Thoughts on Ben Heck?

[con-f-use]

Ben is alright. You can tell he is a genuinely nice guy, and I wish all nice people a fun, well payed job. His show could use a website where he publishes all his design files, though. And yes in a hobby hacker show you shouldn't be using laser cutters, 3D printers and precision mills. But most of his work is doable with a jigsaw and some plastics.

He gets more views than my channel

Yes, a shameless plug

No shame involved. You can be proud!
Could you do a few videos on the tools you use and the basics of precise metal work. I'm really lacking any knowledge about it and just stand in awe at what you do in your videos. What's your background?

[IanJ]

Hi all,

I've watched a few of Ben's shows albeit I'm not a follower. I never really warmed to him in order to hit the subscribe button right away, but note to self...........I must take another look. As Dave says........anyone who creates any kind of positive content needs support/congrats.

To be fair to Ben and from my own experience of my own blog I guess it must be hard to produce a finished product/show week in, week out......assuming he can't or doesn't spread a large project over many weeks.....i.e. he needs a start, middle and end to every show.

So there begs the question.............could our Dave be poached if say Ben retired............money talks!

Ian.

[Legion]

My main gripe with his stuff is that he seems to have everything he needs on hand or available from a friend.  no one else in the world has access to the stuff he has access to like that, so it really, really limits my ability to "draw a line" between my own abilities and his.  If I can draw a line between myself and you, then I have a path --a plan-- to get my own abilities up to yours.

I feel the same way with his show sometimes. It can be annoying to have a good idea presented and then have it be unattainable because it requires a CNC or something. That said, he did do an episode where he addresses this. In the episode he shows you how to make enclosures without 3D printers, CNCs or any kind of advanced equipment:

[Jarrod Roberson]

He does an excellent job for what his format/audience is.

I love that he includes design mistakes and corrections, or just shows hackish workarounds rather than perfect designs every time.

But the shows intended audience is more "short attention span theater" than listen to someone describe every discrete component on a 20 year old device tear down video for over an hour which is the other end of the spectrum. They both are valid audiences.

He also has unknown constraints about project scope, detail and other things as well as a very compressed timeline to get a show finished in a week.

Personally I enjoy his channel as much as eevblog, just like I enjoy MotoGP and F1 just as much as one another they are flip sides of the same coin to me.

[EEVblog]

So there begs the question.............could our Dave be poached if say Ben retired............money talks!

Unlikely.
There are more things to life than money. I've turned down many offers before.
I certainly wouldn't do it for the money Ben is being paid (last I heard), but I already have a full time successful video blog, Ben didn't when he got the offer AFAIK, so it was likely a very good offer for him.
Although I did turn down one similar paying offer before back when this was just a part time fun thing for me. That could have easily turned it full time for me, but I declined for various reasons.
With hindsight I'm glad I turned down every such offer that I have.

[rexxar]

I prefer Dave's more in-depth style. I think he appeals more to women and gay dudes as well, with his ripped body and tight t-shirts.

If a woman ran an electronics blog, would you just stare at her breasts the whole time?
Trust me, there's much more interesting things going on in the EEVblog.

[Dongulus]

I watch Ben's show every week, but I watch it solely for entertainment. I enjoy watching videos where design and build process are compressed in a short number of minutes (build porn).

Though I have a formal electronics education, I could see his videos as encouraging for some beginners. I'm thinking of the guy who has just finished his blinky light tutorial for his Arduino and now wants a project to take him deeper. Ben offers some unique and fairly accessible project ideas to inspire that type of person. He doesn't explain every step because he doesn't want people to simply make copies of his creations, rather to get his viewers to go out and build something of their own.

I agree that when he uses his CNC or laser cutter or 3D printer it feels like kind of a cheat, but I get that using these tools is necessary when working on a weekly deadline. Any hobbyist with little budget but also not so constrained on time can figure out alternative methods with enough creativity.

[FrankenPC]

I remember when Ben was only making killer portable game console mods.  He didn't do any videos and his work was superb from an artistic standpoint.  Along those lines, I've always been fascinated with his fabrication techniques.  Strangely enough, recently, his Element 114 videos don't seem to spend as much time with actual fabrication which is what he really has to offer the community.  Shame. 
Lately, I've stopped watching simply because I can't stand the interspersed video commercials.  It's really disruptive.

[electronics man]

So there begs the question.............could our Dave be poached if say Ben retired............money talks!

Unlikely.
There are more things to life than money. I've turned down many offers before.
I certainly wouldn't do it for the money Ben is being paid (last I heard), but I already have a full time successful video blog, Ben didn't when he got the offer AFAIK, so it was likely a very good offer for him.
Although I did turn down one similar paying offer before back when this was just a part time fun thing for me. That could have easily turned it full time for me, but I declined for various reasons.
With hindsight I'm glad I turned down every such offer that I have.

This reminds me of an April fools you did  once about working for a test equipment manufacturer

[robrenz]

Could you do a few videos on the tools you use and the basics of precise metal work. I'm really lacking any knowledge about it and just stand in awe at what you do in your videos. What's your background?

Glad there are a few who are enjoying them

There are already a lot of videos out there on general machining practices.  I have been machining since I was 12 (49 years) Its been my hobby and vocation all that time.

