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Ask HN: Undiscovered electronics/maker YouTube channels
I've now got a semi successful YouTube channel. One of the things that helped me out at the beginning was other more popular YouTubers surfacing up my videos to their audiences.
I'm looking to pay back some of that and want to find some good undiscovered content. There's lots of people posting really good technical content and they just aren't pushed out by "the algorithm".
Maybe the production values aren't great, the audio is not great or it's just very amateurish, but if the content is good then I'm interested.
I'm not really interested in people who already have thousands of subs, I'm looking for the guys who are getting a few views on their videos and deserve more.
- testmasterflex 3y agoHey I got some help from some of your videos to build https://loodio.com https://loodio.com so thanks for that Atomic!
- Havoc 3y agoAlready has 4k subs but thought this one is promising Free hand soldering a BGA ram chip onto a raspberry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pW4_nqcIWA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pW4_nqcIWA
- wiseleo 3y agoNecroware. Only 30000 subscribers but the videos he published are amazing. :)
- CamperBob2 3y agoPhil's Lab at https://www.youtube.com/@PhilsLab https://www.youtube.com/@PhilsLab is a very underrated channel, especially if you've ever struggled trying to wrap your head around Kalman filter techniques. Highly recommend that one. The Signal Path isn't that obscure but there may still be some test gear nerds who haven't run across it: https://www.youtube.com/@Thesignalpath https://www.youtube.com/@Thesignalpath Same is true for Marco Reps: https://www.youtube.com/@reps https://www.youtube.com/@reps FesZ Electronics at https://www.youtube.com/@FesZElectronics https://www.youtube.com/@FesZElectronics has some great coverage of analog/RF basics, as does W2AEW: https://www.youtube.com/@w2aew/videos https://www.youtube.com/@w2aew/videos Yes, most of these folks have thousands of subs, but there's a reason for that: they're pretty awesome.
- jcims 3y agoMarco Reps is hilarious.
- Joel_Mckay 3y agoFesZ is fantastic if you need to dive into LTspice. =) Andreas is more hobbyist focused: https://www.youtube.com/@HB9BLA https://www.youtube.com/@HB9BLA https://www.youtube.com/@AndreasSpiess https://www.youtube.com/@AndreasSpiess
- fimdomeio 3y agoScanlime. last video is from two years ago. https://www.youtube.com/@scanlime/videos https://www.youtube.com/@scanlime/videos Most iconic probably is a multiple winch system to have a cemra in the studio folowing the cat around but there's some reverse engeneering videos that for someone outside the field blew my mind.
- inamberclad 3y agoI really wish we'd hear more from them. That was an incredible project.
- john-tells-all 3y agoTheir work is incredible! Incredibly and unapologetically nerdy. They are an inspiration <3
- cristoperb 3y ago> Scanlime I like their videos, but 26.4k subscribers is definitely not "undiscovered"
- acegopher 3y agoGoing through my subscriptions, it's sad to see so many with talent, even those with lots of subscribers, not having posted a video in years. Here are some I subscribe to that seem to be still active. You could see if your audience might like: https://www.youtube.com/@peterryseck https://www.youtube.com/@peterryseck https://www.youtube.com/@AndersNielsenAA https://www.youtube.com/@AndersNielsenAA https://www.youtube.com/@jsincoherency https://www.youtube.com/@jsincoherency https://www.youtube.com/@6502Nerd https://www.youtube.com/@6502Nerd https://www.youtube.com/@hjalfi https://www.youtube.com/@hjalfi https://www.youtube.com/@LucidScience https://www.youtube.com/@LucidScience https://www.youtube.com/@skyriverSat https://www.youtube.com/@skyriverSat https://www.youtube.com/@slu467 https://www.youtube.com/@slu467 https://www.youtube.com/@taylor.galbraith https://www.youtube.com/@taylor.galbraith
- bb88 3y agoI'm almost pretty sure the algorithm is looking at video/audio quality among other things. I wouldn't be surprised if they have a speech clarity algorithm running on videos as well. Like one of the big turnoffs for me personally is the lack of a good mic setup. But even with a phone they make bluetooth lavalier mics that aren't that bad cheaply these days.
