Best Fd Returns Podcasts (2026)

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Hot Bars & DACs at the Desk of Ladyada 30:10

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4M ago30:10

30:10

We revisit the PCM5122 DAC, test hot-bar breakouts on a big Quad-Color EPD, check new prototypes, and explore linear image sensorsBy Adafruit Industries

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Desk of Ladyada - Prototyping CAN FD Featherwing & BFFs 30:22

5M ago30:22

30:22

This week we designed some prototypes: CAN FD version of our FeatherWing and BFF. We also designed a board for the AP33772S (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngQT0Et32wM) which we covered on EYE ON NPI - this is a chip that can do extended range USB Type C Power Delivery (https://www.usb.org/usb-charger-pd) and it seems, Programmable Power Supply mo…

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Desk of Ladyada - Blinka x Tachyon, BMP585, VEML6046, e-Ink bonnet 25:38

5M ago25:38

25:38

This week we got Claude working natively on Windows (yay!) which speeds up development since we're not hitting the filesystem through multiple layers. That meant we also worked on a bunch of little breakouts: the BMP585 protos came in and those worked fine. Plus we knocked out the VEML6046 RGB+IR sensor library (https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit…

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Desk of Ladyada - Drivers, Tachyons & Heat Sinks – Oh Boy! 25:33

5M ago25:33

25:33

Fresh drivers for Bosch BMP5xx sensors & LiPoly chargers, plus Particle Tachyon fun with web-console shell + Blinka support! Also, heat sink tips for TO-220s.This week at our desk we cranked through a whole mess of drivers. Starting with the BMP580/BMP581/BMP585 series, which had a proper Bosch driver library (https://github.com/boschsensortec/BMP5…

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Prototypes, Testers & USB Isolation Upgrades - 20:28

6M ago20:28

20:28

Last week, we conducted a Great Search for a clear shaft linear potentiometer. This week, the prototypes arrived—and they work great! We're also beginning work on the FruitJam Tester. We'll be showing the finalized silkscreen, the cover plate we designed, and the expected form factor of the tester itself. Additionally, we wrapped up a library for a…

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Desk of Ladyada — E-Ink Monsters & a New Synth 26:09

6M ago26:09

26:09

This week at the desk, we tackled a huge stack of E-Ink displays. A couple of weeks ago, we focused on restocking the tricolor and grayscale 2.13" and 1.54" models. This time, we worked on the 2.9" version for the MagTag and explored some larger, very cool display options: https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_EPD/pull/86. We got most of them workin…

1
Desk of Ladyada - Solar Charging, IR Sensors & a Special Project Ahead! 31:40

6M ago31:40

31:40

Ladyada's diving into solar charging tech with the bq25798 MPPT charger ☀️, exploring IR sensors, drone-friendly compasses, and prepping for another big release ... but take it easy, take it slow ...baby steps 🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5925163669389312…

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Desk of Ladyada – E-Ink Experimentation Plus a Simple Moisture Sensor 31:43

6M ago31:43

31:43

(Re-broadcast, LIVE was not working for all social media on Sunday night, so here ya go!This week at our desk, we spent a lot of our focused engineering time working on e-paper display drivers. These displays are a lot more annoying than TFTs, which have settled on standardized MIPI command sets. Also, they have custom "waveforms" used to configure…

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Desk of Ladyada - Return from "Dethflu"! 29:50

7M ago29:50

29:50

We’re finally recovering from being sick all week, so not a ton of new things this time — but hey, we still accomplished a few important updates:Fruit Jam Rev CThe Fruit Jam PCBs (https://www.adafruit.com/product/6200) arrived and have been assembled! This is the final hardware revision: our hardware test covers all behaviors and everything works f…

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Desk of Ladyada – More Fruit Jam Work & Lots of Little Breakouts 🍓🛠️ 38:33

7M ago38:33

38:33

This week at the desk, we worked on getting more small hardware boards done. We revised our 1.5" transparent OLED breakout (oops, pins were swapped), designed breakouts for sensors like the AS5600 (https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/ams-osram-usa-inc/AS5600-ASOM/8250257) and STHS34PF80 (https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/stmicroelec…

