I’m talking YouTube channels with a few thousand views, streamers with single digit viewers, writers who only get a few reads on their submissions.
Since the fediverse is all about boosting connection to smaller voices, let’s share the love!
You know how modern semiconductor components are made in billion-dollar fabs? Well, you can actually make them in a garage, at least simple ones.
Damn, he’s got a lot of equipment though. I was hoping I could just setup a jig with 2x4s and melt sand with a blowtorch
Most of it isn’t strictly necessary. Like, he has sputtering equipment for making layers that can’t be chemically deposited for example. The one where he makes a MOSFET on camera involves just spin coating with tape and some random motor, a little tube furnace to bake impurities in and chemical etching IIRC.
He uses commercially available blank wafers; you’d need a small arc furnace (or at least a blast furnace and patience when your product is mostly iron) to make silicon from sand and something resembling a meth lab to clean it (and then you’d grow and cut your wafer, but that could be done on a desk I’m sure).
Wait this is incredible.
I don’t even know how to hold a hammer correctly let alone solder a chip, but I might have to try a new hobby.
Vzedshows is a video game content creator I really enjoy.
Strong Towns is a channel about city planning and urban centres.
Shifter is about urban cycling and focussed on Canadian cities.
Robert Hoskin finds and restores old films. Mostly Japanese ones.
Olden Demon creates cool videos about old Warhammer 40k
Mars Guy does a weekly dive into what is going on with Perseverance on mars. Super interesting.
James Channel is all about retro games and messing around with them.
Grouse House is an Australian absurd comedy group. They make fucked stuff.
Face Full of Eyes does absolutely incredible breakdowns on the aesthetics of games.
Canadiana makes some of the best documentaries about Canada.
Every channel here I believe is under 100k subscribers. So much great stuff waiting to be found.
*Edit: Fixed URLs, if they still don’t work let me know.
Technology Connections for deep dives on seemingly mundane things
Knowing Better and Kaz Rowe for history
Alpha Phoenix for Science
The Space Quest Historian does YouTube videos about classic adventure games with full playthroughs, historical deep dives, and creator interviews. He also actually hangs out here in the Fediverse: he’s on Lemmy as @SQHistorian@lemm.ee and on Mastodon as @sqhistorian@dosgame.club.
Also, SQH’s band Error 47 does industrial rock covers of retro game music and is criminally under-subscribed. They’re currently working on an album covering The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour, which I’m really looking forward to.
I’ve also been really digging Quake Speedruns Explained lately, which is a really chill dude talking about one of the oldest and most competitive speedrunning scenes around.