- award_ 3y agoThank you for these recommendations! I sub'd to a few of them, though a few others seemed a bit outside the things I'd normally be 'into'.
- HWR_14 3y agoIs there a reason not to promote people who produced content but stopped.
- acegopher 3y agoNot much, just that someone who is active is more likely to benefit from promotion and appreciate it, versus someone who, more likely, has gone on to other things.
- 3y ago
- jawerty 3y agoNot sure if this is relevant for a maker Youtube channel but I recently (past 6 weeks) started a live coding channel where I code projects from scratch (various topics from Machine Learning, Web scraping, web dev to general software engineering). I try to walk through my thought process while keeping it funny. So far getting some good feedback The channel if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVTtYLn03CmwX-PUfZ3RF0A https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVTtYLn03CmwX-PUfZ3RF0A
- jcims 3y agoSubbed a few weeks ago when you posted a fine tuning vid. Love your stuff dude, keep at it!
- jawerty 3y agoThanks many more videos to come!
- whartung 3y agoDo folks really watch these hours long videos? Or more so do they come back and watch them after the fact? I get the whole twitch thing (I mean I think I get it, with folks watching video games) but after it’s recorded, that’s where I’m curious.
- chubs 3y agoA friend restores ancient computers: https://www.youtube.com/@brfff https://www.youtube.com/@brfff
- ejp 3y agoHere are the smallest ones on my subscription list. No idea where I found this - brand new channel. The first video earned a sub immediately. https://www.youtube.com/@Scott_dgl https://www.youtube.com/@Scott_dgl Seen here on HN, followed immediately. <4k subs currently. https://www.youtube.com/@EverythingIsHacked https://www.youtube.com/@EverythingIsHacked 17k subs, high quality, but pretty small still. And the detailed focus on the main project is great. https://www.youtube.com/@StevenBennettMakes https://www.youtube.com/@StevenBennettMakes
- inamberclad 3y agoI always enjoyed https://youtube.com/@Analogzoo?feature=shared https://youtube.com/@Analogzoo?feature=shared
- diydsp 3y agohttps://youtube.com/diydsp https://youtube.com/diydsp ~1k subs. Mostly electronic audio and instrument design and construction. Almost all recorded between 11pm and 1am.
- robbiet480 3y agoCan't say enough good things about the following: https://www.youtube.com/@GeerlingEngineering https://www.youtube.com/@GeerlingEngineering (son and father who is a longtime radio engineer, discussing a lot of engineering and electronics stuff) https://www.youtube.com/@clabretro https://www.youtube.com/@clabretro (new for me but he's been recently playing around with a lot of SunRay hotdesking stuff and things like overlaying text onto RG-5 carried video that he sends all over his house) https://www.youtube.com/@camerongray1515 https://www.youtube.com/@camerongray1515 (playing around with enterprise networking equipment at home) Here are some bigger channels that I find enjoyable that others in this thread may also like (even though they don't fit the original request): https://www.youtube.com/@TechnologyConnections https://www.youtube.com/@TechnologyConnections (deep dives on tech/science related topics) https://www.youtube.com/@DankPods https://www.youtube.com/@DankPods (laughing at terrible MP3 players from the 2000s and some other good content) https://www.youtube.com/@SilverCymbal https://www.youtube.com/@SilverCymbal (owns a big piece of property in NH and talks about upgrades he does to his house) https://www.youtube.com/@Asianometry https://www.youtube.com/@Asianometry (discusses Asian technology related topics, has amazing videos that taught me everything I know about ASML and EUV) https://www.youtube.com/@ModernVintageGamer https://www.youtube.com/@ModernVintageGamer (video game topics, reverse engineering/jailbreaking of consoles) https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetroFuture https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetroFuture (Japanese handheld console finds) https://www.youtube.com/@RetroGameCorps https://www.youtube.com/@RetroGameCorps (modern day handheld emulator hardware for older platforms/playing ROMs) https://www.youtube.com/@WulffDen https://www.youtube.com/@WulffDen (similar to previous) https://www.youtube.com/@TTTHEFINEPRINTTT https://www.youtube.com/@TTTHEFINEPRINTTT (a new one for me, lives in his converted van that he plays PC games on and streams on Twitch, talks about van life and mods and such) https://www.youtube.com/@CraftComputing https://www.youtube.com/@CraftComputing (server software/hardware builds and reviews) https://www.youtube.com/@JeffGeerling https://www.youtube.com/@JeffGeerling (lotta Raspberry Pi content but also general electronics) https://www.youtube.com/@CrosstalkSolutions https://www.youtube.com/@CrosstalkSolutions (lotta networking topics, especially Unifi/Ubiquiti) https://www.youtube.com/@CathodeRayDude https://www.youtube.com/@CathodeRayDude (plays around with 2000s video and computing equipment) https://www.youtube.com/@MachoNachoProductions https://www.youtube.com/@MachoNachoProductions (video game console modding)
- gaze 3y agoAdam Demuth - https://youtu.be/HdJkZcyDQ4A?si=DcRBZfMe4Ei-Fq5Q https://youtu.be/HdJkZcyDQ4A?si=DcRBZfMe4Ei-Fq5Q Absolutely brilliant tool maker and grinding expert. Very good teacher, too.
