How Good is the EEVBlog?

[Fsck]

Questionable technical skill (heatshrink is not supposed to be applied with an open flame)

Don't you remember the good old days when we roasted heat shrink on a spit over an open fire?

maybe, but everyone and their mom has a hot air station now.

[Yago]

Don't be shy Dave, you do have a bit of that star quality!

Try it, play different blog vids to non-engineers, people remember(and like) Dave even if the subject may as well be in a foreign language to them.

The non polished thing is important IMHO, a lot of engineering is about trust in your own skills and the skills and knowledge of colleges.
Being open about mistakes and discussing them is important for building trust.

[SirNick]

heatshrink is not supposed to be applied with an open flame

everyone and their mom has a hot air station now.

Sure, I do, but I can shrink a wire with a lighter in less time than it takes the hot air station to get up to temp -- which isn't very long to begin with.  If you're careful, you won't singe the shrink (too much), so who cares?

Lots of sponsorship messages
Annoying background music
As in Mythbusters he switches between two topics in one video
Very little technical content
Questionable technical skill

That is truth.  I watch BH sometimes because he comes up with some interesting ideas, and I'm inspired by what he does.  As a techie, there isn't nearly enough detail for my tastes, but I'm used to that disappointment from .. well .. everything else.  (Discovery, etc., being good examples.)  Most people aren't interested in stuff at the level we are, that's just life.  When that starts to get me down, I watch Mike tear into some cheap gizmo he bought off eBay, and figure out more than the engineers who built it know about how it works.

As for Ben's use of expensive stuff, that's part of the draw.  I'm not interested in watching him use a soldering iron.  I have one, I know how it works, I can record myself soldering if that's what I wanted to watch.  (Endless new content!)  But a laser cutter, that's interesting.  3D printers can be had for a few hundred (no more than a decent used scope, or a cheap Rigol), so that's plenty accessible if you really want one.  Or, you can send your designs to an online service, and get a physical product back -- just like with PCBs.  Same goes with laser-cut acrylic or whatever.  If it's important enough to you, save up and get one, or join a hackerspace.  None near you?  Then start one.

[JoeO]

There are many Video Bloggers on YouTube.  If you don't like one of them, don't watch their product.

There is one I don't like.  I don't go there and I don't complain on his site.

Life is too short.   Move on.

[RobertoLG]

Well, looks like I'm the only brazilian here, at least that I know about, but what got me to like eevblog is that david is very honest about stuff, to care giving good advice to everyone, to be nice to people, that deserves a lot of respect, when I'm watching the videos, sometimes looks like I'm talking with a friend of mine and that's very cool just my modest opinion, that's it

[jlmoon]

EEVBlog has my vote!  Even paid support money to keep it afloat, best blog on my desk!

[Galenbo]

Only major "experience" complaint I have: there's just something grating or irritating or something about Dave's voice.

I like the voice alot, but it's somewhat unfamiliar. I wish all my teachers had such a voice. It goes perfectly with someone who is passionate about something, and shows effort to get it explained.

In general, I like his presence. There are enough lame long-bearded fat **** around, showing their electronics table.

I also like the accent. It's the closest to what non-english-natives like me, understand best. It's no british, no american. Is it really australian or is it somewhat tweaked to address the largest possible group?

[zapta]

>> How Good is the EEVBlog?

Initially I found the eevblog videos very interesting but now I am attracted more to the forums and new videos can wait a week or two until I watch them. Not sure if the quality of the videos went down (topics, enthusiasm, novelty, technical depth, etc) or it's just me that got used to the formula. I wondered for my self a few times wether the eevblog channel jumped the shark but didn't want to raise it here. The microphone videos miniseries for example was very boring for me. Same for the whole episode just to show that orientation effects crystal frequency (1 minute should do) or the episode with the IR and nylon wrap (2 minutes max and we will get the idea).  I sometimes watch old videos by young and hungry Dave. Some of them are very good.

