sounds like a person with a great breadth of knowledge, spritely in manner with an ebullient discernment we seldom see in articles of a technical nature! I must say I’m very impressed with him!" JK (John K********)
Posted on Jul 24 at 9:02am by Max Maxfield
How would people do things circa the 1930s -- were things like signal generators and oscilloscopes even a thing back then?
Posted on Jul 24 at 7:50am by traneusee
Before simulations existed, we would build circuits on breadboards to test our designs and measure their performance using signal generators and voltmeters and oscilloscopes. This had the advantage of including stray capacitance and inductance often ignored in low-frequency simulations. Radio-frequency simulations include the strays. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point-to-point_...
Posted on Jul 23 at 7:12am by Max Maxfield
I really enjoyed "The Prefectionists" from Bill's list -- so many books... so much to learn... so little time...
Posted on Jul 22 at 10:37am by JK
While I’d like to have read more on harmonics, I was impressed that an article this long on analog electronics could be written without once invoking chicken-blood and astrology! Kudos! ...And nice selection of books. I would have included “Ignition!: An informal history of liquid rocket propellants”, by John ...
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featured blogs
Jul 25, 2025
Manufacturers cover themselves by saying 'Contents may settle' in fine print on the package, to which I reply, 'Pull the other one'”it's got bells on it!'...
Infineon Automotive MOSFETs Expertise and the OptiMOS™ 7 Advantage
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Infineon
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Joseph Sara and Amelia Dalton explore the mega trends motivating MOSFET innovation and the details of Infineon’s cutting-edge MOSFET solutions. They also explore the benefits of Infineon’s OptiMOS 7 platform and how you can take advantage of Infineon MOSFETs for your next design.
Jul 21, 2025
7,839 views
On-board Battery Charger & DC-DC Converter
Sponsored by Infineon
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Steven Hehn from Infineon and Amelia Dalton investigate the functions of on board chargers and high voltage to low voltage DC-DC converters for electric vehicles. They also investigate the benefits that wide band gap power technologies can bring to these kinds of designs and the innovative solutions that Infineon offers for your on board charger and DC/DC design needs.
Jul 17, 2025
12,546 views
Qorvo Accelerating Matter Product Development with Qorvo QPG6200
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Qorvo
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Tim Allemeersch from Qorvo and Amelia Dalton explore the challenges of Matter application development and how Qorvo can help you navigate the landscape of Matter development. They also investigate the benefits of Qorvo’s QPG6200 IC and how you can get started using this integrated circuit for your next Matter design.
Jul 16, 2025
13,027 views
Smarter Isolation for Smarter Power Systems
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Bourns
Today’s smarter power systems demand smarter gate drive isolation. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Kritika Murari from Bourns and Amelia Dalton explore the hidden complexities of gate drive isolation, how reinforced gate drive isolation can improve a variety of design parameters, and how you can take advantage of Bourns push pull isolation transformers for your next design.
Jul 14, 2025
16,524 views
From Datasheet to Design: Picking the Perfect Operational Amplifier
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Christopher John Gozon (Goz) from Analog Devices and Amelia Dalton explore the what, where and how of operational amplifiers. They also examine roles that supply voltage, voltage offset, and input bias and input offset current play in operational amplifiers and how you can take advantage of Analog Devices’ op amp innovation for your next design. 
Jul 11, 2025
19,667 views
Improving the Cockpit Computer using Companion Microcontroller
Sponsored by Infineon
Companion microcontrollers are a vital element of today’s complex automotive designs. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Matthew Goodavish from Infineon and Amelia Dalton investigate how the architectural evolution in automotive design has encouraged the need for companion microcontrollers, the role that safety islands play in the development of these systems, and the core system benefits that companion MCUs bring to these kinds of designs.
Jul 10, 2025
21,300 views