- magicalhippo 3y agoPerhaps these are a bit too popular, but I thought I'd share just in case: Lasers and stuff, but sane: https://www.youtube.com/@LesLaboratory https://www.youtube.com/@LesLaboratory Keg rocket! Only two vids but looking good so far: https://www.youtube.com/@KegRocket https://www.youtube.com/@KegRocket Wild electrical motor projects and more: https://www.youtube.com/@OverbuiltByHenry https://www.youtube.com/@OverbuiltByHenry Interesting 3d printed robots and more: https://www.youtube.com/@harrisonlow https://www.youtube.com/@harrisonlow EE prof with lots of educational videos, including guitar pedal circuit deep dives: https://www.youtube.com/@Lantertronics https://www.youtube.com/@Lantertronics Practical PCB design, EMC and more: https://www.youtube.com/@MicroTypeEngineering https://www.youtube.com/@MicroTypeEngineering Lots of great electronic tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/@FesZElectronics https://www.youtube.com/@FesZElectronics Guitar pedal teardowns and more: https://www.youtube.com/@graybenchelec https://www.youtube.com/@graybenchelec Students in the process of making a liquid rocket: https://www.youtube.com/@liquidpropulsiongroup5017/ https://www.youtube.com/@liquidpropulsiongroup5017/
- Marthinwurer 3y agoZack Freedman is pretty good. How to Make Everything is bootstrapping civilization from the stone age, so that's pretty neat.
- MegaDeKay 3y agoThese folks might be a little more popular than you are looking for but they all deserve more subs. Mike's Amateur Arcade Monitor Repair with 2.6K subs. The name says it all: https://www.youtube.com/@mikesamateurarcademonitorr6856 https://www.youtube.com/@mikesamateurarcademonitorr6856 Way of the Wrench with 26.1k subs. Great series on building a video pinball machine and a MAME cabinet, welding tutorials, car repair: https://www.youtube.com/@wayofthewrench https://www.youtube.com/@wayofthewrench John Salt with 44.4k subs. One of the best-explained R2D2 builds on the internet, RC models, all kinds of misc stuff: https://www.youtube.com/@Rchelicopterfun https://www.youtube.com/@Rchelicopterfun
- MatthiasPortzel 3y agoA friend of mine does some really cool electronics projects and sometimes posts videos about them: => https://www.youtube.com/@electronicstinkerer5429 https://www.youtube.com/@electronicstinkerer5429 Electronics Tinkerer (249 subscribers) Like everything Zach does, it's widely high quality for something that few other people will appreciate.
- cbm-vic-20 3y agoCelGenStudios: this guy obtains old or weird tech (not just computers), and goes pretty deep into the teardown and repair of things. https://www.youtube.com/@CelGenStudios https://www.youtube.com/@CelGenStudios
- FrostKiwi 3y agoFound so much excellent creators in this thread, really enjoyed skimming all of them! Just started out with tech and maths content myself, would love to hear what others think: https://www.youtube.com/@FrostKiwi/ https://www.youtube.com/@FrostKiwi/
- LeoPanthera 3y agoRobert Dunn has two channels that are both very good. I wouldn't call him "undiscovered", but he still has far fewer subscribers than the big guys, and he absolutely deserves to be a big guy. "Aging Wheels": https://www.youtube.com/@agingwheels https://www.youtube.com/@agingwheels Old and obscure cars, especially older EVs. "Under Dunn": https://www.youtube.com/@UnderDunnOfficial https://www.youtube.com/@UnderDunnOfficial General making, mostly woodwork.