[c4757p]

I wondered for my self a few times wether the eevblog channel jumped the shark but didn't want to raise it here. The microphone videos miniseries for example was very boring for me.

That's all individual opinion though - I personally enjoyed that series, and so did many others. I'm with you on the crystal frequency video, but that may be because I found that 'discovery' to be rather obvious, so perhaps people who didn't think it was so obvious would disagree.

[T3sl4co1l]

I also like the accent. It's the closest to what non-english-natives like me, understand best. It's no british, no american. Is it really australian or is it somewhat tweaked to address the largest possible group?

For a long time, newsreels were narrated in a very particular accent, supposedly because it was the easiest to understand given the limitations of the equipment, and range of people listening.  At least, that's how I heard the explanation.

Looks like this is the thing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Atlantic_English

I doubt that accounts for Dave's entire accent, but may be related to,

Interestingly I've gotten many comments from German viewers saying that mine is the only blog they watch because they can't understand any of the others! Some how my style of speech sits well with them?

German is notorious for its punchy use of heavy consonants..

And, thanks Dave for the videos, good stuff.

Tim

[Yago]

I also like the accent. It's the closest to what non-english-natives like me, understand best. It's no british, no american. Is it really australian or is it somewhat tweaked to address the largest possible group?

For a long time, newsreels were narrated in a very particular accent, supposedly because it was the easiest to understand given the limitations of the equipment, and range of people listening.  At least, that's how I heard the explanation.

Looks like this is the thing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Atlantic_English

I doubt that accounts for Dave's entire accent, but may be related to,

Interestingly I've gotten many comments from German viewers saying that mine is the only blog they watch because they can't understand any of the others! Some how my style of speech sits well with them?

German is notorious for its punchy use of heavy consonants..

And, thanks Dave for the videos, good stuff.

Tim

IDK, wasn't something similar said of "The Clangers" in Germany back in the day?

Actually, is there more than a passing similarity (other than the Mailbag and 3D printing)?

[EEVblog]

Is it really australian or is it somewhat tweaked to address the largest possible group?

It's genuine Australian. I would be pointless for me to tweak it, and I don't even try, my voice is what it is.
Had quite a few people comment on it when they met me at the stand the other day, "you talk exactly like on the videos!"

[EEVblog]

Not sure if the quality of the videos went down (topics, enthusiasm, novelty, technical depth, etc) or it's just me that got used to the formula.

A few people claim that, but when pushed to prove it with numbers in terms of frequency of how many tutorials or whatever I did etc, they can't. So I think it's mostly increased expectations and *insert psychology term here*
The intensity may have changed somewhat because I can't scream and shout in the new lab (I have neighbors), and my style naturally evolved I think.

I wondered for my self a few times wether the eevblog channel jumped the shark but didn't want to raise it here. The microphone videos miniseries for example was very boring for me.

Quite a few mention that as an example, and once again I think the complaints are not valid.
They were very clearly videos done with someone else, and obviously wouldn't be my usual videos.
If you didn't like that style, the other person, or the subject matter, it's very easy not to watch.
I enjoyed doing them, and a lot of people liked them, and there was a good reason why I split them up into so many, and that's all that matters.

Same for the whole episode just to show that orientation effects crystal frequency (1 minute should do) or the episode with the IR and nylon wrap (2 minutes max and we will get the idea). 

Are you new here? 
That's my style!

I sometimes watch old videos by young and hungry Dave. Some of them are very good.

Some are also very crap 

[SirNick]

Not sure if the quality of the videos went down (topics, enthusiasm, novelty, technical depth, etc) or it's just me that got used to the formula. ... The microphone videos miniseries for example was very boring for me.

As an example of the stated theme here (can't please everyone), those videos were fascinating to me.  I have 3x Rode NT5 mics, so having their design whiteboarded by (possibly) the guy that engineered them was pretty great for me.  Probably similar to how cool it would be for some (if not you) to see the engineer for one of those classic HP bench multimeters go through the schematics in detail and explain their choices along the way.