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Desk of Ladyada – nOOds and Boosters A-Plenty 29:38

7M ago29:38

29:38

This week at the desk, we're working on getting more designs wrapped and out the door so we can keep a steady supply of new products into the shop.First up is a TPS61169 constant current booster, designed to make driving nOOds easier—especially 12V or 24V ones, but also series-connected 3V filaments.🔗 https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/texa…

1
Desk of Ladyada: Stepper Spinner, LED Booster & Radio Receiver 30:43

8M ago30:43

30:43

This week at our desk, we've been working through a substantial pile of prototypes to prepare them for the shop. Several designs from a few weeks ago are now ready. We tested the Ethernet breakout using the W5500 chip (https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/wiznet/W5500/4425702), which required no firmware. Additionally, we developed a driver f…

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Desk of Ladyada – Claude WebApps, Solar MPPT 28:33

8M ago28:33

28:33

This week at the Desk of Ladyada, we're getting back into the swing of releasing one or two new products a week after dealing with some tariff-related chaos. Last week we launched the Sparkle Motion Stick and the SEN6x Adapter. Next week, look out for the OPT4048.For the OPT4048, we wanted to easily plot the CIE x & y to a color graph—which used to…

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Desk of Ladyada – Designing More Protos & Trying Out Codex 30:53

8M ago30:53

30:53

We're back to designing more prototypes to get the product pump primed! Having lots of boards to work with means we can reliably get one or two shipping each week. To that end, here are some upcoming chips we've made breakouts for:SLB9670VQ20FW785 (TPM chip): https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/infineon-technologies/SLB9670VQ20FW785XTMA1/116…

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Desk of Ladyada – Break Time’s Over! 32:43

8M ago32:43

32:43

After digging ourselves out of a tariff-induced hole, we're back to working on some hardware (yay). Last week we finished off the Sparkle Motion Stick by moving the microphone around. We're thinking of using this case for the "ESP Trinkeys" we designed last year—we like the simplicity and snap-fit.We also got to testing the SEN-66 QT adapter. It wo…

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The Great Search - How to Source Tariffed & Non-Tariffed Items on DigiKey 12:18

9M ago12:18

12:18

Since this is the topic of the day, we'll be looking at how to purchase an item from DigiKey with tariffs in mind. DigiKey is a free trade zone, which means that if you're not in the USA, you will not have to pay additional tariffs on goods that are re-exported. However, for USA destinations, the new tariffs can add a significant cost if the compon…

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Desk of Ladyada – RP2350 Bones Day 31:38

9M ago31:38

31:38

With the RP2350 chip now in wide distribution (https://blog.adafruit.com/2025/03/27/eye-on-npi-raspberry-pi-rp2350a-and-rp2350b-microcontrollers-eyeonnpi-raspberrypi-digikey-raspberry_pi/), we're able to come up with a lot of variants of our popular RP2040 "Bones" (https://blog.adafruit.com/2023/01/22/rp2040-feather-bones-for-a-few-different-variet…

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Desk of Ladyada - Slow Sunday Pokes 28:58

9M ago28:58

28:58

This week was slow for hardware development—we were getting over being under the weather. But we did poke a little at a PCM5122 breakout board (https://www.digikey.com/short/fnf9t0b1). This chip can do software or hardware control of I2S signals and is preferred by folks who want something a little nicer than the PCM5102 (https://www.adafruit.com/p…

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Desk of Ladyada – Marchintosh on Fruit Jam 26:20

10M ago26:20

26:20

This week, we worked on a few projects: We've got the (hopefully final) TLV320DAC3100 boards (https://www.digikey.com/short/td7742wh). Having spent many weeks on this, we'd like to verify that we have the noise and grounding issues resolved and book PCBs. We'll need this chip working well for Fruit Jam completion! Speaking of, we made a revision of…

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Desk of Ladyada - Triple Matrix Bonnet & u-blox UBX Vibes 35:08

