One way to "split" the list that might work is to have a moderated subset.
The moderator ("editor") would delete off-topic, FAQ, and uninteresting
messages, leaving behind a smaller subset that would be forwarded off to
the pickier subscribers.  I doubt that there are any volunteers for this,
and I doubt that very many people are willing to pay for the service
(consider "microprocessor report", which might be considered an in-depth
summary of comp.architecture or whatever, and sells for $700/year per
subscription.)

Microchip might consider it in their own interest to assign someone to
do this and provide a "moderated list" as a website or somesuch (a sort
of one-newsgroup private nntp server?)  The mechanics could be relatively
simple, especially since they already have employees reading the list.
Of course, some posters may feel that having their messages show up on
a commercial site to be unacceptable, opening a political can of worms.

BillW