[Afrotechmods]

I like Ben. He's got a likeable personality on camera and never takes himself too seriously. While I personally don't learn much from the videos I recognize that they are good for people who are just getting into electronics and hacking. I also have a lot of respect for anyone who can demonstrate skill with not just electronics, but mechanical and industrial design as well - something I suck at! I think Element14 made a smart move bringing him on board.

[rjk5378]

I like Ben. He's got a likeable personality on camera and never takes himself too seriously. While I personally don't learn much from the videos I recognize that they are good for people who are just getting into electronics and hacking. I also have a lot of respect for anyone who can demonstrate skill with not just electronics, but mechanical and industrial design as well.

I agree. I subscribe to the BHS podcast, but I skip almost all the gaming-related episodes (which seems to be the majority), simply because they don't interest me. I download the rest to my phone and watch them at odd times (e.g., in the waiting room at the dentist <g>). I find the episodes I do watch entertaining and often informative. Occasionally one can get some interesting ideas for hacks from the show.

The electronics is obviously not as sophisticated and varied as the EEVBlog, but if you are a relative newb (and definite amateur/hobbiest) like me, watching just about any competent EE or hacker doing anything is valuable educationally. In past generations, people learned theory from books, but they got practical and more valuable learning through apprenticeship -- a big part of which was watching the masters work. Today, thanks to YouTube and other internet-based services, one can watch substantially more projects (in both quantity and type) being done by many different "masters" all over the world. There is still no master looking over my shoulder when I try to do it myself--at least not yet; give the internet time <g>--but YouTube, etc., nonetheless allow me to leverage the observational part of apprenticeship by an exponential factor. The BHS is a small part of that.

Even if one does not like the show, the existence of it and many other demonstration/tutorial type presentations is, IMO, a good thing.

[ju1ce]

I think it's a good thing that Ben's videos are not heavy on theory - I just like to see what Ben builds each week. It would be a distraction if he babbled about voltage dividers and Ohm's law (I tend to skip the tech time-outs).

[idpromnut]

He gets more views than my channel

Yes, a shameless plug

Holy crap, those are some great videos!  Very very neat machining techniques as well!  *subscribed*

[GK]

I prefer Dave's more in-depth style. I think he appeals more to women and gay dudes as well, with his ripped body and tight t-shirts.

If a woman ran an electronics blog, would you just stare at her breasts the whole time?

Yes

[XOIIO]

I think I saw one of his videos and it was fairly annoying, can't quite recall.

From this thread it sounds to me like he is a newer version of kipkay, a spokesman showing off projects that others have done. I'd have to look into it more to be sure though.

[G0HZU]

Just curious what real world engineers (and the EEVblog community) think of Ben Heck.

I have to confess that I have no idea who Ben Heck is. So I googled him and watched his youtube intro video.

Seems OK to me I guess... I only watched the intro video but it looks like his presentation style and the topics will attract a lot of interest to a broad range of hobbyists.

[EEVblog]

Lately, I've stopped watching simply because I can't stand the interspersed video commercials.  It's really disruptive.

That's the only issue I have with TBHS. This is why I have always turned down every offer of in-video sponsorship.
Apart from that, I don't know how anyone could have a legitimate complaint about the content.

[Stonent]

So that's what you guys do when watching a Jeri Ellsworth or Lady Ada video?

[lewis]

I prefer Dave's more in-depth style. I think he appeals more to women and gay dudes as well, with his ripped body and tight t-shirts.

If a woman ran an electronics blog, would you just stare at her breasts the whole time?

Yes

Damn! Beat me to it...

[lapm]

As hobbyist i watch BH time to time if title of episode interest me..

Bit too much Element14 promotion for my taste. But then again i understand why the show is the way it is. Element14 is spending a lot of money on it and wants their moneys worth...

Just often wondering if a bit different show format would work better, little bit less pro Element14 and little more lets hack thing X this week..

[electronics man]

Lately, I've stopped watching simply because I can't stand the interspersed video commercials.  It's really disruptive.

That's the only issue I have with TBHS. This is why I have always turned down every offer of in-video sponsorship.
Apart from that, I don't know how anyone could have a legitimate complaint about the content.

good thing too the last thing you want is to have a product you want to criticize and the manufatureres are your in video advertiseres, that could put you in a dificalt position

[Tris20]

Lately, I've stopped watching simply because I can't stand the interspersed video commercials.  It's really disruptive.

Yeah the commercials are a pain in the ass. On a similar note, TWiT commercials are also a bit of nuisance. Yet what worries me most is that they seem to be getting more and more subtle with them. Quite often I can't tell if they're genuinely promoting a product because it's good or purely because of sponsorship.


Oh yeah, and Ben heck: If a video of his looks interesting I'll watch but otherwise ignore. Think I've seen about 4 or 5 it total.

[electrolux]

As hobbyist i watch BH time to time if title of episode interest me..

Bit too much Element14 promotion for my taste. But then again i understand why the show is the way it is. Element14 is spending a lot of money on it and wants their moneys worth...

Just often wondering if a bit different show format would work better, little bit less pro Element14 and little more lets hack thing X this week..

I didn't know E14 run the BH show.

[SeanB]

Easy for me to tell the commercials. If it is US only it is a commercial......... At least with TWIT you can download the program and watch at leisure, and as the commercials invariably have a solid lower third you can easily skip them. BH show is a subscribed feed, I look at the description and if it is appealing I watch. Means I might watch 1 out of 3 but YMMV.