That said, while I do enjoy Mailbag Monday, I would love to see more practical stuff.  Fundamental Fridays are wonderful, although rare.  Seeing Dave dig into a few micros, PLCs, FPGAs, etc., would be nice for anyone interested to see what they're getting into.  The PSU build series was nice to see what actually happens during product design and prototyping.  Finally, there's been a lot of talk here about pin protection, ESD, EMI, etc.  Dave not only has engineering experience there that would be content gold, but seems to have access to facilities where testing can be done to show what a budding designer might have to look forward to bringing their product to market, or at least hardening it for real-world use.

But, hey.. medical plug pack teardowns are cool too. 

[zapta]

Quite a few mention that as an example, and once again I think the complaints are not valid.

It was not a complaint, it was a data point.

Some are also very crap 

Yes, like this FUD. I presume the sun doesn't rise anymore in Australia ;-)

http://www.eevblog.com/2013/09/05/2013-australian-federal-election-rant/

[EEVblog]

It was not a complaint, it was a data point.

Yes, and data point taken.
What I meant by that is that this an electronics blog, and I don't quite understand why people would complain (by saying it's boring or whatever) when I post hours worth of potentially valuable design material from a top designer you won't find anywhere else. Ok, it's not valuable to you, and you found it boring, but it's not like I was doing something off-topic.

A few people such as yourself have tried to use this as example of my blog going "down hill" or some such, when it's clear this was a one-off opportunistic special. Do you really expect me to continue to have more stuff on designing microphones in the future? No, it's done and dusted, material posted, the end.
Do people not want me to put this stuff up if the opportunity arises?, really?
As someone else posted here, what if it's an whiteboard discussion with someone and something you found really informative?
i.e. saying it's "boring" and that's it is not very helpful to me, as every video will be "boring" to at least a certain percentage of people. Ok, it's a data point, I get that, but essentially just saying it's boring adds no value.
If would be better if you told me something like "it's boring because it's not you in the videos, I only like the videos with you doing your usual thing" or some such. Then I'd get the idea that people don't like me having other people on my blogs for example.
Complaints or observations directed towards trends people notice in the blog are the really helpful ones. i.e. I start a new segment and you don't like it. Or I'm doing too much of one segment, or not enough of another etc, that is much more useful to a content producer.

[f1rmb]

Hi,

   Personally, this blog is really great. Period. I like the videos that Dave gave us for free, they are really informative and fun. After all, he spend a lot of his time (and money) to teach/demonstrate/entertain us.
And I do like your voice, really. I mean, I can feel when you're enthusiastic or pissed of by something.
So, don't bother about haters, there is a lot of people here that really appreciate you, along to the containt/support you offering.

Cheers.
---
Daniel

[RobertoLG]

Hi,

   Personally, this blog is really great. Period. I like the videos that Dave gave us for free, they are really informative and fun. After all, he spend a lot of his time (and money) to teach/demonstrate/entertain us.
And I do like your voice, really. I mean, I can feel when you're enthusiastic or pissed of by something.
So, don't bother about haters, there is a lot of people here that really appreciate you, along to the containt/support you offering.

Cheers.
---
Daniel

Yep, very much appreciated

[SeanB]

Shoot, I watch pretty much all of Dave, Fran,Mike and Martins videos. Different styles, different values and different points brought up in each. Each has good and not good points but overall you learn from all of them.

Just remember if you do not actually like a certain video you are able to not watch, there is no requirement to do so. That is easy, and though I also have 200 plus subscriptions on YT I do not watch all, just scan the list once a day or so and decide what is worth it.

[Cside]

.... don't quite understand why people would complain (by saying it's boring or whatever) when I post hours worth of potentially valuable design material from a top designer you won't find anywhere else....

Videos with this content rate the highest. Educational videos for the type of knowledge you don't learn at UNI.