- sheepshear 3y ago[dead]
- seltzered_ 3y agoBillyDIY: he's made some zany crystal radios - https://youtube.com/@billydiy?si=DW68ywlOPujrXzAM https://youtube.com/@billydiy?si=DW68ywlOPujrXzAM Cassinelli Alvaro - electronic art, not many subs - https://youtube.com/@CassinelliAlvaro?si=BDtPIlgkb1zJ9FzX https://youtube.com/@CassinelliAlvaro?si=BDtPIlgkb1zJ9FzX My nice EV (Raymond earle) https://youtube.com/@MYNICEEV?si=EpLMuOTpZAmrb9Hx https://youtube.com/@MYNICEEV?si=EpLMuOTpZAmrb9Hx There are more things (math and folding experiments) - https://youtube.com/@therearemorethings9700?si=UT33lamMrXsHeKVG https://youtube.com/@therearemorethings9700?si=UT33lamMrXsHe... Physion - physics virtual demos: https://youtube.com/@Physion?si=b2SdtuMgOD90K9u7 https://youtube.com/@Physion?si=b2SdtuMgOD90K9u7 Wenting Zhang - display tech experiments: https://youtube.com/@nbzwt?si=1RVN9xe7giyPq6rR https://youtube.com/@nbzwt?si=1RVN9xe7giyPq6rR
- andrewstuart 3y agoThere's tons of videos from the queen of electronics Limor Fried (LadyAda), but she is mainstream. I've copied at least one of Caroline Buttet's great ideas: https://www.youtube.com/@carolinebuttet7095 https://www.youtube.com/@carolinebuttet7095 Atomic14 always entertaining. https://www.youtube.com/@atomic14 https://www.youtube.com/@atomic14 He's stopped posting, but... Microwavemont https://www.youtube.com/@microwavemont https://www.youtube.com/@microwavemont
- asddubs 3y agohttps://www.youtube.com/@ke6chris/videos https://www.youtube.com/@ke6chris/videos
- ball_of_lint 3y agohttps://youtube.com/@hiper_tops https://youtube.com/@hiper_tops
- NeveHanter 3y agoI love the attention to the details and correctness of the "The Byte Attic", especially his Talon ES series ;) https://www.youtube.com/@thebyteattic https://www.youtube.com/@thebyteattic
- default_png 3y agoIf you don't yet know about it - https://media.ccc.de/ https://media.ccc.de/ is also pretty good.
- bberrry 3y agoGotta recommend this guy, building lots of fun projects https://www.youtube.com/@RcLifeOn https://www.youtube.com/@RcLifeOn (though arguably not undiscovered, currently 870k subs)
- ggeorgovassilis 3y agohttps://www.youtube.com/@mickthemechanic5718 https://www.youtube.com/@mickthemechanic5718 is a professional car mechanic and amateur racer, channel is a mix of DIY car electronics & racing.
- Archit3ch 3y agoGuitar pedals, 10s of subs: https://youtube.com/@theandromedacorporation https://youtube.com/@theandromedacorporation
- kawfey 3y agoA friend of mine put a list of over 350 amateur radio YouTube channels, many of which fit in the undiscovered electronics/maker label. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1BiqqCvRnzNx-iuH9R5ghyfRFomOWkh59zuZ6OrWy7Is/htmlview https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1BiqqCvRnzNx-iuH9...
- MattBearman 3y agoMy wife and I have a channel on which we restore/fix/modify cars and motorbikes - https://youtube.com/@EnginesandUnfinishedBusiness https://youtube.com/@EnginesandUnfinishedBusiness
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- iamflimflam1 3y agoWow! This is going to take some time to go through. Thank you everyone for responding.