10M ago35:08

35:08

This week, we were all over the place with a bunch of different designs and experiments. After last week's analysis of the TLV320DAC3100, we made some updates to the design and re-booked prototype PCBs.We also designed a triple-matrix bonnet: with our latest work on getting HUB75 RGB matrices working on the Raspberry Pi 5, we can now do matrix cont…

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Desk of Ladyada - More TLV320 DAC'ing with a Bit of a Run-around 27:36

11M ago27:36

27:36

This week - We tackle the TLV320DAC3100, fixing headphone & mic issues for a breakout board. Plan to use it in AudioFX remake. Jepler advanced HSTX DVI text mode for Fruit Jam. Also, a search for a new pocket multimeter begins as the fave Amprobe PM51A is discontinued.By Adafruit Industries

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Desk of Ladyada - I2S DACs, Claude API, and Compute Module Backpack 27:10

11M ago27:10

27:10

Ladyada explores I2S DACs, testing PCM51xx as a UDA1334A alternative. Work continues on the TLV320DAC3100, we test an AI API interface for setters/getters for Claude with pay per token. A new Pi Compute Module backpack is in progress - And we search for tall connectors for CM4/CM5.Read more https://blog.adafruit.com/2025/02/17/desk-of-ladyada-i2s-d…

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Desk of Ladyada - Fruit Jam jam party 31:41

11M ago31:41

31:41

Fruit Jam! Our new credit card-sized computer inspired by IchigoJam! Built on the Metro RP2350 with DVI & USB host, it's a retro-inspired mini PC with modern features. Plus, we're hunting for the perfect I2S DAC for high-quality audio output!By Adafruit Industries

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Desk of Ladyada - Kiddo Kart Repair 19:31

11M ago19:31

19:31

BabyAda's bumper car toy stopped working after overnight charging - turns out 24V charger + 12V battery = problems. Quick fix: replaced battery with correct one from DigiKey. Pro tip -Always check voltage compatibility!By Adafruit Industries

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Desk of Ladyada - ST7796S Screen & So Many Sunday Samples 24:58

12M ago24:58

24:58

Testing ESP programmer board, working on 3.5" Captouch TFT with new ST7796S display & FT6236 touch chips. Board needs redesign for new FPC. Got exciting screen samples round/bar/rect. Also found great ultra-fine tweezers on DigiKey, for both engineers & entomologists!By Adafruit Industries

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Desk of Ladyada - Sparkle Motion Tester Troubles & Samples Sunday 28:44

12M ago28:44

28:44

This week at the Desk, we worked on our Sparkle Motion Mini (https://www.adafruit.com/product/6160) and not-so-Mini testers. The Mini (https://www.adafruit.com/product/6160) tester came together super fast, and we got the boards into the shop. The classic version got much more complicated with a few mistakes that cascaded into frustration during te…

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Desk of Ladyada - LDACs, Sparkle Motion Mini & Claude 34:08

12M ago34:08

34:08

Sparkle Motion Mini PCBs are here, featuring a compact 5V-only design. We are also refining small breakout boards like the DAC7578 and working on a TMC2209 driver by refactoring BusIO for versatile interfaces. Lastly, Claude & exploring compact, sensorless BLDC motor drivers via DigiKey.By Adafruit Industries

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Desk of Ladyada - Festival of Lights PCB push 29:11

1y ago29:11

29:11

Wrapping up last year with display and LED PCB projects, including GC9A01A round display protos and Sparkle Motion boards. Solenoid driver testing underway, fixing WLED/mic interference. Great Search: Picking SOD-323 flyback diodes for solenoids, balancing specs and cost.-----------------------------------------Visit the Adafruit shop online - http…

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Desk of Ladyada - festival of light-related PCB designs 22:48

1y ago22:48

22:48

Ladyada's Desk celebrates light-filled PCB designs, including round TFT, transparent OLED, tiny displays, and new 'sparkle motion' WLED prototypes and live xLights demos. On The Great Search, SMT nuts enable flush mounting for a 1.8" round TFT with capacitive touch, we explore options at DigiKey!By Adafruit Industries

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Desk of Ladyada - It's a sparkly LED Christmas! 27:23