[zapta]

i.e. saying it's "boring" and that's it is not very helpful to me, as every video will be "boring" to at least a certain percentage of people. Ok, it's a data point, I get that, but essentially just saying it's boring adds no value.

If you can get some metrics about the interest in each video this will probably be your best feedback. Youtube give you viewing count and possibly more details (e.g .does it distinguish between full and partial view?).  I would think that if your numbers grow you are doing good. It will also tell you one works and what doesn't.

BTW, regarding having other people, I loved the episodes with that retired electronic magazine guy.  Maybe because of the personal aspect because he was your hero.

[EEVblog]

If you can get some metrics about the interest in each video this will probably be your best feedback. Youtube give you viewing count and possibly more details (e.g .does it distinguish between full and partial view?). 

Youtube has an audience retention graph that shows how many people are still watching a video vs time. So you can see if everyone tunes out after 30 seconds or stick around.
I'm doing better than average on my video compared to typical youtube averages.

I would think that if your numbers grow you are doing good. It will also tell you one works and what doesn't.

Basic views are good indication of that, as it can show for example that Mailbag gets twice or three times the views from my core audience than a Fundamental Friday video.

BTW, regarding having other people, I loved the episodes with that retired electronic magazine guy.  Maybe because of the personal aspect because he was your hero.

I like those too, but many didn't because they don't know him or the magazine, and I expected that.

[miguelvp]

I would think that if your numbers grow you are doing good. It will also tell you one works and what doesn't.

Basic views are good indication of that, as it can show for example that Mailbag gets twice or three times the views from my core audience than a Fundamental Friday video.

Maybe because you don't make them anymore. I do like mailbag and the teardowns, but I miss the really good stuff including the rants.

BTW what ever happened to the Speak & Dave?

[EEVblog]

I'd still like to hear from Jim Rowe of Electronics Australia and Silicon Chip. I have a vague recollection you once said you thought it was a good idea. Perhaps in response to one of my previous suggestions or someone elses, I can't remember.
Have you ever approached him to see if he would be interested?
I wrote and asked if the EDUC-8 prototype still existed but I never heard back. I don't know if he even got my email. I thought it would be good to mark 40 years since it was published.

I've recently been reading some old Jim Rowe articles from the 60's for a video, and thought that yes, it would be great to do that.
I haven't asked, but I kind of get the vibe that he might not be as willing as some others, but I could be wrong!

[Syntax_Error]

Dave,

I know you're a grown ass man and don't need simple reassurances like this, but my coworkers and I watch your blog at work and I do at home, and we like it the way it is. As somebody before mentioned, there is a fast-forward button for a reason. I don't care for the mailbag segment myself (blasphemy!) so I typically skim through it. There are sometimes gems hidden in those episodes, so I still give them a shot. I much prefer your fundamentals topics, or your detailed "in the weeds" analyses, precisely because you are the only person I have found to do it so well. I have had to watch certain videos three times to understand the material, and THAT'S GREAT. It's not overly dumbed down. It requires some effort for the uninitiated at times, and that's what keeps me coming back.

Your mannerisms are quite tolerable in my opinion. I hate listening to people who have long verbal pauses, make throat noises, swallows, etc every two seconds, mouth clicks and lip licks, oh man it's so irritating. Also when people spend 15 minutes telling you what they are going to cover before they get started. I like how you say "Hi!" and just jump in, maybe a 30second overview and its time to dive in. And it goes without saying that your periodic use of swearing adds a lot of "real person" credibility with many, including me. Unfortunately, we swear like sailors where I work, and are generally suspicious of anyone who is robotic and overly politically correct, assuming they are disingenuous and fake.

I just wanted to bring these points up in case you are feeling like, "Man, a guy just can't win with these people!" Yes, you can, and you are. Just keep on keeping on, and let the fringe viewers stew in their venom. The rest of us are quite happy and appreciative of what you do.