1y ago27:23

27:23

This week, Ladyada tests the Sparkle Motion WLED board with xLights for large-scale LED animations and began decorating. A smaller version of Sparkle Motion and a NeoPixel-inspired USB PCB, and In The Great Search, storage solutions for components and dev boards!By Adafruit Industries

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Desk of Ladyada - Simple Storage, Scope Stack, + Super Silent Steppers 22:13

1y ago22:13

22:13

This week at our desk...we're back from a family visit! We had Tannewt visit over the last few days, and chatted about CircuitPython goals for the coming year - we'll post the video soon. We're also doing some workspace organization because we've moved to a new room for the office. We're trying to organize with some IKEA ALEX drawers (https://www.y…

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Desk of Ladyada - Post-Turkey WLED Design, Apple retrocomputing, and more 34:43

1y ago34:43

34:43

Post-Turkey updates from Ladyada! We tested new boards (minor FPC tweak, no respin needed) and started designing a sleek WLED board with help from firepixie & the community. Plus, check out The Great Search for high-power diodes and Day 1 of #Retrocomputing Advent: Apple II nostalgia!By Adafruit Industries

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Desk of Ladyada - Lots of Motor Drivers this week + RP2350B Metro 33:03

1y ago33:03

33:03

This week on Desk of Ladyada: A look inside North Korean missiles. Motor drivers galore, prototypes for A4988, TMC2209, and TMC2130 are here, plus a detour with ‘Newxie,’ a retro-style 1.14" TFT. Metro RP2350B boards arrived—CircuitPython support coming soon! Also, NEMA-23 stepper fun on The Great Search!…

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Desk of Ladyada - Sample Sunday and Solar Soft-Start 24:18

1y ago24:18

24:18

Prototypes are in! Tested our USB/Solar/DC to 5V booster—note: loads 200mA need a workaround, but it’s a win for the price. Also tested cables & a spinning motor for holiday vibes! SOIC debugging clips—perfect for 0.3" SOICs on Metro RP2350 boards!And on The Great Search: SOIC SMT ClipsBy Adafruit Industries

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Desk of Ladyada - Solar Boosters, Split Supplies, and a Floppsy rev 30:58

1y ago30:58

30:58

Floppsy Rev B debugging (floppy pins, power, boot button) & prepping Disk tests. Crafted a split-supply board (-12V throwback to 6.101!) and boosted 5V solar power magic with bq25185 + TPS61023. Also hunting for a modern 5V stepper driver!By Adafruit Industries

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Desk of Ladyada - Standing Desk Complete! 25:38

1y ago25:38

25:38

Ladyada’s Desk goes standing! This week’s upgrades include LINAK swag, a desk-mount USB PD hub for powering gadgets, and under-desk cable management. Plus, on EYE ON NPI, we spotlighted Lepton IR cameras and explored ideas for a DMX FeatherWing. Check out the latest updates!By Adafruit Industries

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Desk of Ladyada - Pixel Shifter Proto & Floppsy Re-visit 29:43

1y ago29:43

29:43

We've got working Pixel Shifter prototype PCBs, leveling WS2811s and inverting TM1814s—final boards are booked! Also revising the Floppsy board for 3.25" drives, adding buttons, Apple Disk support, & more. Plus, we’re on the hunt for a short rotary encoder!By Adafruit Industries

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Desk of Ladyada - Breakout Board Backlog 25:03

1y ago25:03

25:03

We're tackling our breakout board backlog! Dusting off designs from 2021-2023 with help from ChatGPT for repetitive firmware tasks. Featured: VCNL4200 & LPS28 drivers. Plus, The Great Search is all about tubing for ported pressure sensors!By Adafruit Industries

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Desk of Ladyada - Sample Sunday: cafe lights and TM1814s 28:28

1+ y ago28:28

28:28

This week on Desk of Ladyada, we’re checking out some new cafe light samples! The RGB WS2811s are easy-peasy with NeoPixel, but the TM1814 RGBWs needed a custom CircuitPython solution. We even designed a level shifter/inverter to make it smoother. Details in The Great Search!By Adafruit Industries

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Desk of Ladyada - BQ25185 pt 2, DVI HSTX, LPS28, and CP2105 22:35

1+ y ago22:35

22:35

Two BQ25185 boards were designed: a LiPo charger and a 3.3V buck output variant. The corrected HSTX to DVI converter boards were tested and ordered. Revisited the LPS28 breakout project and found a dual-UART USB chip (CP2105). Locating an ultra-thin RG-174 coax cable.By Adafruit Industries

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Desk of Ladyada - New Factory and a Lipo Buck Board 31:53

1+ y ago31:53

31:53

This week, we had our official 'Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting Ceremony' - complete with big scissors from https://bigscissors.com/. We had ada-friends come from around the area to visit and speeches from Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce (https://www.brooklynchamber.com/) and Industry City (https://industrycity.com/). So we didn't get a ton of new hardwa…

1
Desk of Ladyada - The Desk Gets a Lift! 29:48

1+ y ago29:48

29:48

This week at our desk, we're working on my desk! We purchased a motorized 'sit-stand' kit so that we can spend a few minutes not on our butt. We can look at some design decisions for how the motors and controls work together.We also got back a few prototypes we worked on from previous weeks: the sunken USB C breakout & ICS-43434 I2S mic work out of…

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Desk of Ladyada - an audio extravaganza 25:33

1+ y ago25:33

25:33

This week, we worked on getting a bunch of small designs into the pipeline to have a nice crop of new products in a few weeks. Last week, we looked at TDK microphones and were inspired by the T5838 (https://www.digikey.com/short/bzvzbnm9) PDM microphone with configurable low-power wake pin. We also looked at our pile of old 202x protos and re-found…

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Weekend Investing - Potential for 50% returns with 5 minutes of work each week 35:23

5y ago35:23

35:23

Did you know thousands of investors are making 50% yearly returns spending just 5 minutes on their financial investments? Alok Jain, founder of Weekend Investing, joins us to show the true power of momentum investing. Listen in for the best insights from a man who has 26 years of experience in the stock market. Free eBook on Amazon: https://amzn.to…

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How to invest in an IPO? All your questions answered! 12:12

5y ago12:12

12:12

In this episode, I talk about the world of IPOs - Initial Public Offerings. What is an IPO? How do you invest in an IPO? Do they even matter? I answer all your most asked questions! Free eBook on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3axZrYC Twitter: https://twitter.com/averagespy Instagram: http://instagram.com/ankitchawla6 Audio: Night In Venice by Kevin MacLe…

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FAQ Chat: Stock market bubble? Falling FD interest rates? Long-term investment strategies? and more! 29:10

5y ago29:10

29:10

The first episode of FAQ Chat has two Indian millennials in a freewheeling chat about the stock market bubble, falling FD interest rates, good long-term investment options, and directions for first-time investors. Make sure you listen in for the latest insights. Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only. No part of it should be co…

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How to buy medical/health insurance in India? The MEGA explainer 11:21

5y ago11:21

11:21

Our health is our most important asset. So, medical or health insurance is the most important investment, right? But, in a trust deficit market like India, how do you buy the right kind of medical insurance? The first episode on Millennial Paisa Season 2 brings you an exhaustive list of things you need to check before buying medical insurance. 11 m…

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46: 110019: This Christmas find a use for your old phones 22:35

5y ago22:35

22:35

With phones replacing classrooms, covid-19 brought out a sudden need for digital accessibility. In this episode, Mint journalist @pretikakhanna speaks to Saransh Vaswani, co-founder of Saajha, an NGO based in Delhi which worked with schools to bridge the gap for marginalized students and also work with parents to be active participants in schools.…

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45: 110066: How to save and invest during a pandemic 28:02

5y ago28:02

28:02

Covid-19 and the uncertainty with it has made us all re-think our models of savings and further investing. In this episode, Mint journalist @pretikakhanna speaks to Prashant Maurya, Partner, Citrine Financial Advisors, a Delhi-based financial planner on what investors need to keep in mind, what should your contingency fund hold and what steps you c…